1 Corinthians 14:20
Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature.
Tag: Be Mature About the Right Things
If we want to know about the spiritual condition of the believers at Corinth, this verse might give us some exceptional insight. Paul, in essence, tells them to “grow up!” The context of the above verse is in regard to spiritual gifts. The Corinthians prided themselves on the gift of Tongues - kind of a “show me” type of gift; at least this was the thought process for the church. Paul wants them to be mature in regard to spiritual gifts and devotes three chapters to the subject. He has already given them much to meditate upon, but in this verse he becomes direct and tells them to be mature in their thinking but to be infants in regard to evil. Remember, this is the church that had knowledge about a young man who was involved sexually with his step-mom (see chapter five). This is a group that had great knowledge about each other’s loyalty (enough to cause a conflict between groups). This is a group of believers who came to church and turned the communion service into a self-indulging part. They had true knowledge of evil. They were infants in regard to spiritual gifts. Paul wants that to reverse. We tend to get to know evil quite well. If we want to be be mature, we need to make sure we are focused on the more important aspects of life. Using the giftedness God gave us trumps division, sexual gossip and gluttony. When we spend out time to focus on the right things (things God is concerned about) we can grow in God’s grace and God’s service.
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