{"id":8136,"date":"2012-01-30T08:00:20","date_gmt":"2012-01-30T13:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mintools.com\/blog\/?p=8136"},"modified":"2024-04-18T14:13:52","modified_gmt":"2024-04-18T18:13:52","slug":"spiritual-children","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mintools.com\/blog\/spiritual-children.htm","title":{"rendered":"Spiritual Growth Levels: Ministering to Spiritual Children"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"SpiritualWe move through different growth levels spiritually.<\/p>\n

We start as infants<\/a>, insecure and dependent.\u00a0 Before become adolescents and then adults and parents, we first go through another stage:\u00a0SPIRITUAL CHILDREN<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Up until his death, my dad consistently introduced me to others as his “baby.”\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 I was the youngest of seven children.\u00a0 No matter how old I was, even as an adult in her 30’s and 40’s, he still viewed me as such.\u00a0 If he was still alive today, I am confident I would continue to hold that position to him.<\/p>\n

All of us who have put our trust in Jesus Christ are children of God (Jn. 1:12-13)<\/span>.\u00a0 Consequently, all through the New Testament God refers to us as His children.\u00a0 Positionally we will always be God’s children but practically we must grow up to be productive adults and parents.<\/p>\n

In this post we will be looking at spiritual children as a growth level, not from a relational position.<\/p>\n

Spiritual Children Described<\/strong><\/h2>\n

1 Corinthians 14:20<\/span> provides insight into spiritual children.<\/p>\n

Brothers, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be adults.<\/em><\/p>\n

Put another way, we could say, be innocent in regard to evil but wise and discerning in your thinking.\u00a0 Jesus used a different analogy but the message is the same.\u00a0 He told his disciples, “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves” (Matt. 10:16)<\/span>.<\/p>\n

The Corinthians needed to stop thinking like children because the thought processes of children don’t always lead to wise decisions.<\/p>\n

1)\u00a0 Children tend to think about themselves.\u00a0 They are driven by self-centeredness.\u00a0 The context of 1 Corinthians 14:20<\/span> shows Paul dealing with the self-serving use of certain spiritual gifts.<\/p>\n

2)\u00a0 Children tend to be limited by concrete thinking.\u00a0 They do not always make the connections between choices and consequences.\u00a0 Paul wanted them to stop and think about the negative results of their actions.<\/p>\n

Ministering to Spiritual Children<\/h2>\n