Growing in Jesus Christ through Everyday Experiences

Hebrews 5:12-14

Click for a description of the mark of the beast.
Click for a description of the image of the beast.

• Maturity is to Build and Grow on Foundations of Christ.
• Unskilled in the Word of Righteousness.
• Skilled through Practice and Senses.

The verses of this post refer to maturing in the knowledge of the Scriptures. When the verses of this post were written, it was in the context of Jesus Christ being the High Priest over the temple of God, our body. The new converts to the way of Christ had to be told that humans are not sufficient to rule over the temple of God, “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” 1 Corinthians 3:16

It was necessary to teach the readers that no human is to consider another human to be a substitute for the Deity of Christ. Taking our eyes off Christ, to depend on another human for our walk with Jesus, is to remain stagnant in our growth and not weaned from being nursed with a “mother’s milk”.

When we remove our eyes from Christ Jesus and depend on others for our faith, then we become ripe for false teachings. And those false teachings can come across as being full of light, “And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore, it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.” 2 Corinthians 11:14-15

Maturity is to Build and Grow on Foundations of Christ.

“For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you
again the first principles of the Scriptures of God;
and you have come to need milk and not solid food.”
Hebrews 5:12

If someone needed to be constantly reminded that Jesus is the Christ, the High Priest, the Son of God, the sacrifice for the atonement of sin, and the source of eternal life, then they are not maturing. They are still babes in the Holy Scriptures. These are those who are easily beguiled by the false angel of light and are susceptible to the false ministers of righteousness (2 Corinthians 11:14-15). They have taken their eyes off of Jesus and have focused on distractions to the Gospel. Those babes need to be reminded constantly that Jesus Christ is the Lord above all lords.

Growth is like building a house, the foundation is laid and then all the other parts are added to put together a house. Someone who has a desire to be a teacher of architecture has to have knowledge of more than just the foundations of a building. If a student had to be constantly reminded to get the foundation right before continuing forward, there isn’t much hope for that student to be a teacher of architecture. If we need to be reminded constantly of John 3:16, then there isn’t much to be said about our ability to teach from the Holy Scriptures.

Unskilled in the Word of Righteousness.

“For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe.”
Hebrews 5:13

To live on the milk of God’s word is like a babe still nursing from its mother, not yet weaned nor experienced in the world. To be weaned from the milk is to be able to grow, mature, and stand in this world by faith in Jesus Christ. It’s necessary to be weaned from dependence on the faith of others so that we can stand alone in our belief in God the Creator, stand alone in acknowledging Jesus as our Lord, and to stand alone in the presence of the Holy Spirit. Paul found it necessary to always be the mother nursing those who came to Jesus Christ. Those babes were dependent on Paul and not growing in their faith in Jesus Christ to where they could stand by themselves for Him within this world.

People who depend on the faith of others for everything they say, do, and believe are unskilled in the word of righteousness. That’s because they do not have growth within their own heart, mind, and soul regarding the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit. They lack a real-world experience of living for Jesus Christ in a world that opposes belief in God, Jesus Christ, and living in the presence of the Holy Spirit. As we live for our Lord Jesus in this atheistic world, we become very skilled in the word of righteousness. We begin to understand what it means when Christ Jesus says to us to take up our cross every day and follow Him.

“…the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.” 1 John 2:27

Skilled through Practice and Senses.

“But solid food belongs to those who are mature, that is, 
those who by practice have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”
Hebrews 5:14

Holy Spirit filled people mature from everyday practice which sharpens our senses to be able to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. We gain experience in the home around family, at the workplace, within social settings, in the schools, and in everything that we do. Because our foundation is firmly built on Jesus, we easily discern when those around us are hostile to the testimony of Jesus Christ. When we mature in the Holy Scriptures, such as Daniel, Ezekiel, Zechariah, and Revelation, our senses are exercised to discern the good and evil surrounding us. We can sense that we are living within an environment that is hostile to the Deity of Jesus Christ, blasphemous to the Divine God, and ignores the presence of the Holy Spirit. We become skillful in presenting the Holy Scriptures rooted in Jesus Christ.

Through experience, we know that there is a presence in the world that has power over physiology and is able to form thoughts, emotions, feelings, and behaviors and is hostile to the Deity of Jesus Christ. It’s easy to put two and two together to know that it is the beast that gives breath/life to the image of the beast to speak by speaking and living through people. We are able to discern what thoughts and feelings belong in the temple of God, our body, and which do not. “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12

Our body is created to be the temple of the Holy Spirit, not the seat of government for the beast that has power over physiology and gives people what to feel, think, say, and do.

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“….to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets,“
‘I will not impose any other burden on you, except to hold on to what you have until I come.’”
“I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.”
Revelation 2:24-25, 3:11