I Corinthians 13:10-12, “But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. When I was a child I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child, but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then I shall know even as I also am known.”
God created Adam and Eve as grown adults, but with the innocence of children, and placed them in a beautiful garden-type world where everything they needed was freely provided for them. There was no toil, no stress, no pain, no sorrow, no suffering, no heartache, no misunderstandings, no violent weather, no wild animals, no sickness, no disease, and no separation from the spiritual world of angels and their Creator. God walked with them each evening.
When Lucifer rebelled against his creator in God’s third heaven, he lost his legal authority to have fellowship with God and His angels. Lucifer was cast out, becoming Satan: the one who obstructs or opposes all that is of God, all that is innocent, pure, and holy.
Anything and anyone separated unto God’s pleasure was violated; the sanctified became filthy, the holy became defiled, the innocent became corrupt. Jesus said the devil came to steal, kill and destroy. (John 10:10) You see this truth demonstrated daily on the evening news broadcasts.
Adam and Eve were soon visited in the garden by Satan; and tested on whether they would keep the command of their Creator to not eat from the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Satan knew that if they disobeyed, they would be like him and be cast out from God’s fellowship; as he had been cast out from Heaven. He also knew that they would become like gods, or the fallen angels, knowing the difference between good and evil, and thus surrender their legal authority to rule over the earth; as God had given them the directive to have dominion over all of creation. Their authority over the earth was based on their innocence, their purity, and their separation unto all that is holy and just before Yahweh.
The Old Testament is full of battles between good and evil, right and wrong; with men trying to live for a Holy God, while giving in to the desire to be their own gods and worshiping demons as idols. War after war is fought over ruling the cities of the earth, between evil and righteous judges and kings. Only a few men are able to remain separated unto Yahweh in obedience and sanctification; by refusing to live for the desires of the flesh and refusing to bow down before man-made idols. Many of these idols, or gods, of this world demanded the sacrifice of their innocent children in fire to appease their anger and to secure their favors. This is how much hate for God the devil has; that he hesitates not to destroy the most innocent of God’s creation: children. The Old Testament was full of corruption, defilement, and filthy behavior. Satan had control of the earth through mankind’s disobedience to God. Think of all the missing children and young people in today’s news, and of the over 1 million abortions each year in America.
The New Testament presents John the Baptist announcing that the Kingdom of God is coming and that mankind needs to prepare the way of the Lord by repenting of rebellious behavior. Jesus is baptized by John the Baptist; and God immediately overshadows Him with the Dove of the Holy Spirit, with an anointing to conquer Satan and his works of darkness. Jesus does this by living separated from the disobedient actions of man, and by speaking the Light and Truth of God’s Word into His surroundings. Jesus demonstrated the purity, holiness, and sanctity of His Father by His daily living of prayer, fasting, and obedience.
When He saw sickness, disease, pride, coveting, lust, greed, abuse of authority, self-righteousness, injustice, and the defilement of His Father’s House, He became both compassionate and angry; rebuking the evil spirits behind the corruption of His Father’s creation. Yes, there is a righteous anger when it comes to defending that which is holy, pure and just before our Heavenly Father. Paul taught us to not go to bed angry, that we could be angry without sinning; but anger was not to control us by becoming a way of life.(Ephesians 4:26) Jesus demonstrated this type of righteous anger, as well as Paul and others in the Book of Acts.
Christians need to rise up with this righteous anger and rededicate themselves to intercessory prayer for those enslaved by demonic self-destroying lifestyles and by demon inspired Antichrist teachings and laws being promoted by Hollywood, our government, and false occult religious teachers.
The Bible speaks a lot about children. Children are a heritage of the Lord. Children are the crown of old men. Malachi prophesied that God, in the end time, would turn the hearts of the children back to the fathers and the hearts of the fathers back to the children. Jesus allowed little children to come close to Him, taking them up into His arms to bless them, teaching us that the Kingdom of God is entered by becoming as little children. Whoever humbles himself as a little child will be greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Our mindset needs to be like a child, not in childish thinking and behavior, but in simplicity. Children have a way of believing everything you say as fact. It is only when we grow up that we question everything. Faith is what moves the heart of God. Children also compete with each other in games, but show amazing humility. Jesus and the Word teach us over and over to humble ourselves if we are to be exalted.
The letters to the churches by the Apostles refer to believers as children of God, adopted into the family of God, children of Abraham or children of faith, children of Light, children of the Day; and as such believers in Christ, become joint-heirs with Christ to our Heavenly Father’s Kingdom and its provisions.
Young’s Literal Translation says, “Brethren, become not children in the understanding, but in the evil be ye babes, and in the understanding become perfect.” (I Corinthians 14:20)
We are to think like the Word of God, or the Mind of Christ, but we are to be sincerely humble and forgiving as little children. Jesus said to be wise as serpents or demons, but innocent and harmless as doves, as He sends us out into the world as sheep among wolves. (Matthew 10:16)
The Epistles go on to teach that children are to be in subjection and obedience to their parents, not unruly, not disobedient, and we as God’s children are to keep ourselves from idols. Mothers are to guide the house, with the children as a model of obedience to their earthly and Heavenly Fathers. Fathers are not to provoke their children to anger, but to bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. Paul says the children are made holy by the believing parent of the household, where only one parent serves the Lord.
Paul teaches the head or authority of Christ is His Father. The head or authority of man is Christ. The head or authority of woman is her husband. The head or authority of the child is the parents. He went so far as to say that a woman should pray to her Heavenly Father with her head covered, because of the angels. This refers back to the Days of Noah and the fallen angels.
Hebrews 12:1 says, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.”
We know that God sees all and that angels encamp around those who reverence Him; and we know that many men and women died believing in their Christ as God’s Son and their Savior. We also know that we wrestle against not just flesh and blood beings but against evil spirits that rule over this fallen world. The Holy Spirit and holy angels are always involved in the lives of those who overcome evil with good. The purpose of the Holy Spirit is to give us spiritual authority to deny the flesh and the devil by being Born Again into a child of God. Unfortunately, many Christians fail to set themselves apart to obedient living to their God, thus limiting the Holy Spirit’s fruit in their lives.
Child-like humility, together with purity of motive and intention in our behavior and words, plus our obedience and subjection to the spiritual authority over us, is a very real demonstration to this cloud of witnesses that we are God’s children of the Day and Light; bringing the protection and blessings of God’s Holy Spirit and His holy angels to minister to us as heirs of His salvation.
The holy angels rejoice over one sinner repenting; and the Heavenly Father rejoices over the prodigal son or daughter who humbles themselves to return to His fold as a lost sheep.
Can you imagine how upset the devil is when we refuse to rebel against our Maker by insisting on doing things our own way? He hates everything about Christians and the ministry of God; and is using many people to attack all those who try to uphold what God says is Truth and Righteous. Jesus said His followers would be hated of all men for His Name’s sake.
We can convince our own blinded minds that we know better than our Creator, for a season, but there comes a day in every child’s life when he/she realizes that his parents may have known what they were talking about after all. Proverbs 21:2 says, “People may be right in their own eyes, but the Lord examines their heart.”
A boy scout was on a plane with a pilot, a minister, and a computer whiz. The plane developed engine problems and was beginning to dive. There were only three parachutes. The pilot said that he had a wife and four kids, took a chute and jumped. The computer whiz said that he couldn’t die, with all his knowledge, so he took another chute and jumped. The minster says to the boy scout, “I have lived a long, full life and you’re just a young man. You take the last parachute, I’ll go down with the plane.”
The boy scout says, “Mr. Minister, don’t worry about it. The brilliant computer whiz grabbed my knapsack by mistake.”
A lot of us are too smart for our own good. We think more of ourselves than we ought to. We think we are a life whiz, but every time we jump out, we land flat on our face. Only God has what we need to be able to jump out and land on our feet. All we need to do is humble ourselves and submit to Him and His structure of Spiritual Authority.