It has been said in previous chapters that there is a progression through which we must all pass on the road to mature sonship. I believe this is verified as we look at the Greek words which have been variously translated as "Sons" of God and or "Children" of God. Eph.4:15 tells us that as we speak the truth in love "...we will in all things grow up into Him who is the head, that is Christ. From him the whole body ... grows and builds itself up in love as each part does its work." (emphasis added)
What is our starting point in this maturing process? Eph.4:14 uses the Greek word nepois, which is translated "infants". According the Bauer's Greek English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Writings, this means "veritable babes." In and of itself, this is not a negative stage of development. Indeed, I Pe.2:2 tells us "like newborn babes crave pure spiritual milk so that by it you may grow up into salvation." (This time the Greek word brephos is used to describe a newly born baby)
We must crave this stage; yet, look at what Paul says about those who choose to remain nepois.
"... (T)hough by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's Word all over again. You need milk, not solid food. Anyone who lives on milk, being still and infant (nephois) is not acquainted with teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. Therefore, let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity." (parenthesis added Heb.5:12-14 & 6:1)
That verse is filled with more solid food then we may realize.
First of all, it clearly says that the mature have reached that status by constant use of solid food. You cannot remain an infant in the Lord and at the same time reach maturity, for as we can clearly see, maturity is beyond the nephosis stage. In fact, I Cor.13:11 clearly directs us to put this stage behind us. Just as interesting though is the fact that the word for 'maturity' used in Heb.6:1 is the same word used for 'perfect' in Matt.5:48 wherein Jesus said, "Be perfect therefore as your Heavenly Father is perfect." That is a clear direction from God Himself for us to move beyond babyhood into maturity. However, we should not be ashamed of being infants when we first turn our lives over to Jesus. Gal.3:29 and 4:1-2 comforts us by saying that even at this stage we are still heirs of the promise. However, it also admonishes us that our ability to function while in this stage of immaturity is severely limited because we are "..subject to guardians and trustees."
There is however one area in which we are not to develop, and this introduces us to another Greek word which has been translated "Child." I Cor.14:20 warns us to stop thinking like paidions, ie. babies, when it comes to Christ; yet, in regards to evil we are to be babies. In short, we are to remain ignorant of evil, but grow up in our knowledge of Christ. Matt.2:8,9 & 11 describe the young child Jesus whom the magi saw as a paidion. In terms of development, this is a child somewhere between a new-born and a preschooler. For lack of a better term I will use the word `toddler' to describe a paidion.
Turning to John 21:5 we find this word used in an interesting way. The KJV says in part, "...children (paidion) have you any meat?" The Greek word for 'friend' is hetairos, not paidion (Matt.26:50, 22:12, 20:13. see also philos John 15:15, Ja.2:23, Lk.7:34 & 11:5). Why was Jesus using a word which denotes someone in the toddler stage of development to call His disciples? He was not making fun of them, nor was He angry with them. However, He was in effect saying that they were immature. Why were they out fishing in the first place? Had not these same disciples given up the occupation of fishing back in Lk.5:10 in order to follow Jesus? Did not Jesus call them in Matt.4:19 to be fishers of men? They had not worked as fishermen for 3 1/2 years. Why all of a sudden did they go back to their old trade?
These men had not yet received the baptism of the Holy Spirit and I Cor.2:14 clearly tells us that without the Spirit of God no man can understand that which is from God. At this time these physical men were spiritual paidions, toddlers as it were, and they could not understand what it was they were to do now. After all, their Messiah had been crucified, and while He had appeared to them at least once since He had risen, they had no idea what their function was to be at this time.
They had not been given the great commission, nor had they been given the power or ability to fulfill it. In a very real sense Peter was saying, "I don't know what to do next, so I might as well as go fishing." Again though, we must not criticize or be ashamed of going through this stage. In Lk.18:17 and Mk.10:15 Jesus said that only those who receive Him as paidions will enter the Kingdom of God. We must accept Him with a toddler-like faith; yet this is not maturity. As is true in the natural realm, it is impossible in the spiritual realm to progress from nursery school to 8th grade without first completing kindergarten and grades 1-7.
However, the amount of time we as individuals spend in each stage is dependent more upon us then we like to admit. How many times do we have to have something happen to us before we learn a lesson? How many times must God say something to us before it sinks in? Do you think God will "promote" you to the next grade of spiritual maturity if you have failed to learn the lessons being taught where you are? In I Cor.3:2 Paul says, "I gave you milk not solid food for you were not ready for it." As in Heb.5:14 we see here that spiritual meat will not be given to those who need milk. The reason is given in I Cor.3:10-13 wherein we see that fire will test the quality of each man's building. Every level, every stone must be solid. If the base upon which a succeeding level is built is faulty, the entire building will be lost.
Failure to comprehend and understand is not God's fault. It is a result of our own spiritual immaturity. In Heb.5:11 the Holy Spirit says, "We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn ... by this time you ought to be teachers ..." God told us in Ps.119:130 that His word gives light and brings understanding to the simple. Indeed His word is with us from our spiritual infancy, the nepois stage (II Tim.2:15). Since His anointing teaches all things (I John 2:27) and His Spirit has come to guide us into all truth (John 16:13), and He promises wisdom to those who ask (Ja.1:5), the failure to go beyond milk cannot be His. That is not to say that we do not reach points where the questions get tougher, and the answers may seem harder to come by, but God promises to answer those who seek him and search for those answers as for hidden treasure (Prov.2:4).
After the toddler/preschool stage comes childhood - for sake of discussion let us say from ages 5-12. The Greek word for this is pais. It was the children who cried out in the temple "Hosanna to the Son of David" in Matt.21:15. This fulfilled the prophecy of Ps.82:2 as shown in Matt.21:16, "From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise." The disciples were unable to drive the spirit from the child in Matt.17:18, and it was a young maiden whom Jesus raised in Lk.8:54 saying, "My child, get up."
It was the boy Jesus, age 12, who went to the Passover Feast with His parents in Lk.2:43. At age 12 a Jewish boy goes through the bar mitzvah ceremony. At this time in His life he changes from a child to a young man, a teenager as it were. For three days Jesus was in the temple being about His Father's business (v.49). (Note, this is a clear foreshadow of the three days in the grave during a future Passover that He has yet to face.) At this time Jesus, as a physical being, went through the change from childhood to young adult. Mary recognized this, for she no longer called Him pais. In vs 48 she said, "Son why have you treated us like this?" In calling Him 'son' she used the Greek word teknon, which as we will see, could be loosely translated as "teenager" or "adolescent."
The next stage in maturity is revealed. Note, this stage is not automatic to all who are saved. The jailer in Acts 16:30-31 asked Paul, "What must I do to be saved?" Paul responded, "... believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved." Now turn to John 1:12. "Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name He gave the right to become children (teknon) of God." (KJV says "Sons of God" - emphasis added) Those who believe are saved, but they still have something to `become.' That something is 'children' or teknons of God. I John 3:10 gives us a glimpse into the qualifications for this stage of maturity when it says, "This is how we know who the children (teknon) of God are and who the children of the devil are: anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; neither is anyone who does not love his brother." (parenthesis added)
In I Pe.1:14 God tells us that teknons are obedient to Him, no longer conforming to the old desires we had before we were saved. There is a definite indication of obedience to rules, yet Ro.8:16 shows us that the Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's teknons. The teknon, or teenager, is in the position of following rules and at the same time attempting to be led by the Spirit. It is almost a mixture of law and grace.
The teenager is halfway between childhood and adulthood. He is not yet able to deal with all the responsibilities of adult-hood, and as a result he has not yet been given all the privileges of adulthood, although they are available to him as soon as he matures. Notice, I am not saying this mixture of law and grace leads to salvation in the realm of the Spirit. However, there is a stage of maturity beyond teknon which cannot be reached without first becoming a spiritual teenager. Teenagers must follow some well defined rules although they have less rules to follow and more freedom then does a child in the pais group. That is why Ro.8:21 can speak of the "glorious freedom of the children (teknon) of God" even though there are still guidelines which a teenager needs to follow. The teknon is not under the same degree of restriction as is a pais; therefore, comparing the two, there is a glorious freedom for the teknon.
However, there is more. In I John 3:2 John writes, "Dear friends, now we are children (teknons) of God and what we will be has not yet been made known." (parenthesis added) There is still a further stage. That stage has not been revealed in terms of people reaching it yet, but I John 3:2 continues by saying that while it has not been made known, "when He appears we shall be like Him." II Pe.1:17 says Jesus "received honor and Glory from God the Father when the voice came to Him from the majestic Glory saying, "This is my Son, whom I love, with Him I am well pleased." This account of the transfiguration uses the Greek huios to describe Jesus as a 'Son' of God. The term itself is almost generic in nature, but as you look through a Greek concordance, you will notice that whenever the term "Son of God" is used to describe a mature or Manifested Son of God, ie. one in whom the Glory of God physically shines forth, the word huios is the only one used. A mature son of God is never called a brephos, nepois, paidion, pais or teknon.
According to Matt.17:2 Jesus' glory on the Mount of Transfiguration was manifested in the physical realm as follows: "...His face shone like the sun and His clothes became white as the light." It is this stage of maturity that awaits those who are fully committed to him and are sold out to Him 100% in Spirit Soul, and Body. We are commanded by God to go on to this stage of 'maturity' or as we saw earlier in this chapter "perfection." Ro.8:29 tells us "...for those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son (huios) that He might be the firstborn among many brothers." (parenthesis added)
We are to be conformed to this likeness, this Glory, of Jesus. Jesus suffered and died for all men, but we are told in Heb.2:10 that part of His purpose was to bring many sons (huios) to glory. All human history is pointing towards the return of Jesus, but along with that "... the creation waits in eager expectation for the sons (huios) of God to be revealed" (Ro.8:19 parenthesis added).
Is every believer on earth going to be a huios or a mature manifested son in the physical realm? Rev.21:7 says "he who overcomes will inherit all this I will be His God and he will be My son (huios) (parenthesis and emphasis added). How many Christians do you know who are content to remain where they are in their walk with the Lord? I Cor.3:2 said no meat until they could handle the milk first.
There is a progression, and we must go through each stage. II Cor.3:8 showed that while there was a glory attached to the ministry of the Law, it will pale compared to the glory revealed in the ministry of the Spirit. "Those who are led by the Spirit of God are the Sons (huios) of God." (Ro.8:14 parenthesis added) Note, that verse doesn't say those who are led by a combination of law and spirit. It says those who are led by the "Spirit" are God's sons. Teknons, or spiritual teenagers, are not yet huios of God as set forth in Ro.8:14, but they are still sons, or teknons of God as set forth in I John 3:2. In the same way, newborn babes in Christ are not teknons the minute they believe, yet they have a right to become teknons of God (I John 1:12).
This is not to say that rules and regulations are wrong. Nor am I saying that we do not need to follow the ten commandments. The point is, a truly mature adult follows rules not because they are written down somewhere, or because some leader says to do it. He follows them because they are an ingrained and engrafted part of his personality. He knows that they work, and why they work. He follows the Spirit of the law, and not necessarily the letter of it.
A baby is not under the law. Do you spank or reprimand a 5 month old who flings his rattle at you, cries at 2:00 AM, or wets the bed? No, yet the same father will reprimand a preschooler or young child for some of the same things. A pais is under strict rules and must adhere to them for his own good. The teen (teknon) is given more freedom, but there are still times when he must comply to the letter of the law. Yet in the realm of the Spirit as it relates to our physical body, death is the result of the law. In II Cor.3:6 Paul says, "He made us competent as ministers of a new covenant-not of the letter, but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
The whole concept of Law vs Spirit, and the mixture of the two will be covered in another chapter. This one has been written simply to show that there is a progression and stages through which we all must pass. The amount of time we have known God, or our physical age is not the criteria. Look at Job 32:4-9. There we see that the younger friend has the wisdom and not the older ones. Vs. 7-9 tell us "... it is the Spirit in a man, the breath of the Almighty that gives him understanding, it is not only the old who are wise, not only the aged who understand what is right."
Similarly, years of seminary training alone do not cause a believer to pass from brephos to teknon. Paul tells us in Gal.1:14 that he was devout and zealous in his defense of the Scriptures as he learned them. According to Acts 23:6 he was himself a Pharisee. Where did his training without the Holy Spirit lead him? "Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples." (Acts 9:1) It wasn't until Paul spent 72 hours with Jesus, and received the Holy Spirit that he began to mature (Acts 9:9& 17).
We have a God who loves us and guides us (John 3:16 & 16:13), yet He deals with His children in different ways depending upon where they are in terms of maturity. He is still unchanging and He is fair. He deals with all teknons the same and with all pais the same, but He deals with teknons differently then He does with pais. To become mature sons (huios) of God and have Him deal with us and say unto us "This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased", we will have to go through the maturing and refining process. Truly we will have to walk as Jesus did. (I John 2:6)
1) brephos = newborn
2) nephois = baby
3) paidion = toddler
4) pais = child 5 - 12 yrs
5) teknon = teenager
6) huios = mature