Babes in Christ
Stop sipping secondhand—drink deeply from Christ Himself.
Devotional Credit: In Christ by E. Stanley Jones
Photo Credit: Unsplash
E. Stanley Jones gently confronts a widespread misunderstanding in today’s entry. Many of us think of “babes in Christ” as those who are brand-new believers—those still learning, still exploring the faith. But Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 3 challenge that assumption. He uses this phrase not to describe recent converts but rather long-time believers who, despite their knowledge and activity, are still spiritually immature. What was the mark of their immaturity? Divided allegiance.
Rather than resting solely in their identity in Christ, they found their sense of belonging in spiritual leaders—Paul, Apollos, and others. Their focus drifted from Christ Himself to the personalities or theological camps they followed. Jones warns that this is not a minor issue. When our faith becomes centered on human teachers, movements, or systems—even noble ones—we reveal our spiritual infancy. No matter how advanced we may appear, if Jesus is not the focal point of our trust and union, we are still babes in Christ.
It’s not a scolding. It’s a loving call to maturity. Christ alone is our source, our center, and our life. Anything less, no matter how decorated or doctrinally sound, stunts our growth.
✍🏼 Personalized Journal Entry – Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture
You are Mine—not Paul’s, not Apollos’s, not any teacher or tradition. I gave Myself for you that you might live through Me, not through the lens of another’s ministry. Though I have appointed shepherds, none of them can be your source. Only I can be your life. I do not compete with them—I complete them.
When you anchor your identity in camps or creeds, you remain rooted in the flesh, not the Spirit. But you are no longer of the flesh—you are Mine, joined to Me, one spirit with Me. I am not calling you to follow another’s shadow but to walk with Me in the light. Let Me draw you out of the nursery of divided loyalties and into the maturity of union with Me.
Spiritual maturity is not measured by who you follow but by Whom you abide in. You were never meant to be defined by systems or slogans but by your new creation life in Me. You are crucified with Me. It is no longer you who live, but I live in you. That life is not divided—it is whole, it is Mine, and it is yours.
Return to your first love, not sentimentally but actually. Rest in Me. Learn from Me. I am meek and lowly in heart. I have made you Mine that I might live through you—moment by moment, fully centered in Me.
Scriptures referenced: 1 Corinthians 3:1–4; 1 Corinthians 1:12–13; Galatians 2:20; 1 Corinthians 6:17; Matthew 11:29
🧼 Real-Life Analogy
It’s like trying to quench your thirst by sipping from someone else’s water bottle instead of drinking directly from your own tap. You admire their container, trust their filter, and talk about how refreshing their water is—but all the while, your own faucet flows with living water, untouched. Spiritual maturity comes when you stop sipping secondhand and start drinking deeply from Christ Himself.
🙏🏼 Prayer of Confidence
Jesus, thank You that I don’t need to identify with anyone but You. You are my identity, my nourishment, and my life. I’m grateful for the teachers You’ve placed in the Body, but I trust You alone to be my source. I rest in the truth that I belong wholly to You, and that You live fully in me. You have made me complete in Yourself—nothing added, nothing lacking. I rejoice that I no longer have to chase after camps or cling to names, for I am rooted and established in the One Name that is above every name.