The Condescension of God
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  • Table of Contents
  • Chapters
    • To The Reader
    • 1 - The Condescension of God >
      • A Poetical Introduction: Look at the Cross
      • The Sovereignty of God in Determinate Counsel
      • God in the Ways of God
      • God in the Ways of Man
    • 2 - The Simultaneous Genuine Wills of God >
      • Lesser Matters
      • Weightier Matters
      • A Priestly Covenant
      • A Kingly Covenant
    • 3 - The Abrahamic Covenant >
      • Tracing the Abrahamic Covenant
      • The Exodus Generation Saved by Faith
      • Tracing Hebrews
      • Holy Mount Sinai
      • The Call, Mount, and Fear of the Prophet Like Unto Moses - Jesus Christ
      • Zion is the Mountain of our Covenant
    • 4 - The Exodus Generation >
      • The Exodus Generation - The Contrast of Simultaneous, Genuine, Paradoxical Wills in God
      • New Covenant Applications
    • 5 - Abrahamic Exemplification >
      • The Covenant Promises Subject to Conditions
      • Tracing Abraham's Life: The Trial of Faith
      • The Burden of Perfection
      • Understanding the Trial of Faith
    • 6 - The Davidic Covenant >
      • The Davidic Covenant: Seeking a Performance of the Promises
      • Bewilderment & Blindness by a Covenant Breached
    • 7 - Interceding Against Wrath >
      • Wrath Pursuing Sinners
      • Wrath Pursuing Saints
    • 8 - The Near Annihilation of God's People >
      • The Covenant of "the Called" in its Initiation: THE GREAT PAUSE
      • The Divine Struggle Continues
    • 9 - "I Am Weary With Repenting"
    • 10 - "Mercy On Whom I Will Have Mercy" >
      • "Mercy On Whom I Will Have Mercy"
      • Great Is Thy Faithfulness
      • His Mercy Endureth Forever
    • 11 - The Righteous Judgment of God >
      • The Righteous Judgment of God - By Principle: Horizontally & Vertically
      • Life - Tribe & Company
      • Life - City & Nation
      • Life - The Temple of God
    • 12 - The Glory of God in Wrath: Personification, Anthropomorphism, & Zoomorphism >
      • Personification, Anthropomorphism, & Zoomorphism
      • The Glory of God in Wrath
    • 13 - The Doctrine of Reprobation
    • 14 - The Damnable Abuse & Misapplication of Sovereign Election >
      • Jeremiah
      • Joshua
      • Jacob
      • Josiah
    • 15 - The Deception of God >
      • Froward for Froward
      • Eli
      • Balaam
      • Israel
      • Micaiah & Later Generations
      • Saints Who Recover - The Temporary Experience of the Deception of God
    • 16 - Have You Discerned Your "Day" & "Time" >
      • Where Is The Lord?
      • Spiritual Darkness
      • Spiritual Famine
      • Spiritual Drunkenness
      • Spiritual Drunkenness - Spiritual Infancy
    • 17 - A Biblical Study of Spiritual Infancy >
      • Introduction
      • The ROD
      • NT Darkness to Light: The Gospel of Regeneration
      • NT Foolishness to Wisdom: The Gospel of Regeneration
    • 18 - NT Lost to Saved - The Gospel of Regeneration >
      • The Gospel of Regeneration
      • Crucified/Mortified/Buried
      • Resurrected & Ascended
      • Baptized
      • Put on Christ
      • Quickened (Alive, Living, & Revived)
    • 19 - The Partial Completion of the Gospel >
      • Present Progressive Salvation Explained
      • Perfection
      • Blamelessness
      • Holiness & Sanctification
      • Without Spot & Blemish
    • 20 - The Gospel Calling
    • 21 - The Great Falling Away
    • 22 - The NT Gospel Call to Worthiness >
      • The NT Gospel Call to Worthiness
      • "GOD, HIS WAY IS PERFECT'
      • "GOD IS LOVE"
      • "GOD IS ONE"
      • GOD "IS HOLY"
      • GOD IS A STRANGER
      • GOD IS HEAVEN
      • "GOD IS LIGHT"
      • GOD IS GLORY & VIRTUE
      • GOD IS ETERNAL LIFE
    • 23 - The Condescension Withdrawn >
      • PATTERN #1: Our Only Hope - God's Faithfulness
      • Your Ascent or God’s Descent
      • PATTERN #2: God’s Eternality, Sovereignty, & Higher Righteousness Exalted
      • The NT Visitation of God – Final Judgment & Final Salvation
    • 24 - "The Goodness of God Leadeth Thee to Repentance" >
      • How is repentance wrought in the regenerate children of God?
      • "Groanings Which Cannot Be Uttered"
    • 25 - "Many Are Called But Few Are Chosen" >
      • Many Golden Chains: The Golden Chains Throughout History
      • The PURPOSE & INTENT for Salvation
      • NT Intercessions & NT Repentances
      • Called - Elect - Chosen - Foreknown
      • "Many Are Called But Few Are Chosen"
      • The Marriage & The Called, Chosen, and Faithful
      • The Epistles: A Commentary, Echo, and Practical Application of the Parables of Jesus Christ
      • A Pastor's Sermons to Make Sure Biblical Mercy
    • 26 - The Assurance of Eternal Election >
      • Believe His Word!
      • "What Manner of Love"
      • Concluding Statement
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Chapter 17: A Biblical Study of Spiritual Infancy

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NT Foolishness to Wisdom: The Gospel of Regeneration
Initial Salvation – The Gospel by Promise
“But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.”
-1 Cor. 1:24

“But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, Who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.” -1 Cor. 1:30


Introduction
The ROD
NT Darkness to Light: The Gospel of Regeneration
NT Foolishness to Wisdom: The Gospel of Regeneration
Present Progressive Salvation – The Gospel by Command
“Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.” -James 3:13-18 
Need I say more about the eternal destiny of fools than what has already been referenced in Ephesians 5:15-17 and Matthew 25:1-13? But there is much, much more! Wisdom in those passages is expressively where the Divine Life of Christ abides, and therein is eternal life. This is confirmed again in James 3:13-18. According to this passage, if you are without heavenly wisdom, then you are without the “perfection of fruits” (Lk. 8:14) which the Father looks after with demand, for God has chosen you from this world to make you wise in Him (1 Cor. 1:27). The worldly-wise Corinthian is snared in what James calls “wisdom that descendeth not from above,” wisdom that is rather “earthly, sensual,” and even “devilish” (James 3:15)! Devilish wisdom exhibits the character of demons. Devilish wisdom exhibits the character of the devil’s world (2 Cor. 4:4). If a man bears the evil fruits of foolishness, then the world will hear and understand him very well (1 John 4:5-6), even in popular esteem (Lk. 6:26), but if a man is in the wisdom of God, the world will hate him (1 John 3:13). The world is like an antichrist harlot who seduces the spiritual fools away from the wisdom of virginity (2 Cor. 11:2-4), purity (Matt. 5:8), and marital faithfulness (Jas. 4:4). She, the harlot of hypocritical religion, “subtil of heart” (Prov. 7:10), sets her seductive eyelids a-fluttering toward fools. She doeth it as a pursuer of them, as it were, just as it was written of old – “For at the window of my house I looked through my casement, and beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the youths, a young man void of understanding, passing through the street near her corner; and he went the way to her house, in the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night: and, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot, and subtil of heart” (Prov. 7:6-10). Therefore, God saith, “without are…whoremongers” (Rev. 22:15).
“Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.” -James 4:4
“Mrs. Worldly-Wise Christianity” loves the fools, and she hunts them with her venomous lusts! Even by sexual lewdness they will know her – by adultery (James 4:4) – and that, against GOD! But the adultery will be subtle to the eye, you see, like a secret crime done for one dark night. It will be a covering up of carnality with religious shows of reputable religiosity, men glorying in men and lying against the truth (Jas. 3:14).  Saints ought to live out their wise, pure, regenerate natures, walking in virginity, as a Bride that is “holy and without blemish” (Eph. 5:27), a nature which the world does not know, a nature that the world utterly even hates (1 John 3:1, John 17:14-16)! “Let no man deceive himself. IF any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise” (1 Cor. 3:18). This is the gospel by command! Do you hear it? “Let him become a fool that he may be wise” (1 Cor. 3:18). But Oh! How often do saints turn back to baby, blamable, dark, drunken, foolish, adulterous “Christianity,” a worldly, cool, civilized, acceptable “Christianity” that is not worthy to be called Christianity at all! They are therefore “carnal, and walk as men” (1 Cor. 3:3), rendered unable to receive the meats of saving wisdom (1 Cor. 2:6), and they are henceforth unable to go on with God, because they have left off saving faith and repentance (Heb. 6:1). Becoming carnal, now they abide in death (Rom. 8:6-7), fast asleep on Delilah’s knees, arising again but at enmity with God and apostolic exemplification. Will you then understand the rebuke of Paul now, as he said it to the worldly-wise, baby-fools, and carnal-Corinthians? 
“Now ye are full, now ye are rich, ye have reigned as kings without us: and I would to God ye did reign, that we also might reign with you. For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men. We are fools for Christ's sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honourable, but we are despised. Even unto this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwelling place; And labour, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it: Being defamed, we intreat: we are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day” (1Co 4:8-13).

“…Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me…my ways which be in Christ, as I teach every where in every Church” (1Co 4:16-17).
The Gospel By Promise (FINISHED IN THE PAST)

God tells you what He has done.
How He walked.

~ Imputed Righteousness (Rom. 8:10, Eph. 2:8-9, 1 Cor. 6:11)~

2) Wise
  • 1 Cor. 1:24, 30
The Gospel By Command (AT PRESENT)

God tells you what you must do, in Him & through Him.
How you must walk, in Him & through Him.

~Works Righteousness (1 Cor. 6:9-10, Eph. 2:10)~
Walk: Col. 2:6, Gal. 5:16, 25, Eph. 4:17, 5:8, 1 Cor. 3:3, 1 John 2:6

2) Wise
  • Matt. 25:1-13, Eph. 5:15-17,
  • James 1:5, 3:13-18, 1 Cor. 1:27, 2:6, 13, 3:1, 18, 4:8-10, 16 – Rom. 2:19-20

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