C.A.C SUNDAY SCHOOL MANUAL FOR , MAY 29 & JUNE 5, 2022 UNIT THREE, LESSON TEN : TOPIC – FROM BABES TO FULL GROWN CHRISTIAN

C.A.C SUNDAY SCHOOL MANUAL FOR , MAY 29 & JUNE 5, 2022 UNIT THREE, LESSON TEN : TOPIC – FROM BABES TO FULL GROWN CHRISTIAN

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CHRIST APOSTOLIC CHURCH WORLDWIDE
SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON

THEME: GROW IN THE GRACE AND KNOWLEDGE OF OUR LORD

JANUARY – JUNE, 2022

UNIT THREE: GROWING IN THE GRACE AND KNOWLEDGE OF CHRIST

MAY 29 & JUNE 5, 2022

LESSON TEN

TOPIC: FROM BABES TO FULL GROWN CHRISTIAN

MEMORY SCRIPTURE
When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understand as a child, I thought as a child; and when I became a man, I put away childish things (1 Corinthians 13:11).

Babies are cute, but remaining childish in Christ, for life, amounts to carnality, and the end thereof is nothing to be desired.

BRIEF COMMENT
When a baby is born, family and friends rejoice and love to behold the beauty of such. No one cries or frowns at the sight or even the news of a newly born baby, because it brings along so much joy and unquantifiable excitement. And interestingly, as it is in the physical and biological, so it is in spiritual. For there is joy in heaven over a soul that repents (Lk. 15:7,10). However, being born unto the family of God is not the end. After a child has been born, Christened, and a ceremony has been held for his/her sake, what next? After the jubilation in heaven because of the sinner who has just repented and born into God’s kingdom, what next? Growth! Growth is meant to be natural, systematic and gradual. It is a fundamental and basic need of life. Spiritual growth is by both grace and conscientious efforts towards maturity. It is therefore God’s desire that His children grow on daily basis into the full stature of a perfect man, and of His Son, Jesus Christ (Eph. 4:13). A mature man knows what he stands for and is not easily tossed to and fro, like a little baby (Eph. 4:14). God desires that all Christians are made perfect through Christ by daily and consistent growth (Prov. 4:18). We must therefore realise that no parent is happy to see his/her child remain at the level or stage of birth. He/she expects the child to grow overtime as he/she is being invested upon. In the same way is God not happy about any of His children who is not growing spiritually. Alas! Spiritual growth enhances all other forms of growth in Him. Are you making God happy or sad? May we all receive the grace to grow in Him. Amen!

DEVOTIONAL BIBLE READINGS FOR WEEK ONE
Mon. May 30: Growth Comes From Abiding In Christ (Jn. 15:1-27)
Tue. May 31: Growth Comes From Being Planted Well (Psa. 1:3)
Wed. Jun. 1: Growth: Impossible Without Abiding In Christ Jn. 15:4-5)
Thur. Jun. 2: Growth Prevents Being Cast Out (Jn. 15:6)
Fri. Jun. 3: Growth Breeds Good Success and Prosperity (Jos. 1:8)
Sat. Jun. 4: Grow into Christ’s Full Stature (Eph. 4:13-14)

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT
1. It is normal to be born a baby, but abnormal to remain a baby for life. God expects our all-round growth.
2. A growing child is a delight, but a stagnant child is a prayer point. God is not proud of a non-growing child.

BACKGROUND SCRIPTURE: 1 Corinthians 13:11

AIM AND OBJECTIVES

AIM: To show that spiritual growth is highly imperative for any Christian who would enjoy the Christian race, maximally.

OBJECTIVES: At the end of this lesson, the learners should be able to:
i. define the concept of “growth” within the context of our relationship with Christ;
ii. defend the inevitability of growth towards Christlike maturity;
iii. define their levels of spiritual growth and maturity, and be ready to follow the biblical steps for their continuous growth; and
iv. explain how terrible immaturity is, thus necessitating maturity.

INTRODUCTION
TEXTUAL SOURCE: HEBREWS 5:11-14; 6:1-8; 1 PETER 1:22; 2:1FF; 2 PETER 1:1-4.

Glory, honour, adoration and praise to our Lord’s God, for His Word that comes to us on a regular basis. May we regain permanent partakers and beneficiaries of His ever-fresh Word, for our daily living, till Jesus comes. Amen.

The previous lesson (lesson 9) with the topic, ALL GROWTH IN KNOWLEDGE IS BY GOD’S GRACE, already revealed to us that godly knowledge leads to the right growth in Christ, as in being enabled by God’s grace. May all we have learnt from it never be lost, in Jesus’ name. Amen!

This lesson, the 10th, FROM BABIES TO FULL GROWN CHRISTIANS, seeks to emphasise firstly, the need to be born into Christ, in the first place. Secondly, the inevitability and importance of growth, as it pertains, most especially, to the grace and knowledge of Christ are to be looked into.

We must Be aware that anyone who refuses or fails to grow would soon begin to groan, and this includes groaning spiritually. It is therefore our utmost prayer that He, by Himself, helps us to maximally understand and put to practice, all that He is ready to impart in us in this lesson, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

INSTRUCTION TO EACH DIVISION:
This lesson has two major divisions, I and II. These are further subdivided into parts, A and B, respectively.

DIVISION I: BABIES ARE CUTE
This division firstly affirms the need to be born into God’s family, in the first place. Repenting of one’s sins, accepting Christ as Lord and Saviour, and being regenerated, are compared to the stages of conception, gestation, labour and then finally bringing forth a baby. So a baby-Christian is born into God’s family, by the Word of God, through the work of the Holy Spirit. However, the new-born baby must not remain as one. The division further talks about the daily need of the baby — sincere milk of the Word, for growth.

DIVISION II: BUT YOU MUST MATURE
This division picks up from where the first division stops
After being born, partaking of the sincere milk of the Word and growing gradually, the next expectation is maturity of the saint. It exposes the fact that it is not enough to be born into the family, but that it is expected over time, that one should grow into full maturity. This deals exclusively with the story state of any immature Christian, as well as emphasising the need to quit immaturity. Everyone rejoices at the sight of a baby, but the joy may soon disappear, if the same baby does not grow and become mature over time. After some time, the child is expected to graduate from feeding on breast milk to consuming solid food.

LESSON OUTLINE
I. BABIES ARE CUTE
A. BE BORN BY THE WORD
B. BE DESIROUS OF GROWTH

II. BUT YOU MUST MATURE
A. THE SORRY STATE OF IMMATURITY
B. THE NEED TO QUIT IMMATURITY

LESSON EXPOSITION
I. BABIES ARE CUTE (1 Peter 1 Peter 1:22-25; 2:1ff; 2 Peter 1:1-4)
Babies are a delight to behold! The sight of them playing, smiling (that innocent smile), their tenderness and fragility endears one to them so much that anyone would love to carry them in his/her hands. So it is, when a new Christian is born into God’s family. There is joy in heaven and peace on earth, and that gives a hope for gradual growth.

A. BE BORN BY THE WORD (1 Pet. 1:22-25; 2:1-2; 2 Pet. 1:1-4)
Having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible through the word of God which lives abides forever (1 Pet. 1:23).
i. 1 Pet. 1:22-23: We are born into God’s family by God’s Word (cf. Rom. 10:17) that purifiers the soul to make us new creation (2 Cor. 5:17). The environment of the new-born changes automatically. So it is in the Spirit. God’s Spirit works through His Word in bringing forth the baby who is also spiritual in nature, born with God’s ‘DNA’ (Jn. 3:3,6).
ii. v. 24: When a man becomes born again, he is immediately translated from the realm of the flesh to that of the Spirit; from death to life, and from the shakeable to the unshakable (Heb. 12:27-28; 1 Pet. 2:9).
iii. 2:1-2: One of the signs of the new birth is that, old (ungodly) habits are broken, making one a very different entity, desiring the pure milk of the Word in place of the former hunger for godliness — a changes in nature.
iv. vv. 3-4: Man becomes a partaker of the divine life and godliness through the grace and knowledge of Christ. This gets deeper and more intense as the individual continues to grow in the grace and knowledge.
v. v. Pet. 1:2: Having been born into God’s family by His Spirit and Word, May we begin to increase and multiply in the knowledge of God. Like the new-born babies, new Christians are to increasingly know God through daily into God’s family becomes dead in the realm of sin, and a new born baby into the realm of God which is eternal life (Rom. 6:11; 7:4; Gal. 5:24).

B. BE DESIROUS OF GROWTH (1 Pet. 2:2,3,9,10)
As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby (v.2).
i. v. 2: Like new born babies, new Christians must passionately desire (crave NIV; long for ESV; thirsty for GNT; earnestly desire AMP) and depend on the pure milk of God’s Word for their spiritual growth and sustenance, lest they either have stunted growth or die prematurely.
ii. v. 3: He who has truly tasted that the Lord is gracious finds it difficult to stop dining with Him, hence the craving for more of Him (cf. Phil. 3:10). That is called passion for spiritual growth towards Christlike maturity.
iii. vv. 9,10: God’s desire is that today’s babies grow and mature to the point where they can show forth His light as His chosen generation, holy nation with His DNA (cf. Rom. 8:29; Eph. 4:11,12). Growth is in stages, as men are in sizes.
iv. New Christians should desire growth. An heir isn’t allowed to take charge of his rightful inheritance until he grows to maturity, lest he abuses or misappropriates (Gal. 4:1-5). Even science affirms the indispensability of grow is as good as dead.
v. Moreover, our Lord Jesus grew all round (“Lk. 2:52). The path of the just would keep getting brighter (Prov. 4:18). That is growth! A Christian who isn’t growing is like a stagnant water, dirty, stinking, void of life, polluted, extremely unattractive and undesirable.
vi. A growing child is a delight and pleasure to behold, but the one with stunted growth is a prayer point on his/her own. In fact, it is disaster to have a king who is childish (Eccl. 10:16). The Christian must mature!
vii. When God created the earth, it was full of darkness and emptiness, but God did not rest until He fully got His desired structure. He kept speaking and working on the earth, until it became presentable and attractive to His taste (Gen. 1:1ff). This is a solid proof that our God loves improvement, achievement, development and progress. And so, He desires and demands that we also grow, improve, advance, and develop gradually until we eventually reach the perfect stature of Christ (Eph. 4:13).
viii. Nutritionists are of the opinion that children who are placed on exclusive beast-feeding against ailments and disease more than others develop. In the same way, newly born Christians who desire and partake of the sincere milk of the Word have stronger spiritual immunity and intelligence against the wiles of the devil, and are supplied with nutrients for their immediate growth which are also foundations to further growth.

LESSONS DERIVED
1. Only those who are born of God, by His Word, can possess His nature.
2. Growth is constantly for every living thing. One who is not growing is dead. God does not send baby soldiers to the war-front.

WORK TO DO
God only gives His fiercest battles to his toughest soldiers, not babies. Discuss.

SUGGESTED ANSWER TO WORK TO DO
i. Only those whom God has taught, tested and tried, can be trusted to handle tough and sensitive situations.
ii. For every serious tournament, the coach always puts forward his best players for a good results. So does God, the Greatest Coach.
iii. No manager or supervisor gives any sensitive task to a careless and non-detailed worker. He must have tested all his workers with various tasks at different times, judges their various performances and capability. From there, he knows who can handle what.
iv. Any Christian who does not grow is only short-changing him/herself in destiny. God is not proud of such because He cannot assign deep matters into his/her hands.
v. God knows and understands each of His soldier’s capacity and capability, He only gives each of them tasks to do according to their competence and strength.

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