Weaker brothers, weaker vessels, weak in the faith, but possibly fulfilling Matthew 18:3 more than many who have been called to be masters.
“And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.”
My lovely wife could not be considered a conversationist, nor one who might expound at any length on any portion of the Scriptures, but I have witnessed tears flowing from her face and heard her voice cracking while attempting to read Isaiah fifty-three, when professing her love for the Lord Jesus Christ.
If I were to consider myself in thought and action for the glory of the Most High, it would be that of a soldier, one who is given orders, and while fighting with my flesh, I obey those orders. I have no desire whatsoever to hug the Lord Jesus Christ, and there is no shame, in fact, there is nothing but complete joy in the knowledge that those weaker vessels can barely wait to hold Him in their grasp.
“So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.” (John 21:15)
Three times He asked it of Peter, He never once needed to broach that subject with Mary Magdalene.
I personally believe that John, “The disciple Jesus loved,” was in a sense and for a time, a weaker vessel, but one whose love may have outshined all the other disciples. Love is the recurring theme in all four of the books he was chosen to write, the fifth book, Revelations, I personally believe he was used to write to reveal, in part, to him, that the Lord Jesus Christ is not only love. And I also personally believe that John’s growth from that weaker vessel to one of a more fulfilling understanding of the Living God was when he penned, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” (Rev. 22:20b)
Even so, not words easily said by one who now sees the future of mankind, of pain and suffering.
“For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.” (Matt. 24:21)
Weaker vessels must never be overfilled, filled too quickly, or left as they are, there is a fine line to adhere to. They can be damaged easily, and it is not our place, the place of the soldier, to determine how much is too much or enough. But I also firmly believe that every weaker brother or sister that Paul, or any man of God, has ever met will never leave them as they found them.
No one who is stagnant grows in the grace and knowledge of the Lord, but the teacher must use great caution not only in the amount of knowledge that is imparted to that weaker vessel, but in the manner in which it is offered.
Those who teach the very young do not read the accounts of the Almighty saying that He will have no pity, they do not recount the times that the Lord killed people to them. But we are not to remain either children in our minds or in our faith.
“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17)
You must also realize this truth; physical age has no relation to Spiritual age. I have met many in my life much older than myself whom the question could be asked of, are they yet babes in the Word, weaker brothers and sisters still, or have they all these years only had a form of godliness?
Those who study to show themselves approved must invariably reach a point in their walk with Christ where they are going to need to accept in faith certain contexts of the Scriptures that may not sit well with them. Do not let them in your house, the wrath of God abides on them, they are darkness, not of or in the light.
As there are growth pains in the body, there are growth pains in our Spiritual growth. Do not force the weaker vessels to grow, you were there once yourself, but do not resist offering them the truths of the Word of God in love.
