1 Corinthians 13:11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.

I get it, but I dare say this is not clear to everyone.

What was given up? Speech, thoughts, and reasoning. That does not say that we stopped acting like a child. In the human sense when we play with our children, we are being one with them, acting like a child.

Now we are one with God, a child of God, but God the Father is not a child and does not play with his children. He sent His Son Jesus Christ to earth to experience what it feels like to play like a child.

We know very little about the childhood of our savior. We do not know his speech, thoughts and reasoning when he was a child.

Luke 4:16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read.

We have no documentation that says how old Jesus was when He was granted permission to read the Torah before men. We have to look to Jewish tradition to understand when that might have occurred. Much of his life up and until He began his ministry can only be viewed by understanding Jewish tradition.

Luke 2:40-47 English Standard Version

40 And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him. 41 Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. 42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom. 43 And when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it, 44 but supposing him to be in the group they went a day’s journey, but then they began to search for him among their relatives and acquaintances, 45 and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, searching for him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.

We know nothing of Jewish traditions if we are not Jewish. Searching the New Testament does not answer all our questions. What purification rites were administered to Jesus?

Luke 2:22 And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord

Romans 7:18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.

I have always found Romans chapter 7 to be perplexing. If I desire to do what is right why can’t I do it? Why am I incapable? I do good things every day, at least I think I do. Am I wrong?

Thank God that Paul didn’t stop there and went on to chapter 8. Clarity of my two faces is found there.

Romans 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.

This law of the Spirit of life does not replace the law of sin and death but is rather the ruling force of the Spirit that has been given to direct our actions according to the will of God and not our good intentions.

John 13:34-35 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.

The flesh is still subject to the law of sin and death. The Spirit is not because He is God.

Romans 8:5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.

We live by the flesh but if  we choose to obey the Holy Spirit who directs all our choices to swerve the will of God we are not acting out our own desires. Does that mean we cannot do anything unless the Spirit gives us a commandment?

Let me explain by an example from my life. Upon the death of my first wife I received a call from the company insurance carrier that the insurance claim was misidentified. It should have been coded accidental, doubling my compensation. I prayed to God, “Let your will be done in this. If it is to be changed, show the error to the person who needs to change it.” My thinking was simple in that if an error had been made, let it not be mine. His answer came back clearly. 

“You got this!”

God does not need to intervene on our behalf for everything. We have the right to take care of things in this world. His realm is spiritual. The Spirit responds to the will of God and not my own fears and anxiety. I called HR and the matter was correct in minutes. We live in this world in the flesh. We have the ability to make choices which are earthly in design. “You got this!”