Puffed up or Built up—Which?
The plain Anglo-Saxon rendering of the last part of the first verse of the eighth chapter of 1 Corinthians is, “Knowledge puffeth up, but love buildeth up.” There is quite a difference between the two processes, and they represent very well two classes of professed Christians to be found in every church; namely, the puffed-up professor and the built-up Christian. The former is like a balloon, the latter like a house. The former is developed from the top, the latter rises from a low but secure foundation. (Highest types are referred to.) The balloon Christian makes the greatest show at first, the built-up Christian endures. The balloon Christian is puffed up with conceit, arrogance, vanity, pride, self-sufficiency, popularity, all of which are based on a very superficial knowledge, which seems to be something when it is not. He (or she) imagines that he knows it all, is superior to his brethren in great attainments, and really did the Lord and the church a favor by uniting with it. “Knowledge puffeth up.” The second class is built up. They do not begin in the air, but low down. They have “digged deep” (Luke 6:48), and have laid the foundation on the Rock Christ Jesus (1 Cor. 3:11). The word of God’s grace (Acts 20:32) furnishes the material by which their character grows, or is built up, each particle added to the building being cemented by the Spirit of life to that already built, so that the whole becomes one living rock structure. And thus it grows day by day, year by year, not always showing great beauty in its rugged outlines, but, nevertheless, continually growing more and more beautiful as it nears the perfection of the pattern after which it was designed by the great Master Architect. In its highest type the balloon Christian is attractive to the multitude as his gorgeous colors and mammoth outline are swayed to and fro by the various winds of doctrine, but he is a poor shelter and a risky refuge. He may lift a few for a little while, but he always brings them down at great risk, often with certain destruction. Punctured by the least accident or trial, he collapses. He may be patched up and inflated again and again, but his texture grows weaker each time; till, finally, he collapses by his own weight, and perhaps destroys others in his fall. Many such Christians are of toy-balloon size, never much noticed, never depended upon, always expected to burst or be blown away. Some are mammoth affairs and draw large crowds, but all are of the same character; they are merely “puffed up.” A house does not attract particular attention from curiosity seekers. In a gala summer day it is forgotten. But it is useful to shelter and protect, a “hiding-place from the wind,” “a covert from the tempest,” a refuge from the storm. It is depended upon in storm and wind, in cold and heat. And such a character is lasting, enduring, permanent, if built upon Christ Jesus and in His way. Fellow Christian, are you a balloon Christian, or a house Christian? Are you puffed up, or built up? Are you feeding on human knowledge, conceit, or pride, or on the word and love of God? It will make a vast difference in the great judgment-day. Examine yourselves now, whether ye be in the faith.