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1 Corinthians 3:1
And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal,even as unto babes in Christ.

Hebrews 5:12,13
For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again whichbe the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat…

1 Peter 2:2
As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:

lest.

Deuteronomy 8:14
Then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the LORD thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage;

Deuteronomy 17:20
That his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment,to the right hand, orto the left: to the end that he may prolonghis days in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel.

2 Kings 14:10
Thou hast indeed smitten Edom, and thine heart hath lifted thee up: gloryof this, and tarry at home: for why shouldest thou meddle tothy hurt, that thou shouldest fall,even thou, and Judah with thee?

the condemnation.

Isaiah 14:12-14
How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! …

Luke 10:18
And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.

2 Peter 2:4
For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but castthem down to hell, and deliveredthem into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;

or he may become conceited
The danger of pride is a recurring theme in Scripture. Pride was the original sin of Satan, as seen inIsaiah 14:12-15, where the fall of Lucifer is described. This warning against conceit is a reminder that leadership in the church is a position of service, not of power or prestige. Jesus taught His disciples to be humble servants (Mark 10:42-45), and this principle is foundational for Christian leadership. The cultural context of the Greco-Roman world, where honor and status were highly valued, makes this warning particularly relevant.

and fall under the same condemnation as the devil
This phrase connects the potential downfall of a prideful leader to the fall of Satan. The devil's condemnation is a result of his rebellion against God, as described in passages likeEzekiel 28:12-17. The New Testament frequently warns against the dangers of pride and the spiritual warfare that believers face (Ephesians 6:10-18). The early church was aware of the spiritual realm and the reality of demonic influence, making this warning both practical and theological. The call to humility and vigilance is echoed throughout the New Testament, urging believers to resist the devil and remain steadfast in their faith (James 4:7).

• Paul is describing the qualifications for an overseer (1 Timothy 3:1-5). A brand-new believer has not yet walked long enough with Christ to be tested in doctrine, character, or endurance.

• Spiritual maturity comes through seasons of obedience, trial, and correction (Hebrews 5:14;Acts 14:22-23). Setting a novice in authority risks building ministry on enthusiasm rather than proven faithfulness.

•Titus 1:6-9 reinforces this pattern: elders are to be “blameless,” “self-controlled,” and “holding firmly to the trustworthy word.” Those traits develop over time, not overnight.

• Pride is the perennial snare of leadership. “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18).

• An inexperienced leader may confuse position with personal greatness, forgetting that every gift is grace (1 Corinthians 4:7).

• Peter exhorts, “All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble’” (1 Peter 5:5). Humility is the only safe soil for authority.

• Lucifer’s downfall was prideful self-exaltation (Isaiah 14:12-15;Ezekiel 28:17). The devil’s judgment—expulsion from God’s presence and ultimate doom (Revelation 20:10)—stands as a solemn warning.

• When a leader grows arrogant, he mirrors Satan’s rebellion and invites comparable judgment: loss of testimony, discipline by the church (1 Corinthians 5:5), and, if unrepentant, exposure before the watching world.

• God’s standard has not changed: “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you” (James 4:10). Elevation belongs to God; to seize it prematurely is to court the enemy’s fate.

Paul’s instruction is straightforward: church leaders must be seasoned believers whose lives demonstrate tested humility. Installing a recent convert risks inflating ego, repeating the devil’s proud revolt, and bringing reproach on Christ’s body. Time, discipleship, and proven character protect both the leader and the church, ensuring that authority rests on steadfast maturity rather than fragile enthusiasm.

Lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil.--The Greek word rendered here "being lifted up," would be more happily Englished bybeing clouded ordeluded. It marks the pride or vanity engendered by the finding himself in a position of authority for which no previous training and experience had fitted him. Such a "novice" would be in imminent danger of falling into the judgment passed by God upon the devil, whose fall was owing to the same blinding effect of pride.

(1) the same condemnation as that into which the devil fell through pride, - and so Chrysostom, Olshausen, Bishop Ellicott, Wordsworth, Alford, etc., take it; or

(2) the condemnation or accusation of the devil. In the latter caseκρῖμα would be used in the same sense asκρίσις inJude 1:9, and would mean the charge preferred against him by "the accuser of the brethren" (comp.Job 1:9;Job 2:4, 5). One of the senses ofκρίνω is "to accuse" - likeκατηγορεῖν (Liddell and Scott). And this view agrees withὀνειδισμὸν καὶπαγίδα τοῦ διαβόλου in ver. 7, which means, not the trap into which the devil fell, but the trap laid by the devil. It remains doubtful which is the true sense, but

(2) seems, on the whole, the most probable.The devil (τοῦ διαβόλου)can only mean Satan (Matthew 4:1;Matthew 13:39, etc.), though possibly conceived of as speaking by the mouth of traducers and vilifiers of the Church, as in ver. 7.

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