When I was an inarticulate babbler, I spoke as an inarticulate babbler, I framed the mind as an inarticulate babbler, I reasoned as an inarticulate babbler. When I become a man, I rendered ineffective the things of the inarticulate babbler (1 Corinthians 13:11).
An inarticulate babbler refers to an individual whose speech lacks clarity, coherence, or effective expression. The term denotes a person whose communication is poorly structured and difficult to comprehend, often due to insufficient knowledge or skill regarding the subject in which they seek to appear proficient. In this context, Paul describes himself as an inarticulate babbler during a time when his understanding of God’s work was incomplete. However, upon receiving the full revelation from Christ, he did away with the things of an inarticulate babbler.
Paul employs this term in Galatians 4:1 to characterize an individual under the law. As long as the heir is an inarticulate babbler, he is subject to governor and tutors. Yet, when the Father establishes the child as a son, that individual attains sufficient maturity to no longer require the law, having developed the ability to discern proper conduct.
Within the Church, those who remain inarticulate babblers do so because they attempt to live by the law. They have not trained their senses to discern what is proper from what is wrong (Hebrews 5:14). Consequently, all such individuals require milk rather than solid food (Hebrews 5:13). As believers, we are not to remain inarticulate babblers—unable to articulate the foundational elements of the Christian life—for we are sons (Ephesians 1:5). Therefore, let us put aside the characteristics of an inarticulate babbler and progress beyond the elementary principles of God’s oracles toward maturity in Christ (Hebrews 6:1).