Spiritual Maturity
I mirror Paul's sentiment in Ephesians 4:3 and Philippians 3:12 when I say I have not achieved full maturity, reaching the full measure and maturity of Jesus. Nor am I a bible scholar, but I hope and pray that there may be edification of the church through this article.
Oswald’s quote succinctly characterizes what I believe scripture wants us to know about maturity. Faith in Jesus Christ is all we need. When implemented biblically, there is a progression/ expression to our faith that looks like the following:
The big picture that Peter communicates is that faith is the beginning of our relationship with Jesus. We aren’t fully mature, complete participants in the nature of Christ, until we achieve perfect love.
Truth From Paul & Jesus
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Paul exemplifies spiritual maturity:
“I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me.” - Philippians 3:12
Reading through the testimony of Paul (Philippians 3:4-11), we see a clear example of someone who is making every effort to be mature.
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Jesus describes spiritual maturity in his explanation of the parable of the sower.
“The seeds that fell on the good soil represent honest, good-hearted people who hear God’s word, cling to it, and patiently produce a huge harvest.” - Luke 8:15
What stops us from reaching full maturity? In many cases, ourselves. In Luke 8:14, Jesus describes someone who hasn’t fully surrendered their riches, pleasures, and worries to Him. As a consequence of failing to relinquish their lives, they fail to grow. To understand the importance of this teaching, we only have to think of a time when we struggled, admitted our weakness, and surrendered to God. Then reflect on the lessons learned.
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Those who don’t mature aren’t event relevant in the context of Eternity,
“I am the true vine and my Father is the gardener. He takes away every branch that does not bear fruit in me. He prunes every branch that bears fruit so that it will bear more fruit. You are clean already because of the word that I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it remains in the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. “I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me – and I in him – bears much fruit, because apart from me you can accomplish nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is thrown out like a branch, and dries up; and such branches are gathered up and thrown into the fire, and are burned up. - John 15:1-6 NET
When God’s children have a relationship with Christ, we can expect to produce divine fruit. Having peace, patience, and discipline alone are virtues worth the price of admission. In contrast, being careless, negligent, and reckless in our lives can cost us our jobs, relationships, and health. The same principles hold concerning our relationship to Jesus. That is, if we fail to be connected to Jesus through our lives, we cannot accomplish anything of eternal significance.
What does the Old Testament say about spiritual maturity?
God has been teaching spiritual maturity, the importance of leaning on him from the beginning. Yet, it is the lesson humanity forgets and must relearn with every new life.
God’s narrative is one of love for people who lack the maturity and the ability to mature in and of their own doing. If you are familiar with the stories of Abraham, Jacob, and David, God was their source of maturity. They demonstrated faith(allegiance, trust, devotion) to surrender their families, decisions, and lives to God.
God has the most wonderful ability in the universe, the ability to change the disposition of people's hearts. This truth and promise is found in multiple passages!
- Deuteronomy 30:6
- Ezekiel 11:19, 36:25-27
- Jeremiah 24:7
The Story of Nehemiah
Nehemiah was a cup-bearer, a glorified taste tester. While he had access to king Artaxerxes, he was still considered a layman. Upon hearing that Jerusalem's walls had been destroyed, this regular guy dared to be sad in the king’s presence. And would later make requests to Artaxerxes out of the love and passion for his people. (Culturally, being in the king's presence alone should make anyone joyful.) Upon arrival in the name of God, Nehemiah, in part, led the completion of the wall around the city and implemented religious reformation. In fact, in Nehemiah 7-12, we see Nehemiah’s passion for justice, reverence, and repentance rub off on the people. However, it can be questioned if the people of Jerusalem’s hearts truly changed or if they got caught up in spiritual fervor. A chapter later, we see disregard for the sabbath and marriage between Israel and foreign nations.
Takeaways:
I reference Nehemiah because his passion for God and his people is admirable! I imagine most people reading this article will not be of royal descent or in positions of power. However, God can still use you to change the direction of your family, church, or nation if He desires. However, the book of Nehemiah paints a two-fold warning:
- Humans can’t change hearts. At best, we can introduce others to Someone who can and encourage them to deepen their relationship with God. I attended a workshop in apologetics, and some of the first words to come from the instructor's mouth were along the lines of “The goal is not to win arguments, but to win souls.” Whether in evangelistic pursuits or disputes with anyone, winning souls for Jesus because Jesus is wise.
- Are we caught up in spiritual fervor, lacking absolute conviction? To a certain extent, passion is contagious, and that isn’t a bad thing. It can spark genuine interest in God, careers, people, and hobbies. However, it is crucial to continue to examine our hearts when we encounter passion, especially the spiritual passion, to understand if this passionate person is gone tomorrow. Do I have a heart that is surrendered to God?
I beg you, continue to surrender your life to Jesus. Make your maturity complete by revolving your life's decisions on loving God with all your heart, mind, and soul!