Well friends, we have come to our last week together in this particular study. My assumption, as I stated at the beginning of our time together, is that you want to grow spiritually and reach “the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13). We’ve covered a lot along the way! I want to help you to grow into a mature Christian because that’s what God wants for you too.
Paul issued this challenge to the Corinthians: “Brethren, do not be children in your thinking; yet in evil be infants, but in your thinking be mature” (1 Corinthians 14:20). We can define spiritual maturity as the ability to consistently view and live life from the perspective of the Spirit rather than the flesh, with the result that we maximize our God-given capacity to bring Him glory.
Read Hebrews 6:1. Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God.
Reflect: Define spiritual maturity in your own words.
Now please know that spiritual maturity is something that we will be pursuing all of our lives, because we will never do it perfectly in this body. Therefore there will always be capacity for more growth, but spiritual growth does have a definable goal called maturity that we need to be moving toward. And there are definable stages along the way.
According to John’s letter (1 John 1:1-3) there are three groups of Christians who represent three levels or stages of spiritual growth in the process of our becoming more like Jesus Christ and bringing God greater glory. These stages correspond to the childhood, adolescence or teenage years, and adulthood of physical life. So moving forward this week, we will use these familiar terms.
Reflect: If you were to do an initial evaluation, which developmental group do you fit into? Childhood, adolescence, or adulthood? Explain your answer.
Each of these stages is important. No one is born mature, and children can’t skip their teenage years. The early stages of spiritual growth need not take as many years as physical and emotional growth do, but the problem is that many Christians can get stuck along the way and their spiritual growth is stunted.
Are you ready to press on to maturity?
Read Hebrews 5:11-14. Concerning him we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.
Reflect: What is the connection between your obedience and spiritual maturity?
For His Kingdom,
Tony Evans
Prayer: Lord, I am ready to press on to spiritual maturity. I ask that You give me grace for the stage of maturity that I am currently in, and help me to be encouraged toward obedience as I move forward. In Christ's name, Amen.
