On Spiritual Maturity. . .

17. January 2011 by Annette Colon-Alvarenga.

Recently it seems that every time I raise the matter of spiritual maturity in my women’s group, 2 or 3 of the women take a defensive posture, I get cut off and they shut down to anything I have to say in this regard. Without any qualifications, they state emphatically, “we are all in progress.”

This last week, when the word “maturity” came out of my mouth in a discussion on the Holy Spirit and the church today, it resulted in a drama like I have not experienced before. There was even crying involved! It was truly a show that bordered on the ridiculous as far as I was concerned. And I was actually told (not asked) to stop talking.

I’ve had time to think about what brings on this reaction from these women every time I get into a discussion on spiritual maturity (our absolute need to get there!) and I have come to this conclusion: even though the women who oppose the subject have been Christian for at least three years (one since childhood), the idea of maturity is unspeakable. It requires a discussion on obedience and conformity to God’s commandments, which in turn requires a discussion on complete surrender. And, as it appears within my group, that would make a few other women perhaps a bit uncomfortable and maybe, just maybe, they would be taken out of their comfort zone and not return. (Apparently, I can’t call sin “sin” within our group without being termed judgmental, but that’s an issue for an article to be written on another day.)

Based on these recent happenings, I decided to do the following short study on the matter of spiritual maturity.
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The story is told of a little boy who fell out of bed. Asked what happened, he said, “I guess I just stayed too close to the gettin’-in place.” That is exactly why many people fall away from God or don’t reach a point of maturity after their conversion - they stay too close to the “gettin’-in” place.

It is no shame to be an infant, if you were born a few months ago. But if a person has been a child of God for several years and has not grown, he or she has a problem

**arrested [spiritual] development - an abnormal state in which development has stopped prematurely; fixation; infantile fixation; regression

What the Bible says about spiritual maturity:

The Bible tells us that we are to grow; and it begins with a command. 2 Peter 3:18 says, “But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ….” That’s a command. You either say yes, or no.

Spiritual growth is a commitment to living to the glory of God. As you glorify God in your life, the Holy Spirit energizes the process of spiritual maturity so that you become more like Jesus Christ. You go from spiritual infancy to maturity; you grow in grace, and you grow up into Christlikeness. Spiritual growth is a process; it is not instantaneous. But it is a continual process to progression. We have to commit ourselves to glorify God in order to grow. That is another way of saying that we need to walk in the Spirit, obey the Word of God, let the Word of Christ dwell in us richly, conform to His will, and yield our bodies as instruments of righteousness.

The problem with the church at Corinth: The failure to reach maturity

“I could not talk to you as spiritual men but as to nonspiritual, or as to mere infants in the new life in our Messiah. I fed you with milk not meat, for you were not yet strong enough and even now you are not strong enough for you are still of the flesh and under the control of carnal impulses” (1 Corinthians 3:1)

Prolonged spiritual childhood is carnality, and it is often mentioned in the scriptures. Being carnal had reduced the Corinthian people to the status of spiritual infants. There was no distinction between carnality and spiritual infancy, because carnal people act childishly. If a person doesn’t grow as they should in Christian character, then they are immature infants. Growing up as a Christian does not mean being able to quote many scriptures; it means to produce fruit or good Christian character.

Hebrews 5:7-14 :  During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.⁸ Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered ⁹and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him ¹⁰and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek. ¹¹We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand. ¹² In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! ¹³ Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. ¹⁴ But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.

** This requires effort by each individual. It will not come if teachers/leaders foster codependency.

Colossians 4:12 : Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured.

**Only when one is in the will of God can they experience growth and maturity; therefore, maintaining a life lived in the flesh (sinful) guarantees spiritual infancy.

Ephesians 4:11-15 : So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, ¹² to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up ¹³ until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. ¹⁴ Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. ¹⁵ Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.

** This requires intentional effort on the part of every believer. Maturity is not a thing to be put off but to be sought daily

2 Peter 3:17-18 : Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position. ¹⁸ But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

** Paul tells us “grow”. This takes time. It requires an intentional pursuit. It is not automatic, it is not quick and there are no shortcuts

1 Timothy 4:7 : Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly.

**Again, this denotes active, intentional work on the believer’s part.

Luke 9:23 : Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.”

** Jesus calls us to discipleship and He pretty much tells that we are to do whatever it takes (“deny themselves and take up their crosses daily”).

If “believers” are not willing to do as Jesus commands, if they will not surrender all, this is the consequence:

Luke 14:27 : And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

Philippians 3:12-14 : Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. ¹³ Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, ¹⁴ I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

**Spiritual maturity does not mean you’ve arrived at perfection. What Paul tells us is that we are to leave behind past works and present measures of grace. Focusing on the past or even in the present will cause us to become stagnant in our walk or growth in the Lord. We have to continually “press on”.

Press on: The Greek word επεκτεινομενος points out the strong exertions made in the race; every muscle and nerve is exerted, and he puts forth every particle of his strength in running.

The benefits of spiritual maturity:

James 1:4 : Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

James 1:22-25 - ²² Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. ²³ Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror ²⁴ and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. ²⁵ But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.

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