Growing to Spiritual Maturity

                                                                                  

LESSON AIM:  To Understand the Difference Between a Babe in Christ and Mature in Christ

THEME/CENTRAL VERSE:  “But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.” –2 Peter 3:18

 

BACKGROUND SCRIPTURES

“And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.” –Luke 2:40

 

“And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.” –Luke 2:52

 

“For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;  Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness.”  --Colossians 1:9-11

 

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. –Romans 12:1-2

 

DEVOTIONAL SCRIPTURES                                                                                                  

Acts 6:8-8:3;

Philippians 1:9; 2 Peter 3:18; Thessalonians 1:3; 2 Corinthians 8:7
2 Peter 1:5-9; Romans 12:1-2; Hebrews 4:12; 1 Corinthians 3:1-3                                           

1 Corinthians 14:20; Hebrews 5:12-14; Ephesians 4:1-32                                           

Colossians 1:9-11; Colossians 2:6-7; 1 Peter 2:1-2; Galatians 5:22-23; Romans 10:17

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Key Terms: Growth, Grace, Spiritual Maturity, Babe in Christ

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Growth is development or improvement toward a goal called "maturity.”

Grace is unearned, underserved favor; power for living.

Spiritual maturity is being Christ-like.  Babe in Christ is one who is of little spiritual growth.

 

INTRODUCTION

Spiritual growth is first growth in grace. Peter closes his second epistle with the admonition to grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The two go hand in hand, grace and an ever-increasing knowledge of Jesus. Spiritual growth is a sign of spiritual life, of a vital connection portrayed in Scripture by images such as a vine and its branches, a tree planted by streams of living water and a babe growing into maturity. Often, we measure growth by independence, God’s plan for us begins with salvation, with new birth through the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, but it doesn’t stop there. His plan is that we grow into a maturity characterized by the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children. (Ephesians 4:13-14)

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BACKGROUND

Importance of Growing

Colossians:  1:9-11

For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness.

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How We Begin

Hebrews 10:22-25                                                                 

Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.  Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

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In order to grow spiritually and mature in our faith, we must draw near to God. We cannot mature on our own. Without him, our works and efforts are worthless. However, he makes us clean gives us the strength and ability to grow and put aside sin. We need to spend time in his presence and allow him to move in our lives.

Jesus Embraced Practices for Growth

Luke 2:46-47 says, “After three days of separation, they finally found Him—sitting among a group of religious teachers in the temple—asking them questions, listening to their answers. Everyone was surprised and impressed that a 12-year-old boy could have such deep understanding and could answer questions with such wisdom.”

Notice something about these two verses:                                                                                                        

Jesus had a place to grow (the temple)                                                                                                          

Jesus had people to grow (the religious teachers)                                                                                      

Jesus had a process to grow (questions and listening)

 

JESUS UNDERSTOOD THE PURPOSE IN GROWTH

While Jesus is asking questions and listening in the temple, his parents show up. Look at how his mother replies: “Son, why have You treated us this way? Listen, Your father and I have been sick with worry for the last three days, wondering where You were, looking everywhere for You. Jesus:  Why did you need to look for Me? Didn’t you know that I must be working for My Father? Neither Mary nor Joseph really understood what He meant by this” (Luke 2:48b-50).

This entire passage of Scripture (Luke 2:40-52) is a picture of Jesus’ growth. The hinge in the middle of this passage is verse 49 where Jesus leans into His purpose. We have lots of details about Jesus’ birth, and we have great detail about His ministry, death, and resurrection. But the 30 years between his birth and his public ministry are almost silent. All we know about those years is what we read in Luke 2. That’s where we discover Jesus growing toward His purpose. Personal growth in the hidden years is what God uses to prepare you for the public years.

Don’t lose sight of God’s purpose for your life when it doesn’t seem like things are going as fast as you think they should. Keep your eye on your purpose and keep growing toward your purpose. Jesus was intentional about His growth so He could be impactful with His purpose.

 

Jesus Prioritized His Areas of Growth

Luke 2:52 says, “And Jesus kept on growing—in wisdom, in physical stature, in favor with God, and in favor with others.” Notice the four areas in which Jesus grew:  Mentally (wisdom) Physically (stature) Spiritually (favor with God) Socially (favor with others) This is a good reminder that our growth must reach into the critical areas of life. If you grow mentally but ignore your physical growth, your life may have an early expiration date. If you grow socially but neglect your relationship with God, you’re walking on thin ice.

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DISCUSSION

When we are born again, our spirit being is made new. Our spirit man is immediately recreated and connected to God. Our body and our mind, however, are still the same. We still have the same body and we still think the same way. God leaves the transformation of our mind and the control of our body up to us.

Born-again Christians who don’t make an effort to change the way they think and act are called carnal. In the Bible we see examples of carnal Christians in the Corinthian church. Although the Corinthians had all the gifts of the Spirit in operation in their church, there was also a lot of quarreling, division, and strife among the people. The Apostle Paul admonished them because of this: 1 CORINTHIANS 3:1–3 (NKJV) And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ.  I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?

According to Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, the word carnal means “pertaining to flesh.” After some people are born again, they continue to be dominated by things their body craves or lusts after, and they still have a worldly mindset. We call this being “flesh ruled.”

The way to rise above our flesh is through what the Bible calls “renewing our mind.” “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Rom. 12:2 NKJV). We renew our mind by spending time with the Lord—by reading our Bible and praying every day—as well as by hearing anointed ministers teach or preach the Word. This is how the transformation process takes place.

As we become more familiar with what the Bible says and hear ministers preach or teach the Word, we’ll begin to see what the true nature of the Christian really is. Then, according to Ephesians 4:24, we can begin to put on the new man.

GROWTH INVOLVES THE FOLLOWING:

• Understanding the Edict to Grow (2 Peter 3:18)

• Having the Desire to Grow (1 Peter 2:2-4)

• Using the Process and Practices of Growth (Psalm 51; Luke 2:46-47; 2 Peter 1:5-9)

(intentional, takes time, nourishment, and discipline)

• Demonstrating the Evidence of Growth (John 13:35; John 15:1-5; Matthew 7:17; Galatians 5:22-23)

 

CONCLUSION                                                                                                                                

Spiritual Life Is Nourished in Us by The Holy Spirit. (Romans 8:10-26) The Holy Spirit gives us aid and power in living the Christian life. This takes place, through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit as discussed previously. The presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives brings a dimension of spiritual power to us. Ephesians 3:20 says “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us”.

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Romans 15:13 says that we may be filled with joy, peace and hope “by the power of the Holy Spirit”.  Just as the plant receives nourishment from rain, sunshine and soil, so we are nourished and sustained by the Holy Spirit.  However, we have to have the mind of Christ and the DESIRE to grow and keep growing.

Spiritual maturity begins in the mind. That may be surprising to some. We’ve been trained by popular culture to associate religion with a certain behavior. But in reality, whether we understand it or not, what happens externally in the everyday aspects of life begins with thought processes in the mind.  And so Paul begins his prayer for the Colossians by focusing on how they think: “We have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding” (1:9) which reinforces Romans 12:1-2 where Paul warns us to be transformed by the RENEWING OF OUR MIND.  Being mature in Christ is being conformed to His image, and therefore it is walking as He walked. As we have received Christ, so let us walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, just as we have been taught, abounding in thanksgiving (Col. 2:6–7).

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There are some habits that we can develop to grow in Godliness:

1. Spend time and meditate on God’s word

2. Pray and thank God

3. Fellowship with other believers

4. Worship and praise him

5. Put aside sin and weight (weight:  worry, toxic people, unforgiveness, bitterness)

6. Pursue what is good: Philippians 4:8 tells us to dwell on “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy.” As Christians, we should not pursue what the world pursues but rather what God loves.