As of late, the subject of spiritual growth has come up at various times in conversation around the church. Visitors have asked how they can take the next step in their spiritual growth through what is available at the church. Those in discipleship class were surveyed and asked what areas they would be interested in learning more about. Their answers boiled down to holiness, sanctification, and spiritual growth. In conversations with my wife, we too have discussed our need for spiritual growth. I think we all know what a Christian is. But the rub is in actually being a Christian. We know who Jesus is. We just aren’t living, serving, thinking, acting, or loving like Him… at least not as much as we’d like to be.
Addressing the Need
So how do we address this need for Spiritual Growth in our lives? I see some of us looking for a short cut to our Christian maturity. We think that if we just understood the right truths or had a certain spiritual experience, we would then be a mature Christian. That is the formula for becoming a Christian, as we come to know who Christ is, who we are as sinners, surrender of our lives to God, and experience the supernatural comfort of the Holy Spirit. That is the process of becoming a new creation (2 Cor 5:17). But it’s the beginning of spiritual maturity, not the end. The question many of us have is, “Where do we go from here”?
Sanctification and Holiness
The Bible addresses spiritual growth using terms like sanctification and holiness. Though both terms can be applied to a Christian’s new standing with God immediately upon salvation (Acts 26:18, Heb 10:10), they are also used to describe the life-long progression of each Christian toward spiritual maturity (1 Thes 4:3, Heb 12:14, 1 Peter 1:15-16). As a child grows into physical maturity, so we as Christians are called to grow in spiritual maturity (Heb 5:12-13, 1 Cor 13:11). The difference being that our physical maturity peaks at age twenty, whereas our spiritual growth continues to the day of our death (2 Cor 4:16, Phil 3:12-16, 2 Tim 4:7). Note that according to this metaphor, our spiritual maturity takes longer than our physical maturity. We should therefore not look for short cuts to sanctification.
There is no secret knowledge to being holy. There is no one-time experience that will make us a mature Christian. Those seeking such will experience at best oscillating spiritual maturity, and at worst discouragement, frustration, and loss of faith. We cannot become spiritually mature if we only drink spiritual milk… We must move on to the meat.
Progressing in Spiritual Maturity
How do we progress toward spiritual maturity? I recently got into a couple of conversations on this very subject. One visitor to our church said he had been reading the bible, listening to solid preaching, but realized he was not growing spiritually. He then confessed that what was missing was other people, the Christian community, the church. He had neglected the church and for that reason, had stunted his spiritual growth. Another person recently returned to church who had been away for some time. I asked him why he was back. He said he came back because had only experienced spiritual growth while he was here, and hadn’t grown since he left. I could relate. I read my bible for years without being any more than a church attender… But it wasn’t until I surrendered my life not only to God but to a particular community of believers, that things began to change.
God Given Tools
God has given us several tools to grow up. I think everyone would agree that He has given us His word to build us up (Acts 20:32). And that He has given us His Spirit to transform us (2 Cor 3:18). But where are we practicing obedience to His word? And where are we exercising the gifts and fruit of the Holy Spirit? It certainly doesn’t happen at home in our favorite chair nestled under an afghan. God has given us other people, the Christian community for the purpose of sharpening our understanding of God’s word. God has given us the church as a place to employ the gifts and fruit of the Holy Spirit…
“And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.” –Ephesians 4:11-16 (ESV)
Taking Full Advantage
Perhaps you too are seeking spiritual growth. If it seems like it is taking forever, I want to encourage you. It is a life-long process. No one has arrived. The real question is in how you address your need for spiritual growth… Do you look for short cuts? Are you seeking some special knowledge? Do you chase after spiritual experience? Or will you make use of the tried and true methods of practicing God’s word and exercising God’s Spirit with and through God’s community, the church? May we take full advantage of all the tools God has given us to grow in spiritual maturity… And not become short sited in our pursuit of the goal… That one day we may be found holy, unblemished, and perfect in His sight.