What is Spiritual Maturity? How can I Grow in My Christian Faith?

WHAT IS SPIRITUAL MATURITY? HOW CAN I GROW IN MY CHRISTIAN FAITH?

By Ezekiel Kimosop

There is no express biblical definition for spiritual maturity in the Bible but a number of passages of Scripture convey this idea with considerable clarity. It is instructive that spiritual maturity is a process rather than an event in the life of a Christian. No believer ever graduates from the school of spiritual maturity. We daily grow in Christ. However, there are signs that manifestly affirm that the believer has considerably matured and attained stability in their faith. 

How do we tell if someone is spiritually mature? We shall examine some relevant texts and passages of Scripture as our guide to answering this question.

In 2 Timothy 3:15-17 Paul reveals that traditional Jewish religious training had a profound impact on the life of young Timothy and that Scripture was the principal instrument of spiritual instruction in this context. Timothy was Greek but he was raised by two important Jewish women in his life - his mother Eunice and his grandmother Lois.  The two women were pivotal in laying the spiritual foundation on which Timothy grew in spiritual stature before later serving God as a Christian missionary and church minister under apostle Paul. Timothy was the first bishop of the church of Ephesus which was located in present day Turkey. 

In Ephesians 4:11-14, Paul outlines a number ministry gifts and reveals that their theological purpose was for preparing and equipping the saints “till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting" (Ephesians 4:13-14, NKJV). 

This is the ideal stature contemplated by Scripture on Christian maturity. It is the capacity to discern and distinguish between sound doctrine and Christian heresy. Spiritual training equips the believer to sieve between the wheat and the chaff. 

THE THREE DIMENSIONS OF THE SPIRITUAL MATURITY PROCESS 

We shall now examine three dimensions of the spiritual maturity process that we can distil from the illustrations and texts we have cited when read together with other relevant Scripture passages. 

The first dimension relates to the spiritual stage where the believer is brought into the unity of the faith as a member of God's household of faith. This is where new believers are found. It is the position of initial spiritual consciousness that every child of God experiences in the fellowship of believers - the position of love and affirmation in the Lord. 

Spirit growth is nurtured under interpersonal relationships and mentorship in a congregational or Christian community setting. The believer is vulnerable at this stage and should be nurtured and protected from the predatory tentacles of false teachers and heretics (see Acts 20:28-31). Paul adjudged the Corinthians as falling into this stage because of their pride and schisms. They had not sufficiently matured in the faith. 1 Corinthians 1:3-4 says "And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. 2 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; 3 for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? 4 For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal?" (NKJV). 

Notice Paul's reference to mature believers as spiritual people in v.1 above. We should keep this reference in mind as we proceed with our analysis.

The second dimension of the Christian maturity process is the growth of the believer in the knowledge of Christ and in his intimacy with God as he receives spiritual instruction and exhortation in deeper Christian doctrine.  The believer continues to grow in the discernment of the Person of Jesus Christ and appreciates the purpose of His finished works of the cross. He also learns to walk in obedience to God through the instruction of the word of God. He cultivates his devotion to Christ under the leading of the Holy Spirit (John 16:13-15). He is firmly instructed in the foundational Christian doctrine. 

The believer is under spiritual supervision at this stage and is unable to instruct other believers independently. He serves under the observation and direction of pastors, Christian elders, and mature believers. 

One of my seminary professors once stated that there must be a healthy balance between the word and the Spirit. By this he meant that believers should not ignore or overlook the regular study and devotion to the word of God at the expense of prayer and other spiritual disciplines because such an imbalance would result in growing "prayer warriors" that have little Scripture knowledge! Conversely, believers should not neglect their spiritual devotion, meditation, and prayer at expense of other exigencies of life. A healthy spiritual balance builds our intimacy with God and grows our knowledge of Christ. This ultimately enhances our spiritual skills and our capacity to serve the body of Christ. 

Spiritual maturity can therefore be understood as "work-in-progress" under a discipleship program spearheaded by mature believers and spiritual instructors. Apollos was a beneficiary of this process. He was instructed in the way of Christ by a faithful Jewish couple, Priscilla and Aquila, and went on to serve God as a Christian missionary in Corinth and other stations (Acts 18:24-28). His theological incapacity was identified and bridged, courtesy of a discerning Christian couple who heard him speak at the Ephesus synagogue. 

Sadly, poor discipleship accounts for some of the heretical teachings that are are increasingly identified with some Christian communities today. A heretic is a teacher who teaches error and rejects legitimate biblical correction for it when offered to them in love. Heretics mutate into apostates as they draw further and further away from the fundamental truths of God's word. (cf. 1 Timothy 1:20; 2 Timothy 2:16-18). 

Some of the leading charismatic teachers today do not preach sound doctrine. Faithful Christian teachers are those who handle biblical truth with theological prudence and godly fear and are careful to raise other leaders in Christ. Paul exhorted Timothy to commit the truths of the word of God to faithful men who shall be able teach others.  2 Timothy 2:2 says " You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2 And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also."

The third dimension or stage of the Christian maturity process can be consolidated under an evaluation of the end process. The mature believer grows to a stature that profoundly manifests his fruitfulness in Christ. He demonstrates the fruit of Christian maturity through his sound doctrine, moral integrity, humility, and faithful service (Galatians 5:22). He displays firmness, confidence, consistency, and courage in his moral convictions. 

His worldview is firmly anchored on his knowledge of Christ so that he is no longer tossed about by all manner of doctrines and teachings that contradict Scripture (cf. Psalm 119:10-11,105; Ephesians 4:14). He is accountable and able to teach others with confidence (see 1 Timothy 3:1-7). At this stage, the believer is sufficiently mature. He is able to teach and mentor others with minimum supervision. He can therefore be assigned ministry duties in line with his area of gifting. 

One of the telltale signs of spiritual immaturity in a believer is the “nomadic culture" where the believer goes about seeking a “new experience" or "new  revelation” rather than faithfully sticking with a Bible believing Christian community. Some of these "nomads" eventually fall into the hands of apostate sects and cults  that teach heresy. 

I once met a Christian "nomad" who was following some West African charismatic preachers. The young man had been moving from one church to another in Nairobi seeking a "special anointing". He claimed to have a special calling to serve God. When I recommended that he joins a Bible seminary, he flatly rejected my advice arguing that all he needed was the Holy Spirit! This is apparently what he learned from one of his "prophets" who had restrained him from signing up for seminary! 

The word of God is central to the Christian maturity process. 2 Timothy 2:15, says “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (NKJV). How should we interpret this text? While some would identify this text with formal biblical instruction for Christian teachers in the context of seminary training, my view is that the text is not exclusively tied to this context. Seminary training is however a highly valued contribution to the theological development of a Bible teacher. Paul himself was a trained theologian, a Pharisee who was raised under Gamaliel, the revered first century Judaism scholar (see Acts 22:3). 

My view is that 2 Timothy 2:15 affirms that a diligent and skillful interpretation of Scripture authoritatively conveys the mind of God to the preacher's audience with clarity. This enhances his ministry capacity and builds his skills for serving Christ (cf. 1 Thessalonians 2:4). 

Paul's exhortation to Timothy therefore speaks to every believer who desires to grow in the knowledge of Christ through the study of Scripture. We must learn to "wrestle" with the word of God so that we continually discover the mystery of God’s revelation in the written Scriptures and serve the body of Christ with diligence.

CONCLUSION 

Spiritual maturity does not merely arise from the study of the word of God alone. A believer must embrace all the spiritual disciplines that Scripture outlines for us. These include obedience to the Great Commission in witnessing for Christ (Matthew 28:19-20), Prayer (Matthew 6:9-15; I Thessalonians 5:17), Christian fellowship (Hebrews 10:25) and Christian service. We should submit to God as vessels of honor so that our Master can use us in His service and for His glory (2 Timothy 2:20-21). 

As one grows in the knowledge of Christ, they learn to endure Christian suffering and reject worldliness and all its sinful allures (James 1:2-4, 13-15). They also submit to Christian contentment and moderation and discover that God is the ultimate owner of all the resources and skills at their disposal. 

Spiritual maturity is therefore a process that ultimately draws us closer to Christ and increases our capacity to discern the will of God for our lives so that we are better able to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints (Jude 1:3). It builds us in the most holy faith (Jude 1:20). Christian maturity shields us from the vagaries of Christian heresy and apostasy. 

No believer outgrows the Christian maturity process no matter how long they have walked in the faith. It is an incremental lifelong process that terminates either in death or at the coming of Christ, whichever be the earlier. 1 John 3:2 says "Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is" (NKJV). 

Are you growing in Christ?

© Ezekiel Kimosop 2022