Christian Living
Spiritual maturity is an ongoing, progressive process.
The process of spiritual formation starts from newbirth (when someone professes the lordship of Jesus) and progresses throughout the Christian’s lifetime. While spiritual maturity is to be sort by every believer, a believer seldom attains complete maturity and perfection. However there are noticeable changes and transformation in way of thinking, speech and action as one matures.
Spiritual maturity only occurs by a deliberate intake and submission to the word of God. Reading from First Corinthians 3:1-3, we can tease out some attributes of a spirtual christian…
“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? ” 1 Corinthians 3:1-3, NKJV.
Spiritual Maturity Does not Occur Immediately after the Newbirth
Spiritual maturity; becoming spiritually mature is a process; it doesn’t happen immediately after the newbirth. No one becomes suddenly matured spiritually after birth. A newborn baby passes through babyhood, toddler age, childhood, preteen and teenage years befor attaining adulthood. Even so a newborn Christian grows towards maturity as he/she feeds on the sincere milk of the Word of God (1 Peter 2:2).
A spiritually mature Christian tolerates more than milk
The spiritually mature christian can receive both milk and solid food from the Word of God. This is a distinguishing factor between baby, carnal Christian and the spiritual christian.
We read about the elementary principles of Christ from Hebrews 6:1-2- repentance from dead works, faith, baptisms, laying on of hands, resurrection from the dead, eternal judgment. While the baby and carnal Christians may be struggling with accepting any of these fundamental principles, the spiritual and mature Christian embraces them, and in addition, welcomes additional principles. In essence, the spiritual Christian accepts the entire counsel of God’s Word and yields to it.
He/she adopts a biblical view to life. Is not ruled by the senses, and is not controlled by reasoning but rather passes iformation from these realms through the prism of the Word of God. Their spirit have more dominance over their senses and reasoning and so they can also easily express the fruit of the spirit according to Galatians 5:22-23….
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23
Join me in this bible study series as I discuss additional attributes of spiritual maturity.
