There is great weakness in the new and spiritually immature Christian who is dominated by selfishness and sin. (1 Corinthians 3) But God releases great power in the spiritually weak to CHANGE them into mature spiritual adults by giving all Christians “the desire and the power to do what pleases him.” (Philippians 2:13)
The new believer must be supernaturally changed. In Paul’s letter to the church at Corinth he tells them they are only babies and they must grow up. “Dear brothers and sisters, when I was with you I couldn’t talk to you as I would to spiritual people. I had to talk as though you belonged to this world OR as though you were infants in Christ. 2 I had to feed you with milk, not with solid food, because you weren’t ready for anything stronger. And you still aren’t ready, 3 for you are still controlled by your sinful nature. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn’t that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren’t you living like people of the world?“
And you must understand CHANGE is non-optional. Spiritual growth like physical growth happens in a true follower of Christ because God’s Word says, “I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.” (Philippians 1:6 NLT)
And Paul wrestled with the church at Corinth over the issue of refusing to CHANGE and turn away from sin, until he finally sent a second letter and proclaimed, “Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith.” (2 Corinthians 13:5 NLT) The obvious proof of whether “Christ is among you” was their actions. Did they cease from all the sins he rebuked them over in his first letter, or were they still UNCHANGED?
The Basic Foundation For Spiritual Growth
Acts 2:41-42 (NKJV)
Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.
We find in the book of Acts the birth of Christian Life. The church was started with a big bang [the supernatural presence of the Holy Spirit] and with one sermon by Peter 3000 people were saved and added to the church. To figure out how these new Christians were matured we have to look carefully to what the apostles did in their leadership and training.
Maturing is the growing up process a child goes through to become an adult. The spiritual maturing process is similar in that it is the changing of the new born baby Christian into a a mature adult saint. This simply means a person’s character so changes that they focus on what is important to Jesus Christ their Lord. It is such a radical change that what God gets excited about, they get excited about. What makes God sad, makes them sad. This effects all our being; mind, will and emotions. It covers all our motives, thoughts, attitudes, and actions.
Babies Are Born Self-centered
A baby is so self absorbed it does not know when it is naked. It does not know what other people think or feel. It does not care about anyone else. Instead, it wants food when hungry, warmth when cold, attention when bored, changing when wet, etc. The baby only thinks of itself. Spiritual babies are born again… forgiven, and that is it. The Holy Spirit enters the new Christian and then God’s “good work begins.” Then “the desire and the power to do what pleases him” starts bubbling up from inside. All the old bad thinking, evil desires, habits, and sins clash with this new thing within. The old ways and sin are all they know!
Maturity Changes All That
As parents raise their children, one of the processes they develop in them is the change from selfishness to adult mature thinking, you know, loving and caring for others. They give them chores to teach them many character traits. They force them to help with dishes and cleaning up the house. They teach them to wash clothes and clean the garage. This same way of maturing is necessary for all Christians. Children mature by watching, and then copying adults.
And just like good healthy family life matures children, good, healthy church family life matures believers. This is important to understand. A family does not need fancy health and fitness training, family reunions every week with tons of relatives, super expensive vacations every month, meetings with family relationship experts monthly, or financial management training every other day to be successful. A church does not have to be a mega-church of endless programs, shows, and exciting meetings to be successful either.
For a Christian to grow spiritually, four solid commitments must be made. This is possible in any size church and just as fruitful. Every Christian must steadfastly commit themselves to
1) the apostles’ doctrine
2) fellowship
3) breaking bread together and
4) prayer together.
The local church you are apart of does not have to have Sunday School classes, youth groups, children’s church, super programs, high class music ministries, seeker sensitive services, people in fancy robes, fun-filled picnics or air conditioned buildings. The first church did not have any of these things. God was not concerned with all these things.
What He is concerned with is His process of spiritual growth. Man is concerned about the other stuff.
If you want to grow spiritually, or you want your children to grow spiritually you just need to follow the four commitments. Home-schoolers have proven that you do not need all the fancy stuff to educate children, but American Christians are obsessed with the fancy stuff: big shows, big buildings, and big activities.
The first requirement is to fully commit to the apostles’ doctrine. So we need to ask a simple question, “What is the apostles’ doctrine?” Today people are even afraid of the word “doctrine.” Let’s look into the Bible for God’s will in this matter.
Matthew 28:19-20
19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 “teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
The apostles taught the kingdom message that was taught to them in the gospels by Jesus [Matthew – John]. “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” becomes clear when you look at the sermon on the mount [Matthew 5-7]. So the first commitment is to “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness …” You become an all out, 100% supporter, worker, and ambassador for God’s kingdom. You read, discuss, and learn what God commands you to know and understand so that you can obey Him completely.
You must place yourself into the right environment that will help you grow up, begin the process of spiritual growth by working through the seven steps to spiritual maturity.
Next, is fellowship, a steadfast commitment to hanging with, working with, caring for, and supporting your new church family. You learn to be best friends, and as family members, help each other and together expand God’s kingdom. Teamwork is the environment God wants the family to grow spiritually through. It is so hard to get Americans to commit to this. Most want to come see and hear the show and then go home. This is disobedient and stagnating to spiritual growth, instead we are commanded to, “…exhort one another daily, while it is called ‘Today,’ lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.” Hebrews 13:3
You must be committed and involved to grow.
Thirdly, we must always meet together in communion. 1 Corinthians 11 explains the importance of this event and also shows why it is a spiritual growth tool. “But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.” (v28) We must constantly examine ourselves. Remember how a doctor examines a patient, he probes and pokes. He looks for hidden signs of problems. This same procedure is just as important for all to grow spiritually and root out sin.
Finally, without a steadfast commitment to group prayer meetings you will not reach maturity. God promises “…where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” The Father is so concerned about group prayer He makes it clear He gives special blessing to those who obey. Jesus said, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” We all learn to depend on God as a family. The young watch the older ones.
So… now I have to ask, do you really want to grow? Well, if you do not devote yourself to firmly follow these four commitments that the early church did follow, YOU WILL NOT MATURE! You will not find yourself transformed. It is time to stop making excuses. Come follow Jesus!
Which one of these will be your next step?
