Spiritual Maturity Stages
The Bible uses the terms babes, young men, fathers, elders, children, and several others to indicate where a person is in their spiritual maturity. As time goes by after a person’s salvation, God expects them to grow spiritually. Immediately after salvation, we are spiritual babes. We don’t know a whole lot; we do things we shouldn’t often because of ignorance rather than willful disobedience. Just as we would expect a physical baby to grow into a toddler, then a child, then to the teenage years, and on into adulthood, God also expects Christians to go from spiritual immaturity to spiritual maturity as time progresses.
Before we look at the signs that a person is progressing spiritually, let’s look at some things that indicate spiritual immaturity.
The inability to receive strong doctrine is the first condition we will look at.
There comes a point where, if a child is unable to grasp the concept that 1+1=2 or 2+2=4, people would begin to think that something is drastically wrong. This is also true spiritually. At the moment of salvation, all a person may know is that they are a sinner and Jesus died for their sins. However, over time, an understanding of other doctrines should begin to be understood. At first, it may be a general knowledge of basic Bible stories, such as Noah’s Ark, David and Goliath, the woman at the well, and many others. As time continues to roll on, knowledge of Bible doctrines beyond salvation begins to emerge, such as redemption, sanctification, the Trinity, the rapture, the second coming, and so on. God expects us to grow in wisdom and in truth.
Paul criticized the entire church at Corinth because he could only teach the basics, since that is all they could comprehend. 1 Corinthians 3:2, “I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.”
Moving on, we’ll look at the instability of some people’s faith.
The Scripture tells us that “A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways” (James 1:8). James is talking about how someone bounces from one opinion or decision to another. Paul brings this concept to the spiritual realm. Ephesians 4:14, “That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive.”
We have all seen the wonderment in a child’s eyes when someone appears to pull a coin out of the child’s ear. As we mature, we all know that the trick is sleight of hand, but a small child believes it actually happened. Many people believe what they are told about the Bible.
A few years back, many Christians believed they knew the date of the rapture because the stars were going to align with the description given in Revelation 12.
First of all, Christ told us that no one would know the day of the rapture (Matthew 24:36; Mark 13:32). That fact alone should tell us that arriving at a date for the rapture for any reason is folly. Knowing that Christ told us that no one can know the day or hour of the rapture is the equivalent of spiritual milk, maybe spiritual mashed potatoes.
Second, the passage in Revelation 12 is a reference to the nation of Israel and has nothing to do with the rapture. This fact is equivalent to spiritual meat (see 1 Corinthians 3:2 above).
Long story short, some Christians will hear something and run with it without any personal study or talking to a spiritual leader like their Pastor. After Paul preached in Berea, the church of Berea searched the Scripture to see if the things Paul told them were the truth (Acts 17:11). Running with anything without personal study of the Scriptures and seeking advice through other people of God by way of asking questions and reading books is a sure sign of spiritual immaturity.
How do we grow spiritually? How do we go from a spiritually weak babe in Christ to a strong, spiritually mature Christian?
There is one verse that summarizes the path from spiritual immaturity to spiritual maturity. A verse that the babe in Christ can understand. Psalm 84:7, “They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God.”
To build upon our spiritual strengths and make them stronger, we must appear before God. How do we do that? There are only two ways, and both are needed for spiritual growth: Bible study and prayer.
There are instances in the Bible where we see someone reading the Bible, but we are never commanded to read the Scripture. We are commanded to study it (2 Timothy 2:15). Don’t get me wrong, a Christian should read their Bible regularly. Reading the Bible is part of the growth process. As we read, we will commit things to memory, and questions will arise that prompt us to study. Reading Scripture is a good jumping-off point for study.
Study characters, words, books, doctrine, and whatever topic you are interested in.
Here comes a spoiler alert for the book of Numbers. The book of Numbers is boring. One day, while reading Numbers, I was reading the size of the tribes, a long list of the twelve tribes and how many people each had. I said to myself, “There has to be another reason for all these numbers besides telling Israel how to march through the wilderness.” I started drawing the tribes out in proportion as they positioned themselves around the Ark of the Covenant. When finished, I could see that an aerial view of Israel marching through the wilderness was the shape of a cross, with the Ark in the middle. This is only an example of the things we can find when we study even the boring parts of the Bible.
Lastly, we appear before God when we pray. The Bible says, “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”
If you are a Christian, your best friend is Jesus. Go before His throne daily, stay there constantly (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Bring Him your troubles, but also ask Him questions, talk to Him about the more meaty parts of Scripture. You won’t hear a booming voice from heaven with an answer, but He will lead you to the answer before you realize it.
Christian, do you exhibit characteristics of a child or one who is growing in grace?
Preacher Tim Johnson is Pastor of Countryside Baptist Church in Parke County, Indiana. His weekly column “Preacher’s Point” may be found at: www.preacherspoint.wordpress.com