Do you ever find yourself trying to determine where the people you are discipling are in their Spiritual maturity level? Often people try to get a sense of someones Spiritual maturity by looking at things like church attendance or Bible knowledge. These outward signs, however, don’t always indicate an inward heart change. Now I am not saying those things don’t play a part – but they may not play the central part. I want to take a look at the indicators of Spiritual maturity we can pick up from Paul’s conversations with the Church in Corinth, and what we can learn from them.
When it comes to Spiritual maturity, outward signs don't always indicate an inward heart change. #discipleship Share on XThe Corinthians were a congregation largely comprised of Gentile converts. They were immersed in a battle between the new beliefs they were stepping into, and the culture of the world they were still a part of. This battle shows up often in Pauls writings as he is trying to help them work through ongoing struggles when he becomes aware of them. Paul was trying to equip a group of people who were primarily at the Infant/Child level of Spiritual Maturity, while trying to raise them up to the next level without being in proximity to them. (Sounds familiar, considering much communication with others now happens digitally)
Enter 1 Corinthians Chapter 13… While this chapter is now something often quoted at weddings, its original audience was a group of fairly new believers. They were basically Spiritual infants that needed to mature to a point that they could turn their focus away from some of the things they were struggling with, to focus on who God was calling them to be in the culture they were in. (Again – familiar ground in the current culture)
This is who Paul is addressing in 1 Corinthians 3:1 when he says “Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly – mere infants in Christ.” What was the situation in Corinth that made Paul able to draw the conclusion that they were Spiritually immature, even from a distance? It was not their knowledge of the Word. Paul would later tell them that they had great teachers. It was not a lack of skill or of gifts. He affirms their many gifts in this same letter. What marked the Corinthians as immature was a lack of love. Their Spiritual maturity was tied directly to their inability to be in relationship with one-another.
What marked the Corinthians as immature was a lack of love. Their Spiritual maturity was tied directly to their inability to be in relationship with one-another. #discipleship Share on XThis is why chapter 13 was placed in the middle of this letter – the whole chapter addresses why they keep finding themselves in struggles. The struggles were a symptom of a deeper issue. Paul begins by pointing out that neither the gifting’s that they have been given, nor the knowledge they have gained, mean anything without love (1 Corinthians 13:1-3) If these early believers would have had the kind of love he goes on to describe in chapter 13, many of their struggles would have disappeared. With love, jealousy and quarreling would have been quelled. With love, arrogance would have been set aside – people would have considered others more important than themselves. With love, Christians wouldn’t have been suing other Christians. With love, marriages would have been strong. With love, Christians with much spiritual freedom would have been sensitive to Christians with weaker consciences and avoided offending them.
Love was the solution to so many of their struggles! Love is CENTRAL to Spiritual Maturity! It is how we live out our beliefs, it is how the Spirit of God is manifested in our lives.
Love was the solution to Spiritual Immaturity in the early church, and it is still the solution for the church today. Love is the outward indication of an inward level of Spiritual maturity.
Paul address’s the issue of maturity again with the Galatians. He describes to the believers what a Holy Spirit filled person looks like in Galatians 5:22-23: “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is not law.”
Every one of the attributes mentioned point towards our ability to be in relationship! We have personal joy as we look to Christ, and collective joy as we do life together. When the Holy Spirit fills our lives with joy, we are more pleasant to be around. Peace is both an internal peace that passes all understanding, but also peace as a body. There is a lack of conflict as we forgive one another – as we look past faults and give grace. The attribute of kindness – we are kind to other people. We are good and patient towards… other people! We are faithful to the Lord, and to other people. We are gentle with.. other people – we have self control around other people.
The fact is – The evidence of us growing in the faith because of God’s Spirit inside of us is exhibited in our ability to be in relationship with God and other people! Not just be in relationship, but relate well. Yes, we also need to be growing in our knowledge and using the gifts God has given us to contribute to the body. But love and the resulting relationship is the essential proof that we have become mature. Galatians 5:6 says “For in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.”
The evidence of us growing in the faith because of God's Spirit inside of us is exhibited in our ability to be in relationship with God and other people - #discipleship Share on XAs I said, love is at the center of Spiritual maturity. Which really isn’t surprising, given these words of Jesus in Matthew 22:37 which I will leave you with:
“Jesus replied, “‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”
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