Studies In The Kingdom Of God

Volume 2: Chapter 4: Pressing On To Spiritual Maturity

"...let us press on to maturity..." Hebrews 6:1 (emphasis mine)

"Until we all attain to...a mature man..." Ephesians 4:13 (emphasis mine)

"Let us therefore, as many as are mature, have this attitude" Philippians 3:15 (emphasis mine)

I've mentioned spiritual maturity several times, usually as it relates to experiencing the prophetic activities of the Kingdom of God. Specifically, that experiencing these prophetic activities isn't a sign of spiritual maturity. And, yet, we will not achieve spiritual maturity without experiencing these prophetic activities. We can't know Jesus experientially, apart from our prophetic encounters with the Holy Spirit. He reveals Jesus to us and makes it possible for us to connect with Him and experience Him. We can know about Jesus from the Bible but we can't know Jesus, experientially, apart from the prophetic activities of the Holy Spirit taking place in our lives.

What I want to address, here, is the subject of spiritual maturity. It is a very important subject and critical for us to know and understand as followers of Jesus. It is not to be taken lightly or approached in a flippant or haphazard manner, as if it is not important for us to embrace and pursue it in our lives. Jesus and the writers of the New Testament books spend a great deal of time on the subject of spiritual maturity and how to grow in it. It is imperative that we grow in spiritual maturity because our Christian experience in this life depends on it, as well as our place and function within the Kingdom of God in the ages to come.

What is spiritual maturity? How do we achieve it? If we were to ask several people, who identify themselves as followers of Jesus. these two questions, we will most likely get several different answers. We would get answers ranging from, "an accurate systematic theology", to "loving everyone", to "being like Jesus", to "doing good things to help people", to "being led by the Spirit". Okay, assuming any or all of these answers are correct, they only address the first of the two questions, "What is spiritual maturity?" They don't answer the second question, "How do we achieve it?"

For instance, if we take the Systematic Theology text books taught in our seminaries and bible schools today, we will find many points of agreement between them but we will also find many points of disagreement. In other words, not everyone agrees on all areas of Christian theology. Is it possible, then, to attain to spiritual maturity if we can't even be sure that our systematic theology is correct? How do we love everyone? Does it mean that we are nice to everyone? Was Jesus nice to everyone? He called the Pharisees a bunch of snakes. He took a whip to the money changers in the temple, driving them out of the temple and turning over their tables and throwing their money on the floor. He told His disciples that if they didn't eat His flesh and drink His blood, they were wasting their time following Him. What does it mean to love everyone and how do we do that?

Are we spiritually mature if we read the Bible and pray every day? Do we read our Bible for 10 minutes, or 30 minutes, or an hour? Do we say the same set of prayers every day or do we say different prayers every day? Do we pray for 10 minutes, or 30 minutes, or an hour, or two hours? What are the Bible reading and prayer requirements for achieving spiritual maturity? How is a person led by the Spirit? Do we sit in our room and wait for the Spirit to "move us" to do something? Is it based on how much and how often we are led by the Spirit, or is it based on the types of things He leads us to do and the quality of the results that come from those activities? What are the requirements for being led by the Spirit in order to achieve spiritual maturity?

Is spiritual maturity being like Jesus? Does it mean that we need to do miracles like Jesus? Does it mean that we learn to speak eloquently like Jesus so that we draw large crowds to our gatherings? He only had 120 people following Him when He ascended into heaven after His resurrection. Do we consider that to be successful according to today's standards, and does it satisfy our "litmus test" for spiritual maturity? Does engaging in doing good things for people mean that we are spiritually mature? What is considered to be a "good work"? How many and how often should these good deeds be done to achieve spiritual maturity? Is it the level of impact or the scope of our good deeds that satisfies the criteria for achieving spiritual maturity? Is it the recognition of our deeds by others or the legacy of our good deeds that we leave behind after we're gone that determines spiritual maturity?