Everyone grows up: physically, mentally, emotionally, socially, and spiritually.
Even Jesus had to do this, as Luke told us in his gospel: “And the child [Jesus] grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him” (Luke 2:40), and “Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man” (2:52). The simple meaning of these two verses is that the baby in the manger didn’t stay a baby. He grew up, becoming taller, stronger, and learning to walk, talk, read and write—like other children his age. I suppose that he didn’t already know his Bible, so he had to learn the passages from Genesis to Malachi, as other kids did. And, perhaps surprisingly, he also had to grow in wisdom, though perhaps he developed it faster than the rest of us do. Perhaps the only real difference between young Jesus and the rest of us was that he was without sin (Romans 7:3), so he was already moral. I assume that this means he didn’t tell lies, cheat at games, or disobey when Mary asked him to wash the dishes. But in many ways Jesus had to grow up as we all do.
But as we each mature into adulthood that doesn’t mean that we are done growing. The New Testament speaks about the Christian life as a process of growing up. No matter what age we are, new Christians start as spiritual infants and hopefully grow to spiritual maturity. What does spiritual maturity The Apostle Paul wrote about spiritual maturity in Philippians 3, a chapter in which he used the word “maturity” twice (though most of our English versions translate the two instances as different words, but Paul used the same word): “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect“ [or “mature”] …. All of us who are mature should take such a view of things.” (Philippians 3:12,15) Paul said that he is not mature, but then he concludes that all who are mature should have his attitude. He wasn’t mature, he was mature. Was Paul confused? No, he was just using the same word in two different ways: either as perfection or a process of growing up— which is why our English versions translate that word in two ways.
If we think of maturity as perfection, Paul said he wasn’t there yet; therefore he would continue to strive to attain the goal for which Christ had called him in the first place. To reach this goal he had to forget what was behind—all of his past accomplishments—and strain forward to finish the race ahead (3:12-14).
What accomplishments did Paul choose to forget? In the previous verses Paul listed his résumé as a Jewish Pharisee (Philippians 3:46): he had been circumcised on the eighth day, from the nation of Israel and the tribe of Benjamin (one of the faithful tribes), having received the best Hebrew education, having adhered to the Old Testament law, and having been zealous for his faith—so zealous that he persecuted the church. Looking back, he could summarize his life before coming to Christ as faultless!
But when Paul remembered these items, he now considered them as “garbage” (verse 8)! Not because they were bad, but because they were not nearly good enough.
We can re-word Paul’s résumé for our contemporary Christian context. Maybe our accomplishments include: having been baptized, living in a so-called “Christian” country, attending a good church which is part of a good denomination, having had a solid Christian education, trying to obey all of Jesus’ commandments, and being zealous in sharing our faith. Those are all excellent accomplishments, but could we join Paul in labeling them as “garbage”?—not because they are bad but because they are not nearly good enough!
What is good enough? Paul said, “that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.” (3:9) Christian maturity is a process of growing in faith, by which we obtain Christ’s righteousness. That was Paul’s goal.
Spiritual maturity is not some degree of perfection, so what is it? Paul says that maturity is an attitude: his desire to become everything God intended him to become when he called him to serve Christ. That attitude is maturity. And for us to be mature we must share that attitude.
Maturity for a Christian is the attitude of pressing on to become everything God called us to be when we started as a Christian. An interesting implication of this understanding of maturity is that a brand-new Christian who is striving to grow in his or her faith may be more mature than one who has been a Christian for a long time but has stopped trying to grow! Not even the great Apostle Paul felt he had already reached his goal! If Paul had not yet finished his race, how much further do I have to go in mine!
Spiritual maturity is the process of pressing on toward the goal!
Next week we will look more closely at how we can grow as a Christian.
Greg Giles is a published author, who, along with his wife Jean, has embraced the call to serve and teach around the globe. Their life together has included missionary work in Liberia, Bangladesh, teaching in China, and raising a family in Bemidji, Minnesota. Between global travels and local commitments, including serving as superintendent of Corn Bible Academy and their current part-time roles at Corn Heritage Village, the Gileses have found “home” in many places; yet, they now happily reside in retirement in Cordell. Please visit his website at reflections-on-wisdom.com.