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What is Spiritual Maturity?

by Marci Ferrell
Bible Study Biblical Womanhood Christian Living Contentment Encouragement Ministry

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What does it look like to be a mature Christian? #spiritualmaturity #maturechristian #christian #spiritualgrowth #biblereading @thankfulhomemaker

 

What does it look like to be a mature Christian? @mferrell

As believers, we all desire to be spiritually mature in our walk with the Lord. We want to be more like Christ in our hearts, speech, thoughts, lives, and relationships with others. We start our Christian walk as children and gradually grow up into adulthood, and it is a process that differs for each of us.

What does it look like to be a mature Christian? Click to Tweet

Many times we can equate spiritual maturity with our knowledge of the Scriptures, how many verses we have memorized, where we attend church, or how many bible studies we’ve participated in our lives. These are all good things, and the Lord uses the Bible to bring us to maturity, but what does it look like to be a mature Christian?

“Do you know what the measure of spiritual maturity is in the Scriptures? It is not the display of spiritual emotion or even the display of spiritual gifts, but the manifestation of spiritual fruit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, self-control.”

~ Greg Koukl

The characteristics of spiritual maturity are laid out for us in Galatians 5:22-23:

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

Verse 22 in Galatians starts with a “but,” so we know there is a contrast going on there. The contrast is the desires of the flesh against the desires of the Spirit. The only way we can bring forth fruit of the spirit is to walk in the Spirit obediently.  The fruit of the Spirit is the mark of a spiritually mature Christian.

Did you notice fruit of the Spirit is singular? It’s a package deal. This is fruit the Holy Spirit produces in our lives as believers as we are walking in His grace and power and are submitted to and controlled by the Spirit (Eph. 5:18). When we are yielded to His work in our lives, the fruit will be what is on display outwardly in our lives.

“the way to see these nine virtues is like a bouquet of the most beautiful flowers….it doesn’t come as isolated things side-by-side in a row. Fruit is a beautiful bouquet of virtues. That’s what the Holy Spirit produces in someone who walks by the Spirit. And you will see them all on display.”

~ John MacArthur

In a sermon on the Fruit of the Spirit, John MacArthur shared that they are all attitudes listed. We will act in accordance with God’s Word if our attitudes are submissive to the Spirit at work in our lives. He stated in the sermon when someone wants to know if we’re a Chrisitan, have them stick around with us for a while. If what you see coming out are the attitudes of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control, then that is how we are putting our salvation on display to a lost world around us.

As we abide in Christ, we naturally bear fruit.

Life, not law, changes behavior; and as you yield to the Spirit, Christ’s life is manifest in the fruit of the Spirit.

~ Warren Wiersbe

Galatians 5:22 “is” is in the present tense (but the fruit of the Spirit is). This means fruit-bearing is continuous.

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. ~Philippians 1:6

We know that fruit trees bear whatever fruit is natural for them. It is the same in our spiritual walk. Believers in Jesus Christ will bear Spiritual fruit (Galatians 5:22-23). When the Spirit changes our nature, the fruit of our lives will be the character of Christ.

The relationships in our lives are hungry for this good fruit. Who in our lives needs to be shown: Love? Patience? Kindness? Our fruit-bearing is not for selfish reasons but to feed and to help others.

Granted us Everything:

seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. ~ 2 Peter 1:3

The word everything in 2 Peter 1:3 means everything, no exceptions. We are given in Christ everything we need to grow to spiritual maturity. We are complete in Christ. God has given us everything we need pertaining to life and godliness.

God has given us everything we need pertaining to life and godliness. Click to Tweet

We are empowered by the grace of the Holy Spirit, who dwells within us to live and walk as Christ did. May we live our lives in such an awareness of God’s presence within us.

May we take the time to read and study the Word not to gain a head full of knowledge but to gain knowledge of the God of the Bible who truly brings about change in our lives. As we know more of who God is, it will point us to how much we are not like Him and bring us to repentance, and that’s where true heart change begins.

Spiritual maturity, simply stated, is Christlikeness. Click to Tweet

We will never gain full maturity while on this earth. Our lives will be a continual progression of spiritual growth. Spiritual maturity, simply stated, is Christlikeness. The more we are like Christ, the more spiritually mature we are.

We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ. ~ Colossians 1:28

The word complete in Colossians 1:28 is the Greek word “teleios,” which means perfect or fully mature. It is to be full grown and like Christ. Paul didn’t want us, believers, to be partially like Christ but fully that the fruit of the Spirit was evident in our lives, and we were becoming day by day, through the trials, circumstances, and relationships in our lives, more like Christ.

Is fruit evident in our lives? Do we see growth? Are we progressing? May we, by His grace, press on to spiritual maturity and become fully grown and like Christ (Philippians 3:14).

“When God prunes us, the result will be greater growth and sweeter fruit… Pruning usually takes place when God uses situations, people, and circumstances to help mature us in our Christian disposition, attitude, and temperament… The way we respond when we are pruned reveals our true level of spiritual maturity.”

~ Bunny Wilson, Biblical Womanhood in the Home

Related posts:

  1. EP 53: Daily Bible Reading (Spiritual Disciplines Series)
  2. Are You a Spiritual Baby?
  3. Podcast EP 55: How to Study the Bible (Spiritual Disciplines Series)
  4. EP 109: God’s Blessing Does Not Depend on Our Performance


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Comments

  1. Christine says

    at

    So simple yet because of our sin nature it’s difficult.
    But knowing the The Spirit is with us, we can work in becoming Christ-like.

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Marci Ferrell
Patience is our ability, under the control of the Patience is our ability, under the control of the Spirit, to persevere and endure in times of suffering or hardship.⁣⁣
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Come listen in (or read) EP 118: Cultivating Patience with One Another at the link in my profile @thankfulhomemaker (click on the link under the blue arrows and then this image)
By affliction, Christ . . .⁣⁣ shows us our em By affliction, Christ . . .⁣⁣
 shows us our emptiness and weakness,⁣⁣
 draws us to the throne of grace,⁣⁣
 purifies our affections,⁣⁣
 weans us from the world,⁣⁣
 and makes us long for Heaven.⁣⁣
~ J.C. Ryle⁣
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Read more of Trusting God in Your Trials at the link in my profile @thankfulhomemaker (click on the link under the blue arrows and then this image)
I know we can all relate to self-pity as women, wi I know we can all relate to self-pity as women, wives, and mothers.  How many times do we focus on our needs that aren’t met?  Unfair situations or circumstances?  Self-pity is a selfish tendency that takes our eyes off Christ and puts them on ourselves. ⁣⁣
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We forget that “God works all things together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.” Are we able to give God “thanks in all things”?⁣⁣
⁣⁣
Come listen in to EP 105: Practical Steps to Overcome Self Pity at the link in my profile @thankfulhomemaker (click on the link under the blue arrows and then this image)⁣
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#rootedinChrist #rootedintheword #christian #christianity #thankfulhomemaker #bedeeplyrooted  #christianblogger  #christians #treasurechrist #joyinchrist #inchristalone #deeplyrooted #martynlloydjones #selfpity
Grab a free copy of my weekly planner 🥰⁣ ⁣ Grab a free copy of my weekly planner 🥰⁣
⁣
Weekly Menu Planning Free PDF is at the link in my profile @thankfulhomemaker (click on the link under the blue arrows and then this image).
"God's written Word, the Bible, is God's greatest "God's written Word, the Bible, is God's greatest earthly gift to his people, second only to the living Word, Jesus. And because the living Word perfectly lived out the written Word, we are blessed beyond measure. Jesus fulfilled every precept found in Psalm 119, keeping the principles and commandments of this psalm, and he did so on our behalf.⁣
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Our failure to live wholeheartedly is covered by Jesus, who lived it perfectly for us. Ultimately, he is Psalm 119 in human form, the Word became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14)."⁣
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~ Taken from Sing a New Song: A Woman's Guide to the Psalms by Lydia Brownback⁣
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With my whole heart I seek you;⁣
let me not wander from your commandments!⁣
I have stored up your word in my heart,⁣
that I might not sin against you.⁣
~ Psalm 119:10-11
Accept the cost of good deeds in time, thought, an Accept the cost of good deeds in time, thought, and effort. But remember that opportunities for doing good are not interruptions in God’s plan for us, but part of that plan. We always have time to do what God wants us to do.⁣
~ Jerry Bridges, The Practice of Godliness⁣
⁣
Listen in to 10 Things Helping Me to Manage My Days as a Homemaker at the link in my profile @thankfulhomemaker (click on the link under the blue arrows and then this image).
I’m sharing a walkthrough of various tools and s I’m sharing a walkthrough of various tools and systems that help me to get things done. It’s a practical episode, and I hope to encourage you, if nothing else, to take a look at how your days are going and ask yourself some simple questions like:⁣
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What is working and what is not working?⁣
Where do I find myself wasting time?⁣
Where can I make better use of my time?⁣
Can I simplify my days or various tasks or automate them?⁣
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These are just a few questions to ponder, and there are many more you can ask, but the main one is to seek the Lord and ask him, are you a good steward of your time? Is your desire to honor Him amid your days and in how you spend your time?⁣
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Many more than ten systems or tools help me manage my days, but these items top my list. I’ve shared more in detail on some of these in past blog posts or podcast episodes, but I wanted to put together an episode that walked through how I use each one.⁣
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An episode like this one is more helpful to me than you because it helps me to think through my days and systems and tools and determine what is working for me and what isn’t.⁣
⁣
Listen to 10 Things Helping Me Manage My Days as a Homemaker at the link in my profile @thankfulhomemaker (click on the link under the blue arrows and then this image).
Who doesn’t want to save money, time, their sani Who doesn’t want to save money, time, their sanity, reduce stress, eat healthy and avoid the dreaded question, “What’s for dinner?” It sounds great, right, and we’d all love to do it, but how do we get there?⁣
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Menu planning is the answer to all those questions above. We have a jam-packed episode today filled with tons of tips, examples, and ideas, so stick with me, and I know there will be something that will appeal to each of you in some way.⁣
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Listen in at the link in my profile @thankfulhomemaker (click on the link under the blue arrows and then this image).
Though gradually, though no one remembers exactly Though gradually, though no one remembers exactly how it happened, the unthinkable becomes tolerable. And then acceptable. And then legal. And then applaudable.⁣
~ Joni Eareckson Tada⁣
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Come listen to EP 70: Finding Forgiveness After an Abortion at the link in my profile @thankfulhomemaker (click on the link under the blue arrows and then this image)
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