THE CALL TO SPIRITUAL MATURITY.

EPHESIANS 4:13-15 BSB.

13. Until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God, AS WE MATURE TO THE FULL MEASURE OF THE STATURE OF CHRIST.

14. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed about by the waves and carried around by every wind of teaching and by the clever cunning of men in their deceitful scheming.

15. Instead, speaking the truth in love, WE WILL IN ALL THINGS GROW UP INTO CHRIST HIMSELF, who is the head.

HEBREWS 6:1 ESV.

Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ AND GO ON TO MATURITY...

God wants all of us to grow. Maturity is one of His purposes for our lives. In fact, Hebrews 6:1 tells us, "LET'S PRESS ON TO MATURITY" (CEB).

God intends for us to always pursue spiritual growth so that we may "Be conformed to the image of His Son" (Rom. 8:29 ESV).

Spiritual infancy is a lack of growth after the New Birth. 

Maturity doesn't just mean knowing more doctrine. It doesn't just mean you don't argue with your spouse. It doesn't just mean you no longer steal, or lie. Maturity can only be judged by the standard of Christ. It means becoming more like Christ.

There are basically three stages of physical and spiritual growth or development - Babyhood, Childhood and Adulthood.

God's ultimate plan for the believer is to grow into Adulthood stage; the maturity stage, so "we will no longer be little children, tossed like waves and blown about by every wind of doctrine."

In other words, we will not be easily swayed or moved away from our faith due to deception.

Each of these developmental stages has its own characteristics. While spiritual babies depend only on the faith and prayers of other people, spiritual children are unsteady and unreliable. They are not stable. They can be quick to make a commitment, but they easily change their mind if the going gets tough, and because they are so gullible, they swallow everything they hear hook, line and sinker, and are thus deceived or led astray.

According to Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary of Current English, the word "stable" has connotations of being firmly fixed; not likely to move, change or fail.

God want us to get to a stage in our spiritual development where we are firmly fixed, "rooted and built up in Him, and established in the faith;" and not likely to move, change or fail (Col. 2:6,7).

SPIRITUAL MATURITY IS ONE OF GOD'S PURPOSES FOR OUR LIVES. HE INTENDS FOR US TO ALWAYS PURSUE SPIRITUAL GROWTH SO THAT WE MAY BE CONFORMED TO THE IMAGE OF HIS SON.

It's a sad fact that there has being a mass defection from the faith in the recent times. Some folks are in church just to go through the motions of religion, but they've long departed from the faith into other things. 

God's Word is faith's firm foundation - the foundation for an effective Christian life. Apostle Paul said, "And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to THE WORD OF HIS GRACE, WHICH IS ABLE TO BUILD YOU UP... (Act 20:32).

For the most part, the Word of God has been neglected, especially in the modern day church setting. Other things have been substituted for the Word. 

Comedy can not take the place of the Word, musical jamborees cannot take the place of God's Word, and you can't substitute the Word with prophecies.

Now, we could create an atmosphere for the move of the Holy Spirit or the manifestation of God's presence in our midst as we minister to Him through heart-felt  worship, prayer and praise, but at the end of the day, there will still be the for us to revert to a rich diet of God's Word, for Spiritual Sustainability, Growth and Stability. 

Believers in the elementary stages of spiritual development are susceptible to deception because they've not grown up yet.

There are forty years old babies in the Lord who cannot differentiate their left from right; they can't discern between good and evil like the adults would do. (Heb. 5:14).

We live in a time when majority of church folks don't seems to know Whom they believe, What they believe, and Why they believe; including preachers!

They run after every latest fad in town and change their visions ten times within a year! But the Bible says that, "...God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all Churches of the saints" (1 Cor. 14:33).

Believers in the adulthood or maturity stage of spiritual growth are those that have known the Lord, and are steadily walking with Him. Their perceptions are trained by practice to discern both good and evil, and thus they "...HAVE THE MIND OF CHRIST" (1 Cor. 2:16).

Paul said, "When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. But when I became an adult, I set aside childish ways" (1 Cor. 13:11).

The general declining interest in God's Word is what has brought us to where we are today. Most Christians can no longer stand up for what they believe in the face of intimidatory circumstances, but cower behind walls and under tables out of fear.

"Therefore we must progress beyond the elementary instructions about Christ and move on to maturity..." (Heb. 6:1).

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World Overcoming Faith Gospel Ministry Inc.

Address: Opposite Trade Fair Complex, Minna, Niger State, Nigeria.

☎️ +234(0)803-551-8255

📩 worldovercomersngr@gmail.com

VISION: We see a vibrant and victorious Church, firmly and securely built on the solid foundation of God's Word. Jesus is coming for a glorious Church. A Church triumphant; A Church walking in the fullness of the victory that our Lord purchased for us at Calvary.

MISSION: We exist to bring the Saints to a place of intimacy with God. A place where they can relate with God personally, and intimately; A place where they can build their own faith in God, and stand on their own feet spiritually regardless of the circumstance, and thus become a bold and effective witnesses of His love, grace and power!

                   Emmanuel B. Afolabi