Christian Basics—Spiritual Maturity, Part 1By James Gunn
(2 Pet 1:5-11) Over one hundred years ago, the Anglican Bishop J. C. Ryle defined spiritual maturity as, “…that inward spiritual work which the Lord Jesus Christ works in a man by the Holy Ghost when He calls him to be a true believer. He not only washes him from his sins in His own blood, but He also separates him from his natural love of sin and the world, puts a new principle in his heart, and makes him practically godly in life.”1 We can see from his definition that sanctification, holiness or spiritual maturity is a work of the Holy Spirit and the process includes a separation (the root meaning of the word holiness) and the receiving of something new, a new way of being in the world, in fact. For we are told by Paul that, “…we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine…but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ ” (Eph 4:14). According to Paul, we are to grow up into Christ, to be like Him. And we know from experience that growth is not an immediate thing. It is a time-bound and orderly process, generating greater complexity and stability. Hence we are not to be “tossed here and there” as children might be. It’s the same idea with plants. The seed comes first, growing in time into the more chemically complex green shoot, but which is not yet firmly rooted and is easily torn out of the soil. But as the process continues, the seedling grows into the sapling, by which time the roots have developed and so firmly anchor the plant into place. Peter discusses the growth of the believer as well, “…but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (2 Pet 3:18). This word “knowledge” in the Greek means not an intellectual kind of knowledge, mere “head smarts” if you will, but rather knowledge of an experiential nature, more like “gut smarts” which is a visceral understanding based on first-hand experience. We are to know Jesus by experiencing Him holistically. The Psalmist gives the same advice, “O taste, and see that the Lord is good” (Ps 34:8). This goal of Christ-likeness reverberates throughout the New Testament, in language that speaks of abiding, “In that day you shall know that I am in My father and you in Me and I in you” (John 14:20). And again, “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you, unless you abide in Me” (John 15:4). Paul says to another audience, using words that are similar but perhaps less comforting, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God” (Gal 2:20). It seems then, that spiritual maturity is a process of growth over time for the purpose of godliness or Christ-likeness. But is it entirely the work of God the Spirit? We get more than a hint of our answer when we go to the Bible. Paul admonishes us to “…work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you” (Phil 2:12-13). Paul is saying the Spirit and the Christian do the work together (but the implication is that such work would be impossible for the unaided). In his book Renovation of the Heart, theologian and philosopher Dallas Willard says the same thing in more philosophical but no less truthful terms, “We can say in a preliminary manner that spiritual formation for the Christian basically refers to the Spirit-driven process of forming the inner world of the human self in such a way that it becomes like the inner being of Christ Himself.”2 Willard goes on to say:
This
theme is found in other Christian writings as well. For instance,
the Catholic monk and writer, Thomas Merton said, “Every
Christian in one way or another receives this vocation from
Christ—the call to follow
Him…. Our response to Christ means taking up our cross and
this means to seek and to do, in all things, the will of the father….
So, too, Christ says to every Christian: ‘the Kingdom of
heaven will not give entrance to every man who calls me Master,
Master; only to the man who does the will
of my father who is in heaven.’ Matthew 7:21.”4 In these post-modern times, the notion of spiritual labouring is not something with which most new Christians are familiar. I hazard to say that many Christians come into the Faith thinking that Jesus’ work on the cross is all that is needed in Christianity. What then? Can spiritual maturity save us? Can it cover over our indwelling iniquity or make satisfaction for transgression? By no means! The most devout disciple is still an unprofitable servant and all his good works are no better than filthy rags when compared to God’s ultimate holiness and righteousness. It is by the shed blood of Jesus alone that we are saved. His name alone is our hope and our confidence. This is absolutely fundamental, as we are reminded, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God” (Eph 2:8) and again, “But when the kindness of God our saviour and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our saviour, that being justified by His grace we might be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life” (Titus 3:4-7). Yet the man who wrote these words is the same man who wrote “…but I buffet my body and make it my slave, lest possibly, after I have preached to others I myself should be disqualified” (1 Cor 9:27). And it was this same man who also said, “For God has not called us for the purpose of impurity but in sanctification. Consequently, he who rejects this is not rejecting man but the God who gives His Holy Spirit to you.” (1 Thess 4:3, 7-8) J. C. Ryle explains the apparent contradiction between salvation and sanctification in this way: “The Lord Jesus Christ has undertaken everything that His people’s souls require; not only to deliver them from the guilt of their sins by His atoning death, but from the dominion of their sins, by placing in their hearts the Holy Spirit not only to justify them but also to sanctify them. He is thus not only their ‘righteousness’ but their ‘sanctification’ (1 Cor 1:30).”5 This then is the primary reason for sanctification, the ultimate removal through concerted effort and striving—by daily taking up our cross—of the dominion of sin in our lives. And we are enabled to do so not by our own will, but by the power of the Holy Spirit in us. As Peter tells us, “For we are, A CHOSEN RACE, A ROYAL PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s own POSSESSION, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Pet 2:9). This brings us to another reason why spiritual maturity is important and necessary. In the same chapter as the passage quoted above Peter talks about believers as “living stones” which are “…being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Pet 2:5). Peter here is talking about the Church, which is composed of believers. Now we have seen how much importance both Christ and the apostles placed on the idea of spiritual maturity. They saw it as something necessary. But here Peter is saying it is important for the Church herself to have members—living stones—who are mature in both faith and practice. We find the same idea in Paul’s writings, “…having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit” (Eph 2:20-22). The Church can only be an effective means for doing Kingdom work to the degree that its members are holy, sanctified or mature. Mature believers are those who have strengthened themselves through effort, commitment and discipline. This need for strong and mature believers is clearly spoken of by the writer of Hebrews, “For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil” (Heb 5:13-14). In stronger language, Paul describes himself to Timothy, his protégé, as one who has “…fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith” (2 Tim 4:7). He also urges Timothy in the same way, “But have nothing to do with worldly fables…. On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness” (1 Tim 4:7). Paul, like Peter, is quick to recognize that the Church has a great need of those who have disciplined themselves in order to become more fruitful believers, faithful servants, better fighters and soldiers, “Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.” (1 Cor 16:13) On the subject of soldiering and fighting, J. C. Ryle had this to say:
And the Puritan William Gurnall echoes the same sentiment from an earlier time in his book Christian Armour, “In heaven we shall appear, not in armour, but in robes of glory. But here our arms are to be worn night and day. We must walk, work, sleep in them, or else we are not true soldiers of Christ.” And Jesus Himself tells us what we should do to inherit life in the Kingdom, “Enter by the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many there are who enter by it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life and few are those who find it” (Matt 7:13-14). And in Luke, “Strive to enter by the narrow door; for many I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able” (Luke 13:24). And to another who had just made a qualified commitment to Him, He said, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for the Kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62). So we are forced by Scripture to conclude that individual believers are exhorted to a life of increased spiritual maturity, an ever-deepening experience of Christ, a constant abiding in Him and all this so that the life of sin that every believer carries with him or her will have less and less dominion while the closeness of kinship in Christ will be made stronger and more constant, culminating in the full assurance of salvation. It seems evident to me that to call oneself a believer and not to live the sanctified life, is really to live the antinomian life, which life is characterized by hypocrisy. Jesus, as we have seen, has clearly commanded how we should live. It is therefore the duty of every professed believer to make a sincere effort to do just as He has said we should do, our own limitations, weakness and total inability notwithstanding. And that when we have come to Jesus, to abide in Him, we are to “cease our strivings” (Ps 46:10) not in the sense of giving up trying to be sanctified people but rather to let God so touch us with His love and power that we gain His strength to accomplish all that He asks, and this in a spirit of deep humility, gratitude and a burning desire to please Him. We therefore should not concern ourselves with obtaining a crown of righteousness in Heaven. Our reward should be instead the knowledge that we have been pleasing to Him as faithful servants.
We will therefore now attempt to answer the question “What are the habits, activities and qualities of character of one who is growing in spiritual maturity?” For take note, there is in this journey of spiritual maturity no final destination in life. No one this side of Glory has ever been truthfully able to say, “Ah, yes, now I have arrived at my destination. I need go no further.” Remembering too our utter dependence on the grace of God, given to us through faith in the one and only Christ Jesus, and through no merit of our own, let us press on. The marks we are about to consider are not techniques nor are they methods, through the sincere and diligent practice of which we may—with the Spirit’s help and blessing—gain some measure of maturity. Rather, they are simply the signs that indicate—not prove—the presence of such maturity in the Spiritual life, much like waves lapping along a shoreline might indicate the recent passing of a boat. All of the nine following descriptions are based on the work of J. C. Ryle in his classic book Holiness. 1.
Spiritual maturity does not consist in talk about religion. Any reasonably well-educated person
is able to learn the theoretical, theological principles
of this faith, even to memorizing passages from Scripture. He can then
argue for or against any given point with equal vigour and can be very
persuasive, leading others into believing this or that regardless of his
own authenticity. This is akin to what Jesus accused the Pharisees of doing
when they tried to make men and women live by their own traditions rather
than God’s true law: “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from men; for you
do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to
go in” (Matt 23:13). 2. Spiritual maturity does not consist of transient religious feelings. This does not of course deny true devotional ecstasies that result from the movement of the Holy Spirit upon our hearts. But often we are just being caught up in the excitement and energy of the moment or the event. The devotional ecstasies I have in mind rather are those that are not dependant on planned, choreographed events. Instead, these spiritual moments will come upon you first and foremost when you hear the Word of God being preached with clarity, honesty, accuracy and passion. There can be no greater blessing than this except perhaps the quiet moments of personal conversation with God in prayer. As well, they may come upon you unannounced, unlooked for. They may come from the circumstances of everyday life: sitting quietly, washing dishes, walking your dog, or watching your son or your daughter sleeping peacefully. Yet feeling by itself—however noble—is not a determinant of your spiritual condition. In fact, faith is the determining quality, and faith is neither dependant on feelings nor an outcome of them, but is “…the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen” (Heb 11:1). Let us pray then,
not to be like the stony-ground believer who “…hears
the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no firm root
in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution
arises
because of
the word, immediately he falls away” 3. Spiritual maturity does not consist in outward formalism or external devoutness. Many there are who engage in various kinds of bodily religion—such as punctilious attendance at all church services and events, wearing certain clothing or dressing in one’s Sunday best, rote liturgical behaviour, and so forth. But if these external expressions are the outpouring of contrite hearts and humble spirits (Is 66:2) they can actually help us in our maturity because they break down emotional walls, expand our intellectual boundaries and free us up for authentic worship. The formalism we have in mind though was rampant among the Pharisees of Jesus’ time and He roundly condemned such hypocritical behaviour: “You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel! …Even so you too outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness” (Matt 23:24, 28). And in the Old
Testament, we read of God’s unhappiness
with external religiousness: “…this
people draw near with their words and honor me with their lip service,
but they remove their
hearts far from me, and their
reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote” 4. Spiritual
maturity does not mean retreating into a secure seclusion, or the
renunciation of our social duties. As well, retreat for a Christian runs contrary to much of the admonishing in Scripture. It eradicates from this sin-darkened world the very love it needs for its redemption. Without the hope of Christian values put into action can this world progress beyond evil’s imposed limits? No, retreat and seclusion is not optional, not the answer to ignorance, hate and death. Are we not called by our Lord to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world? In His last prayer, Jesus prays to the Father: “I do not ask Thee to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one… As Thou dids’t send me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth” (John 17:15, 18-19). Let us then joyfully engage the world and challenge injustice, cruelty and apathy as often as we are able, always holding out the hand of reconciliation just as it has been held out to us. 5. Neither does
spiritual maturity consist in occasionally performing right actions. 6. As it does
in right actions, spiritual maturity will show itself in
the regular or
habitual respect for God’s law. In our Lord’s first public discourse (the Sermon on the Mount) Jesus expounds and amplifies God’s law, formerly and formally given at Sinai. He showed us how deep and far-reaching the law really was. In many other instances in the gospels, Jesus directly refers to, explains or amplifies God’s law as it had been revealed. He says in the Sermon: “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the books of Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass away from the Law, until all is accomplished” (Matt 5:17-18). And Paul says: “For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man” (Rom 7:22). If we think that we can do away with understanding and obedience to the law of God (as summarized in the Ten Commandments and as more fully expounded in the Sermon on the Mount) and think nothing of lies, hypocrisy, ill-temper, impatience, drunkenness or our other many sins, then we are not living as mature Christians. 7. Further, and related to the above proposition, spiritual maturity will show itself in the habitual endeavor to do Christ’s will and to follow Him in deed and not in word only. If we think that the precepts to holiness found throughout the gospels and especially in the Sermon on the Mount are not meant for us to follow, emulate and obey, then we delude ourselves. The authentic Christian life is one of love and gratitude and, as we have seen, struggle and discipline. We cannot call ourselves believers and live the antinomian life. Antinomianism means “against the law”, that is, Christ’s law, summarized most clearly for us, “One of the scribes came and heard them arguing, and recognizing that He had answered them well, asked Him, ‘What commandment is the foremost of all?’ Jesus answered, ‘The foremost is, “HEAR, O ISRAEL! THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE LORD; AND YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.” ‘The second is this, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” There is no other commandment greater than these’” (Mark 12:28-31). Antinomianism says that since we believers are saved anyway we don’t need to follow Jesus’ teachings or the law, that it’s even better that we don’t. There are many antinomian Christians today, just as there were in apostolic times. And because of our sinful nature we do not want to be obedient and to discipline ourselves for maturity. But surely, if Christ is our Saviour, then He must also be our Lord and Master, for He has redeemed those given to Him. In His last earthly prayer to God the Father Jesus says, “I have manifested Your name to the men You gave me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to me” (John 17:6). We serve a master who said to us, “I am the Vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch, and dries up; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned” (John 15:5-6). And again He says, “You are My friends if you do what I command you” (John 15:14). 8. Spiritual maturity will express itself in a habitual
desire to maintain the standard of Paul for the various
churches. 9. Spiritual maturity will be seen in the attention one gives to the passive graces or character traits of this faith. The graces or qualities are those found in the description of the Fruit of the Spirit from Galatians 5:22-23. The three passive qualities are patience, gentleness and self-control. The positive expression of the state of inner peace, resting firmly in our love of Christ, is patience. Patience normally means forbearance but here I'd like you to push that idea a little farther. I’d like you to consider—just consider—the possibility that in his description of this grace, this quality, Paul just might mean forgiveness. Patience is expressed in Paul's words, “Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity” (Col 3:13-14). We don't normally think of patience in this way. In the King James Version of the Bible, the word used in place of patience is long-suffering, which I believe gives a more accurate description of what Paul had in mind. To be patient is to forbear, to forbear is to suffer long (suffer here does not mean to undergo or experience pain, but to allow, to put up with). Only a patient, long-suffering, forbearing person is able to turn the other cheek, “If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you” (Luke 6:29-31). So what Paul and Jesus are asking is to go beyond forbearance, beyond patience into forgiveness. This is not easy. We must be aware that too often those who wish to harm or exploit us misread patience as weakness or cowardice. I believe that patience by itself is not possible in that it cannot last. It becomes possible and lasting by the experience of love, joy and peace that comes from letting the Spirit of God into your life. When you are infused with the Holy Spirit, it becomes easier to forgive, because it is God’s nature to forgive. When you are feeling resentful or vindictive, hurt or angry ask yourself “Am I now, at this moment, in the presence of the Kingdom?” Surely if you are honest with yourself, the answer must be “No!” But by allowing patience into our lives we are allowing ourselves to forgive. Gentleness, the second of the passive qualities, can be found through faithfulness in ourselves as instruments of the Holy Will. For what need is there to be anything but gentle. Our own gentleness is the result of knowing that nothing good can be forced by us, that we are instruments of the holy will of God. When we know this we are able to be gentle with ourselves and as a consequence life becomes less of a struggle and more of a journey. The only thing remaining to us then is to get closer to God, to align ourselves as closely and intimately as we can with Him. This we do partly through the exercise of spiritual discipline. This truly is the blossoming of the interior life and the riches of God’s kingdom will be available to us every moment of every day. And when we are able to be gentle with ourselves, then self-control becomes easy and effortless because self-control is transmuted into God-control. When most of us think of self-control we are flooded with impressions and images of struggle and effort. And so long as the self instead of the Spirit governs us, it will indeed be a constant struggle. But imagine one who has undergone rebirth in the Spirit. The Spirit of God blossoms within him as the mustard seed in the farmer’s field. The leaven of the Holy Spirit transforms his very substance so that even the very hairs of his head become holy. Will the temptations and turmoil of the world overcome him completely? No. Will he fight or struggle? Yes, certainly, but to the degree that he has experienced a true conversion, life's temptations will become easier to understand and to overcome because he has someone else to lean on and to strengthen him in the struggle. So yes, we struggle. If not, then we do not grow. Truly, we all struggle many times a day with issues of self-control: “Should I have that last pastry?” “I’m attracted to my secretary, but I’m married, what am I to do?” “Hey, Barkeep, how’s ‘bout one more…you know, for the road?” Indeed, the answers will become easy only when the questions become unimportant. For the Spirit will not only open our eyes and lead us into the Light, but the Spirit is the very Light by which we see. I wish now to add a few words about another passive grace or quality, namely, obedience. We have indeed touched briefly on it already yet it is important enough to make a few further remarks. In this age, characterized as it is by rampant individualism and self-willed pride, the quality of obedience is both severely lacking and sorely needed. Now obedience is a word not often found in the vocabularies of many in these relativistic times because it embodies a belief in absolutes and a standard of moral behaviour repugnant to the world. But has not our Master Himself commanded us to obedience, if not with His power, then with His love: “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments” (John 14:15). Or again, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word” (John 14:23). To the heart hardened by pride and willfulness these must be impossible words. The sin-darkened heart cannot abide the notion of obedience—the willing, even joyful, compliance with the will and purpose of another. Yet there is no middle ground, no purgatory in which to consume our pride. The heart must submit to the crucible of love and be melted and re-formed into something completely new. This is the secret of obedience. Through the new Adam, we must do what the old Adam by himself could not: be obedient to the will of God in the spirit of total gratitude and thanksgiving, making ourselves nothing.
It is my prayer that some little light has been shed a upon the path that lies before each of us, confident that we have had the Holy Spirit to lead us, who makes straight the way of the Lord, “And a highway will be there, a roadway, and it will be called the Highway of Holiness” (Is 35:8). Take heart then! The road ahead, narrow as it is, has been trodden by others. The way is clearly marked and our Saviour is there; to walk with us, to help, comfort, encourage and yes, even to carry when the way is just too steep.
1. J. C. Ryle, Holiness, Its Nature, Hindrances, Difficulties and Roots (1877) 2. Dallas Willard, Renovation of the Heart, (Colorado Springs, NavPress, 2002) 3. ibid. 4. Thomas Merton, Life and Holiness, (New York, Doubleday, 1995) 5. J. C. Ryle, Holiness, Its Nature, Hindrances, Difficulties and Roots (1877) 6. ibid. 7..J. C. Ryle, Holiness, Its Nature, Hindrances, Difficulties and Roots (1877)
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