The Truth About What It Means to Be Spiritually Mature

So today, we are going to talk about growing into spiritual maturity. What is that? What is growing up spiritually? How do you know if you are making progress? How do you gauge it? You know a tape measure is a must when you need an accurate measurement. How long is that bolt that you need? About 4 inches? Maybe 5? If you need one that is exactly 4 inches, you’ll need an exact measurement. A random measurement is not effective when you need to be precise. Do you live your life randomly? Have you measured your maturity in Christ accurately? A random measurement is not good enough. The Bible teaches us that we are to measure our spiritual maturity. What are the marks of a mature Christian believer? A thankful heart, prayer, joy, fellowship, confidence in God’s salvation, partnership, growing and discerning love, and righteousness.¹ So in today’s podcast, we are going to take a look at what Paul wrote about this subject as we look at “The Truth About What It Means to Be Spiritually Mature” all on this week’s Light on Life.

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Emery committed his life to the Lord Jesus Christ over 48 years ago and has served as both a full-time pastor and an itinerant minister. He and his wife Sharon of 44 years emphasize personal growth and development through the Word of God. The ministry of the Holy Spirit is the focus and the hallmark of their mission. Read more about them here.

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Podcast Notes

Prayer

Well again, welcome.
Let’s pray.

Father God, just the fact that we have this relationship of father to child is evidence that you have set all things on a growth path. Help us to grow in grace and maturity in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. We pray that in His Name, Amen and Amen.

Spiritually Mature: Spiritual Versus Infants in Christ

We are in 1 Corinthians 3 today.
Paul writing to the church says this.

1 Corinthians 3:1–3 (ESV) — 1 But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. 2 I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, 3 for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way?

As we hit chapter three, [we’ve been in chapter two for a bit] we must all remember that these epistles — these letters to the churches, were not written in chapter and verse.
Chapter three is a continuation of what Paul was trying to get over to the saints at Corinth.
Verse one proves this because it starts out with Paul saying ‘but, I brothers could not address you.’
The ‘but’ hooks you back to the discussion in chapter two.
There, Paul was teaching us that unsaved people do not have any ability to understand spiritual truths.

1 Corinthians 2:14—15 (ESV) — 14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. 15 The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one.

That’s what Paul said.
Chapter two, showcases saved and unsaved people.
But chapter three is all about the former — saved people and Paul breaks them this group into two categories — spiritual people and people of the flesh.
Now, you would think that all saved people are spiritual but that’s not the case.
So, of course, if we want to grow spiritually it certainly would be helpful to know the difference between the two.
Now, here’s an important word of caution.
Growing spiritually is more about others than it is about you.
Spiritual people make the greatest impact.

Spiritually Mature: Brothers

So, let’s see how we can get there by looking over Paul’s shoulder at this letter.
Paul says ‘But, I brothers.’
There’s quite a lot being said here with these three little words!
The Greek word ‘brothers’ means a male from the same womb.².
All believers in Jesus are ‘born again from the same womb’.
Which means a relationally intensity exists between you and the person sitting next to you in church.
This ‘spiritual family tie’ that you have with other Jesus followers from the same womb is higher than any ‘physical family tie’ we have on Planet Earth.
So every Jesus follower comes from the same womb.
Here’s the next thing the words ‘But, I brothers’ points to.
And that’s this — there was a lot of problems going on in this church.
A lot of immature behavior.
The Corinthians were fighting and quarreling with one another.
Some were involved in wrong sex sins.
Others were suing one another in the church.
They’re acting wordly crazy yet Paul calls them brothers.
Now, you have to get that.
Spiritually immature people, or people of the flesh as Paul calls them, are just as much children of God as the most spiritual among us.
They are all brothers — they are all in the family.
Paul identifies himself with the Corinthians using this relationship term even though this part of the family is acting kind of weird.

Spiritually Mature: A Prior Visit

And he goes on and says this: ‘I could not address you as spiritual people.’
So when did Paul try to address them as spiritual people?
Paul had previous contact with the Corinthians.
This letter is listed as First Corinthians but, it wasn’t first contact.
We know for sure that there was another letter that Paul wrote prior to First Corinthians.
Technically, that’s the real first letter to the Corinthians in terms of order.
This letter is a ‘lost letter.’

1 Corinthians 5:9 (ESV) — 9 I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people —

So, Paul says I wrote you a previous letter.
That letter is lost — no one knows where it’s at.
Now it’s not lost to God — He knows where it ended up.
The Lord chose not to include that previous letter in scripture.
Don’t tell me He didn’t put the Bible together — yes He did.
Now talking about previous contact, Paul visited the city of Corinth prior to writing this letter.
You will find that account in Acts eighteen.

Acts 18:1 (ESV) — 1 After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth.

So, in this letter, First Corinthians, is saying “I tried to communicate to you on spiritual level and I couldn’t do it.”

Spiritually Mature: Could Not Speak

Notice — look at your Bible close.
Paul said I could not speak to you — I couldn’t address you as spiritual.
Paul didn’t say he wouldn’t — said he couldn’t.
“What do you mean you couldn’t, Paul?
“Are you hoarse?”
“The cat got your tongue maybe — or what?”
What do you mean ‘I couldn’t speak?’
Paul’s talking about effective communication.
He could mouth the words but to no avail.
‘Couldn’t speak’ means he couldn’t speak with impact.
‘Couldn’t speak’ means the truths would have never made it to the target.
Truth is supposed to bring light.

Psalm 119:130 (ESV) — 130 The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple.

The KJV says ‘the entrance of God’s Word brings light.’
‘Couldn’t speak’ means there was no entrance!
And when there’s no entrance, the light never turns on.
‘Couldn’t speak’ means you wasted your time sharing.
‘Couldn’t speak’ means the people were no better off after they heard what was spoken than if they never heard it in the first place.
Spiritually mature people hear and they act on what they hear.
So, Paul recognized that this group was not ready to hear.
You know to help people, you have got to locate them.
Some are ‘spiritually mature’ and some are not — they are ‘people of the flesh.’

For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh

Spiritually Mature: What Spiritual Means

Okay, we need to define terms.
Paul said, ‘I could not talk to you as spiritual.’
What does the word ‘spiritual’ mean?
And with that question, here is the Definition of the Day.
The word ’spiritual’ is a word that pertains to a pattern of life controlled or directed by God’s Spirit.
Now that’s a heavenly definition or a definition from God’s perspective.
Now, there are people on Planet Earth who have sensitivities to the spirit world even though they haven’t formally met Jesus.
I’ve heard them speak about some experiences that they had when they were young children.
William Branham, who was marvelously used of God in the healing ministry and in spiritual gifts began having visions at age three.
I think some of these cases are people who are showing evidence of the call of God in their life before they are born again.
This is Jeremiah one.

Jeremiah 1:5 (ESV) — 5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

‘Before you were born,’ God said, ‘I knew you’ and appointed you as a prophet.
Prophets have the divine equipment to look into the spirit realm.
That equipment includes the revelation gifts of the Spirit listed in First Corinthians twelve.
So, you see some people show signs of the their calling before they fully walk in it.
And with that thought, here is the Quote of the Day.
Patsy Cameneti in her book ‘The Spirit Realm’ shares a definition for the word ‘spiritual,’ and I really like it.
She says.

The most simple description of a spiritual person is one who is aware of and responsive to spiritual things. You don’t have to be a believer to actually be spiritual. Any human can be spiritual because every human is a spirit, has a soul, and lives in a body. Spiritual people have a sensitivity to the unseen realm and often have developed that sensitivity by responding to encounters and any kind of spiritual activity. It’s not hard to find spiritual people in all the religions and cults. Seeing into the realm of the spirit and interaction with spirits is common wherever there haven’t been distractions from man’s natural spiritual capabilities. Fortune tellers, witch doctors, and the like have honored positions in these environments.³

This is a good general definition of what the word ‘spiritual’ implies.
So, yes — man is spirit, soul, and body — that’s saved or unsaved men.
All men, the most godly and the most ungodly, have the same three elements to their being — spirit, soul, and body.
But, when a person says ‘yes to Jesus and he/she is born again, their spirits come alive and their journey to the God-kind of spirituality begins.

Spiritual Maturity: Paul’s Problem

So, Paul has a problem here with this first century church and really we all have the same problem in our 21st century churches.
Here is a place where we can learn some things about ministering to people.
Paul says, ‘Look, I am wanting to communicate with you but I am unable, because you are taking your cues from the flesh instead of the Spirit.
‘This is forcing me to both monitor and filter what I can can say to you.’
Now, isn’t that true with some people that you’ve run into in your world?
You know that you can help them if they will hear you but you know they won’t hear so you have to stay quite about these things.
So, what we’re talking here about is people growing and maturing.
Bottom line?
The Corinthians, born again, new creatures in Christ, and having the Spirit of God in them, are acting no better than natural unsaved people.
You couldn’t even tell the difference between saved and unsaved in the church.

Spiritual Maturity: Defining Carnality

So, we defined the word ‘spiritual.’
Now, let’s define the other word that Paul uses ‘people of the flesh.’
That phrase ‘people of the flesh’ indicates a hearing problem.
The KJV uses the word ‘carnal.’
The TNIV uses the word ‘worldly.’
The God’s Word translation uses the words ‘corrupt nature.’
The Greek word is ‘sarkinos’ and, it’s an adjective, meaning to be controlled by animal appetites.
When the ESV use the words ‘people of the flesh,’ it is not referring to the human body but the sin nature which infects the human body.
‘Sarkinos’ is a picture of how unsaved people and undeveloped believers live life every day on planet earth; controlled by their flesh or animal appetites.
Now, I grew up in God reading the KJV.
The church I attended for the first nine years of my saved life used the word ‘carnal’ quite a bit.
That’s the word that’s engrained in me.
And, with that thought, here is the Illustration of the Day.

The story is told of Handley Page, a pioneer in aviation, who once landed in an isolated area during his travels. Unknown to him, a rat got aboard the plane there. On the next leg of the flight, Page heard the sickening sound of gnawing. Suspecting it was a rodent, his heart began to pound as he visualized the serious damage that could be done to the fragile mechanisms that controlled his plane and the difficulty of repairs because of the lack of skilled labor and materials in the area. What could he do? He remembered hearing that a rat cannot survive at high altitudes, so he pulled back on the stick. The airplane climbed higher and higher until Page found it difficult to breathe. He listened intently and finally sighed with relief. The gnawing had stopped. When he arrived at his destination, he found the rat lying dead behind the cockpit! Oftentimes we, God’s children, are plagued by sin that gnaws at our life simply because we are living at too low a spiritual level. To see sin defeated in our lives requires that we move up—away from the world—to a higher level where the things of this world cannot survive.⁴

Spiritual Maturity: How God Sees You

God the Father see’s you in Jesus.
‘In Christ’ you have been positionally delivered from the flesh sin nature.

Romans 8:12–13 (ESV) — 12 So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

We are able by the help of the Spirit to put to death the deeds of the body.

Philippians 2:3 (ESV) — 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.

You see, we have divine ability to walk in this — this is in our wheelhouse.
But, people have to do a little growing to get out of the babyhood stage of development.

Spiritual Maturity As Opposed to Infants

All of this ‘unable to hear and understand’ level of living is wrapped up in the words ‘infants in Christ.’
The KJV uses the words ‘babes.’
This Greek word describes an infant who can not speak
Hebrews five amplifies this for us.

Hebrews 5:11 (ESV) — 11 About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.

Tony Evans gives the following illustration highlighting the word ‘dull.’
Tony says.

THE GREEK word for dull has to do with slowness of perception due to moral laxness. It was the word used as an epithet for a mule. Now mules are not your greatest thinkers. Mules are not your most intelligent animals. They are kind of the dummies of the horse line. They are basically only good for carrying the loads of others on their backs. You don’t really ride them. You don’t really exercise with them. You just kind of use them as labor for work because they are dull. Christians can be mule-minded. Christians can regress to the point where they are of very little value to the things of God—not because God made them that way, but because they have become that way. They have become dull of hearing.⁵

So, dull of hearing means to be ‘mule-minded.’
I’ve been ‘mule-minded’ here and there haven’t you?
Hebrews continues with this.

Hebrews 5:12–14 (ESV) — 12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, 13 for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. 14 But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

So again, there’s a growth level distinction between believers.
Some Jesus followers need milk — some need solid food.

Spiritual Growth: The Answer — Feeding

Now, this ‘infants in Christ,’ ‘spiritual babes,’ ‘dull of hearing,’ ‘unable to take in spiritual realities,’ ‘being driven by jealousies and strife’ ‘acting like their unsaved’ — all of these individuals has a cure.
Wouldn’t you like to know what it is?
And, it’s found in 1 Corinthians 3:2.
I’m talking about being spiritual maturity — I’m talking about growing spiritually.

1 Corinthians 3:2 (ESV) — 2 I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready,

Paul says, “I have fed you milk — not solid food.”
Sounds like what we just read in Hebrews five.
Here is a marvelous truth — everything in God is designed to grow.
Growth comes by feeding.
The only way infants can stop being infants is by feeding.
The Greek word ‘fed’ means to furnish drink or to make it possible or cause someone to drink.
Did you get that? — Make it possible for them to drink or eat.
So now, we get into this idea of giving people information versus ministering truth to them.
They are two entirely different things.
Real ministry is making it easy for someone to drink.
It’s breaking scripture down to it’s simplest components.
Ministry is not just ‘throwing’ the Word at people.
I heard Craig Groschel, Pastor of Life Church say this.

He said: You can say it (your message, your thought, what you’re trying to convince someone of) but that doesn’t mean people hear it, believe it, or will do it. You’re not just trying to say words. You’re trying to create action — you’re trying to create movement.

You can’t just ‘throw milk’ into a baby believers face.
All they are going to do is get wet!
We all know what it takes to feed babies — we’ve done it.
I had four of them.
You learn some things by accident.
Sometimes you must work that bottle and gentle coax that little one to take it.
So getting milk into spiritual babies takes a little coaxing that includes a right spirit of meekness, gentleness, and long suffering.

Proverbs 25:11 (ESV) — 11 A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver.

You have speak words that are ‘fitly spoken.’
‘Fitly spoken’ means appropriate to the occasion.
Look at Paul here.
He didn’t get offended.
Paul was unable to give the Corinthians what he wanted to up here at a higher spiritual level.
Instead, he found a level to feed them at.
“I have fed you with milk.”
Did ever watch a zoo keeper feed a giraffe?
Where do they put the food?
They put it up high — right where they are most comfortable.
Where do you feed a hippo?
Not at the same level you feed the giraffe.
So, don’t give up on people.
Keep giving out the milk of the Word.
Paul had no thought about giving up on the Corinthians just because they are not where they could be.
Love in action is locating people.
Mark it down, there is always something that you can do to help someone grow.
And that something is feeding.
People won’t grow unless they’re fed.
The Corinthians, though they were unable to consume the meat of the Word, did not go away hungry.
Paul fed and filled them with milk.
Don’t leave people like you have found them.
Give them something — give them the Word, in a spirit of love and meekness so they can go to the next level.
If you are an individual who recently has come to know Jesus, God bless you — welcome to the family!
Your path to great effectiveness for God is in His Word.

1 Peter 2:1–3 (ESV) — 1 So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. 2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.

Long for the spiritual milk of the Word.
Yield to the strong desire you have to consume the Bible.
Spiritually mature Jesus followers are large consumers of God’s Word.
It’s part of their life — it’s part of who they are.
‘A strong hunger to know God’ was one of the first things I noticed when I came to know Jesus forty-nine years ago.
I remember that sense of hunger like it was yesterday.
The day after I got saved, I was in the bookstore trying to find a book that would help me to grow.
Hunger is part of life, — it’s part of your life, tap into it.
Physically that’s true, people head off to work everyday so they head off hunger.
Now, if you have been saved for a while and that hunger is not so apparent in your life anymore, I mean you don’t have a sense of it — ask the Lord to stir that up in you.
He will do it — that is absolutely a prayer that He will answer.
In fact, let’s pray about this right now.

Father God, thank you for Jesus. I am asking you right now in His Name, to stir up in us a strong hunger for your Word. Set us on fire for you. We thank you in advance and give you all the praise for doing this in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

The Truth about What It Means to Be Spiritually Mature.
You guys have a great God week and we will see you next time for another edition of Light on Life.

What Does A Spiritually Mature Jesus Follower Look Like?

___________
References:

Leadership Ministries Worldwide, Practical Illustrations: Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians (Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide, 2001), 91. ↩
William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 18. ↩
Cameneti, Patsy. The Spirit Realm: The Place We Work with God in Prayer (p. 37). (Function). Kindle Edition. ↩
Michael P. Green, 1500 Illustrations for Biblical Preaching (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2000), 36–37. ↩
Tony Evans, Tony Evans’ Book of Illustrations: Stories, Quotes, and Anecdotes from More than 30 Years of Preaching and Public Speaking (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2009), 32. ↩

emeryhorvath.com

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The Truth About What It Means to Be Spiritually Mature

Podcast: Light on Life Season Twelve Episode Thirty-One

by Emery Horvath

Listen to the Audio

Click to Listen | Right Click to Download |Subscribe to iTunes

Read the Notes

Accept the Challenge

Join the Conversation

Episode Resources: How Jesus Style Perserverance Can Make You a Winner

We are currently teaching in the book of First Corinthians. You can click on the links below to listen to some of these podcasts.

About Emery

Subscribe to the Podcast

Share the Love

Podcast Notes

Prayer

Spiritually Mature: Spiritual Versus Infants in Christ

Spiritually Mature: Brothers

Spiritually Mature: A Prior Visit

Spiritually Mature: Could Not Speak

Spiritually Mature: What Spiritual Means

Spiritual Maturity: Paul’s Problem

Spiritual Maturity: Defining Carnality

Spiritual Maturity: How God Sees You

Spiritual Maturity As Opposed to Infants

Spiritual Growth: The Answer — Feeding

Listen to the Audio

Click to Listen | Right Click to Download |Subscribe to iTunes

Read the Notes

Accept the Challenge

Join the Conversation

Episode Resources: How Jesus Style Perserverance Can Make You a Winner

We are currently teaching in the book of First Corinthians. You can click on the links below to listen to some of these podcasts.

About Emery

Subscribe to the Podcast

Share the Love

Podcast Notes

Prayer

Spiritually Mature: Spiritual Versus Infants in Christ

Spiritually Mature: Brothers

Spiritually Mature: A Prior Visit

Spiritually Mature: Could Not Speak

Spiritually Mature: What Spiritual Means

Spiritual Maturity: Paul’s Problem

Spiritual Maturity: Defining Carnality

Spiritual Maturity: How God Sees You

Spiritual Maturity As Opposed to Infants

Spiritual Growth: The Answer — Feeding

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