THEME: Spiritual Growth: Understanding the Whats and Hows of Growing Up unto God’s Life in our Souls
LESSON: Three
TOPIC: What Does it Really Mean to Grow Spiritually (Part 2)
TEXT: Ephesians 4:15, 2:21; 1st Peter 2:2; 2nd Peter 3:18; 1st Peter 1:9; James 1:21
MEMORY TRACK:
In our last study, we looked at what it really means to grow spiritually and saw that there is a lot of ignorance or muddled-up knowledge about what it really means to grow spiritually. By God’s grace, we identified some things that in themselves are good and godly Christian habits (which we all should imbibe, practice, and do) but are not in themselves what makes for spiritual growth.
Being born again, prayerful, pious, and even giving our body to serve in God’s house are all good practices but do not commend us unto God for spiritual growth in our soul. Rather, the core pillars of spiritual growth are the gospels of the kingdom (milk, meat, and strong meat). Without the gospels of the kingdom, it is not possible to raise the souls out of babyhood to childhood.
How the Gospel/Commandments Help Us to Grow:
- Obedience to the gospels of the kingdom (Romans 8:14, 16; Romans 8:36; Psalms 44:22; Hebrews 12:5-11): A person being exposed to the gospels will still be led to pray, serve God even in His house, and be demanded and led to do good works. But now as being dealt with and led by the Holy Ghost as a result of the message (both objective and subjective leadings of the Spirit of God) (Ps 23:1-6). Without leadings, both subjective and objective, there’s no way a person can grow. Every work outside the leadings and dealings of the Holy Ghost cannot gender unto growth. No human works or wisdom can grow the soul (John 16:13, Acts 1:8, 1 Cor 2:6-12).
- The Painting of the Hope (Destination or End) of the Gospel (Eph 1:17-18; Eph 4:11-13; Hebrews 6:19): One great ingredient for the upward growth of our souls out of the earth (from the present but unto God) is the paintings of the gospels until a new and Everlasting hope that is present in the gospels emerges and is seen. Without the hopes of the gospel being progressively seen and believed in through the gospel, we cannot grow towards and unto God in our souls (Heb 12:2, Col 1:27-19).
- The Five-Fold Ministry Gifts (Eph 4:11-15): The Five-Fold have been ordained to speak and say things that will make for our growth. While we are meant and admonished to read and study God’s word for ourselves for our individual edification. It is good to know that, in the New Testament, spiritual growth is tied to the preaching and teaching ministry and the oversight work of the fivefold ministries (Rom 10:14-16).
Some more things to further note about spiritual growth:
- It takes time for our souls to grow spiritually (Romans 13:14). The same way it takes time for our bodies to grow physically, it also takes time for the soul to grow spiritually as it is exposed to the gospels (Gal 4:19).
- Sufferings as a result of the leading of the Spirit are critical to the spiritual growth of man’s soul (Hebrews 5:8; John 21:18). Suffering involves the expiration of the old nature through subjection of the soul of man.
- Submitting yourself to be pastored in a local church is non-negotiable if a believer desires spiritual growth (Ephesians 4:11-15). There is no spiritual growth outside of the church, where brethren life reigns (Acts 2:47, 1 Tim 3:15).
Why the need to Grow Spiritually
God’s ordination for the earth is patterned after growth. The earth was designed by God with the ability to grow up to a higher sphere, height, altitude, and state. Being fruitful and multiplying are attributes synonymous with the earth. Man’s need to grow was not in response to sin, but a response to the design and habitat. Without the fall of Adam, Adam still needed to grow into God’s nature and life (Gen 2:16-17).
Adam was meant to feed on the trees of the garden to grow (Ps 104:15) and be strong enough to be able to feed on the tree of life. There was a gap between the life Adam had and the very life of God, which was in the tree of life (Rev 2:7; Rev 22:1-2). Man, in Genesis Chapter 3, partook of a negative growth tree and began an inverted growth life: a growth downward towards hell instead of a growth upward towards heaven (Is 55:6-11).
Man’s inverted growth continued till some men measured up to the growth of life in their spirit (hell life) (John 8:21-23, Ps 40:2, Ps 69:2, 14; Ecc 7:29).
After the fall of man, our need for growth became more obvious as the gap between man and God widened, and this gave rise to many reasons for growth in the present time:
- to escape hell and go to Abraham’s bosom (Lazarus and the Rich Man: Lk 16:22-25) and for some to go to heaven (Enoch, Moses, and Elijah) (Gen 5:23-24, 2 Kings 2:11).
- to be free from oppression of evil spirits (Mk 16:17-18)
- to be saved in our souls (1 Pet 1:9; Heb 9:28; Heb 1:14)
- to inherit God’s name and nature in our souls, so as to further God’s agenda upon the earth (Heb 8:10, 2 Cor 6:15-18, Jer 31:33, 2 Pet 1:4)
Scriptural reasons to grow in the New Testament (Church Era)
- To inherit “God’s lives” and nature that are in Christ! (Ephesians 4:14-15; Acts 26:18)
- To grow out of the present/old and be partakers of the new (Ephesians 4:20-24)
- To choose and guarantee our Eternal lot/place/estate (2 Peter 1:10; Revelation 20:12)
- To deliver/save us from the corruption that is in the world (2nd Peter 1:4)
- To save us from the wrath that is to come (1 Thessalonians 1:10)
- Growth affords us the opportunity to overcome the enemies of God, who also are the enemies of our souls
- Growth gives us that opportunity to become exactly like our Lord Jesus Christ in our souls in the days of our
Recommended for Further Reading
1 Pet 1:9; Jam 1:21; 2 Pet 1:4; Tit 1:2; 1 Thess 1:10; 1 Cor 3:12-15; Rev 20:12; Gen 1:11-12; Gen 2:5, 9; Ps 67:5-6; Ps 85:11; Ps 104:14