[Teacher note: encourage discussion
on this question for a short while]
To the glory of God
Phil. 1:9
And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge
and all discernment, 10 so that you may approve the things that are excellent,
in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ; 11 having
been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ,
to the glory and praise of God.
Phil. 2:5 Have
this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who,
although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God
a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant,
and being made in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as
a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even
death on a cross. 9 Therefore also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed
on Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus
EVERY KNEE SHOULD BOW, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under
the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ
is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
1 Cor. 10:31 Whether,
then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
1 Cor. 6:20 For you have
been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.
2 Cor. 4:15 For all things are for your sakes, that the grace which is spreading
to more and more people may cause the giving of thanks to abound to the
glory of God.
Developing spiritual maturity
means that we will be growing in intimacy in our relationship with Christ
(John 17:3; Phil 3:8,10; 1 John 2:13,14). This relationship develops in several
ways that we will discuss. As teachers, we are committed to helping you understand
the process of growth (Eph 4:11-15). What would it look like in your life
if you were neglecting this area? For more on cultivating your intimacy with
God, check out For the Love of God by D.A. Carson, Bruce Wilkinson's
Secrets of the Vine and the Sacred Romance Drawing Closer to the
Heart of God by Brent Curtis and John Eldredge.
Spiritual maturity involves
"growing up in all aspects into him." What are the different
aspects of spiritual maturity? This is the first order of business—to
get a clear biblical picture of the Goal. If you don't have
this, it's going to be pretty difficult to know how you're progressing, and
pretty easy to get off track.
(Eph 4:14,15)
As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves,
and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by
craftiness in deceitful scheming; (15) but speaking the truth in love, we
are to grow up in all aspects into Him, who is the head, even Christ . . .
In Jesus' teaching on spiritual
growth in John 15, he speaks of three different aspects in the context
of an intimate personal relationship. We will use this passage as our base
text. John elaborates on each of these aspects in 1 John. Footnote1A
John was concerned to explain what Christian spirituality is in contrast to
the false spirituality espoused by the Gnostics. As he does this, it becomes
clear that he stresses three aspects of spirituality. They are woven throughout
the epistle. These areas are not airtight categories. They are all interrelated
and are pursued in the context of a personal relationship with God...
(John 15:7-14)
"If you abide in Me, and
My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it shall be done for you.
(8) "By this is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit, and
so prove to be My disciples. (9) "Just as the Father has loved Me,
I have also loved you; abide in My love. (10) "If you keep My commandments,
you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments,
and abide in His love. (11) "These things I have spoken to you, that
My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full. (12) "This
is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.
(13) "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life
for his friends. (14) "You are My friends, if you do what I command
you.
1)
The Love of Christ
Matt. 22:37-40; Jn. 13:34,35;
Rom. 8:4; 13:8-10; 1 Cor. 13:1-3; 1 Tim. 1:5; 1 Peter 1:22; 4:8; 1 Jn. 4:20,
21
(John 15:12) "This is
My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you."
In our culture, spirituality is
for self: self development, self progress, self healing. (See overhead
promoting Deepak Chopra & Wayne Dyer's audio tape series.)
Biblical love is different. It
is directed outside ourselves toward other people (1 Cor. 13:1-3;
1 John 4:20,21). Biblical love is a commitment to give of one's self
in every area for the good of the other (Phil. 2:3,4). It is the central
ethic in the Bible (Matt 22;37-40; 1 Tim 1:5; 1 Peter 4:8). We can think
of practicing biblical love along two axes, How we love & Who we love:
How we love:
- sacrificial rather
than conditional
- disciplining rather
than mushy sentimentalism or compromise of Biblical principles just
to "keep the peace".
- forgiving rather than
resenting or reserving the right to retaliate.
- emotional rather than
defining love as only functional things we do for the other.
The father's actions in the parable
of the Lost Son illustrate these aspects of love (Luke 15).
Whom we love:
- Existing relationships (1 Thes
3:12)
Depth- increasing the intimacy
of existing relationships whether within the church or outside the church.
- Developing friendships with
new people (1 Thes 3:12; Matt. 5:46; Luke 10:25-37; Matt. 28:19)
Breadth- extending ourselves
beyond the scope of our existing relationships. This includes evangelism,
follow-up, hospitality, serving the poor, missions, etc. This is very
different than how we used to pick our friends, based on natural affinity.
What happens to those who
neglect this area?
- "Dead Sea" Christians:
all inflow through Bible study, etc.—but no outflow in active love.
They become stagnant spiritually.
Any
spirituality that does not evidence itself in biblical love toward other
people is deficient or false (see 1 Cor. 13:1-3). A self-centered spirituality,
no matter how knowledgeable, moral or experiential, is a contradiction
in terms! Christians who know lots of Bible, never cuss, etc.—but
have little use for anyone else.
- You will be seduced by
the world system. The pre-career aged people move into hedonism and
after that into materialism.
This is the "Y in the
road" for most Christians in our affluent culture. Is your
Christianity only for you or is it primarily for others? Will
you pursue God's purposes in the world while living out your career,
etc., or will your career, pursuit of money, and hobbies exclude your
"usefulness to the Master for every good work" (2 Tim. 2:20,21).
How does God help us to develop
in this area?
- He provides us with models of
the loving lifestyle in the Body of Christ and opportunities to serve
and reach out with others.
This is the reason for our home
group membership requirement for taking this class.
- Blesses us deeply when we do
choose to love others biblically (John 13:17; Acts 20:35). This
was Jesus' repeated teaching and modeling to the disciples.
- He gradually shows us our unique
role/gifts as we begin to serve others—which is very motivating
because we see the true purpose for our lives.
- He brings people into our lives
that expose and help develop our weak areas.
The Holy Spirit prompts us to
love all people in all ways as Christ has loved us. We naturally want
to love only certain people, and in certain ways. If you are growing
spiritually, you will be seeing him revealing how he loves you, uncovering
the weaknesses in your love life, and providing concrete situations
for you to develop in these areas.
Some personalities/temperaments
tend to just "rub us the wrong way" or we just don't feel
like there is a natural affinity for them. What are we going to
do? Ask God, "What do you want me to learn about how to love
this person?" OR try to figure out "How can I get away from
this person?" (Examples: outreach for introverts; close friendships
for extroverts; confrontation for a fearful person; compassion for aggressive
people; emotional and personal intimacy for impersonal functioners).
What happens to those who focus
only on this area?
- We provide only shallow, superficial
love. Unless our acts of love are being directed by biblical discernment
we can't really help others grow spiritually (truth sets us free - Jn.
8:31,32).
Illustration: Love is like a
flowing river. The water signifies the love, but it must be contained
by the banks of truth. Otherwise it is diffused and shallow. When the
river is contained and directed, it embodies power.
- Those who ignore their own moral
transformation by their preoccupation with serving others wind up disqualifying
themselves.
2) The Mind of Christ
See these verses: Jn. 17:17;
Rom. 12:2; Eph. 4:17:23; Col. 1:9, 10
(John 15: 7) "If you abide in Me, and My words
abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it shall be done for you.
A growing understanding of God's
perspective of the world, man, how to relate to him, etc. as revealed in his
word and to be able to find the major doctrines in the Bible.
(Isaiah 55:8,9) "For
My thoughts are not your thoughts, Neither are your ways My ways," declares
the LORD. 9 "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My
ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.
This is the growing understanding of
the biblical worldview, God's perspective on reality as taught in scripture—especially
the doctrine of grace. There can be no true spirituality which is not rooted
in and constantly fed by objective, biblical truth. To the extent that your
view of spirituality denigrates this, it is deficient.
Be careful to avoid the FALSE dichotomy
between "head knowledge" (intellectual understanding) and "heart
knowledge" (experiential apprehension). God does want us to experience
his truth on an experiential level, but this must be preceded by intellectual
understanding. Therefore it's never heart knowledge instead of head knowledge,
but experience flowing from head knowledge.
What happens to those who neglect
this area?
- We will be conformed to the
world. (Rom. 12:2 is an either/or proposition) We will be influenced
by our culture which promotes spiritual hostility to propositional assertions
about God and the biblical world view in particular. There is little or
nothing in the world system around us that encourages people to maintain
a biblical world view.
E.G. There are no billboards reminding
us that all we are and own belongs to God and therefore we should give generously
to his work.
E.G. Secular radio does not encourage
us to "consider others more important than ourselves."(Phil.2:3,4)
The constant influence of our culture will direct us away from God's perspective
without deep and growing knowledge of the major doctrines of the Bible and
their application.
- We will be a prime candidate
for spiritual deception by errant teaching. Many of Paul's letters
(e.g., Colossians) are written to counter deception—what does Paul
emphasize? Doctrine!
- We will adapt the tendency to
feel like we "have it down" and therefore don't need this
kind of constant exposure.
(Hebrews
5:12-14)
For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for
someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and
you have come to need milk and not solid food. (13) For everyone who partakes
only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is a
babe. (14) But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have
their senses trained to discern good and evil.
Contrasted to: Psalms 119:18
Open my eyes, that I may behold Wonderful things from Your law. AND 2 Peter
1:12 Therefore, I shall always be ready to remind you of these things, even
though you already know them, and have been established in the truth which
is present with you.
We need constant reminder, deeper
insight and appreciation, and fresh application of scriptural truth in our
lives. When this is "old hat," something is wrong. BILLY GRAHAM
& OSWALD SANDERS: "If I had it to do over again, I have would spent
more time studying the Bible as a younger Christian."
.
How does God help us to develop
in this area?
- The Holy Spirit helps us to develop
in this area by illuminating our minds to understand the meaning, significance
and personal application of biblical truth (2 Tim. 2:7 - EXAMPLES; Eph.
3:14-21).
- God will show us our need for growth
in this area by sending us people we don't know how to help because we don't
know the Word.
- He also works in our lives to give
us opportunities to apply the truth we're learning. Sometimes we will learn
it in from study or a teaching, and then get a real-life opportunity to
put it into practice (STUDENTS IN THIS CLASS), and sometimes vice-versa.
- He provides us with teachers to
help us make sense of the Bible and learn how to study it for ourselves.
Are we taking advantage of these opportunities?
What happens to those who focus
only on this area?
(J. I. Packer)
"You know the sort of person
I mean—one who is always reading, always exploring questions of truth,
poking half the time into esoteric aspects of typology, unfulfilled prophecy,
the millennium, the symbolic chapters of Revelation, and the problems of
Bible harmony. He or she is not much concerned about experience, not very
active in obedience and service of others, and not distinguished for a radically
changed life. But the head is always busy with theological questions, and
is full to overflowing with doctrine. In an anti-intellectual age like ours,
such love of truth, and such devotion to the task of determining it, are
rare and precious; and as we saw earlier, interest in the truth about God
is natural to all the born-again. But is that interest, in and of itself,
a token of good spiritual health? . . . No, it is not!"
( J. I. Packer, Rediscovering Holiness, p. 168.)
- They're not interested in serving
others or sharing their faith.
- They will be proud (1 Cor. 8:1)
and prone to deception unless they also pursue moral transformation and
service as directed by the Bible.
- They may become filled with doubt.
This is a natural result of not seeing God working in their and other peoples'
lives through ministry
3) The Character of Christ
See: Rom. 13:8-14; Eph. 4:17-6:9;
Col. 3:5-4:1; 1 Tim 4:12; 2 Tim. 2:19-22; James 1:26,27
(John 15:10) "If
you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept
My Father's commandments, and abide in His love.
This is the deep-seated change
in our character, behavior, values and attitudes
that God works to gradually effect. Because God is a moral Being,
true spirituality has moral content. Any view of spirituality that does
not emphasize this is deficient at best, and heretical at worst.
Contemporary spirituality does not
evaluate behavior on the basis of an objective moral standard. Instead,
introducing a moral component to spirituality is seen as Victorian and
repressive.
God wants to eliminate and replace.
Negatively, he exposes sinful areas he wants to eliminate. Positively, he
wants to cultivate character qualities like self-discipline, courage, patience,
kindness, etc. (Gal. 5; 1 Cor. 13).
He also wants to both mow the
field and get at the roots!
Not only the obvious and most destructive
areas God goes after from the beginning (SUBSTANCE ABUSE, PHYSICAL VIOLENCE,
THEFT, SEXUAL IMMORALITY)...
...but also deeper attitudinal
issues (BITTERNESS, NEGATIVITY, PRIDE, COVETING, MATERIALISM, LOVE DEMANDS
ON OTHERS, SELF-PITY, etc.). His ability to prioritize certain moral changes
is evidence of God's personal knowledge of each of us and his love for
us.
What happens to those who neglect
this area?
- If we ignore God's moral correction,
we will harden our hearts against his voice (Heb. 3:7ff; Psalm 32:8-10;
1 Tim. 4:2; Eph. 4:17-19).
- You won't be able to build deep
relationships (marriage, discipleship) unless you allow God to sanctify
you in-depth in this area. I.E. You will be hard to live with because
of your sin issues!
You will also tend to be intolerant
of others' sins because you are unwilling to come to grips with your own
imperfections.
A conspiracy of silence may develop
in a relationship or a group. When we are in sin and unrepentant, we are
unwilling to admonish others who are in similar circumstances.
- No matter how gifted we are, we
will be disqualified from significant ministry. E.G. "Since I'm involved
in ministry, it doesn't really matter whether I allow God to sanctify
my anger problem with my spouse." E.G. "I'm really working
hard at my ministry so I don't need to apply myself in my secular job."
2 Tim 2:20 Now in a
large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels
of wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor. 21
Therefore, if a man cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel
for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.
Paul points out the direct relationship
between our cooperation in moral transformation and our ability to be
useful "to the Master...for every good work."
Test: Are you able to take God's
correction in moral areas? Psa. 32:8 was probably written after David
committed adultery.
(Ps.32:8)
"I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I
will counsel you and watch over you. Do not be like the horse or the
mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and
bridle or they will not come to you. Many are the woes of the wicked,
but the Lord's unfailing love surrounds the man who trusts in him."
If we reserve the right to reject
God's moral correction we "pull the plug" on our spiritual vitality.
Unrepentant sin is a prevalent reason for spiritual depression.
How does God help us to develop
in this area?
- God personally prioritizes what
he wants to work on at this time, and leads us accordingly. This frees
us from the overwhelming chore of trying to change ourselves on our own
timetable. (Ps. 139:23,24)
- God motivates us to turn away
from destructive sinful attitudes by providing positive experiences and
convinces us that his ways are better than our old ways. We also see that
our sinful ways are destructive to ourselves and others.
- God provides positive and negative
models of our needed character change.
- God brings people and situations
into our lives that expose the areas he wants to work on (SPOUSES; ROOMMATES;
BOSSES; etc.; Rom. 5:3-5; Jm. 1:2-4).
He also supplies us with models
who give us hope that we can be changed, and who supply us with practical
steps to progress.
What happens to those who focus
only on this area?
- You will become self-centered,
judgmental, and a superficial moralist — I.E. a Pharisee (Mt. 23:23-27).
A commitment to love (above) is what exposes need for moral transformation.
Therefore, ironically, although claiming to focus on moral transformation,
unless you are ALSO investing in biblical love relationships you won't
experience in-depth moral transformation.
- You will also tend to set up a
system of rules that aren't moral (biblical) and treat them as important
as biblical imperatives
(Mark 7:6-8,13).
- This can lead to despair.
If we are honest about our moral shortcomings when focusing on them, AND
don't have a clear understanding of the grace of Christ and how it applies
to that sin, we will despair.
2 Peter 1:3 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.
4 For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises,
in order that by them you might become partakers of the divine nature, having
escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. 5 Now for this very reason
also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in
your moral excellence, knowledge; 6 and in your knowledge, self-control, and
in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness; 7
and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness,
love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you
neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9 For he who lacks these qualities is blind or shortsighted, having forgotten
his purification from his former sins. 10 Therefore, brethren, be all the
more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long
as you practice these things, you will never stumble; 11 for in this way the
entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will
be abundantly supplied to you.
vv. 3,4: God supplies the
resources we need to progress toward maturity (Phil. 1:6*).
vv. 5-7: Can you find the
3 aspects of spiritual maturity?
vv. 8-11: What tremendous
benefits! Useful and fruitful in God's service; guaranteed to not live a wasted
or shattered life; and a rich welcome and reward at the BEMA.
As you have listened to God's description
of spiritual maturity, he has undoubtedly shone his light on some areas in
which he wants to develop in you. What is your response going to be? Some
of you will feel guilty, others will feel impotent to change, others will
be gung-ho. (NOTE TO INSTRUCTOR: You may take time hear to explain the difference
between conviction and accusation... more on this in unit 4.)
Don't rationalize your weaknesses,
or judge those who are imbalanced in ways different from you. The purpose
of these next two units is to teach you how to cooperate with God in these
areas so that you grow into the kind of balanced and mature Christian workers
he desires you to be. Ask God to grow you into full-orbed maturity, and trust
that he will reveal both areas of imbalance/deficiency and opportunities to
grow in those areas. (NOTE TO INSTRUCTOR: Remind students of attack because
they are taking this class. Persevere!
