What is spiritual growth? Bible Reading: I Corinthians 3
Do spirits grow? Many of us are able to come to terms with the fact that our bodies grow. Many also know that the mind can undergo changes and be developed to take specific attributes and qualities. What about the believer’s spirit?
The bible makes us understand that when we got born-again, God gave birth to a new spirit within us (John 3:3-6, 1:12-13). Our spirits now has the exact nature of God (II Peter 1:4). In other words, the spirit of a believer is in the best state it could ever be and it cannot be improved upon because we are not expected to have a creature that is better than the creator. No wonder the bible says “ye are complete in him” (Col 2:10). Your spirit “has become new in knowledge after the image of his maker (Col 3:10). Therefore, “as Christ is, so are we in this world” (I John 4:17).
So this topic on spiritual growth is not an attempt to teach you how to grow your spirit because he is currently at his best if you are born again. The verses below give us a peep into the definition of spiritual growth.
My friends, if someone is caught in any kind of wrongdoing, those of you who arespiritual should set him right; but you must do it in a gentle way. Gal 6:1 (GNB)
And I (Paul), brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as untocarnal, as unto babes in Christ … whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? I Corinthians 3:1,3
The Bible gave many descriptions of someone who is spiritual and who is a babe in Christ but I am particularly fascinated about the verse above. It says “I cannot say you are spiritual because you … walk as men”. Good News Version says “you are still living by human standards”.
Growing spiritually is the process of changing gradually from who you are to who God wants you to be (Christ-like). It involves living the God-kind of lifestyle that was displayed in Jesus Christ. It involves you exhibiting actions that are not based on human standards but on God’s standards. Take a quick look at your life, what are the things that chiefly affects your decisions or actions. Is it what you heard in the news or the current trend in town? Are you usually influenced by external things that feeds into your mind through your five senses or you always take cue from the standard of God that you have internalized over time?
Spiritual growth also involves a change of mindset, attitude and action to reflect who you truly are i.e. a son of God. It involves increasing your knowledge of God and commitment to him whereby you begin (and continue) to see things like he sees them. This means you see sin like he does and not meddle with it. You see possibilities like he sees them and impossibility is wiped away from your consciousness. You demonstrate faith like he does and walk in the practice of ‘calling those things that are not as though they were’. You see a sinner like he does and you extend your love to them so that they are saved and come to the knowledge of our savior Jesus Christ. This growth does not directly depend on the number of years you have being in Christ but on some other factors.
We will shed more light on this as we look at other subtopics like: What do you do to grow? What do you have to grow with? How do you know you are growing spiritually? When will you be fully grown? Etc.
– tope aladenusi
