What is Spiritual Maturity?
This is one of those topics that many of us have opinions about, but we don’t see the practical application in ourselves and our relationships.
An Opening Statement
Let me begin by saying I don’t consider myself spiritually mature. I do know I’m more spiritually mature that I used to be, and I work to become more spiritually mature almost every day…but I certainly haven’t arrived at the goal of being spiritually mature yet.
In fact, one of the clear signs of someone who is not becoming more spiritually mature is the belief that they are spiritually mature.
But let’s back up a bit.
Defining Spiritual Maturity
One of the most basic definitions of spiritual maturity is becoming like Jesus. But then again, isn’t every Jesus follower striving to become more like Jesus? However, if you’ve walked the path of following Him for even a relatively short time, you recognize there are people who are more spiritually mature and people who are less spiritually mature.
Before we go any further, I want to make something completely clear. According to Romans 10:9 (ESV), “…if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Let’s understand that your level of spiritual maturity does not affect your salvation and guarantee of eternal life with Jesus. You are saved when you confess Jesus is Lord and believe God raised Him from the dead.
Having said the, here is our working definition of spiritual maturity:
Spiritual maturity is a measure of a person’s growth in, reliance upon, trust in, and understanding of God.
Measuring Spiritual Maturity
Since we’re defining spiritual maturity as a “measure” we should consider what we’re measuring it against. Of course, the only true measure is the Word of God. There are many, many passages we could use as our guides toward measuring and increasing our spiritual maturity. But to make it simple let’s start with three. This is NOT an exhaustive list, and we could come up with a large number of passages, however, we need a place to start, so here we go.
“Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 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 12:29-31 ESV
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”
-Galatians 5:22-23 ESV
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.”
-1 Corinthians 13:4-8a NIV
If we are growing in loving God, loving others, the fruit of the Spirit, and our expressions of love both in our hearts and in our actions, we are becoming more spiritually mature.
Oh, and one of the most important factors in measuring spiritual maturity is this, only we and God know our true level of spiritual maturity, but we often get it wrong.
How Do You Measure Your Level of Spiritual Maturity
Oh, that one is easy to answer. You don’t.
Spiritual maturity isn’t the goal. No, growing to be more like Jesus is the goal. You become more spiritually mature as you make consistent, focused effort to become more like Him. Don’t try to find or create some arbitrary scale to determine your level of spiritual maturity. Why not? Because Jesus didn’t. He simply did whatever was necessary to remain close to the Father and to do His will.
Then Why Does Spiritual Maturity Matter?
I LOVE this question. And I didn’t even think to ask it until I had grown more in my relationship with the Lord and spent a lot of time with people at varying levels of spiritual maturity. The author of Hebrews tells us exactly why spiritual maturity matters.
“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, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.”
-Hebrews 5:12-14 ESV
The reason spiritual maturity matters is that we cannot distinguish good from evil without growing in our spiritual maturity. Now, I don’t mean blatant evil. Well, actually I do. There are many evil practices in society that large swaths of Christians consider acceptable. Those are spiritually immature people. They’re not true Jesus followers, because it takes very little time growing in Christ to recognize blatant evil.
But it’s more subtle than that. Every time we ask ourselves the question, “Is this particular thing a sin?” That’s a spiritual maturity question. When we ask ourselves, “How far can I go down this path before it becomes sin?” That’s another spiritual maturity question.
Please understand me, it is VERY important to ask the questions!! There is no sin in asking if something is a sin. And if you can’t find clarity in the Bible, then reach out to a person who you know is more spiritually mature than you. Then let them guide you in finding the truth in God’s Word.
One of the characteristics of the person who is growing in spiritual maturity is the courage to ask questions to foster that growth closer to Christ. One of the characteristics of a person who is not growing in spiritual maturity is judging the level of spiritual maturity of other people. And spiritual maturity is not age dependent. I know people who are many years younger than me who are more spiritually mature than I am, so I learn from them. By the same token, I know people who are many years older than I am who are clearly less spiritually mature than I currently am.
That’s not judging someone, it’s just an observation. Judgement would be condemning someone, but those who are growing in spiritual maturity are always encouragers! They want to help others to grow closer to the Savior!
One More Reason Spiritual Maturity Matters
If you do not recognize differences in spiritual maturity, you may give solid food to a person who is only ready for milk, or you may seek milk for yourself when you need solid food.
“The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?” He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.”
-Matthew 13:10-11 NIV
The disciples had spent a long time with Jesus. They were ready to understand the meanings behind the parables. Jesus could speak to the disciples in clear terms. They could handle solid food. But the people were not there yet. They had not grown sufficiently close to Jesus. They needed milk.
Here is the point. Each of us needs to learn from the Lord and His faithful teachers at the level of which we can understand and be somewhat challenged. If it is too deep for us, we will be lost and discouraged. If it is too simple, we will not grow. And as a disciple maker yourself, you must keep this in mind as you’re helping others to grow in Christ.
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Love you Jesus follower!