FIVE STEPS TO SPIRITUAL MATURITY (part 1)

FIVE STEPS TO SPIRITUAL MATURITY (part 1)

 

I have never been a Greek scholar, so my very limited knowledge of this wonderful language that most of our NT was written in has come to me second hand. Two Bible teachers that I have followed and respect as scholars are Derek Prince and Bob Mumford. Recently I was listening to one of Bob's CD's on which he was explaining the 5 different Greek words used to describe the growth of children in scripture. The first is the word for "infants"; at this stage they need constant care. This is followed by one meaning very young children, who we might consider as "toddlers", who are learning to do things for themselves, but still need lots of supervision and training. The third word could represent the whole adolescence, and educational stage of a young person's growth, which we might call the "learning" stage. This would include from school through university, when that young adult is learning information and skills to prepare them for their adult life. The fourth stage is what Paul addresses in (Rom 8:18-25) where the Greek word used for God's adopted children means "mature sons".

The fifth and final word used is the word translated as "ambassadors".

 

So as we consider the spiritual growth of a follower of Jesus, it should help us to consider these 5 separate stages in the natural growth of a person from an infant to a mature adult. I believe when we read about over comers in the book of Revelation, it is referring to the fifth and final stage of ambassadors!

What can we learn from this comparison of the natural progression of a human child, to that of a spiritual child of God? The first thing that I have seen in my journey is that very few people seem to reach stage 4, and become mature believers. Several passages of scripture address this problem, like (Eph 4:11-13), and (Heb 5:11-14). These are easy to understand passages and the problem as I see it is twofold. In Ephesians 4 we see that the leaders God set in His Church to "equip God's people", have not done their job properly, and in the Hebrews 5 passage it would seem that the hearers were "spiritually dull" and couldn't take in what they were being taught. So which came first, was the problem with the teachers or the listeners? Probably with both groups, for various reasons; we haven't seen many authentic Apostles and Prophets in the modern church, and we have a lot of immature believers! A very dangerous mix in my opinion, especially in these last days when we are warned about the danger of deception by both Jesus, Paul and others! (more to follow)

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer