WEEK 37
TOPIC: SPIRITUAL MATURITY (Part 2)
TEXT: Luke 1:80, Heb. 6:1-3, Eph. 4:11-15
What It Is Not
As we have seen already, spiritual maturity is a must for every believer in Christ if he is to fulfil destiny in God. Before we begin to misunderstand this subject however, it is necessary to look at what people often mistake for spiritual maturity and yet it is not.
1. It is Not Synonymous with Calling into Ministry: Many think that the call of God to ministry is automatically a sign that you are already matured spiritually. No Sir! The calling is an eternal thing that has been predetermined before your arrival on earth. It doesn’t mean you are matured spiritually. There are many pastors, evangelists, prophets, singers even general overseers of ministries with authentic callings, but are spiritual babies. They flow in the anointing, yes, but you’ve got to realise that the anointing is in the calling. Every calling carries its “official” unction along with it such that when a man stands in that office, that anointing will work. That doesn’t in anyway mean that the individual is matured yet. But he has to be matured spiritually to function better in that calling. There is more to this issue and it is to be discussed at the ministerial level. The goal of this is to in general sense help us know that just because you are called doesn’t mean you are spiritually matured yet as a person.
2. It Is Not The Same As Mental Prowess: That a man is mentally sound and vast in reasoning doesn’t mean he is spiritually matured. Mental soundness is supposed to be a component of spiritual maturity, but mental soundness all by itself is not spiritual maturity. There are many unbelievers who are mentally sound, they have amplitude of mind. Some of them are doctors and professors, yet they are not even born again. Also in church, there are people also that are mentally sound, they can communicate powerfully, put things together, conceptualize ideas and yet spiritually, they are real babies. If care is not taken, these people assume responsibilities to lead a spiritual work and move to the detriment of everyone. There is a difference between mental soundness and spiritual growth. A witch who is an illiterate can use witchcraft force to put a mentally sound economic professor in bondage for life and he will not know why his life is upside down inspite of all he knows mentally. The spirit controls the physical. Yet a spiritually developed Christian can with a single command destroy that bondage through the spirit and free the professor. Mental soundness is an advantage in our walk on earth, but it doesn’t connote spiritual maturity. Apostle Paul should be our model on this matter; he was a perfect combination of mental soundness and full spiritual maturity (Phil. 3:3-7). In church settings, it is better for a spiritually matured man who may not be too sound mentally as it were to lead a spiritual work while a mentally sound guy with a low level spiritual growth should assist him to give balance to the divine move than for a mentally sound but spiritual midget to lead a spiritual work. The point is mental soundness is not the same as spiritual maturity.
3. It Is Not Religious Sanctimony (2 Tim. 3:5): Religious sanctimony means when a person has an outward religious form, pious outlook, but inwardly empty of real spiritual substance. Orthodox churches are mainly guilty of this misnormer because of the religiosity of most of their operations. Listen! The Bible did not say “Look Holy”, it said, “Be Holy” (1 Pet. 1:16). Outward show of spirituality doesn’t connote spiritual maturity at all. To think otherwise means you’ve opened yourself to deception. Satan can fake anything including pseudo spirituality to achieve a purpose. In Philipi, if Paul was carried away by religious sanctimony, he would have enlisted that girl that was prophesying with divination spirit into his prayer band and have issues to deal with later. Many ministers have married the head of the witch coven fighting his church because she carried an outward form of religiosity and sanctimony that he concluded that she is a saint. Yes, if you are growing spiritually, it will show outwardly, but outward show in itself is not spiritual maturity.
4. It Is Not The Same As Being Good Generally: It is a commendable act to be a nice fellow, but that is just about it. Being spiritually matured is a different ball game entirely. There are good people that are not even born again, infact some unbelievers act in goodness more than some Christians and this is sad. But the point here is being good generally as a person doesn’t mean you are spiritually matured. This answers the question of why does evil happen to good people. A good man may not be spiritually developed in Christ yet, his faith walk may still be almost non-existent and as such cannot exercise dominion over evil forces, yet he is a good man. You can’t mature spiritually and not to be good because goodness itself is a fruit of the spirit (Gal. 5:22), but just because you are good in itself doesn’t mean you are spiritually matured.
Points to note
1. Spiritual maturity can be confused for so many things if not properly clarified.
2. You can be called to ministry and carry an anointing and yet be a spiritual baby even in your calling.
3. That you are scholastic and erudite doesn’t mean you may be mature in spiritual life. 4. Being prominent in Christian activities and being good a person, though excellent, doesn’t connote maturity in spiritual life.
Prayers/Declarations
Father I thank you for opening my understanding to see what spiritual growth is not. I declare that my walk with you is full of divine substance and as I grow in the spirit, vainness is being separated from my life in Jesus’ Name.
Questions for meditation
1. Why are so many people carried away by outward show of religiosity?
2. Spiritual maturity and religious sanctimony are not the same. Discuss?
3. A minister of God may still be a baby spiritually even in his calling. Discuss?