Spiritual Growth: Christian Life Series, #8

By Al Danks

Spiritual growth is the change and growth of the spiritual nature of our being. It involves spiritual transformation and growth to maturity and completion.

 

Spiritual maturity has two key characteristics: discernment and self-control. Discernment is necessary for self-control.

 

When we are spiritually mature, we will no longer be infants tossed about by deception.

 

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. (Ephesians 4:11-14).

 

The mature person has their senses trained to discern both good and evil.

 

Solid food is for the spiritually mature, the person who by constant use has trained their senses to discern good from evil. (Hebrews 5:14).

 

So, spiritual growth involves the transformation to a new way of discerning and the maturation of that new way.

 

A spiritually mature person has self-control.

 

If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a spiritually mature man, able also to bridle his whole body. (James 3:2)

 

So, spiritual growth also involves the transformation to a new way to control ourselves and the maturation of that new way.

 

A spiritually mature person has all of the spiritual attributes necessary for life and godliness. Spiritual growth involves the addition and maturation of those attributes.

 

To grow spiritually we must do two things. We must sever our connection with the flow of corruption that sustains and strengthens our corrupt spiritual nature. We must form a continuous, eternal connection with the flow of incorruptibility that will form, sustain, and strengthen a new spiritual nature in us.

 

Spiritual growth is very important. God commands us to be spiritually mature. (Matthew 5:48). Spiritual growth is necessary to sustain our connection with the flow of incorruptibility. It is necessary to truly love our neighbors. We contribute to the lives of those around us according to the nature and measure of our spiritual growth. If we are connected to the flow of corruption, then corruption will flow through us and bring corruption to those around us. If we are connected to the flow of incorruptibility, then incorruptibility will flow through us and bring incorruptibility to those around us.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Alton Danks
• Release date: Aug 28, 2021
• ISBN: 9781948081719

Al Danks

I am the author of the web site perfectingprayer.com. I am also the author of the books The Guiding Into Truth Work of the Holy Spirit, Effective Prayer, Ceased From Sin: Living To Do God's Will, Spiritual Warfare: Sowing, The Truth About Eternal Life, and Go the Way You Should Go.

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Introduction

Introduction

Spiritual growth is the change and growth of the spiritual nature of our being. It involves spiritual transformation and growth to maturity and completion.

Spiritual maturity has two key characteristics: discernment and self-control. Discernment is necessary for self-control.

When we are spiritually mature, we will no longer be infants tossed about by deception.

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. (Ephesians 4:11-14).

The mature person has their senses trained to discern both good and evil.

Solid food is for the spiritually mature, the person who by constant use has trained their senses to discern good from evil. (Hebrews 5:14).

So, spiritual growth involves the transformation to a new way of discerning and the maturation of that new way.

A spiritually mature person has self-control.

If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a spiritually mature man, able also to bridle his whole body. (James 3:2)

So, spiritual growth also involves the transformation to a new way to control ourselves and the maturation of that new way.

A spiritually mature person has all of the spiritual attributes necessary for life and godliness. Spiritual growth involves the addition and maturation of those attributes.

To grow spiritually we must do two things. We must sever our connection with the flow of corruption that sustains and strengthens our corrupt spiritual nature. We must form a continuous, eternal connection with the flow of incorruptibility that will form, sustain, and strengthen a new spiritual nature in us.

Spiritual growth is very important. God commands us to be spiritually mature. (Matthew 5:48). Spiritual growth is necessary to sustain our connection with the flow of incorruptibility. It is necessary to truly love our neighbors. We contribute to the lives of those around us according to the nature and measure of our spiritual growth. If we are connected to the flow of corruption, then corruption will flow through us and bring corruption to those around us. If we are connected to the flow of incorruptibility, then incorruptibility will flow through us and bring incorruptibility to those around us.

Flow of corruption

Something is corrupt (unrighteous) if it is not properly aligned with reality. As a result, it is not what it should be, does not do what it should do, or does not go where it should go. It produces a flow of corruption.

Reality:

is all that was, is, or will be

includes all beings, places, and things

includes all events, processes, relationships, powers, and authorities

includes the state of things

is completely objective: not relative or subjective

is eternal and unchanging

Truth is the accurate and complete representation of reality. A representation of reality is:

an image or likeness, including mental image

an account, statement, assertion

testimony, message, instruction, declaration, teaching, doctrine

The flow of corruption (unrighteousness) is the flow of words, expressions, and actions (representations of reality) that cause people not to be properly aligned with reality. To not be what they should be, not do what they should do, and not go where they should go.

God’s enemy, Satan, directed the flow of corruption against Adam and Eve. He did this to form a corrupt spiritual nature in them. Unfortunately, he succeeded, and this corrupt spiritual nature flows from them to all of their descendants.

Satan continued directing the flow of corruption against Adam, Eve, and their descendants to sustain and strengthen the corrupt spiritual nature in them. He also did it to sustain and strengthen the flow of corruption flowing from them. He directs the flow of corruption against us for the same reasons today.

Flow of incorruptibility

Incorruptibility flows from the incorruptible seed of God’s written and spoken words. The flow of incorruptibility works to keep a righteous (not corrupt) person from becoming corrupt (unrighteous). It works to sustain righteousness. It does not work to make a corrupt (unrighteous) person righteous (not corrupt). Only Jesus’ death can free us from corruption (sin), and only his resurrection can make us righteous.

The flow of incorruptibility (righteousness) is the flow of words, expressions, and actions (representations of reality) from God that cause people to remain properly aligned with reality. To be what they should be, do what they should do, and go where they should go.

God directs the flow of incorruptibility to form a new, incorruptible spiritual nature in us. He directs it to sustain and strengthen that new nature and to sustain and strengthen the flow of incorruptibility from us to others.

Sever our connection with the flow of corruption

1: Corrupt spiritual nature

The first step to spiritual growth is transformation. The first step to transformation is to sever our connection with the flow of corruption. The first step to sever our connection with the flow of corruption is to remove the corrupt spiritual nature from inside us.

This corrupt nature is characterized by corrupt desires and beliefs that produce corrupt alignment and actions in our lives. This includes:

self-rule

self-reliance

self-justification

self-pleasing

Self-rule

Self-rule is essentially the same as self-determination or independence. These are defined as:

The act or power of making one’s own choices.¹

State of being free from the control or power of others.²

Freedom to live as one chooses, or to act or decide without consulting another or others.³

State of not being helped or influenced by others.⁴

Self-rule is seeking to rule our own lives and nature. It is seeking to determine for ourselves.

our physical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual nature

the nature of our identity

how we see ourselves

how others see us

the nature of our relationships

what we desire and believe

what we do – including when, how, and why we do things

this includes discerning and measuring

where we go – including when, how, and why we go

the path of life

Self-reliance

Self-reliance is defined as:

Reliance on our own power and resources rather than those of others⁵

Ability to make decisions without needing others⁶

We tend to think of self-reliance in terms of the resources we need to sustain our lives. Self-reliance also includes relying on our own understanding to discern:

what is true and what is false

what is good and what is evil

what we should do and what we should not do (including, when, how, and why)

where we should go and where we should not go (including, when, how, and