Christian Maturation

By Theodore Andoseh

The first epistle of Apostle John cites three age groups to describe Christian maturation—childhood, fatherhood, and youth—in an order contrary to the natural order of human gradation.

Why does the Bible go from childhood to fatherhood before coming to the third category—youth?

In this book, Pastor T. Andoseh expands on these three categories of disciples of Jesus Christ in terms of their spiritual relevance and usefulness. He gives an acute diagnosis of each group's needs and offers an ideal prescription to satisfy each need.

The reader is made to see their need for maturity and potential usefulness in the advancement of God's Kingdom. The author demonstrates through contemporary examples that, the pathway to continuous and multiplied victories over temptations, the world, and the works of the enemy is open to all.

It is a must-read for every disciple of Jesus Christ and leader of God's people.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Books4revival
• Release date: Feb 26, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201586980

Theodore Andoseh

The current leader of Christian Missionary Fellowship Internation

Book preview

Christian Maturation

CHRISTIAN MATURATION

THEODORE ANDOSEH

Books4revival

Copyright © 2022 by Theodore Andoseh

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

Published by

A division of the Book Ministry of Christian Missionary Fellowship International

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CONTENTS

Foreword

Introduction

1. Spiritual Childhood

2. A Word on Marriage

3. Spiritual Fatherhood

4. Spiritual Youth

Prologue

Thank You

Very Important!!!

Also by T. Andoseh & Z.T. Fomum

Distributors of Our Books

Notes

FOREWORD

The message in this book was delivered at a special World University of Prayer and Fasting (WUPF) course for youth and student leaders in February 2022 in Koumé – Bertoua, Cameroon.

We have heard about many pastors who have collapsed. They don’t have the inner condition to carry the popularity, the ministry, the growth. They have secret battles with pornography, they have buried animosities and bitterness, some are secret slaves of sexual debauchery in one way or the other; yet, they stand in front. Many have a problem with being known for who they really are. There are many who cannot afford to have their failures known by others. They have a problem with falsehood and truth, posturing, projections, airs, and those are basic struggles. They are fighting their basic struggles and labouring to save nations! Who will hand nations to be saved to children? Who will hand nations to children?

The Christian life begins with freedom from sin. Freedom from sin is the foremost characteristic of spiritual children. Apostle John categorises the disciples of Christ into three maturity groups: the children, the fathers, and the youth.

Please, read the book calmly, identify your true spiritual age, settle for progress, settle for Kingdom usefulness, and make up your mind to bring joy to God’s heart. Decide that you will be strong for the Kingdom. Decide to bring joy to God’s people by bringing the testimony of continuous and multiplied victories over temptations, over the world, over the works of the enemy.

We send out this book with the hope and prayer to God that His many children who have not truly considered their need for maturity and their real potential usefulness in the advancement of our Father’s Kingdom will face themselves and cooperate with the Lord to be and to do all that God expects from them.

Koumé – Bertoua,

11th February 2022

Theodore Andoseh

INTRODUCTION

Spiritual Relevance

I want us to look at the three ages, the three epochs, the three stages of Christian maturation.

I write to you, dear children, because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name. I write to you, fathers, because you have known him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, dear children, because you have known the Father. I write to you, fathers, because you have known him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one (1 John 2:12‒14).

There are three ages of Christian maturation:

childhood,

fatherhood, and

youth.

They are not put according to the gradation of natural age. In natural gradation, it would be childhood, youth and fatherhood. But the categorisation here has been put according to spiritual relevance: childhood, fatherhood, and then youth.

Why did they do the classification this way? Why do they go from childhood to fatherhood before coming to the third category—youth? It is the classification of Christian maturation and the classification of Christian usefulness. And with that categorisation, there is a prescription, there is a diagnosis of their needs.

1

SPIRITUAL CHILDHOOD

FREEDOM FROM SIN

I write to you, dear children, because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name. I write to you, fathers, because you have known him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, dear children, because you have known the Father. I write to you, fathers, because you have known him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one (1 John 2:12‒14).

The apostle says I write to you children… and he spells out their need for ministry: I write to you children because your sins have been forgiven. With the children, with young believers, we must deal with sins. It is not about sin (singular) which is a principle, it is about sins (plural). I write to you children because your sins have been forgiven because of his name.

When we start the Christian life, we must deal with sin and we must deal with sins. In dealing with sin, we deal with a principle in the heart and in the nature of man. We deal with that principle of our nature by the principle of the cross. It is a principle working in us, not just as individual acts but as a part of ourselves.

Sin, a principle

In dealing with sin, there are two principles. The first is sin, which is an inward principle that is obvious in even just one manifestation of sin. Adultery, lies and others are manifestations of sin. They are called sins. Sin is an inward principle, a principle of your nature. It is an inclination in my nature. An inclination to rebellion, independence, a penchant to transgression. That is sin. When one believes, this sin, this inward principle, should be dealt with first.

You cannot deal with this principle with resolutions—I shall never again tell a lie, but with the principle of the cross. Like Romans puts it, we need to understand our identification with Jesus: Jesus became ‘us’. In all our sins, He became ‘us’ so that we could become ‘Him’. It is an exchange of natures. He took my nature so that I can be clad with His nature. This is the exchange of the cross. It is called the sanctification crisis. It comes in a total inversion of ‘inclinations’. It is at the level of your nature that you will feel this sanctification. Fish are at home in water, they eat worms. Birds fly in the air and they eat grains and small fruits, and they are at home with such appetites. Each animal has inclinations that are inherent to their nature, and manifest by their appetites, their propensities.

Even if you have not committed the act, the inclination is there. The ‘me first’, that is selfishness, can be there even if in your