Session 1: Overview
What is maturity?
Maturity is not the same thing as just being old! Some young people are mature for their age; others get old but never grow up.
We can define general maturity as "the good qualities of adults that children lack". We need to specify "good qualities", because adults often acquire some bad qualities along the way, too: cynicism, world-weariness, loss of enthusiasm.
The things we look for in adults, and overlook the lack of in children:
- Ability to see the bigger picture
- Planning ahead
- Understanding that actions have consequences
- Self-control to make right choices
- Keeping promises
- How you deal with other people
- Thinking of others
- Other end of the spectrum from the utter selfishness of baby
- Ability to back down from an argument
- Being prepared to sacrifice for others
- Practicalities
- Punctuality
- Reliability -- you do what you say you will do, when you say you will do it
- Replying to emails
- Being the kind of person who others rely on
- Understanding your own needs and finding ways to get them met
Maturity is gain, not loss. Losing the ability to laugh at farts is not mature. Gaining the ability to laugh at clever jokes is mature.
Aspects of immaturity that we want to leave behind:
- Inability to admit fault
- Excuses instead of apologies
- It's always about you
How do we react when ...
- You're in a hurry and the car in front of you is driving too slowly?
- You don't get credit for something you've done?
- Someone else gets credit for something you've done?
But what about spiritual maturity? Is it the same?
What does the Bible say about maturity?
I started by finding every mention of "mature" or "maturity" in the Bible (using the New Living Translation). I didn't realise this until I did the search, but all mentions of maturity are in the New Testament.
I also added some passages that mention being "complete" or "perfect" in the sense of mature.
Here is the result -- seventeen verses in all.
- 1: May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete [i.e. mature] with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. -- Ephesians 3:19.
Maturity comes from experiencing the love of Christ.
- 2: Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ. For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. So you also are complete [i.e. mature] through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority. -- Colossians 2:8-10.
Maturity comes not from human wisdom but from union with Christ.
- 3: How foolish can you be? After starting your new lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect [i.e. mature] by your own human effort? -- Galatians 3:3.
Maturity cannot be attained by our own effort, but by God's grace.
- 4: Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. -- Ephesians 4:11-13.
Unity in faith and knowledge of Jesus brings maturity.
- 5: The seeds that fell among the thorns represent those who hear the message, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares and riches and pleasures of this life. And so they never grow into maturity. -- Luke 8:14.
Maturity only comes when we resist the cares and riches of this life.
- 6: Let all who are spiritually mature agree on these things. If you disagree on some point, I believe God will make it plain to you. -- Philippians 3:15.
Maturity involves recognising our own immaturity, and pushing on through it.
- 7: [ Pressing toward the Goal ] I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection [i.e. maturity]. But I press on to possess that perfection [i.e. maturity] for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. -- Philippians 3:12.
Maturity does not arrive all at once, but we continue to grow into it.
- 8: So let [your endurance] grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete [i.e. mature], needing nothing. -- James 1:4.
Maturity grows through endurance and perseverance.
- 9: We pray to God that you will not do what is wrong by refusing our correction [...] We pray that you will become mature. -- 2 Corinthians 13:7-9.
Maturity involves receiving correction.
- 10: Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. -- Ephesians 4:11-13.
The purpose of church ministries is to bring Christians to maturity.
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- 11: Dear brothers and sisters, don’t be childish in your understanding of these things. Be innocent as babies when it comes to evil, but be mature in understanding matters of this kind. -- 1 Corinthians 14:20.
Maturity brings understanding that lives alongside innocence.
- 12: Yet when I am among mature believers, I do speak with words of wisdom, but not the kind of wisdom that belongs to this world or to the rulers of this world, who are soon forgotten. -- 1 Corinthians 2:6.
Maturity allows us to understand spiritual wisdom.
- 13: So let us stop going over the basic teachings about Christ again and again. Let us go on instead and become mature in our understanding. Surely we don’t need to start again with the fundamental importance of repenting from evil deeds and placing our faith in God. -- Hebrews 6:1.
Maturity involves a growing understanding of God.
- 14: Solid food [i.e. truth about God that go beyond the basics] is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong. -- Hebrews 5:14.
Maturity involves knowing the difference between right and wrong.
- 15: Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth -- Ephesians 4:14.
Maturity brings stability, and the ability to discern lies.
- 16: Dear brothers and sisters, I close my letter with these last words: Be joyful. Grow to maturity. Encourage each other. Live in harmony and peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with you. -- 2 Corinthians 13:11.
Maturity is joyful, harmonious and peaceful.
- 17: I am writing to you who are mature in the faith because you know Christ, who existed from the beginning [...] I have written to you who are mature in the faith because you know Christ, who existed from the beginning. -- 1 John 2:13-14.
Maturity is knowing Christ.
What we learn from the Bible
A. Where maturity comes from
How God works in us:
- 1: Maturity comes from experiencing the love of Christ (Ephesians 3:19).
- 2: Maturity comes not from human wisdom but from union with Christ (Colossians 2:8-10).
- 3: Maturity cannot be attained by our own effort, but by God's grace (Galatians 3:3).
- 4: Unity in faith and knowledge of Jesus brings maturity (Ephesians 4:11-13).
How we work towards maturity:
- 5: Maturity only comes when we resist the cares and riches of this life (Luke 8:14).
- 6: Maturity involves recognising our own immaturity, and pushing on through it (Philippians 3:15).
- 7: Maturity does not arrive all at once, but we continue to grow into it (Philippians 3:12).
- 8: Maturity grows through endurance and perseverance (James 1:4).
How others help us towards maturity:
- 9: Maturity involves receiving correction (2 Corinthians 13:7-9).
- 10: The purpose of church ministries is to bring Christians to maturity (Ephesians 4:11-13 again).
B. What maturity gives us
- 11: Maturity brings understanding that lives alongside innocence (1 Corinthians 14:20).
- 12: Maturity allows us to understand spiritual wisdom (1 Corinthians 2:6).
- 13: Maturity involves a growing understanding of God (Hebrews 6:1).
- 14: Maturity involves knowing the difference between right and wrong (Hebrews 5:14).
- 15: Maturity brings stability, and the ability to discern lies (Ephesians 4:14).
- 16: Maturity is joyful, harmonious and peaceful (2 Corinthians 13:11).
- 17: Maturity is knowing Christ (1 John 2:13-14).
The spiritual disciplines
From A Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster (1978):
- The inward disciplines of:
- meditation
- prayer
- fasting
- study
- The outward disciplines of:
- simplicity
- solitude
- submission
- service
- The corporate disciplines of:
- confession
- worship
- guidance
- celebration
Centuries of Christian tradition attest to the value of these, but why? Are these relevant?
The goal of all these practices is to bring us closer to God so we can experience the love of Christ, be united with him, receive God's grace, attain unity in faith and knowledge of Jesus, benefit from the church's ministries, persevere, recognise out own immaturity, resist the cares and riches of this life, accept correction and endure whatever trials come our way.
And so they help us to develop maturity.
For the next two sessions, we're going to focus on five habits that we can use to draw closer to God, and so develop maturity.
- Prayer: the practicalities of praying well
- Bible reading: approaches, patterns, schedules
- Fellowship: church membership, worship, interacting
- Generosity: the attitude that must underlie our giving
- Perseverance: responding well to adversity.