spiritual maturity

Struggling In Prayer.

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Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God. – Colossians 4:12 ESV

We all struggle with prayer at times. It comes with the territory. Prayer can be hard. But the kind of struggle we’re going to talk about in this blog is something a bit different than finding prayer hard to do. The word Paul uses in the Greek is agōnizomai and you can see that it is where we get our English words agony and agonize. In Paul’s day it was a word typically used when referring to someone entered into gymnastic games. It had to do with competition, contending, fighting, or laboring against an opponent of difficulty. It also carried the meaning “to endeavour with strenuous zeal.” So when Paul said Epaphras was “always struggling” in his prayers on behalf of the believers in Colosse, he wasn’t inferring that Epaphras had a hard time praying. He meant that this young man’s prayer life was marked by agonizing effort and energetic zeal. Paul had evidently seen and heard him pray. He had been an eye-witness to the determination and dedication behind the prayers of Epaphras. I have a feeling his prayers were much more than just “Lord, would you bless the people in Colosse.” He didn’t just ask God to be with them and watch over them. Paul says that the overriding theme of his prayers was that they would “stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God.”

Epaphras was a Greek who had become a follower of Jesus Christ and had played a significant role in helping to establish the church in Colosse. “Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant” (Colossians 1:5-7 ESV). Epaphras had a vested interest in the health of the church in Colosse. He wanted it to thrive. So he prayed for “God to make you strong and perfect, fully confident that you are following the whole will of God” (NLT). His was not just a short, sweet prayer offered on a one-time basis, but an ongoing, persevering petition that was accompanied by an intense desire to see God answer. Epaphras wanted to see them mature in their faith and grow in their knowledge of God’s will for them. It is essentially the same prayer Paul prayed for them at the very beginning of his letter. “So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding” (Colossians 1:9 NLT). And Paul gave the end result that would accompany God’s answer to his prayer: “Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better” (Colossians 1:10 NLT).

Paul and Epaphras both knew what the believers in Colosse needed. They needed more of God. They needed God to mature them by revealing His will to them. They desperately needed to know what God wanted them to know and do. With that knowledge and the Holy Spirit’s help, they would have what they needed to live lives that honored and pleased God.

Do we agonize and labor prayerfully for that to happen among the believers with whom we worship and serve? Do we go to the mat with God, pleading that He will reveal His will to our loved ones and friends, asking that He make them strong and perfect? Are we concerned enough for the spiritual maturity that we pray fervently and repeatedly that they know and follow the whole will of God? For Epaphras, praying for his friends in Colosse was a labor of love. He did it gladly. He did it tirelessly. Because he was not going to be content until he saw God’s answer in the form of lives that pleased and honored Him. We could stand to struggle a bit more in our prayer lives. Not with prayer itself, but in the content and focus of our prayers. We should so desire what God desires, that we are not content until we see His will done in the lives of those we love. God’s desire for each of His children is their growth in Christ-likeness. He wants to see them mature. He wants to see them living within His will. We should want the same thing. And we should not stop praying for it until we see God’s answer appear in transformed lives that bring glory and honor to Him.

Ephesians 3:14-21

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Rooted In Love.

Ephesians 3:14-21

Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. – Ephesians 3:17 NLT

When Paul thinks about the mysterious plan of God for the church – the blending together of a wide variety and cross-section of humanity through the redemptive work of Christ – he can’t help but fall to his knees in prayer to the Father. He understands that it was God who made it all possible. It was God who sent His Son to die in the place of sinners. It was God who expressed His own love to us while we were sinners, not after we got our spiritual act together. It was God who came up with the idea of the Church. It was God who sent His Spirit to reside within His people, empowering and enlightening them. It was ALL God.

So Paul prays that this very same God, who created everything in heaven and earth, would use the same unlimited resources He used to create the universe to empower His children with inner strength through His Spirit. He is praying for an intimate and intense relationship between God and His Church. Paul longs for them to experience in full what God has made possible through His Son. It is the life Jesus promised – life more abundant and full (John 10:10). The key word in Paul’s prayer is “trust.” As believers trust and put their faith in God, their roots will grow down into God’s love and keep them strong. It is as we trust in Christ daily, that we learn just how much God loves us. We develop and experiential knowledge that is far better than simply academic knowledge. Reading about the love of God is one thing. Experiencing it is another. Reading about the power of God can be helpful. But experiencing it firsthand can be life-changing and faith-building.

Understanding the incredible depth of God’s love is essential for the believer. To know God is to know His love, because God is love. The better we come to know Him, the greater we will come to appreciate His love for us. Trusting in Christ has a direct impact on our ability to know and experience God’s love. God’s greatest expression of His love for mankind came through His own Son and His death on the cross. And as we learn to trust in Christ, living our lives in keeping with His commands and according to His example, our spiritual roots will grow deeper and deeper into God’s love – the very thing we need to sustain our lives on this planet. Paul prayed that they would understand the magnitude of God’s love for them. But he also prayed that they would experience the love of Christ for them. The result would be spiritual maturity that manifests itself in fullness of life and power.

Paul’s prayer conveys the idea of ever-increasing knowledge of God’s love and an ever-growing understanding of all that God has made available to us through Christ’s death and resurrection. In Paul’s mind, there is no standing still, no status quo. We are to keep moving on in our relationship with Christ, growing in our understanding of His love as we trust in Him more and more. Salvation is just the start. We trusted Him for our forgiveness and redemption, but we must also trust Him for our ongoing sanctification and spiritual maturity. And Paul reminds us that, ultimately, God will get the glory because it is His power at work within us, that will accomplish His finished work in our lives – a transformation far more significant than we could ever hope or imagine.

Father, Your love for me is beyond comprehension at times. I can’t fathom why You would love someone like me, but You did and You do. In love, You sent Your Son to die for me. You have lovingly placed Your Spirit within me. Your love placed me in Your family, the Church. Your love empowers me and protects me. Your love surrounds me. But at times, I still struggle with the feeling that I am unloved because I am unlovable. Help me understand how wide, how long, and how deep Your love really is. Amen.

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

Colossians 1:24-2:5

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Actively Caring.

Colossians 1:24-2:5

I want you to know how much I have agonized for you and for the church at Laodicea, and for many other believers who have never met me personally. I want them to be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love. I want them to have complete confidence that they understand God’s mysterious plan, which is Christ himself. – Colossians 2:1-2 NLT

Suffering. Serving. Proclaiming. Telling. Warning. Teaching. Working. Struggling. Agonizing.

Look at all the present participles Paul uses in short passage. What it reveals to me is his undeniable commitment to the cause of Christ and the spiritual growth of those under his care – whether he has ever personally met them or not. Paul was actively involved in the spiritual well-being of others. His goal was their maturity or growth in Christ-likeness. So he was willing to suffer and serve, work and warn, struggle and agonize on their behalf, so that they might grow in love for God and for one another. He wanted them to increase in confidence and boldness, and live lives that were a testimony to the life-changing power of God.

I can’t help but read the words of Paul and reflect on just how much I care about the spiritual well-being of others. Too often, in the church today, we become focused on our own personal spiritual health, but fail to show much concern for those around us. Paul could have easily grown content with the state of his own growth in Christ, knowing that he was making significant progress in his own spiritual development. But he knew that his growth was directly tied to the body of Christ. His spiritual gifts were given to him for the benefit of the body, not himself. God had called him, not just so that he might have a personal relationship with Him, but so that he might tell others of the same Good News that had completely and radically changed his life for eternity. So Paul was not content just focusing on his own spiritual development. He was obsessed with helping others grow and mature. It was his calling. It was his reason for being. And he was willing to burn himself out on behalf of others, so that they might experience all that God had in store for them.

Paul was gladly willing to suffer if it meant that others could benefit. Keep in mind that he was more than likely writing this letter while under house arrest in Rome. Paul knew what it meant to suffer. He had been beaten, tried unjustly, flogged, stoned and left for dead, and constantly harassed for his association with Christ. But he wrote, “I am glad when I suffer for you in my body, for I am participating in the sufferings of Christ that continue for his body, the church” (Colossians 1:24 NLT). As the head of the body, Christ suffers when we suffer. He indwells each and every believer and, as a result, is intimately involved in all of our suffering. Jesus told us that we would undergo trials and suffer as a result of our association with Him. He warned us that the world would hate us. “If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you” (John 15:18-19 NLT). And Paul knew first-hand the reality of this warning. But he willingly and gladly accepted it as a part of his calling as a minister of Jesus Christ.

What a model we have in this incredible man. Rather than put him on a pedestal and make him into some kind of unapproachable icon of virtue, we should imitate his actions and attitudes. We should model our lives after his. Paul did not see his salvation as a ticket to heaven or some kind of Get-Out-Of-Hell-Free card. He saw his calling as a privilege and responsibility that he took seriously. So he suffered, served, proclaimed, told, warned, taught, worked, struggled and agonized, so that others might grow. What about you? Are you actively seeking the spiritual well-being of others? Are you intimately and personally involved in helping those around you grow more Christ-like? What a difference it would make if each of us were to take personal responsibility for the spiritual health of the body of Christ just like Paul did. If I was willing to suffer physically so that others might prosper spiritually, the overall health and vitality of the body of Christ would increase exponentially.

Father, give me the same kind of zeal and determination Paul had. Don’t let me become so myopic and self-focused that I lose sight of the fact that You have placed me in the body of Christ for a reason. You have called each of us to minister to one another. You have designed this thing to be mutually beneficial, not selfishly individual. Help me see the needs all around me and meet them, even if it means that I have to suffer as a result. Amen.

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

2 Corinthians 13

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Test Yourself.

2 Corinthians 13

Examine yourself to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith. – 2 Corinthians 13:5 NLT

There comes the time in every believer’s life when they must examine themselves and determine whether what they say they believe is making a difference in the way they live their lives. In this passage, Paul is not calling into question his readers’ salvation, but their sanctification. Did their lives demonstrate that they were in the faith? Did their behavior give evidence or having been justified by God? Paul wanted them to do what was right. For twelve chapters, Paul seemed to take their salvation for granted, speaking to them as believers and never questioning the validity of their position in Christ. So it doesn’t make sense that he would suddenly become suspect of their saving relationship with Christ. Instead, he is asking them to take stock of their salvation and examine the fruit of their lives. Were their actions in keeping with their faith? The NSRV translation of verse five reads this way: “Examine yourselves to see whether you are living in the faith.” One of the key evidences of sanctification is obedience. Paul wanted them to take a long, hard look at their lives and be brutally honest about their own fruitfulness. He wanted them to see that the problem was not with Paul and his apostolic authority, but with them. They were disobedient and rebellious, refusing to accept Paul’s correction or submit to his authority in their lives. So Paul plead with them to “do the right thing before we come” (2 Corinthians 13:7b NLT). He wanted them to see the error of their way and repent before he had to come and deal with their rebellion first-hand. If forced to, he would wield his apostolic authority when he arrived, but preferred that they would do a serious self-examination and correct their behavior before he arrived. Paul’s prayer was that they would become mature and do the right thing.

One of the things that had set Paul off was that there were some in the Corinthian church who were demanding that Paul give them proof that he was speaking on behalf of Christ. So Paul turned the tables and demanded that they give proof of their own sanctification. He told them to examine themselves and give proof that they were living in obedience to Christ by doing the right thing. Rather than test Paul, they needed to spend some time testing themselves. He was not the problem, they were. “The logic of Paul’s argument is compelling: If the Corinthians wanted proof of whether Paul’s ministry was from Christ, they must look at themselves, not him, because Paul had ministered the gospel to them” (Bibliotheca Sacra 154:614,April-June 1997: 181). They were in Christ, now they must act like it. They had been justified and made right with God by Christ, now their lives must reflect that right standing by doing the right thing. Paul was calling them to Christian maturity. He wanted them to grow up in their faith. Rather than questioning their salvation, Paul is calling them to sanctification. He closes his letter with these 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 NLT). When all was said and done, Paul simply wanted to see the Corinthians living obedient, godly lives. Their willing submission to his God-given authority would be ample proof of both his divine calling and their own sanctification.

Father, what a great reminder that I must examine my own life on a regular basis to see if the fruit of my own sanctification is evident. Too often, I am content to rest in the assurance of my salvation, and then fail to see that salvation producing true life change. Never let me grow content with where I am. Keep me striving after godliness, not to earn favor in Your sight, but because I expect life transformation to take place each and every day of my life. Amen.

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

1 Corinthians 3

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Worldly Wise.

1 Corinthians 3

Dear brothers and sisters, when I was with you I couldn’t talk to you as I would to spiritual people. I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in the Christian life. – 1 Corinthians 3:1 NLT

In John Bunyan’s classic work, Pilgrim’s Progress, the main character, Christian, meets up with a gentleman by the name of Mr. Worldly Wiseman, a resident of the town of Carnal Policy, who was wise in the ways of the world. Christian was on his way to the Celestial City, seeking a means to relieve the heavy burden he was carrying on his back. He had been told that he would find his solution in the Celestial City. But Mr. Worldly Wiseman offered a better way. “But why wilt thou seek for ease this way, seeing so many dangers attend it? especially since (hadst thou but patience to hear me) I could direct thee to the obtaining of what thou desirest, without the dangers that thou in this way wilt run thyself into. Yea, and the remedy is at hand. Besides, I will add, that instead of those dangers, thou shalt meet with much safety, friendship, and content.”

The ways of this world always seem to contradict and run counter to the ways of God. In Paul’s mind, worldliness was a thing to be avoided, not embraced. It was a sign of immaturity and an indication of a life controlled by the sinful nature. The world represents our old life, before we came to faith in Christ and were set free from sin and our own sin nature. For Paul, some sure signs of worldliness were jealousy and quarreling among believers. He gives us an even more extensive list in Galatians 5: “When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these” (Galatians 5:19-21 NLT). As far as Paul was concerned, these characteristics were evidence of someone who was worldly wise, wise in the ways of the world. Because the world is always attempting to get us to do God’s will its way. Like Worldly Wiseman, it comes alongside us and gives us “wise” counsel, offering an alternate way to relieve the burden of sin and the guilt of our own sin nature. For the Corinthians, they had been deceived into choosing sides, finding their spiritual value by associating themselves with either Paul, Peter or Apollos. They had begun to fight over who was more spiritual based on which of these three men had led them to faith in Christ. But Paul reminded them that they were only God’s servants. It was God who had made them grow.

Paul’s concern was that their behavior was evidence of immaturity and worldliness. The believers in Corinth were living like they belonged to this world, like they were citizens of this kingdom. But Paul wanted to remind them that when they had come to Christ, they had had their citizenship transferred to a new Kingdom. They no longer belonged to this world. They were not to exhibit the characteristics of worldly people. Their jealousy, infighting and choosing sides were evidence of worldliness and immaturity. They were to be spiritual, not worldly. Paul warned them: “Stop deceiving yourselves. If you think you are wise by this world’s standards, you need to become a fool to be truly wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God” (1 Corinthians 3:18-19 NLT). Too often, we find ourselves listening to Mr. Worldly Wiseman, accepting his advice and following his counsel – only to end up disappointed in the results. His ways are not God’s ways. His directions will never get us where God wants us to go. He will always offer a different path and the promise of an easier journey. And our sin nature will naturally gravitate to accepting his advice, because it is of this world. To our sin nature, what Mr. Worldly Wiseman says makes sense.

In John Bunyan’s classic allegory, Mr. Worldly Wiseman offers Christian some sage advice. He gives him an alternate route to take and a different solution to his problem. “Why, in yonder village (the village is named Morality) there dwells a gentleman whose name is Legality, a very judicious man, and a man of a very good name, that has skill to help men off with such burdens as thine is from their shoulders; yea to my knowledge, he hath done a great deal of good this way; aye, and besides, he hath skill to cure those that are somewhat crazed in their wits with their burdens. To him, as I said, thou mayest go, and be helped presently. His house is not quite a mile from this place; and if he should not be at home himself, he hath a pretty young man to his son, whose name is Civility, that can do it (to speak on) as well as the old gentleman himself: there, I say, thou mayest be eased of thy burden; and if thou art not minded to go back to thy former habitation, (as indeed I would not wish thee,) thou mayest send for thy wife and children to this village, where there are houses now standing empty, one of which thou mayest have at a reasonable rate: provision is there also cheap and good; and that which will make thy life the more happy is, to be sure there thou shalt live by honest neighbors, in credit and good fashion.”

Morality. Legality. Civility. All viable-sounding options that the world offers up to as replacements to a maturing faith in God. The problem is that they are all human-oriented and based on self-effort. They may sound worldly wise, but they will leave us living spiritually immature lives. Worldliness is subtle and we are naturally susceptible to it, because it appeals to our sin nature. It sounds easier and more attractive. It offers a different way. It provides us with a quick fix and a pain-free solution to our problems. But it is not God’s way. It is not God’s will. Better to be a fool for God than to be wise in the ways of the world.

Father, open our eyes to the dangers of worldliness. Don’t let us fall prey to the ways of this world. Don’t allow us to take the easy road, because it always results in a dead end. Keep us on the path You have marked out. Don’t let our lives be marked by worldliness and spiritual immaturity, but by increasing spiritual maturity and faith in You. Amen.

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

2 Thessalonians 2:13-17

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Spiritual Maturity.

2 Thessalonians 2:13-17

With all these things in mind, dear brothers and sisters, stand firm and keep a strong grip on the teaching we passed on to you both in person and by letter. – 2 Thessalonians 2:15 NLT

Have you ever wondered why Paul took the time to write so many letters? What was he trying to accomplish? What was his purpose? He wrote 13 letters in all. Some of them were personal letters written to individuals, like Timothy and Titus. But most were written to the early churches in places like Ephesus, Corinth, Thessalonica and Rome. But virtually all these letters were intended to be shared. They were circulated around the regions in which these churches existed, and shared with other fledgling congregations. And Paul’s purpose was simple. He wanted to encourage and sometimes admonish these new believers in their walk with Christ. He wanted to provide them with sound teaching, refute false doctrine, encourage them to remain faithful and do whatever he could do to make sure these young believers matured in their faith. Paul was not just content to see people come to salvation, he wanted them to experience sanctification – ongoing spiritual maturity and growth in Christ-likeness.

Paul was grateful to God that the Thessalonians to whom he was writing were among the first to experience salvation. This was a work of God “through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth” (2 Thessalonians 2:13b NET). Their salvation had taken place as a result of the Gospel message proclaimed by Paul and Silas on their first visit to Thessalonica. And as a result of their having accepted God’s call, they were assured of getting to share in Christ’s glory. For Paul, there was salvation and, ultimately, our glorification – the future time in which we will be fully transformed into the likeness of Christ when we go to be with Him. But in the meantime, there is our sanctification. That was the basic gist of all of Paul’s letters. He wanted to see these new believers grow up in their salvation. Peter had a similar desire and expressed it in his letter. “Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation” (1 Peter 2:2 NLT).

Paul wanted to see all believers grow in their faith, and he knew that it was essential that they be taught sound doctrine and truth based on the Word of God. If left to themselves, they would be easily deceived. Without sound teaching, they would have remained immature and unspiritual – saved, but unsanctified. Paul expressed this concern to the believers living in Corinth. “Dear brothers and sisters, when I was with you I couldn’t talk to you as I would to spiritual people. I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in the Christian life. I had to fee you with milk, not with solid food, because you weren’t ready to anything stronger. And you still aren’t ready, for you are still controlled by your sinful nature” (1 Corinthians 3:1-3 NLT). Pretty harsh words, but they reflect Paul’s passion for and belief in the non-negotiable nature of spiritual growth and maturity. For Paul, it was non-optional. So he wrote these letters with the full expectation that those who read them would take the truth written in them and grow. He told them to “stand firm and keep a strong grip on the teaching we passed on to you both in person and by letter” (2 Thessalonians 2:15 NLT). They were to hang on to the words of Paul. They were to apply them to their lives. Those things he had taught them in person and expressed through his letters were essential to their growth from gullible spiritual infants to maturing believers. But Paul also knew that it was ultimately up to God to bring about their sanctification, just as He had their salvation. So he prayed, “may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal comfort and a wonderful hope, comfort you and strengthen you in every good thing you do and say” (2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 NLT). Ultimately, it is God who brings about our spiritual new birth and our spiritual growth. But He does it through sound teaching and the indwelling presence of His Spirit, who uses the truth to convict, encourage, and direct our lives to reflect the nature of Christ Himself.

Father, You want me to grow. While I might be content with salvation alone, Your desire is that I grow up. You saved me so that I might become increasingly more like Your Son. Your obsession is my holiness. You want me to go from spiritual infancy to adulthood. You have given me Your Word and placed Your Spirit within me. You have surrounded me with other believers. There is no place for complacency in my spiritual life. Keep me growing Father. Never let me become satisfied or complacent when it comes to my spiritual growth. Amen.

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org