"...so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ." Ephesians 4:12-13
"Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!" Romans 11:33
Maturing Christians develop: a wide-ranging and deep knowledge of the Bible. Christian maturity means conformity to Christ, becoming like him in all respects. That begins with knowledge, with spiritual truth based on the written word of God. It is impossible to be a Christian without some knowledge of biblical truth. Romans 10:13 says, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” And then Paul follows up by asking, “How then can they call on one they have not believed in, and how can they believe in someone of whom they have not heard” (Romans 10:14)? Factual knowledge about Christ is required as the basis of our faith, and that factual knowledge comes by hearing the word about Christ (Romans 10:17). That’s how the entire Christian life begins.
That is also how the Christian life progresses from immaturity to maturity. The more we explore and drink in the vastness of the Bible, the more we can move on from spiritual infancy. We become more and more stable, no longer tossed back and forth by the waves of various doctrines and concepts current in our world. Our minds are shaped and formed, and a vast Metropolis of Truth is constructed within us. Like any great city which has transportation, electricity, water, sewage, commerce, government, food, communications, art, recreational spaces, and more, so also a complex of truths rises by sound biblical connections. The growing disciple learns how to read each passage in context, mine truth from its grammar and vocabulary, harmonize it with other truths already established, and see a wide-ranging theology constructed within. By that truth system a worldview emerges which governs every decision in life, about time, energy, money, family relationships, work, fun, hardship, and pleasure. Everything comes increasingly clear, and wisdom emerges on how best to live every moment of every day.
"Our minds are shaped and formed, and a vast Metropolis of Truth is constructed within us."
New Christians are genuinely loved, securely adopted into the family of God, completely forgiven for all sins, eternally alive in Christ. But they are immature in their thinking. They think like a child, speak like a child, reason like a child spiritually. It is expected in a recent convert. But it is unseemly in one who has been a Christian for a long time. The remedy is a daily diet of truth from the word of God… feeding on it as one eats daily bread and drinks daily water. Habits of Bible intake, of sitting under the sound preaching of the word, of scripture memorization, of listening to the pure word day after day… that is the journey toward Christian maturity.
No disciple will ever outgrow the Bible. Its simplicity and its complexity are both miraculous. The Holy Spirit has breathed out every word through the prophetic writers and the most vital truths are milk… so simple a child can understand them. But the infinite depths of the Word will keep every Christian occupied every day for the rest of life in this world.
Pursue maturity in the word of God, every single day pursue it! And watch yourself grow more and more in conformity to Christ.
