SPIRITUAL

MATURITY AND
GROWTH TAKES
PLACE?
 12
And now, just as you
6

accepted Christ Jesus

as your Lord, you
must continue to
 7
Let your roots grow
down into him, and let
your lives be built on
him. Then your faith will
grow strong in the truth
you were taught, and
you will overflow with2:7
COLOSSIANS
 Dont let anyone capture you
8

with empty philosophies and

high-sounding nonsense that
come from human thinking
and from the spiritual
powersof this world, rather
than from Christ
COLOSSIANS 2:8
9
For in Christ lives all the
fullness of God in a
human body.10So you
also are complete
through your union with
Christ, who is the head
over every ruler and
COLOSSIANS 2:9-10
 11
When you came to
Christ, you were
circumcised, but not
by a physical procedure.
Christ performed a
spiritual circumcision
the cutting COLOSSIANS
away of your
2:11
 For you were buried with
12

Christ when you were

baptized. And with him
you were raised to new life
because you trusted the
mighty power of God, who
raised Christ from the
COLOSSIANS 2:12
 COLOSSIANS 3:1-15
1Since you have been raised
to new life with Christ, set
your sights on the realities
of heaven, where Christ
sits in the place of honor at
Gods right hand.
 2
Think about the
things of heaven, not
the things of
earth. For you died to
3

this life, and your real

life is hidden with
COLOSSIANS 3:2-3
 And when Christ,
4

who is your life, is

revealed to the
whole world, you will
share in all his glory.
COLOSSIANS 3:4
5So put to death the sinful, earthly
things lurking within you. Have
nothing to do with sexual
immorality, impurity, lust, and evil
desires. Dont be greedy, for a
greedy person is an idolater,
worshiping the things of this
world.
COLOSSIANS 3:5
 Because of these
6

sins, the anger of God

is coming. You used
7

to do these things
when your life was
still part of this3:6-7
COLOSSIANS
8But now is the time to get
rid of anger, rage, malicious
behavior, slander, and dirty
language.9Dont lie to each
other, for you have stripped
off your old sinful nature and
all its wicked deeds.
COLOSSIANS 3:8-9
 Put on your new
10

nature, and be
renewed as you
learn to know your
Creator and
COLOSSIANS 3:10
 In this new life, it
11

doesnt matter if you are

a Jew or a Gentile,
circumcised or
uncircumcised, barbaric,
uncivilized, slave, or
free. Christ is all that
COLOSSIANS 3:11
 Since God chose you to
12

be the holy people he

loves, you must clothe
yourselves with
tenderhearted mercy,
kindness, humility,
gentleness, and 3:12
COLOSSIANS
 Make allowance for
13

each others faults, and

forgive anyone who
offends you. Remember,
the Lord forgave you, so
you must forgive
others.
COLOSSIANS 3:13
 Above all, clothe yourselves
14

with love, which binds us all

together in perfect
harmony.15And let the peace
that comes from Christ rule in
your hearts. For as members
of one body you are called to
live in peace. And always be
COLOSSIANS 3:14-15
WHAT SHOWS LACK OF
GROWTH?
A. PLANTS:
1) INADEQUATE WATER

2) LACK OF FERTILIZER

3) LACK OF SUNLIGHT

4) LACK OF SOIL

5) IMPROPER CARING

RESULT: BANSOT - BONSAI

 B. CHRISTIAN LIFE:
1) INADEQUATE KNOWLEDGE OF
GODS TRUTH (ACTS 18:24-28)
2) LIVING A LIFE OF EVIL/ LIVING IN

SINS.
(1 COR.14:20)
3. ) INABILITY TO UNDERSTAND
DEEPEST TRUTH. (HEB. 5:12-14)
B. CHRISTIAN LIFE:
4) LACK OF PRAYER
5) LACK OF FAITH
6) DOES NOT ACCEPT
CORRECTION AND DISCIPLINE.
RESULT: IMMATURE
 ACTS 18:24-28
Meanwhile, a Jew named
24

Apollos, an eloquent
speaker who knew the
Scriptures well, had
arrived in Ephesus from
Alexandria in Egypt.
 He had been taught the
25

way of the Lord, and he

taught others about
Jesus with an
enthusiastic spiritand
with accuracy. However,
he knew onlyACTS
about18:25
 When Priscilla and Aquila
26

heard him preaching

boldly in the synagogue,
they took him aside and
explained the way of God
even more accurately.
ACTS 18:26
 Apollos had been thinking about
27

going to Achaia, and the brothers and

sisters in Ephesus encouraged him to
go. They wrote to the believers in
Achaia, asking them to welcome him.
When he arrived there, he proved to
be of great benefit to those who, by
Gods grace, had believed.

ACTS 18:27
 He refuted the Jews with
28

powerful arguments in
public debate. Using the
Scriptures, he explained
to them that Jesus was
the Messiah.
ACTS 18:28
 1 CORINTHIANS 14:20

Dear brothers and
sisters, dont be
childish in your
understanding of these
things. Be innocent as
babies when it comes to
 HEBREWS 5:12-14
12 You have been believers so long
now that you ought to be
teaching others. Instead, you
need someone to teach you
again the basic things about
Gods word.You are like babies
who need milk and cannot eat
solid food.
 For someone who lives on milk
13

is still an infant and doesnt

know how to do what is
right.14Solid food is for those
who are mature, who through
training have the skill to
recognize the difference
between right and wrong.
HEBREWS 5:13-14
SPIRITUAL GROWTH-
IS THE PROCESS OF
BECOMING MORE
MATURE IN OUR
RELATIONSHIP WITH
JESUS CHRIST
 II. HOW DOES SPIRITUAL
MATURITY AND GROWTH
TAKESinPLACE?
A. By increasing your knowledge
and understanding of Gods word.
(2 PETER 1:3-8) (2 TIMOTHY 3:16-17)
1.Reading the bible everyday.
2.Meditating in His words.

3.Grounding yourself in His word.

 2 PETER 1:3-8
By his divine power, God has
3

given us everything we need for

living a godly life. We have
received all of this by coming to
know him, the one who called us
to himself by means of his
marvelous glory and excellence.
 4And because of his glory and
excellence, he has given us great
and precious promises. These
are the promises that enable you
to share his divine nature and
escape the worlds corruption
caused by human desires.

2 PETER 1:4
5
In view of all this, make
every effort to respond
to Gods promises.
Supplement your faith
with a generous
provision of moral
excellence, and moral1:5
2 PETER
 6and knowledge with self-
control, and self-control with
patient endurance, and patient
endurance with godliness,7and
godliness with brotherly
affection, and brotherly
affection with love for everyone.

2 PETER 1:6-7
8The more you grow like
this, the more productive
and useful you will be in
your knowledge of our
Lord Jesus Christ.

2 PETER 1:8
 2 TIMOTHY 3:16-17
All Scripture is inspired by God
16

and is useful to teach us what is

true and to make us realize
what is wrong in our lives. It
corrects us when we are wrong
and teaches us to do what is
right.17God uses it to prepare
 MATURITY AND GROWTH
TAKES PLACE?
B. By putting to death the

sinful, earthly things.

1. Start removing unnecessary

garbage in your life.

2. Committing your life and

submitting your will to Him.

 ROMANS 12:1-2
1And so, dear brothers and
sisters,I plead with you to
give your bodies to God
because of all he has done
for you. Let them be a living
and holy sacrificethe kind
he will find acceptable. This
2Dont copy the behavior and
customs of this world, but let
God transform you into a
new person by changing the
way you think. Then you will
learn to know Gods will for
you, which is good and
pleasing and perfect.
ROMANS 12:2
 II. HOW DOES SPIRITUAL MATURITY AND
GROWTH TAKES PLACE
3. To look at life from Gods
perspective and to seek what
He desires.
4. To put heaven priorities into

daily practice and

concentrating on the eternal
rather than the temporary.
 PHILIPPIANS 4:9
Keep putting into
practice all you learned
and received from me
everything you heard
from me and saw me
doing. Then the God of
 MATURITY AND GROWTH TAKES
PLACE?
C. By deepening our
faith and trust in God.
(EPHESIANS 4:13)
1) Allow God to move
in our lives.
 EPHESIANS 4:13
This will continue until we all

come to such unity in our

faith and knowledge of
Gods Son that we will be
mature in the Lord,
measuring up to the full and
complete standard of Christ.
 MATURITY AND GROWTH TAKES
PLACE?
D. BY INCREASING IN YOUR PRACTICE OF
CHRIST-LIKE QUALITIES.
1)Our total surrender to God (ROMANS 12:1-
2)
) Total self dedication to God.

) We volunteer our body as a living sacrifice.

) Our minds, heart and soul are renewed and

transformed.
 ROMANS 12:1-2
1 And so, dear brothers and sisters,I plead
with you to give your bodies to God because
of all he has done for you. Let them be a
living and holy sacrificethe kind he will find
acceptable. This is truly the way to worship
him.2Dont copy the behavior and customs
of this world, but let God transform you into
a new person by changing the way you think.
Then you will learn to know Gods will for
you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
 MATURITY AND GROWTH TAKES
PLACE
2)OUR FREEDOM FROM SIN
)Death to sin. (ROMANS 6:11)

)Live a life of purity.

)Sin is no longer our master.

)We are identified with Christ

(Romans 6:1-14)
ROMANS 6:1-14
1
Well then, should we keep on sinning
so that God can show us more and
more of his wonderful grace?2Of
course not! Since we have died to sin,
how can we continue to live in it?3Or
have you forgotten that when we were
joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we
joined him in his death? 4For we died
and were buried with Christ by
 ROMANS 6:5-8
5
Since we have been united with him
in his death, we will also be raised to
life as he was.6We know that our old
sinful selves were crucified with
Christ so that sin might lose its
power in our lives. We are no longer
slaves to sin.7For when we died with
Christ we were set free from the
power of sin.8And since we died
 ROMANS 6:9-11
We are sure of this because Christ
9

was raised from the dead, and he

will never die again. Death no
longer has any power over
him.10When he died, he died once
to break the power of sin. But now
that he lives, he lives for the glory
of God.11So you also should
consider yourselves to be dead to
 ROMANS 6:12-14
12
Do not let sin control the way you live;[
a]
do not give in to sinful desires.13Do
not let any part of your body become
an instrument of evil to serve sin.
Instead, give yourselves completely to
God, for you were dead, but now you
have new life. So use your whole body
as an instrument to do what is right for
the glory of God.14Sin is no longer your
master, for you no longer live under the
 ROMANS 6:11
So you also should

consider yourselves
to be dead to the
power of sin and
alive to God through
 MATURITY AND GROWTH TAKES
PLACE?
3) Spiritual Growth- someone who

is growing spiritually will

become more and more like
Jesus.
) The spiritually mature will be

able to distinguish good from

evil.
 III. GOD WANTS
US TO GROW
AND BEAR FRUIT.
(PSALM1:1-3)
(PSALM 92:12-13)
 PSALM 1:1-3
Oh, the joys of those
1

who do not follow

the advice of the
wicked, or stand
around with sinners,
2
But they delight in the law
of theLORD,meditating on
it day and night. They are
3

like trees planted along the

riverbank,bearing fruit
each season.Their leaves
never wither, and they
PSALM 1:2-3
 PSALM 92:12-13
But the godly will flourish
12

like palm trees and grow

strong like the cedars of
Lebanon 13For they are
transplanted to theLORDs
own house. They flourish
HOW?
I. Desire to grow
a) We will never grow unless we want to

grow.
b) We must maintain this desire to grow.

) The word of God teaches us that growth

is always needed.
Example: PAUL (PHILIPPIANS 3:12-14)
PETER (MATTHEW 26:31-35)
(1 CORINTHIANS 16:12)
 PHILIPPIANS 3:12-14
12 I dont mean to say that I have
already achieved these things
or that I have already reached
perfection. But I press on to
possess that perfection for
which Christ Jesus first
possessed me.
PHILIPPIANS 3:12-14
13No, dear brothers and sisters, I
have not achieved it,[a]but I focus
on this one thing: Forgetting the
past and looking forward to what
lies ahead, 14I press on to reach
the end of the race and receive the
heavenly prize for which God,
through Christ Jesus, is calling us.
MATTHEW 26:31-35
31On the way, Jesus told
them,Tonight all of you will desert
me. For the Scriptures say, God will
strikethe Shepherd, and the sheep
of the flock will be scattered.
32But after I have been raised from
the dead, I will go ahead of you to
Galilee and meet you there.
 MATTHEW 26:31-35
33 Peter declared, Even if everyone else
deserts you, I will never desert you.
34Jesus replied,I tell you the truth,
Peterthis very night, before the
rooster crows, you will deny three times
that you even know me. 35No! Peter
insisted. Even if I have to die with you,
I will never deny you! And all the other
disciples vowed the same.
 1 CORINTHIANS 16:12
Now about our brother Apollos
I urged him to visit you
with the other believers, but
he was not willing to go
right now. He will see you
later when he has the
HOW?
II. Nourishment:
a. We need spiritual food from Gods word.

b. Must attend bible study and church

services.
III. Time and patience

a.Dont expect maturity overnight.

b.Dont be discouraged by mistakes and

rebuke.