by Rosetta Thomas

The ultimate aim of every true believer is to be like Christ. While this seems far-fetched, it is possible. Sure enough, it is not an easy feat as we live in a world where there is a constant battle between good and evil and between right and wrong, which can easily derail us. What this means is that one must be very intentional about their spiritual growth and walk with the Lord.

In relation to the matured believer, Apostle Paul in Philippians 3:15 stated:

“Therefore, let us, as many as are mature, have this mind…”

But what is this mind?

Whenever the word “therefore” is used in a sentence, we know that reference is made to the aforementioned statements. Consequently, for us to clearly understand what the reference to “this mind” is connected to, we will need to look at the prior scripture (Philippians 3:10-14), which states:

10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.12 Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have [c]apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

From this passage, we can identify at least six keys that will characterize a mature believer, and I will briefly look at them.

1. That I may know “Him”

Spiritual maturity first begins with knowing God. There are different dimensions and levels of knowing God. We can know God as a group, for example as a church but when it comes to spiritual maturity, we must know God one on one: as individuals, as suggested by the pronoun “I”. Many persons know God through their pastors. God forbid but if that pastor should fail, they may also walk out of alignment because they do not know God for themselves. The question may be asked: How does one know God? Well, we know Him through our personal devotion, daily consecration, and study/meditation of the Word of God. Case in point: while cooperate worship is good, when trials and tribulations come in the middle of the night and you have no one else to call on, it is your personal prayer life that will be able to deliver you. In this wise, it important that one know God for ourselves.

2. That I may know “the power of His resurrection”

Another aspect of spiritual maturity is that we know God through the power of His resurrection. First of all, the death of Jesus symbolizes that we are called to be dead to sin. Scripture tells us in Galatian 2: 20 that:

I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Sin should therefore not have dominion over our mortal bodies. It should not stimulate us. Secondly, knowing God through the power of His resurrection means that we need to know that the same power that raised Jesus from the dead is available to us once we walk in our authority as believers. It also means that we should have the faith to know that regardless of how dead a situation is, in our lives, it can be resurrected. It means that for a mother who is broken over her drug addicted son, once she walks in her authority, God will deliver Him. That is knowing God through the power of His resurrection.

3. Knowing God through the Fellowship of His suffering

A matured believer is also one who fellowships with God through His suffering. Jesus Himself suffered a great deal and scripture tells us that in order for us to reign with Christ, we have to suffer with Him.  We are also told in Matthew 5:10:

Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

This means that if your promotion in your place of work is contingent on your changing some figures, you must miss out on that increase and hold your integrity. Essentially, being partaker of Christ’s suffering means we must be prepared to be scorned for Jesus’ sake, humiliated for Jesus’ sake, denied privileges for Jesus’ sake, and in some cases be prepared to lose our lives for Jesus’ sake.

4. Understand that we have not attained or perfected our goal, but we press on

A matured believer is also one who understands that we are a work in progress and that we have not perfected our goal. Many believers erroneously feel they have reached their peak. The truth however is that no matter how high and mighty we feel, we are nowhere when it comes to the standard of God. Isaiah was a mighty man of God but when he saw the Lord, he realized that his mouth was filthy and that he was unclean. The closer you come to God makes you realize how empty you are. A matured believer will therefore know that they must work out their salvation with God with fear and trembling daily. It also means if we have had exploits, we must understand that yesterday’s victory is not sufficient for today’s challenges. We need new mercies from the Lord daily and those renewed mercies can only come from spending time in God’s presence… daily.

5. Leaving the past in the past

Isaiah 43:18-19 KJV tells us:

Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it?

God cannot do a new thing in our live if we keep remembering the things of old. A mark of spiritual maturity is to forget these things and forge ahead. The truth is that once we have blood running warm in our veins, we are likely to endure pain, offence, and disappointment, but those things should not have dominion over us. We must therefore be prepared to lay aside all weight, all baggage and most of all, we must learn to forgive those who have wounded us.

6. I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus

Finally, a matured believer is also one who will press daily into God. If we miss a day or two of prayer, we will feel where the Holy Spirit begins to drift away from us. If we don’t get back into His presence quickly, He will eventually leave. At that point it will be easy for us to sin, and if that continues, there will eventually be no conviction for sin at all. Spiritual maturity therefore means that we will make every effort to spend time in God’s presence daily, even when we do not feel like it. It means that we will not live by bread alone but will feed on the Word of God! It means that we will spend time before the Lord in fasting and prayer for at least one day in the week and it means that we will do self-examination from time to time to see where we are with the Lord.  

Conclusion

In Conclusion, we need to understand that God is calling us to be matured believers. Phillipians 3:15 tells us: “as many as are mature, have this mind…”. But what is this mind? This mind is knowing God! It is to have to have an appreciation of the power of His resurrection! It is to be a partaker of His suffering! It is to understand that we have not attained but are a work in progress! It is laying aside the weight of our past and finally it is constantly pressing towards the mark of the High calling. Jesus Christ is our ultimate example, and we are called to not just emulate Him but to be like Him. This starts by being matured believers so I trust that this mind will be in us.

God bless you!