When we are grafted into the family of God by the blood of Yeshua, we begin the journey of a lifetime. The journey is one of growth and spiritual maturity, of walking in faith rather than fear.
This new way of thinking that aligns with our newness in Christ isn’t accomplished overnight. It’s a process and takes practice.
Thankfully, God is in the business of making roads in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. He can and will spiritually mature you when you give Him access to your heart and mind.
From Sinner to Saint—The Father Invites Us to Step into the Wholeness of Messiah and Mature
Romans 5:8 tells us that God accepted us when we were still sinners through Yeshua, the Messiah. But He doesn’t leave us there. Our new identities are worked out—manifested—over seasons and through new habits and patterns we discover in His Word.
He moves us forward, setting us apart for His purposes and glory. He transforms us from sinners to saints; this transformation is spiritual maturity.
We become spiritually mature as we begin to come out of agreement with the old ways of thinking and the enemy’s lies and into agreement with God’s Word—the sword of the Spirit—who gives us new ways of thinking.
The Battle We Are In
We are in a battle over value systems. A war rages against biblical values that guide choices and establish moral grounds, providing a bedrock for spiritual maturity. The enemy’s strategy is to divide and alter our value systems so we will operate out of a carnal mind rather than out of the mind of Christ.
If we want to win the battle, it is critical for us to be spiritually mature and stay rooted in biblical principles.
We must put on the full armor of God and wield the sword of the Spirit, day by day and moment by moment.
We must have a heart that seeks the wholeness God offers through Yeshua.
God is moving the body of believers into new levels of faith, equipping us for positions of authority to walk in dominion and be empowered. In this next season, we must claim and activate the Word that allows us to walk in victory and wholeness—body, soul and spirit (1 Thess. 5:23).
We must walk in God’s ways to become spiritually mature.
Ways of operating in the past won’t work in this next season. We know God’s ways are not ours (Isa. 55:8-9). They are higher and better. When we surrender to them, they give us spiritual results and transform our lives.
Paul wrote to the Colossian believers and told them he heard about their faith in Jesus and their love of the saints, and he was thankful. He prayed for them to be “filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding…” (Col. 1:9).
First, we must put our faith in Yeshua… every day. Then we must love and care for our brothers and sisters and invite the Spirit to fill us with the knowledge of God’s will… every day.
This is our prayer for the body of believers today—to grow in wisdom, knowledge and understanding.
God says that His people perish for lack of knowledge. The enemy seeks to kill, steal and destroy. He wants access to our value systems to tear them down. Spiritual maturity closes the door, so he can’t get a foothold in our lives.
Doubt, depression, unbelief and trading His ways for the world’s are a few ways the enemy attacks. This causes our minds, wills and emotions to crumble and perish, leaving gaps in our thoughts and value systems so he can fill them with fleshly desires.
Spiritually maturity provides protection so we can fulfill our purposes and cut off the perishing thoughts that come our way!
Spiritual Maturity—Moving from Milk to Meat
“I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?”—1 Corinthians 3:2-3.
These words from Paul remind us that spiritual people want spiritual results (1 Cor. 2:14). Paul makes it clear that the only way to grow in spiritual maturity is to “not perceive the world as natural man does.” Instead, we are to spiritually discern the world around us by putting on the mind of Christ and getting into the flow of the Holy Spirit.
1. Get into God’s Word daily. Our faith doesn’t rest in worldly wisdom but in the power of God, which is revealed to us through the Spirit as we read the Word and pray in the Spirit. We cannot recognize God’s voice if we do not study the words He has spoken. When we get in sync with and tune in to His voice through His Word, we can apply it to our daily lives and get spiritual results.
2. Let patience have its perfect work in us. The Father always wants to take us deeper into His love and wisdom, but this challenges us to move past our comfort zones. When comfortable, we become prideful and stop growing and maturing spiritually.
James told us to count trials as joy because our faith is tested through them, and we grow in patience. Patience and maturity go hand in hand. Just as it is difficult for small children to be patient, when we are “babes,” as Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 3:1, we won’t allow patience to flow through us, producing maturity.
Patience has a “perfect work” to do in us so that we lack nothing. Patience works out the wholeness and completeness we have in Messiah.
3. Pray and decree God’s Word. Spiritual maturity begins by getting into God’s Word. Then we practice and activate it through patience and praying God’s Word. It’s like taking the keys to the car and putting them in the ignition. You have the car, the gas tank is full and the keys are in your hand. To move forward, you must put it all together.
God is not hoping or searching for a reason to discipline. He’s looking for a way to release grace, mercy and blessings upon you! We release those blessings by decreeing God’s Word in the heavenly courtroom.
Do we sometimes need to be corrected when we’ve veered from God’s ways? Absolutely. But we can’t let the enemy lie and tell us that God doesn’t want to bless us.
When we begin decreeing and believing His promises, which are full of abundant blessings, we begin to bring what is written in the books of heaven to earth.
In Consistency Lies the Victory
In the consistency of getting into God’s Word, allowing the fruits of the Spirit to be worked out in and through us, and praying and decreeing God’s Word, we will spiritually mature, get spiritual results, and walk in victory.
Hold fast to the faith.
Starve your fears.
And anticipate the goodness of God to bless you in the season ahead.
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Curt Landry, founder of Curt Landry Ministries, and his wife, Christie, travel extensively, preaching and teaching about the Jewish roots of the Christian faith. Together, their passion is to empower families to live and leave Kingdom legacies and understand their own personal heritage.
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