Lesson for September 25, 2019
Spiritual Dynamics
Spiritual Maturity
In eternity past, God provided everything necessary for a believer’s advance to spiritual maturity. Reaching spiritual maturity is a process of spiritual advance through the consistent study and application of Bible doctrine. It not necessary for a believer to try to figure out the exact moment that they reach this stage of spiritual adulthood. When a believer does reach spiritual maturity, the learning and applying continues. No one ever outgrows, spiritually speaking, the need to learn and apply more Bible doctrine.
Spiritual maturity is characterized by continuing to be spiritually independent, which was begun in spiritual autonomy. Having passed the various tests of people, system, thought and disaster as a believer advances to spiritual maturity they are equipped to handle every problem in life with Bible doctrine and happiness in their souls. At this stage of spiritual adulthood, a believer should be able to handle any tragedy or heartache life brings their way.
Sharing the happiness of God should be utilized as a problem-solving device at this stage of spiritual growth along with the other nine Problem-Solving Devices. Sharing God’s happiness can occur only when a believer has consistently stored Bible doctrine in their soul creating a doctrinal frame of reference and a spiritual vocabulary. Personal love for God, which precedes sharing His happiness motivates a believer to continue to advance in their spiritual life. We must know Bible doctrine (the only place that reveals the essence, attributes and character of God) in order to love God!
Impersonal love that has been developed along the way to spiritual maturity will help you can handle the unfairness of life, the criticism and the adversities that come from others judging, maligning, and hurting you, and all other problems that occur from human relationships.
Spiritual maturity means a believer has developed mental stability, which is the God-given ability to put doctrine before experience. Mental stability also includes courage toward others, plus the ability to make the correct and accurate application of Bible doctrine, especially during a time of testing or suffering. Testing often comes without any warning and a spiritually mature believer will be ready for it since they have stabilized their mind through the study and application of Bible doctrine.
A spiritually mature believer is content with what God has provided them, meaning they are sharing the happiness of God. (Philippians 4:11-13; Hebrews 13:5; I Timothy 6:6-8) A spiritually mature believer is
grace oriented to life which smooths the “rough edges of life” into grace thinking, grace motivation, grace decisions, and grace actions. Each stage of spiritual adulthood advances and perfects grace orientation.
A spiritually mature believer has become spiritually self-sustaining in that they do not need another believer (even their pastor) to constantly “check” their spiritual health. This means a believer uses the privacy of their priesthood to develop and maintain a strong relationship with God. In spiritual maturity, a believer lives their own life as unto the Lord rather than as unto people. Therefore, they are able to control their life by allowing God the Holy Spirit to control their life. Since God really has all the control because a spiritually mature believer yields control to the Holy Spirit, he lives in a state of inner happiness a maximum amount of the time.
A spiritual mature believer takes responsibility for his own decisions (good or bad). He also takes responsibility for others if they are under his authority but does so without seeking to control, interfere in or manipulate them.
A spiritually mature believer concentrates on their relationship with God as their first priority, rather than their relationships with people as their first priority. This concentration produces a mental attitude of confidence in God. (Philippians 3:15-16) A spiritually mature believer has a personal sense of destiny based on their confidence in God and His Word. No matter what happens in his life, they relate all the good and the bad to the fact that God has a purpose for their life. They understand God’s purpose, apply that knowledge to situations, maintain their happiness and pass testing when it comes their way. Therefore, a spiritually mature believer recognizes that they have fulfilled their purpose and destiny in life by executing the Protocol Plan of God. They are equipped to face any testing, handle and solve any problem. A spiritually mature believer has become aware that in fulfilling the plan of God for his life, he is fulfilling his own divine destiny. Destiny must always be related to God rather than to people, circumstances, or any standard of human success.
Consistent divine production is a characteristic of a spiritually mature believer who is filled with the Holy Spirit, which means effectiveness in Christian service resulting in gold, silver, and precious stones (eternal rewards) at the Judgment Seat of Christ.Divine production can be either invisible (prayer for others) or visible (sharing the Gospel with others). Spiritual maturity removes all of the frustrations normally associated with life, like not succeeding as you or others think you should. You have a destiny far greater than that of any person who’s ever been successful or great in this life (by human standards)!
Spiritual maturity is spiritually freeing. In the Protocol Plan of God, a new type of freedom exists, which has never existed before in any other dispensation – spiritual freedom provided by living in God’s power system – a system of grace. Spiritual freedom can exist with or without human freedom. A spiritually mature believer can be imprisoned and still have spiritual freedom because spiritual freedom does not depend on outward circumstances. Spiritual freedom is the divine provision of God’s grace to fulfill the Protocol Plan of God through residence, function, and momentum inside God’s power system which occurs in a believer’s soul.
When you are functioning within the Divine Dynasphere (God’s power system), you are filled with the Holy Spirit and you have spiritual freedom. The Holy Spirit in God’s power system is the enabling power for living the Protocol Plan of God. We glorify Christ by living inside God’s power system, which increases our capacity to receive God’s greater blessings. The enabling power of the Holy Spirit and stored Bible doctrine applied to a believer’s life are the two power options that advance a believer from spiritual self-esteem to spiritual autonomy to spiritual maturity.
For spiritually mature believers there will fantastic rewards in Heaven. The Crown of Righteousness awaits believers who attain spiritual maturity. The Crown of Life is for spiritually mature believers who pass advanced testing. The Crown of Glory is given to a pastor who is faithful in teaching the Word of God and bringing believers to spiritual maturity. It should be clear to all of us that God’s desire for all believers is to grow, grow, grow. When believers do grow, grow, grow there are eternal rewards that are even greater than the blessings of this life. Eternal rewards are represented in the Bible by crowns and rulership over cities in the Millennium.
Eternal rewards are greater blessings based on the grace of God Who gives believers the tools they need to attain these rewards. The writers of Scripture were very familiar with the Roman system of rewards for both the military and for athletic competition. These are primarily the illustrations used throughout the New Testament to represent our eternal rewards as believers.
Some rewards are illustrated by battle medals or medals for winners in athletic competition and carried with them immense honor and wealth. Some were given land, some were made rulers over cities or estates, some received cash, but all were exempt from paying income taxes for life. It is easy to see why the writers used these illustrations to represent our eternal rewards.
Let’s take a look at each reward:
- Rulership of cities – this reward is given to all believers who faithfully live their spiritual lives. It is given to those who are advancing in their Christian lives and are consistently learning God’s Word from accurately taught Bible doctrine and making correct application of it to their lives. (Luke 19:17; II Timothy 2:12; Revelation 5:10)
- Crown of Righteousness – this reward is for all believers who attain spiritual maturity, thus fulfilling the potential established by the imputed righteousness of Christ in their souls. In other words, they are making their experience align with their position in Christ. (II Timothy 4:7-8)
- Crown of Life – this reward is for all believers who pass the test of undeserved suffering or divine testing. This crown is attained by applying Bible doctrine to your experience while in the midst of suffering or testing. Remember that all suffering is not divine discipline. Some suffering is divine testing designed for our spiritual growth and the opportunity to be a witness for the Prosecution in the Angelic Conflict. (James 1:12; Revelation 2:10)
- Crown of Joy – this is a reward reserved for all believers who consistently share the Gospel with others. (Philippians 4:1; I Thessalonians 2:19-20)
- Crown of Glory – this reward is reserved for those with the gift of pastor-teacher. It is given for faithfully fulfilling the gift by using it to teach accurate Bible doctrine. The primary job of the pastor-teacher is to study and teach. (I Peter 5:4)
- The Winner’s Crown – this reward is given to all believers who advance according to the rules. In other words, doing a right thing in a right way. This reward is for those who exercise self-discipline, diligence and persistence over a long period of time to learn the system of doctrinal truth and accurately apply it. (II Timothy 2:5;I Corinthians 9:24-27)
“And everyone that strives to win) is self-disciplined in all things. Now they do it to obtain a crown that will perish; but we do it to obtain an eternal crown that is imperishable.” (I Corinthians 9:25, corrected translation)