On Spiritual Maturity – Colossians 1:24-2:7
After building this foundation of who Christ is and reminding the Colasse church yet again that Jesus is the Messiah in Chapter 1; Paul gets to the purpose of his whole letter– spiritual maturity.
FAILURE TO LAUNCH
You have heard it said:
“Kids these days don’t have the same work ethic as we did.”
“Youth are lazy and self-indulgent. They only want to work in jobs that are prestigious and pay well.”
“It seems like all young adults are living with their parents nowadays.”
“Or young people just don’t want to grow up”
There is actually a relatively new term that has been invented to describe this phenomenon called “Failure to Launch”; this idea that today young people have not launched into life quite like generations preceding them.
“[T]hat there is no new developmental period of emerging adulthood and that the notion is not accurate that “kids these days” are profoundly different than those in the past. Instead, [this] phenomenon has been experienced by youth across generations.” – Nancy E. Hill and Alexis Redding, The End of Adolescence: the Lost Art of Delaying Adolescence
No matter the generation, whether you are a baby boomer, genX, millennial, or GenZ, growth is hard and oftentimes uncomfortable.
ON SPIRITUAL MATURITY
“Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith.” – Colossians 2:6
Spiritual maturity is walking in Jesus, being rooted in him. Spiritual Maturity is thinking, acting and being like Jesus in our context today.
This is why at Midtown Church we define our kingdom value of intentional formation as aligning our story with the story of Jesus. We desire for every aspect of our lives, our work, our family, our social lives, to reflect the person of Jesus.
SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT & LIFE STAGES
Four developmental stages:
Infant: Consumer Stage | Infants do not have the ability yet to give; they simply take.
Child: Certainty Stage | Children ask a lot of questions in pursuit of certainty.
Adolescent: Challenge Stage | Adolescence is marked by challenging the certainty developed as a child.
Adulthood: Contribution Stage | Adulthood is marked by contribution and responsibility.
PAUL’S MAIN IDEA
“[Christ] we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. 29 For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.” – Colossians 1:28
“Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.” – Colossians 2:6
“We teach in a spirit of profound common sense so that we can bring each person to maturity. To be mature is to be basic. Christ! No more, no less… My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you’ve been given. You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live him.” – Colossians 1:28, The Message Paraphrase
Studying Jesus’ teaching is central to spiritual maturity.
“to make the word of God fully known, 26 the mystery was hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. 27 To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery(2), which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” – Colossians 1:25b
“If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” – John 14:23
For Paul, there is an unbreakable connection, a symbiotic relationship between spiritual maturity and knowing Jesus’ teaching
Spiritual maturity costs.
“Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh, I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church.” – Colossians 1:24
For[ people’s spiritual maturity], I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me. – Colossians 1:29
For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face.” – Colossians 2:1
We read in 2 Corinthians 11:24-28, that Paul was
Whipped on five different occasions
Beaten with rods on three different occasions
Stoned once
Shipwrecked three times
Was left for dead driting on the sea
Maintained a crazy travel schedule
Made dangerous journeys through rivers and the wilderness
He journeyed in lands frequented by robbers
He was hurt by many people who claimed to be his friends
He suffered from insomnia
He had many nights without food or drink exposed to the cold
And had mounting anxiety regarding his job overseeing many churches
Resistance to Spiritual Maturity comes from a variety of places-
The spiritual forces of darkness or evil.
Resistance comes from the world.
Resistance even comes in the form of our own apathy.
“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” – Luke 9:23
“Real transformation does not happen at disneyland it happens at calvary.” – Ron Rolheisser
SPIRITUAL PRACTICE
If you want spiritual maturity, you have to commit to it.
Just like graduating from college, moving into a professional career, getting married, having children, buying a house, planning for retirement, etc. requires commitment, so does spiritual maturity.
Are you committed to becoming more spiritually mature? Do you have a vision for your soul? Are you able to visualize the person you want to be in Christ?
