PART 10 CHRIST IN YOU

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How Does a Believer Grow Spiritually?

 

As believers, what should we desire?

Depending on whom you ask, the answers will vary. We might ask God to heal a sick friend, help with our finances, protect a loved one in the military, deliver someone from addiction, etc. These are hopes that most of us have probably asked God for at one time or another.

    

But is there anything we should seek God for ourselves?

Hopefully, we’d respond by saying that we need to get to know Him personally, i.e., to learn how to grow spiritually so that Christlike qualities are developed within us and evidenced to others.

 

This is where I found myself at the young age of 26. Let me tell you about my experience.

In 1977, I came to know the Lord in a personal way. I found a church to attend, which was located in my home city. This was comprised of about one hundred members whose male pastor was young and energetic. Had I been asked about my spiritual desire at that time, I’d probably have said that I wanted God to help me find a Christian girlfriend. Each of us has our desire. What’s yours?

    

As I continued to attend church services, something began to happen to me. I began to experience God’s presence (e.g., love, joy, peace, etc.). I can honestly say that I didn’t understand the messages at first, but I did find a release from anxiety, worry, fear, insecurity, self-centered thoughts, etc. I would walk out of the church services with a smile stretching from ear to ear. However, unfortunately, it didn’t always last for an extended period because after I left the facility, it seemed like the cares of this world would come back into my mind along with insecurity, anxiety, worry, and fear.

    

The more I attended the gathering of the saints, the less preoccupation I had with finding a girlfriend. I couldn’t wait to attend the next worship service to experience this new release not only from outward pressures but also from my internal mental and emotional battles. Something was going on in my life, but I didn’t know how to explain it in words other than to say that I knew God was doing a work inside of me.    

     

Church services were held on Sunday mornings, along with a Bible study during the week. On Friday night, I’d attend a related church service in another part of the state whose speaker was the president of an affiliated Bible college. Each time I attended one of these assembly gatherings, I wasn’t only impacted by God’s presence, but I slowly began to understand who I now was in Christ through the teaching of the Word of God, along with how to address areas of personal weakness. So, my desire to attend church was now two-fold. I wanted not only to continue to experience God’s presence but also wanted to understand from the teachings how to address my inadequacies. In essence, what I was desiring is the answer to this question.

 

How does a Christian grow spiritually?

There are two main views concerning this.

The first, founded on the doctrine of Transubstantiation says that if the child of God follows the tenets of the faith, then their heart will be prepared to receive the literal body and blood of Christ at communion, which will sanctify their soul and evidence a Christlike attitude toward others.

 

John 6:53 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.

 

And the inference is the more a member receives communion, Christlikeness will increase.

 

Second, there’s another approach to growing spiritually, which is described as being filled with the Spirit. Huh? What’s this all about? This is found in the book of Ephesians.

 

Ephesians 5:18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit.  

 

The Apostle Paul was writing to the believers at Ephesus, instructing them to stop choosing to be controlled habitually by the abuse of alcoholic consumption but to be continually filled (controlled) by the Holy Spirit. He didn’t say to them, well, if you drink less or not at all, you’ll be ok, because he knew the answer to addiction, as well as for all of our problems, which is our reliance on someone else. Believe it or not, this reliance isn’t on Jesus but on another member of the Trinity, this being the person and ministry of the Holy Spirit.

 

Ephesians 2:13, 18 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.

 

Uh oh, did I say something wrong? Our reliance shouldn’t be on Jesus but on the Holy Spirit. Stop being alarmed. Here’s what I mean. I don’t deny that Jesus, when He lived on the earth, was an example for us as to how we should walk (i.e., by growing in wisdom and hearing and obeying God the Father in the power of the Holy Spirit). This protocol should be our protocol.

    

Because of Christ, we can approach God the Father on a moment-to-moment basis by means of the ministry of the Holy Spirit for answers to prayer, strength, guidance, discernment, the recollection of Scripture, healing, a personal word, etc. So, being filled with the Spirit means to be under the Holy Spirit’s control or rule.

    

Are you still with me? Did this throw you for a loop? Yes, Christ is still our example. But in order to be like Him, we must learn how to rely on the leading and guiding of the Holy Spirit.

    

Beside the Spirit, there’s something else that we need to give attention to. Please turn your Bible to the book of Romans and we’ll find out what this is all about.

 

Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.  

 

Romans 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

 

Besides the Holy Spirit, we also need something else which will help us grow in Christ or be conformed to His image (Romans 8:29). What is it, you ask? We need to have our minds renewed. What in the world does this mean? To be renewed in our mind means to apply God’s Word in all areas of thought so that human perspective is replaced with divine perspective. This, the Word of God, along with the filling of the Holy Spirit, will be what addresses our areas of weakness, propensities, passions, etc. So, we can further say that being filled with the Holy Spirit means being constantly controlled by Him in our mind, emotions, and will. When we are filled with Him, we’ll express the nature of the Spirit-filled life, which could also be termed as exhibiting Christlikeness. What say you?

    

Let me give you one brief example of what it means to be renewed in our minds. Let’s say that we have a propensity for monetary greed, then what should we do to address this desire or tendency?

 

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

 

The first thing is to confess this sin to God the Father. This is where some Christians begin and their spiritual growth ends. They recognize sin, confess it, and don’t know how to proceed. What should be our next step is to find a verse or verses that allows us to think with God’s perspective in this area. Here’s a passage of Scripture from the book of Hebrews that should help us in this regard.

 

Hebrews 13:5a Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: …

 

Our conversation (manner of life) should be without covetousness (monetary greed). What it should be exemplified by is being content (depending on God’s providence; be happy; be satisfied) with what God has given us. Here’s our answer. Memorize this verse in its interpreted form and apply it when thoughts of greed come into your mind. And if you determine that this verse lacks the sufficient response to this area of weakness, then find other verses and translate them using a concordance. The answers for every area of weakness are contained in the Bible. You just have to find them.

    

As the thoughts of your mind change, so will your words and actions. Before you know it, you’ll sense God’s presence more and more. And the desires that you thought were of utmost importance will be replaced with the fruit of God’s Spirit, which will evidence the Christlike qualities that we aspire to. And your walk will be characterized by the following verse.  

 

Romans 14:17 For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.

 

The kingdom of God that we thought had everything to do with what we eat or drink will be centered on righteousness (correct thinking, feeling, and acting), peace (regulating, ruling and harmonizing the heart), and joy (inner happiness) by means of the Holy Ghost. And the next thing we know, we won’t be just living in the Spirit, i.e., having the Spirit living inside us but we’ll walk in the Spirit as expressed in the book of Galatians.

 

Galatians 5:25

 

If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

 

If we live (wherein we are continually alive though sometimes inactive;⁴⁸ the new divine life resident in their beings⁴⁹) in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit (to conduct themselves under the guidance, impulses, and energy of that life⁵⁰). The verb walk in Koine Greek is a present active subjunctive.

    

Active is otherwise known as the voice, and it indicates how the subject is related to the verb. In this instance, the subject is the agent of the action. Present is the tense, which lets us know what kind of action is expressed by the verb. Here, we’re told this is of continuous action in the present. Subjunctive is the mood that denotes possible action of the verb if certain existing facts take place. In this case, the subject decides whether to do thus or such.                          

    

Putting these together, here’s what we could deduce. Whether these believers continually walk in the Spirit is a judgment that they’ll have to make.                        

    

Choosing to grow spiritually by means of the ministry of the Spirit and the Word of God is a decision that each of us must make on a daily basis. Therefore, progressive sanctification is conditional. You might be thinking, what is progressive sanctification? It’s the process by which the Holy Spirit eliminates sin from the experience of the believer and produces His fruit, gradually conforming him into the image of the Lord Jesus.⁵¹

    

Remember, walking in the Spirit is a joint effort. Our part is confession of sin and recovery (thinking with God’s perspective). This reactivates the rule of the Holy Spirit in the sense that we’re actively co-laboring together. You might be wondering, is there a verse that supports this conjecture? There is. It’s found in the book of 1 John.

 

1 John 2:5

 

But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.

 

The verb keepeth, according to Koine Greek is in the present tense and means to keep on continually keeping. Keep on keeping what? Keep on keeping the word. This refers to all that God has made known to us as to His will regarding our conduct.

 

When we keep on keeping God’s perspective as it pertains to our behavior, His love produced in us by the Holy Spirit will be perfected. Any guess what the word perfected means? This word means that God’s love will be manifested or exemplified in our lives. Wow! Eureka!

    

There you have it; two distinct approaches to spiritual growth. 

One says to follow the tenets of the faith that perpetuates the doctrine of transubstantiation. Do this, do that, don’t do this, and don’t do that. Prepare your heart so that when you partake of the bread and wine at communion, a mystical occurrence takes place where they become Christ’s literal body and blood. When this happens, and they’re consumed, the participant grows spiritually. And the more often they partake of communion, the more Christlikeness will increase and be evidenced to others.

    

The other view says that when we sin mentally, verbally, or overtly, we should confess it to God the Father. Following this, we should choose to be renewed/recovered in our mind by applying God’s Word in all areas of thought so that human perspective is replaced with divine perspective. What happens next is we enter into fellowship with Spirit, who prompts us when we ask for guidance, comforts us in our time of need, and infuses us with His love, peace, and joy that emanates to others.

    

Wow! What do you think of that? Two entirely different approaches to spiritual growth. Who would have thought such to be the case?

    

This study is just about complete. What we’re about to take a look at next are the closing thoughts. These will express the sentiment of some who might be thinking if I go to church and yet have no substantial evidence that God has come into my life, then at least by partaking of the bread and wine at communion, I have something tangible which provides me with some assurance that Jesus has come into my life. My question for this position is such. Could there be another avenue that might provide someone with proof that God has come into their life? Let’s find out.