Maturing in Christ
The Body of Christ and spiritual maturity!
“Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit. Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. If the foot says, “I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,” that does not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear says, “I am not part of the body because I am not an eye,” would that make it any less a part of the body? If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything? But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. How strange a body would be if it had only one part! Yes, there are many parts, but only one body. The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.” In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary. And the parts we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care. So we carefully protect those parts that should not be seen, while the more honorable parts do not require this special care. So God has put the body together such that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity. This makes for harmony among the members so that all the members care for each other. If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad. All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.”
1 Corinthians 12:13-27 NLThttps://www.bible.com/bible/116/1co.12.13-27.nlt
“When we are baptized with the Holy Spirit(The living water)by faith which may coincide with water Baptism(which prepares His temple our Bodies to be vessels of His spirit)! We become part of God’s spiritual network! We become members (participants) of the Body of Christ! Imagine a gigantic puzzle of Jesus Christ, and imagine each of us are puzzle pieces of Christ Body. Each of us who are born again and of His spirit are a part of this puzzle!
When we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit a few things happen. First, we receive the one who lives in our body's character, the Fruit of the Holy Spirit. Second, we receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the ability to operate in these gifts through grace!
The gifts of the Holy Spirit are God’s supernatural abilities that are given to us to accomplish His will on earth! We do not receive all of His Gifts(abilities), however, we do receive them according to the grace He has given us. By doing this, God has made us in need of each other different God-given abilities! God's plan is that we work together to accomplish His task of bringing individuals to Him by working in unity, with each other, and in unity with God to accomplish this task!
I do believe as we mature in Christ-likeness God will give us more of His abilities(Gifts of Holy Spirit) however, like the quote in Spider-Man
''With great power comes great responsibility”
With great power comes great responsibility, God does not want His abilities working through us to make us prideful, separating us from Him. I believe these gifts only come as we mature more into His likeness in areas of love, humility, compassion, integrity, knowledge, wisdom, truth, and other areas of God’s likeness! This ensures His gifts will be used only for His purpose and not for our sinful pleasures!
The body works and grows together!
One of my favorite sports I like to watch on tv is Ohio State football. Believe it or not, we can use football as a metaphor (an example of) the spiritual growth and unity that occurs and needs to occur in the Body of Christ! For this metaphor let's picture the Body of Christ as a team! In a sense, we as the Body of Christ are a team. We are a spiritual network(a team) of believers brought together to do the work that Christ pre-ordained for us to do.
One of the last commandments Jesus gave us while He was on the earth in the flesh(in a human body)was to go out in all the world and Baptize in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit! We as the body of Christ are supposed to work together as a team on earth to accomplish this task, each member doing his part in His own ministry or a part of another ministry to accomplish this task!
On every football team, you have a coach! Our coach in the Body of Christ is Jesus Christ, He is the head of the Body! The coach determines from the abilities of each player what his role will be on the team! In the same manner, Christ determines the role of the members of the Body of Christ by the gifts He has given us.
If you have the gift of healing, your ministry on earth will most likely have something to do with healing. If you have the gift of wisdom and knowledge, your ministry on earth will most likely consist of giving Godly instruction, or maybe teaching!
In the same manner, If you are a football player who has really good hands, your role on the football team most likely will have something to do with catching the football as a wide receiver or tight end! If you have the gift to block your role might be on the offensive line blocking! Each team member has gifts and qualities of his own, however, on his own, he is only one player, one puzzle piece, one body part, and cannot play a football game by himself. In the same manner, we in the Body of Christ are only one part of the Body, one puzzle piece, one team member, we do not make up the entire puzzle or body, we are only a piece of the puzzle, one team member, one part! Our different gifts were meant to complement each other’s gifts and when we all come together with the bond of peace and love we form Christ Body, The Body of Christ(God’s spiritual network), will accomplish amazing feats for God!
Assistant coaches
Each football team also has assistant coaches. These assistant coaches are not the head coach but they are hired by the head coach to assist the Head coach in preparing the team and take direct orders from him. In the same way Jesus the main Shepard has given His flock assistant Shepherds on earth. He has personally ordained different spiritual leaders on earth, they are Jesus' assistant coaches who help Jesus through abiding in the Holy Spirit that indwell within these Shepard’s to help prepare Jesus’ flock(the team)for the work he has prepared for them to accomplish!
In Ephesians 4:11-12, Paul tells us about God's Shepard’s His assistant coaches!
So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Ephesians 4:11-12 NIV
Some football teams have an assistant coach for almost every major position, they grow each player in their specific position and skill set. Each player can grow in his ability to physically and mentally perform the duties of each position and he can grow in his abilities to use His abilities in unity with his teammate's abilities. Each player also has many different areas that they can grow in, and if these areas are identified they could help each player reach overtime their greatest potential!
The players also can grow in being outstanding members of the team in their character, which ultimately reflects on the overall character of the team!
In the same manner, the leaders that God has given each of us in the Body of Christ, the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and teachers are meant to build up the Body of Christ, and help us grow into a full mature image of Jesus Christ, through the work of the Holy Spirit!
Like I said earlier a person or a player can grow in many ways! He can grow in his abilities and knowledge of the game, and he can grow in using his abilities in unity with his teammates' abilities and knowledge of the game! Let’s use the quarterback for this example, he can grow in his ability to throw the ball to different locations on the field and in different manners like running or scrambling! A quarterback can also grow in the knowledge of the game by knowing offensive and defensive plays and his role in these plays! Quarterbacks can also grow in playing in unity with the other 10 players on his team, using his abilities in unity with their knowledge and their abilities!
In the same way, we can grow in the Body Christ! Do you realize, that when we receive Jesus Christ in our heart, that the complete full stature of Christ comes and indwells within us, but our spirit is immature and is like a baby that has become born-again!
Over time the Holy Spirit starts to train us in His character, and He starts to train us in His abilities the gifts of the Holy Spirit by the grace He has given us!
“When I was a child, I spoke like a child, thought like a child, and reasoned like a child. When I became an adult, I no longer used childish ways. Now we see a blurred image in a mirror. Then we will see very clearly. Now my knowledge is incomplete. Then I will have complete knowledge as God has complete knowledge of me.”
1 Corinthians 13:11-12 GW
Spiritual Growth
In our spiritual growth, we go through spiritual levels! When we ask Christ into our hearts through sincere faith, we become born-again when we receive the Holy Spirit, and our spirit goes through the new birth and becomes like a newborn baby! Babies eventually become adults if nothing hinders their growth! In our spiritual growth, we might go through a baby stage, a toddler stage, a teenage stage, a young adult stage, an adult stage, and even a mature adult stage! I believe when we are mature adults in Christ and are totally submitted to Him through grace in every characteristic and trait of Christ when we lay hands on someone who is missing an arm or leg, it will be healed instantly because it will be the Holy Spirit who indwells within us that is doing the healing and not us and our flesh!
Different areas we can grow in!
First I want you to realize in our spiritual journey and growth we will make many mistakes! Let me ask you this question in your growth to become the person you are now, have you ever made mistakes? Let me answer this question for you, of course, you have! We all have, but God will use our mistakes to help us grow if we are willing to grow and learn from our mistakes through God’s knowledge and grace!
What is grace?
Grace is God’s unmerited favor and Power
Remember as believers we have Grace, meaning I’m not perfect and neither is anyone in the Body of Christ, but if we have The Holy Spirit living within us we have the perfect God living within us in the form of the Holy Spirit, who is one with the Father and the Son and He covers us with His unconditional love, mercy and unmerited favor and grace when we mess up and are not the perfect Image of Him who is love! But He wants us to practice being more like Him because love attracts and sin, hate, and anger, and works of our flesh push others away. His word says He wants all humanity to come to know Him. One of the ways this will happen is from His love being expressed through us in the form of the Holy Spirit, this will draw humanity to Christ! This is not by our might, but by His Spirit!
The Bible has listed many areas of our life that we can grow in spiritually to become an image of Christ. Here are a few of the many areas that we can ask the Holy Spirit through grace to help us grow! Our goal is through God’s Grace, mercy, patience and timing, is to become a mature image of Jesus!
Remember this is a lifelong journey and we will make plenty of mistakes, however, when we see Christ I believe this is when our journey will be complete!
Areas of growth
Faith: Jesus said our Faith must be as innocent as a child to enter heaven! The reason Jesus uses the innocence of a child is that children in their innocence are trusting, loving, and non-judging! Note: Jesus uses the best qualities of children in His metaphor about children, while Paul in his metaphors uses the less desirable qualities of children in describing our spiritual growth! So in our maturing to spiritual adults, we have to have the innocents of a child!
Our faith also grows in testing! In our testing, we have to trust God's gonna come through in the areas we are hoping for that are in His will. This usually takes great patience in our testing, because God’s timing is not our own timing!
Discernment: knowing the difference between Good and Evil, determining what message is from God, from ourselves, from others and their agenda for us, or the enemy.
Walking in the Spirit: Learning to walk through grace in God’s spirit and less in our flesh! This is done through faith expressed in love and the fruits of the Holy Spirit! Study: Galatians 5:22 and Galatians 5:19
Truth: The Holy Spirit is truth, so by abiding in the Holy Spirit we receive truth! The Holy Spirit is also our tutor. What does God’s tutor do? He teaches us God’s truth through messages and lessons from the Word(Jesus and the Bible)!
Integrity: Through grace and the best of your abilities, completing the task that God has asked you to accomplish! Note: The minute God gives you a task to complete the enemy is going to try to stop it, so let God show you grace, and be persistent and persevere!
Humility: when we abide in the Spirit, the less of our accomplishments come from us. They are God’s accomplishment done through His Holy Spirit that indwells in us (His vessel)! So the more we mature in Christ the less prideful and more humble we should become in our accomplishments, thus giving glory to God!
Obedience: our obedience grows as we grow in the other areas of abiding in the Holy Spirit! Obedience grows with discernment(knowing the source of the command given to us and taking action through grace to complete it)! We have to have the discernment to know if a command is from God or another source, men, an organization, the enemy(devil)!
Gifts of the Holy Spirit: we can grow in all the Gifts of the Holy Spirit according to the measure given to us through grace!
Gifts of The Holy Spirit(source: google)
Words of wisdom, Word of Knowledge, Faith, Gifts of Healing, Miracles, Prophecy, Distinguishing(discernment)between spirits and tongues!
The more we abide in Christ and submit to Him and His will through grace, discernment, and not legalisms or guilt, we will grow to eventually become mature in stature. This will occur individually, and together as the Body of Christ!
Unity wins
To win a game, the team has to play in unity! If a football team does not play together in unity with each other and follow the coach and His directions the team cannot win!
In the same way, we in the Body of Christ have to grow together with the bond of peace and love in unity with God and each other to win humanity to God!
Matthew 18:19 tells us the power of coming together in unity in God’s name!
“Again I say to you, that if two believers on earth agree [that is, are of one mind, in harmony] about anything that they ask [within the will of God], it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. 20For where two or three are gathered in My name [meeting together as My followers], I am there among them.” Matthew 18:19 AMP
Many levels of understanding!
This metaphor has many different levels, just as God's word does! It can stand for us individually as the players or parts, or it can be our different churches, businesses, neighbors, cities, and countries that are represented by the players, parts, and puzzle pieces! The most important thing to remember is Jesus who is one with the Father and the Holy Spirit is the Coach and the Head of the Body and He determines the direction and position of every body part, puzzle piece, and team member!
A body can not be made up of only eyes and expects to function as a body, and a team cannot be made of only quarterbacks and expect to function as a football team! We need every part of the body and every member of the team to do their part given by God to win!
As the Body of Christ(God’s spiritual network), we are all connected to each other by the presence of the Holy Spirit, so what we do to each other we also do to God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit!
Our evidence of this is in the scriptures in the book of Acts, in Paul’s conversion! Jesus says to Saul who would later be known as Paul, “ Saul, Saul why are you persecuting me”. Saul was not persecuting Jesus in the flesh because Jesus had already risen to Heaven, however, Saul was persecuting Jesus followers that had His Holy Spirit living in them! Jesus told Saul you are only kicking against the goads meaning you are only hurting yourself! What we do to one part of the Body of Christ, we do to ourselves and the whole body! But most of all we do it to God! Remember we have grace, and many of us are spiritual children in Christ, but God wants us to grow!
We shouldn’t hurt the team!
Players on the same football should never hurt each other on purpose they would jeopardize their season, thus hurting the team. In the same way, when we hurt each other we jeopardize God's plan to bring humanity to Him by showing His love!
Special thanks to some very special parts of the Body, that have aided me in my spiritual understanding!
In my testimony, I share how my grandmother was the Catalyst of my faith. God has used many people, but most women in my journey to spiritual maturity! Here are a few of these women!
Everyone knows that I boost on how the Holy Spirit has used Joyce Meyers as an assistant coach(teacher) led by the Holy Spirit to help build me up and grow me. Joyce Meyers through the Holy Spirit living in her has done this more than any other person! The first Christian book I ever read was “The Secret Power of Speaking God’s Word”, this was just one of her many good books that have assisted me in my growth! She was the first person that I personally heard teach on growing spiritually and the war against our flesh and spirit, in Her book “Battlefield of the Mind”.
In this book, she goes into great detail on the subject of our spiritual battle between the flesh and spirit!
God has used other women like Georgia(my sister in Christ) from church!
About two years ago, from the date of this blog's first posting(August 28, 2020). God was teaching me how we grow spiritually. During this time Georgia said the right words at the right time at Bible study that helped me get new revelations in that area. She simply said, “when we are Born again we are like newborn babies”! Her words were the catalyst for me to obtain a new understanding of spiritual growth! From there God has slowly started teaching me on the different levels we grow spiritually in our journey to spiritual maturity!!
Remember the Holy Spirit is our tutor, we can be guided and learn the most from any person that is abiding in the Holy Spirit, whether that person is a man or woman! Every part of the Body of Christ has great value!
