Ephesians 4:13-14 “till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; (14) that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting.”
The context of the above passage of scripture, is dealing with the how the Lord’s ministry gifts are used by Him, to build His church. But the point that I want to highlight from this passage, is that it is the will of God that each one of His saints reach maturity, for the word translated “perfect man”, also means “mature man”. Notice that the result of becoming mature in Christ, is that the individual will no longer be carried about with every wind of doctrine. The reason for that, is because they would have become established in the present truth, and thus no longer susceptible to various and strange doctrines that they may come across.
1 Corinthians 14:20 “Brethren, do not be children in understanding; however, in malice be babes, but in understanding be mature.”
To become mature in the understanding of God’s word is available to everyone of us, not just a select few, such as ministers of the gospel. For in the above passage of scripture, the Holy Spirit admonishes all believers to become mature in their understanding of the word of God. And so, we see that one of the key traits of mature believers, is their clear understanding of the mysteries of God, as revealed in the new testament.
Romans 8:1-13 “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the spirit. (2) For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. (3) For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, (4) that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the spirit. (5) For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the spirit, the things of the spirit. (6) For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. (7) Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. (8) So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. (9) But you are not in the flesh but in the spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. (10) And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the spirit is life because of righteousness. (11) But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. (12) Therefore, brethren, we are debtors--not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. (13) For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”
The second trait of the mature believer is their spiritual behaviour. So, what does that mean? The above passage of scripture teaches us that those who are spiritual, walk according to the spirit and not according to the flesh. In walking according to the spirit, the scripture tells us that those believers fulfil the righteous requirement of the law. In other words, they no longer walk in sin, for they understand that they have been set free from the law of sin. In this passage, the Holy Spirit contrasts the spirit and the flesh of the believer, and He admonishes believers to walk in the spirit and to put to death the deeds of the body. And so, mature believers are those who no longer walk according to their flesh, but according to their spirit. They do so, because they have learnt to set their minds on the things of the spirit, for it is what we think about that determines our behaviour. Because mature believers have grown strong in spirit, they are well able to keep their bodies under control and put to death the deeds of their body. In other words, they are no longer dominated by their flesh, but rather they are dominated by their spirits, which are righteous in nature.
Michael E.B. Maher
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