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 third characteristic of the mature believer which we want to discuss is their spiritual behaviour. In the above quoted passage of scripture the apostle Paul teaches us that those who are spiritual walk according to the spirit and not according to the flesh. So what does that statement mean? To walk according to the spirit is to walk in righteousness, while to walk according the flesh is to walk in sin. In this passage Paul tells us that believers that walk according to the spirit fulfil the righteous requirement of the law. In other words they no longer walk in sin, for they understand the spiritual truth that they have been set free from the law of sin and death and are thus able to apply their faith to walk in the light of that truth. Paul goes on in this passage to contrast 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 i.e. the flesh. And so we see that mature believers have learnt to no longer walk according to their flesh, but rather according to their spirit. They are able to do so because, as Paul teaches us in this passage, they have learnt to set their minds on the things of the spirit and not on things of the flesh, because they understand that the way we think determines our behaviour. And so we see that because mature believers have grown strong in spirit they are able to keep their flesh under control. In other words they are no longer dominated by their flesh which is sinful in nature, but rather they are dominated by their spirits which are righteous in nature.
Galatians 5:16-25 “I say then: Walk in the spirit, and you shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. (17) For the flesh lusts against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. (18) But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. (19) Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, (20) idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, (21) envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. (22) But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, (23) gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. (24) And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. (25) If we live in the spirit, let us also walk in the spirit.”
It is one thing to be made alive in the spirit, which has happened to all believers, but it is another thing entirely to walk in the spirit. That is why the apostle Paul, in the above quoted passage of scripture, admonishes believers that have been made alive in their spirits to also walk in their spirits. If this was an automatic process then the Holy Spirit would not need to encourage believers to practice it. Obviously it is not an automatic process, which is why believers are encouraged to walk in the spirit and not fulfil the lusts of the flesh. In this passage the apostle Paul contrasts the manifestations of the flesh with the manifestations of the spirit. The fleshly manifestations are listed as adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, etc, while the fruits of the spirit are listed as love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Mature believers no longer walk in the works of the flesh for they have learnt to walk in the spirit, and because their spirits have fully matured they are therefore able to produce much spiritual fruit. And so it is for that reason that mature believers constantly display the fruit of the spirit as they walk through life.
2 Peter 1:5-10 “But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, (6) to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, (7) to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. (8) For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. (9) For he who lacks these things is short-sighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. (10) Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble.”
The apostle Peter, in the above quoted passage of scripture, lists certain characteristics in which all believers should strive to increase, for he says that if these things are ours and abound we will be fruitful in the kingdom of God. As we examine this list we see that it is very similar to the list of the nine fruit of the spirit that the apostle Paul listed in the previous passage, for Peter lists self-control as does Paul, Peter lists perseverance which Paul lists as longsuffering, Peter lists godliness which Paul lists as goodness, Peter lists brotherly kindness which Paul lists as kindness, and then Peter lists love which Paul also lists. Peter then goes on to say that the believer who walks in these things will never stumble. To stumble in scripture means to commit sin. Peter also equates walking in this manner to being fruitful in the kingdom of God. We have already established that it is the spirit of the believer that bears spiritual fruit. And so we see that Peter is telling us that if we walk in the fruit of the spirit we will no longer walk in sin. The apostle Paul makes the same comment, for he says that believers that walk in the spirit will not fulfil the lust of the flesh i.e. commit sin. And so we see that both apostles teach us the same spiritual truth, i.e. that believers that walk in the spirit will display the fruit of the spirit and walk free from sin. It is only spiritual believers who have the ability to do this.
1 Corinthians 3:1-3 “And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. (2) I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; (3) for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?”
We already looked at the above quoted passage of scripture in relation to baby believers; nevertheless this same passage can also be used to describe mature believers, for this passage contrasts the baby believer with the spiritual believer. And so in this passage we see that spiritual believers behave completely opposite to baby/carnal believers. In other words spiritual believers will not walk in the envy, strife and division attributed to the carnal believers in this passage, but rather they will walk in kindness, peace and gentleness, for scripture teaches us that mature believers, in a spirit of gentleness, are able to restore brethren that are overtaken in trespasses (Galatians 6:1). The reason that mature believers walk in this manner is because they have learnt to walk in the spirit, thus displaying the fruit of the spirit.
Hebrews 5:14 “But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”
The above quoted passage of scripture describes another of the characteristics of mature believers, for it states that by reason of use, those who are of full age (mature) have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. So what does that statement mean? The word translated “senses” in this passage can also be translated “perception”. And so the senses that the Holy Spirit is referring to in this passage are not our five physical senses, but rather the perception of our inner man. In other words mature believers have learnt to clearly perceive the leading of their spirits and to walk in obedience to that, thus avoiding evil and rather walking in that which is good. Baby believers have not yet learnt to do that. And so we can clearly see from the passages of scripture quoted in this section that one of the key characteristics of mature believers is their ability to constantly display the fruit of the spirit as they walk through life, making no provision for the flesh to fulfil its lusts.
Philippians 3:17 “Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern.”
As an aside, in the passage of scripture quoted above the apostle Paul plainly tells the church to follow his example, but he doesn’t stop there, for he goes on to encourage the saints to follow the example of all believers who lived as he did. And so we see that mature believers are quite confident to put themselves forward to the rest of the body of Christ as examples to follow after and imitate. All scripture is inspired by the Holy Spirit, and so it is in fact the Holy Spirit that has put forward those who are mature in Christ for us to imitate. Clearly all believers should aspire to become mature in Christ. Think about the parable of the mustard seed becoming the large tree that our Lord Jesus spoke about, blessing the lives of all who come into contact with them, and that should be the goal of every saint.
Michael E.B. Maher
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