P1 Declaring and Defending the Gospel - Why Paul wrote Galatians

Acts 16:4-6 "Now while they were passing through the cities, they were delivering the decrees which had been decided upon by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem, for them to observe.5 So the churches were being strengthened in the faith, and were increasing in number daily. 6 They passed through the Phrygian and Galatian region, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia."

Introduction:

Today's post will feature an overview of the Book of Galatians, with the point of application being: You and I can learn how to declare and defend the Gospel by noting the overall message of Galatians. Now before getting to Galatians, the reader needs to understand how important it is to see the relationship between the Book of Acts and the New Testament Epistles or letters. 

The Book of Acts gives us the necessary historical and situational details behind most of the New Testament letters. For example, we can understand the latter part of Acts 13-28 as cataloguing Paul's missionary journeys and imprisonments. By simply noting when Paul would had been traveling and when he would had been under trial or in prison can greatly aid in how we understand the New Testament letters that he wrote. 

The relationship between Acts and Galatians

We know for example that Acts 13,14 and most of 15 covered what is typically called "Paul's first missionary journey". The map below summarizes for us when and where Paul would had traveled in those chapters:

In jogging through Acts 13-14 we can track Paul's trip through the region called "Galatia": Antioch to Salmis on the Island of Cyprus (13:5). Then from Antioch to Paphos on the West side of Cyprus (13:6). Paul then journeyed up to Perga in Pamphylia in Asia Minor, which was located South of the Galatian Region in (13:13). Next Paul entered into the Southern Galatian region and went to Pisidian Antioch in 13:14, Iconium in 14:1, Lystra in 14:8 and Derbe in 13:20.  

What Paul then does is revisit every city he had stopped at in Acts 14:21-28. Like any good evangelist, Paul does follow-up on the New converts. Acts 14:22-23 records - "strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying, “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.” 23 When they had appointed elders for them in every church, having prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.

As Paul was wrapping up this first missionary journey, he had ran into opposition from a sect of Jews bent on requiring the Gentile converts to be circumcised. (Acts 13:44,50; 14:2,5,19; 15:1-5). Such opposition and the need to defend and declare the Gospel led to the convening of the Jerusalem Council, led by James the half brother of Jesus in Acts 15.  After deliberating over how the Gospel should be preached among the Gospel, the Council came to the following conclusion in Acts 15:28-29  “For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these essentials: 29 that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols and from blood and from things strangled and from fornication; if you keep yourselves free from such things, you will do well. Farewell.”

Noting the constant journeying, the council that was convened at Jerusalem and the necessary declaration and defense of the Gospel provides the necessary background for understanding why Galatians was composed. This blogger believes that Paul may had composed Galatians sometime between the close of Acts 15 to Acts 16:6. Why? Because the churches that had been established in Galatia during Paul's missionary journey needed a book of the Bible.  Despite the efforts of Paul to reinforce them in their faith, they were being swayed by the very powerful Jewish faction called the Judiazers. As Paul made his second round of visits to those cities at the opening of his second missionary campaign, we read in Acts 16:5 "So the churches were being strengthened in the faith, and were increasing in number daily."

Galatians - written to defend and declare the Gospel
We will most likely get more directly into Galatians in tomorrow's post, however these words from Bible teacher Dr. Woodrow Kroll summarize why Paul wrote this first of his letters: "But despite Paul's repeated presence, from His letter to the Galatians it is evident that the believers there were losing their joy to the pressures of legalism. Legalism is when Christians revert to keeping the Law rather than living by grace. A group of Jewish teachers had passed through Galatia insisting that non-Jewish believers must obey Jewish Law and keep the traditional rules. But we cannot be saved by keeping the Law. We are saved by God's grace and must live by His grace (Ephesians 2:8-10).1

Paul's labor in those cities of Galatia that he preached through and revisited in Acts 13-14 required scripture that dealt specifically with the siren call to rely more upon legalism than the Gospel. Even with an Apostolic letter coming from a major church council in Acts 15, the churches needed the Word. Thus with all these factors in play, Paul by inspiration of the Holy Ghost penned Galatians. We will close with a brief outline of the book and explore it in more detail tomorrow.  My hope is that you have seen today the value of studying Acts and epistles like Galatians together. We are all, after all, called to declare and defend the Gospel.

Outline of Galatians

Defense of the Gospel - Galatians 1-2

Declaration of the Gospel - Gal 3-6

Endnotes:
1. Woodrow Kroll. Places in the Bible. Country man. Nashville. 2005. Page 123.

A thumbnail sketch of the atonement in the Bible

1 John 2:2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

Today I want to lay down a basic outline of one of the greatest and most central teachings of sacred scripture - the atonement. This post is not meant to be exhaustive nor comprehensive, but rather represents a thumbnail sketch of the atonement's main features.

A helpful definition of this term can be seen in the word itself: At - One - Ment. When we talk about the meaning of the term "atonement", it refers to God's saving work whereby He provides the grounds for the sinner to be At-One with Him. Other meanings of this word include the ideas of removal of God's wrath (called by Bible teachers "propitiation") and removal of the sinner's guilt before God (called "expiation"). 

For now we will restrict ourselves to the term "atonement", since it covers so much ground and is a summary word for all that was accomplished and effected by Christ's life and work on the cross (chiefly His crucifixion, but made possible by His resurrection). 
 

A Basic outline of the key thoughts making up the Atonement in the Bible

In the Old Testament, the idea of cleansing away of sinful guilt was of chief importance in the minds of the Old Testament writers. One text for example illustrates perfectly the biblical picture of the atonement: Job 37:21-22 “Now men do not see the light which is bright in the skies; But the wind has passed and cleared them. “Out of the north comes golden splendor; Around God is awesome majesty."

Notice how we see the key Biblical themes of atonement and the Gospel in this passage:

1. Lost in darkness. 

Picture men who are in darkness, unable to see the light. Ephesians 2:1-2 and 2 Corinthians 4:1-4 characterizes unbelieving man like the men here in Job 37:21.

2. Light of God's Glory. 

The light is in the sky, but inaccessible. The clouds of judgment veil the face of God. Unbelieving man faces judgment due to His rejection of Holy God. (Romans 1:18-31; John 3:17-19)

3. The Cleansing away of darkness. 

This is what takes place when the atonement achieved by Christ on the cross is applied to the believer by grace through faith. The darkness of judgment is swept away by the blood, and behold the sinner is declared a saint and can now walk under an open heaven with God. (1 John 1:6-9)


Two major themes of "achievement" and "application" dominate any discussion on the subject of atonement.  Christ achieved the atoning work in the events of the cross/resurrection and the Spirit applies such at saving faith.

4. The Glory of God. 

This is what the sinner had fallen short of, but now the glory of God is central. What was formerly frightening is now delightful. Atonement reconciles us to the majesty of God. The blood of Jesus cleanses, reconciles and restores. 

May you dear reader be blessed as you contemplate the atoning work of Christ.

The goal of the Christian life - To know God

Exodus 6:2-3 God spoke further to Moses and said to him, “I am the LORD; 3 and I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name, LORD, I did not make Myself known to them.



Why knowing the Lord is central to the Christian's faith-walk
In the passage above we see God revealing His identity to Moses.  He uses the Holy Name "Yahweh" (translated "LORD" in all capital letters).  God is literally giving Moses further insight into the revelation of His character, authority and reputation. Yahweh makes mention of the three patriarchs of Israel - Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to show their level revelation in comparison to what He was revealing to Moses.  When God reveals Himself to people in the scriptures, two things are occurring:



1. He is making Himself known
2. He is aiming for them to know Him



When He states at the end of Exodus 6:3 - "but by my name, LORD (Yahweh), I did not make Myself known to them", it is not that God was not Yahweh in Genesis and then suddenly became Yahweh to Moses in Exodus.  Rather, as God was making Himself known to the Patriarchs, their level of illumination that was affected by His revelation to them was at a more fundamental level than Moses'. 



The Patriarchs "Knew God" in the level of understanding and experience of Him as "El-Shaddai" or "God Almighty.  They knew what kind of God that was making Himself known to them, and thus they walked out their faith in that measure of light.  However as you go throughout the scriptures, God is slowly but surely "increasing the level of understanding" for His people each time He reveals Himself.  Knowing God is an ongoing activity in the life of the saint.  There will never be a time that the believer ever fully comprehends all of God in who He is.  As Jesus states in John 17:3 “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.



The experience of knowing God proceeds from knowing the works of God, to the ways of God to God the Way

The first level of illumination is knowing  the works of God
God tells Moses that He "appeared" to the Patriarchs as "El-Shaddai" or "God Almighty" in our English Bibles.  Five particular texts are in mind where we see God appearing to the Patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and (we'll include) Joseph:



Genesis 17:1 "Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; Walk before Me, and be blameless." 

This is the first mention of God's name "El-Shaddai" (God Almighty in our English Bibles).  Clearly it was indeed the LORD (Yahweh) appearing here, however He expressed to Abraham the name "El-Shaddai" (God Almighty).  Recall that all the names of God with "El" are expressions of the main name "Elohim", which answers the question: "What kind of God is God?"  In this instance He is revealing to Abraham that He is mighty enough to follow through in the promises He made to Abraham in his faith-walk.  Four other passages are listed below without commentary, and the reader is encouraged to look at them and draw further conclusions: Genesis 28:3; 35:11; 43:14; 48:3. 



The next level of illumination knowing the ways of God
As Psalm 103:7 states - "He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the sons of Israel".



In Christ, the fullest level of knowing God is knowing Him who is the Way
When we speak of our Christian experience, we understand that we come to know God by the scriptures through Jesus Christ.  Hebrews 1:1-2 notes "God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, 2 in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world."  Christ of course is the fullest level of illuminating light by which we can truly know God - since He is the LORD, Yahweh Himself. 



The name "Yahweh" or "LORD" signifies the purpose of the faith-walk - to know God
2 Corinthians 3:18 says this about our knowing God the Way (Jesus Christ) in comparison to Moses: "But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit." As we said in the beginning, God in the scriptures makes Himself known in order to prompt His people to further know Him.  By God revealing Himself as Yahweh, God's people could not only know the works, but also the ways of God.  By He coming as God in Human flesh, God's people could truly know God the Way. (John 14:6)  That dear friend, is the chief concern of the Christian life - to Know Him.

Considering the importance of Christian mediation

Psalm 19:14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my rock and my Redeemer.



What Christian meditation is not
In the 1960's a movement, rooted in Eastern thought, swept through our country and became popularized in what was called "TM" or "Transcendental Mediation".  Movements such as "TM" spawned the wide-sweeping popularity of other practices rooted in eastern religion and mysticism such as Yoga and the like.  Unfortunately, when people hear the word "meditate", they conjure up images of a person sitting cross legged with hands out-stretched, finger-tips touching and the hum of the word "um".  As popular as this conception is, the Christian mediation spoken of here in Psalm 19 is of a completely different sort all together. 





What Christian Mediation is
In the original language of this Psalm, the word "meditation" has to do with a "deeper pondering" over the meaning and significance of the words of scripture.  Ancient Christian writers often spoke of a fourfold process one went through when interacting with the Bible:



a. Reading the text
b. Meditating on the text
c. Disciplining yourself to live out the text
d. Knowing that you got the meaning of the text by praising and worshipping God.





How do you meditate on God's Word?
When you "meditate on scripture", you may do the following:

1. Read the text
2. Read it again (out-loud or silently)
3. Read it a third time, marking down your initial thoughts
4. Walk away and think on what you read
5. Come back to the text again and repeat steps 1 through 4



Why meditate on God's Word?
Every blog I write, sermon I preach, lesson I teach, quiet time I do or sharing of God's word that I communicate requires meditation on God's Word.  When you and I meditate on scripture, we are aiming to get it from our before our eyes or in our ears to reside in our hearts and out in our actions.  Meditation is what you do "in between" your times in the scriptures.  You can mediate while waiting in line at the grocery store, on break at work or at lunch room at school.  What mediation does is break down the artificial wall between "Christian spirituality" and "the rest of life".



The benefits of Christian Mediation
Notice the benefits that comes as a result of mediating on God's Word here in Psalm 19:14:



1. Right Attitudes - The Psalmist desires to please God.  Only scripture can stir up the Christian to want to live more for the Lord. (1 Peter 2:1-2)



2. Right Thoughts - How many of you want a better thought-life?  Cleanse your mind with the scriptures.  Meditating on the scripture cleanses your heart and mind.  Jesus even talks about this particular quality of the word of God. (John 17:17; Ephesians 5:26).



3. Right Words -  He wants the right words to flow from his mouth.  God's word makes your "have to's" into "want to's".  As Jesus teaches, out of the overflow of the hearts comes forth the words of the mouth. (Matthew 15:18)



4. Right Motivation - The Psalmist ends this Psalm by praising God, His "Rock" and His "Redeemer".  We know from the names of God in the Bible that the term "Rock" refers ultimately to Jesus Christ.  Though the Psalmist lived 1,000 years before Jesus Christ came to this earth, He writing under Divine inspiration was referring to Him.  When you and I meditate on the scriptures, we will be motivated to live for Jesus Christ.   

Saturday 6/28 Disciples of Jesus need to hear the Gospel everyday

1 Corinthians 1:17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void.



When Paul wrote his first letter to the Church at Corinth, he had to deal with quarrels and divisions that had arisen in that congregation. (1 Corinthians 1:11)  In dealing with those issues, Paul proclaimed to the church the only remedy - The Gospel.  As you read 1 Corinthians 1:17-2:5, you quickly discover that the Gospel must not only be heard and believed by sinners in order to be saved, but it must be heard daily by the saints so that they can be more effective in their lives after getting saved.  In todays blog I want you to see the various names the Apostle Paul uses in describing the Gospel that he preaches.  If we can see other names given in scripture for the Gospel message, we can then understand better why as Christians we need to hear the Gospel everyday.



THE GOSPEL....
1. In content "The Word of the Cross."   
1 Corinthians 1:18a


2. In its strength "The power of God".     
1 Corinthians 1:18b, 24


3. In its resource "The wisdom of God."
1 Cor 1:21, 24b, 30 


4. In its focus "Christ crucified".   
1 Corinthians 1:23; 2:2


5. To the world "foolishness of God."    
1 Corinthians 1:25


6. To us who believe "testimony of God".
1 Corinthians 2:1


7. Changes lives "demonstration of the Spirit and of Power"
1 Corinthians 2:4



As Paul preaches this Gospel to these Corinthians, he knows that only the Gospel can change their hearts, call them out of their compromise and reinforce their identity in Jesus Christ.  The purpose of preaching this Gospel and hearing it daily is spelled out in 1 Corinthians 2:5 "so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God." Christians need the Gospel, so that they can operate not on the wisdom and power of men, but of God." 

Jesus Christ - Your Wonderful Fullfillment

Colossians 1:13-14 "For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins."


Introduction: The year I saw the Milky Way
It was not long after my family and I had moved to Florida in 2004 that 3 hurricanes barreled their way across the terrain of Central Florida where we lived. Our house was located in the storm paths of the three storms.  The first one in particular, Charley, came to where we were as a strong category 2 storm, with sustained winds of between 115-120 m.p.h. Power was knocked out for over a week in a 150 mile radius.  It was in the heat of August and we had some families staying with us who had been displaced by the storms. I can recall one night after a particularly long and hot day going outside to get some fresh air.  It was so dark outside you could hardly see your hand in front of your face.


As I looked up I was awestruck by what I saw. I could not believe my eyes, but their, stretched across the sky was the Milky Way Galaxy in all of its pristine glory. Every star, every color was present.  I literally felt like I had been taken up in a spacecraft and set in orbit around the earth. With no light pollution, I could behold a celestial object that only one in seven people can still see on our globe today. For hours I stared until my neck hurt from the strain. Stars, cosmic dust clouds and various dark and light bands were seen across the night sky. I could had spent an entire month if possible, staring at the Milky Way's vastness, not exhausting the estimated 400 billion stars that comprise our galactic home.


When I peer into Colossians 1:13-20, I feel like I am peering into an endless galaxy of Divine revelation.  Paul's point for writing Colossians was to convey the fact that Jesus is enough.  He is fighting against a group of heretics who believe you have to add ritual or experience or pagan practice to the equation.  Anytime you and I try to add to Christ we end up subtracting. As foolish as it would be to think of lighting a match to improve upon the experience of witnessing the brightness of the Milky Way Galaxy, so it is in thinking we can ever add to Jesus Christ.  Yet in our everyday world and Christian lives, we find ourselves attempting to try out different fads in the hopes of feeling better and avoiding what we perceive to be boredom.


A word on applying the scriptures to your life
Today's post is all about seeing Jesus Christ as you wonderful fulfillment. Here is a question: why do people go on vacations to spots such as the Grand Canyon or Disney world? Do they go with the expectation of taking away 2 or three bullet points that they can plug into their everyday lives once they get back into the normal routine? No. The point of such trips is to become smaller and to be blown away and get away from it all.  Have you ever tried sharing with someone, say a co-worker, your time away at a vacation? It is impossible to capture the experience in a short 30 second conversation, and yet the impact of the experience makes you feel exhilarated and refreshed.




I think too often in today's church world we only think of Bible application in terms of life application.  Now don't get me wrong, life application is very important, and there ought to be some point in a lesson or a sermon where a "take-away" or "point of application" is easily discerned.  Yet the scripture isn't only about applying principles and formulas, it is also about blowing us away and bring us to the point of worship.  




Such "worship points of application" are necessary, otherwise our Christian life becomes nothing more than "duty, duty, duty". Whenever we look at sections such as Colossians 1:13-20, we ought not to approach it from the stand point of "what can I get out of this" in so much as "how much can I tell Jesus that I delight in Him." We need both "life-points of application" and "worship-points of application".  We need practical and awe-inspiring, and books of the Bible like Colossians give us both.


Worship point of application
As we consider Colossians 1:13-20 in brief, let me suggest to you the following worship point of application: Jesus Christ's Supreme Revelation is your Wonderful fulfillment. Let us take a few moments and gaze in wonderful at this galaxy of revelation - Colossians 1:13-20.


Jesus Christ is your wonderful fulfillment in what He does. Colossians 1:13-14
Jesus Christ is the Divine King in 1:13, Who became man in 1:14.


Jesus Christ is your wonderful fulfillment in what He is. Colossians 1:15-17
Jesus Christ is the New Adam Who is also the Creator of all things with the Father.


Jesus Christ is your wonderful fulfillment in Who He is. Colossians 1:18-20
He  is Lord over His church in 1:18-19. He is the Savior of His church by the blood He shed as Perfect Man in 1:20.


Closing thoughts
Being that the point of this post was to convey the sense of awe and worship over Jesus Christ - your wonderful fulfillment, and being that the Revelation of Himself is the wonderful fulfillment of the Christian life, I leave you with the lyrics of the hymn: "O Worship the King" by Robert Grant, who lived from 1737-1806:

1. O worship the King, all glorious above,
O gratefully sing God's power and God's love;
our Shield and Defender, the Ancient of Days,
pavilioned in splendor, and girded with praise.

2. O tell of God's might, O sing of God's grace,
whose robe is the light, whose canopy space,
whose chariots of wrath the deep thunderclouds form,
and dark is God's path on the wings of the storm.

3. The earth with its store of wonders untold,
Almighty, thy power hath founded of old;
hath stablished it fast by a changeless decree,
and round it hath cast, like a mantle, the sea.

4. Thy bountiful care, what tongue can recite?
It breathes in the air, it shines in the light;
it streams from the hills, it descends to the plain,
and sweetly distills in the dew and the rain.

5. Frail children of dust, and feeble as frail,
in thee do we trust, nor find thee to fail;
thy mercies how tender, how firm to the end,
our Maker, Defender, Redeemer, and Friend.

P5 Growing up into spiritual maturity - Target areas for spiritual maturity

Colossians 1:3-4 "We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, 4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have for all the saints."

Review:The past several days have been dedicated to understanding the Biblical teaching on spiritual maturity. The main point of application for this whole series of posts has been: Your calling as a Christian is to grow up into spiritual maturity. Today's post will take the principles we have been working through and spell out particular areas to target in our pursuit of spiritual growth in Jesus Christ. We will then close out this series with a final thought from Dr. Adrian Rogers on the importance of spiritual Christian growth. My hope and prayer is that these series of posts have proven beneficial to your walk with the Lord.

Particular areas to target in spiritual growth.
We have thus considered the patterns for spiritual maturity in understanding our main point of application in this message: your calling as a Christian is to grow up into spiritual maturity. Paul’s excitement over hearing about the Colossians pursuit of spiritual maturity leads him to write these words in Colossians 1:9a “For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that….”. What is the “that” that Paul is praying for? He is alerting both his readers and us to particular areas to target in spiritual growth. I will list them in short order:

a. Doctrinal = Colossians 1:9b …”you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding.”

b. Testimony = Colossians 1:10a “so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects….”

c. Morality = Colossians 1:10b “bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God”

d. Godward focus = Colossians 1:11-12 “strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light.”

Those four target areas of spiritual maturity are not only areas we ought to strive for, but pray through and aim for in reliance upon the Lord. 

Closing thoughts:
Today we have considered the main point of application in today’s post: Your calling as a Christian is to grow up into spiritual maturity. We have also looked at the patterns for spiritual growth and four specific target areas: doctrinal, testimony, morality and Godward focus. I close out this post with an observation from Dr. Adrian Rogers. Dr. Rogers in his book: "What every Christian ought to know", writes these words on pages 245-246 - "We need love that comes with Christian growth and maturity. There need be no division between truth and love. Some have made that division. Truth without love may be a form of brutality. Love without truth may be empty sentimentality. May God deliver us from the immature pronouncements of those who have loveless truth and the immature emotionalism of those who have truthless love. With truth and no love one may swell up. With love and no truth one may blow up. But truth and love cause the Christian to grow up."

P4 Growing up into spiritual maturity - Cultivating spiritual growth in Christ

Colossians 1:3-4 "We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, 4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have for all the saints."


Review & Illustration:
We looked yesterday at the three braided rope of spiritual maturity: inward maturity, upward maturity and outward-focused maturity.  We noted that the scriptures uniformly define spiritual maturity along the lines of how we are growing in Christ in our souls, in relationship to Him and in how we relate to others. When we started this series a few days ago, I shared an illustration about a little tree that my mother and me had to cultivate and bring back to health.  Today's post features that illustration once again to communicate the main point of today's post: cultivating spiritual growth in Christ.


I can recall growing up as a boy and receiving in my first grade year a little pine tree to plant in our yard. I asked my parents if we could plant the little tree near a big bush toward the back of the house. I felt in my little six year old mind that the bush would protect the little tree from getting dried out by the sun. Over the next ten years that little tree hardly grew. We knew something was wrong and that it was contrary to nature for a ten year old tree to be basically no different from a first year sapling. We discovered that the big bush was sapping up all of its nutrients and as the bush grew, the shade prevented the tree from getting the necessary sunlight. We decided to move the tree to another part of the yard that was adjacent to a creek that ran alongside our property. My mother had developed an interest in cultivating roses and aided me in staking the nearly dead little tree. We fed it all kinds of plant food and within 3 years the tree doubled in size and in 3 more years quickly grew to maturity. That little tree was designed by God to grow and mature, and it required nutrients, sunlight and our involvement in making sure it would maximize what it was created to do – grow!  Disciples of Jesus Christ are given in their new nature the inherent desire to want to mature in their faith.


How is spiritual maturity cultivated?
Think of the little tree illustration that we explained earlier – the requirement of multiple people was necessary to not only maintain but to ensure the tree’s natural maturity. Likewise, spiritual maturity operates on similar principles. Outside of sickness and emergency, Christians cannot expect to grow and flourish in their Christian walk without the ministry of the scriptures and the local church.

The presence of God’s word in Colossians 1:5-6 functions as the life sustaining food for spiritual maturity. 1 Peter 2:2 “like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation.” 

Then, pastoral ministry and the local church is the support system for spiritual maturity in Colossians 1:6-8. Pastors like Epaphras in Colossians 1:7 have been called by God to do five things in the local church: love God, love their families, live out the scriptures, love the people & lead by example. All of those areas are not just for the pastor’s sake, but more so for the sake of His people. Furthermore, the pastor needs the local church body in order to fulfill the calling God has given to him. In other words, I need you and you need me and we need one another to pursue God’s calling to us to grow up into spiritual maturity.


Whatsoever is true in the pew applies equally well in the pulpit: none of us can expect to spiritually grow without one another. Ephesians 4:11-12 reminds us: “And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ.”


More  tomorrow......

P3 Growing upinto spiritual maturity - the three-braided rope of spiritual maturity

Colossians 1:3-4 "We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, 4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have for all the saints."
Review from yesterday:
In yesterday's post we considered what the Bible in general and the Book of Colossians in particular has to say about the subject of spiritual maturity. We noted the following point of application: Your calling as a Christian is to grow up into spiritual maturity. Today we continue this series by noting some patterns that are associated with spiritual maturity in the Christian life.

Growing up into spiritual maturity – Patterns and Particular areas Colossians 1:1-12
As we have noted already, the point of application for today’s post is: your calling as a Christian is to grow up into spiritual maturity. What patterns and particular areas do we find in Colossians 1:1-12 when it comes to growing up into spiritual maturity?

Patterns for growing up into spiritual maturity: “inward”, “upward” & “outward”, cultivated by the scriptures and the local church – Colossians 1:1-8
Paul’s formal greeting to this church in Colossians 1:1-2 begins our exploration of the patterns for growing up into spiritual maturity. Particularly in Colossians 1:2, we see reference to the Colossians in terms of their spiritual identity as “saints” or “holy ones”, their relationship to one another in the term “faithful brethren” and then their relationship to their Lord by the little phrase “in Christ”. Paul then launches into his thankfulness for the Colossians as a result of seeing their spiritual maturity. He zeroes in on the three-fold pattern of spiritual maturity we just saw in Colossians 1:2: an “inward” element, an “outward” element and an “upward element”. In other words, all spiritual maturity can be measured by how well we are cultivating our hearts (inward), relating to other people (outward) and focusing on the Lord Jesus Christ (upward). Think of these 3 patterns as the three braided rope of spiritual maturity. 

First we see how and where spiritual maturity begins: on the inward level in Colossians 1:3-4a: "We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, 4 since we heard of your faith….” Next we find how the “inward” patterns of our spiritual maturity ought to lead to the “upward” focus of the Christian life – Jesus Christ – also in Colossians 1:4 “since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus….”. Then thirdly, that “inward” and “upward” pattern of spiritual maturity should naturally lead to how we “outwardly” relate to other people. All three patterns are seen in their full bloom in Colossians 1:4 “since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have for all the saints.” 

With that “three-braided” rope of spiritual maturity explained, the question is: how is spiritual maturity cultivated? 


To find out the answer, come back tomorrow....

P2 Growing up into spiritual maturity - The Bible's teaching on spiritual maturity

Colossians 1:3-4 "We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, 4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have for all the saints."
Review from yesterday:
In yesterday's post we considered introductory thoughts to the subject of growing up into spiritual maturity. We noted the following point of application: Your calling as a Christian is to grow up into spiritual maturity. Today we consider briefly what the Bible in general and the Book of Colossians in particular has to say about spiritual maturity.


How the Bible and Colossians define spiritual maturity
When you begin surveying Bible passages on spiritual maturity in both the Old and New Testaments, you discover certain principles that aid in understanding spiritual maturity. Key scriptures such as Deuteronomy 7:22; 1 Corinthians 9:25-27, Ephesians 4:11-12, 2 Timothy 3:12 & Hebrews 5:13-14 reveal that spiritual maturity happens in progression, entails discipline, requires the ministry of the local church, thrives under difficulty and entails the Christian's cooperation with the Holy Spirit.


When we trace the theme of spiritual maturity in the Book of Colossians, we find it flows right along with the main theme of Colossians: “Jesus is Enough”.

1. Colossians 2:6-7 "Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7 having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude."


This text here continues on the theme of Colossians 1:1-12. The book of Colossians, along with the book of Hebrews, are two books in the New Testament that deal specifically with finding one's fulfillment and maturity in the supremacy of Jesus Christ.

2. Colossians 3:16 "Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God."


This particular passage is significant in that the word "word" could be taken to either refer to the written word - the Bible, or the living word - Jesus Christ. One of the hallmarks of spiritual maturity is in making one's life a palatial dwelling place for the Lord and His word. The more central the Bible becomes to our everyday thoughts and lives, the more likely we are growing in spiritual maturity.

3. Colossians 4:5 “Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity.”


Spiritual maturity not only has to do with how we relate to the Lord and how we take care of ourselves but also in how we relate to other people. "Making the most of every opportunity” means that even in the most extreme circumstances, we take what we have and use it for the glory of God. Over time we discover that if anyone wants to be Godly in Christ Jesus, they should expect to suffer. (see 2 Timothy 3:12) 

Whenever you come to our target text of Colossians 1:1-12, we get the specifics on the Biblical emphasis of spiritual maturity. Again the point of application is: Your calling as a Christian is to grow up into spiritual maturity.


More tomorrow....