Ekklēsia - Part 2 (Spiritual Maturity)

Ekklēsia - The Assembly of the Church
Part 2 - Spiritual Maturity

Read 1 Cor 12:4-7 and answer the following questions:
1) Who is promised spiritual gifts?
2) Did you find anything in this Scripture that helps to understand or explain who God is? If you need help, read 2 Cor 13:14.

Read 1 Cor 12:27-31 and answer the following questions:
1) What are the eight appointments for the benefit of the church?

2) Now read Eph 4:11-13 and circle the appointments above that are repeated from 1 Cor 12:27-31.

Read Rom 12:6-8 and answer the following questions:
What gifts are given to the Body of Christ?

Share your top 3 spiritual gifts based on your spiritual gift assessment below. Remember, this assessment is a tool; a means in helping you identify likely gifts.

How are spiritual gifts confirmed? See 1 Tim 4:14 and Phil 1:9.

Read 1 Pet 4:10-11. How are we to use our spiritual gifts and why?


SPIRITUAL MATURITY
You may ask: why do children, why do people, why does anyone stray from Christ? There are many reasons, but one of the biggest reasons that people stray from Christ is because they have not developed their walk with Christ. I was not working “out [my] salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil 2:12), and the church where I grew up was not helping. The church I grew up in was a country church where the preacher preached and families attended church. Yet, there was not an intentional plan to help young Christians grow and develop. The leaders of the church were good and godly people, but there was no intentional effort to help young believers grow and mature spiritually. This story is not uncommon.

Unfortunately, many churches are not intentional when it comes to focusing on equipping and empowering new believers to grow and develop to their full potential for the King and kingdom. As a result, many new believers stray from their Lord and Savior. The new believer is not strong enough to handle the “triple threat”—lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—and they fall away from their Lord and Savior (1 John 2:16).¹

• Based on what you read above, how long can someone be stuck in a state of being a spiritual infant? Why do you think this is? Read Heb 5:12-14 in preparation for your response.
• Now read 1 Cor 3:1-3. How does Paul need to address the church in Corinth and why does he have to address them in this way?

Look at the diagram and assess where you are on the wheel. Are you dead, an infant, child, young adult or parent in the faith? Provide a couple of reasons why you made that assessment and share it with the group.

Spiritual maturity in Scripture:

• Spiritually dead – Eph 2:1-5
• Infant – 1 Pet 2:2-3
• Child – 1 Jn 2:12 and 1 Thess 2:10-12
• Young adult – 1 Jn 2:13-14
• Parent – 2 Tim 2:1-2

Indications (taken from Disciple Shift by Putman and Harrington: 2013):

Spiritually dead individuals say:

• I don’t believe there is a God.
• The Bible is a bunch of myths.
• Religion is a crutch for the weak.
• I don’t believe in hell. People just make their own hell.
• There is no absolute right and wrong.
• I’m spiritual but don’t really connect to any religion.

Spiritual infants say:

• I need to go to church regularly? I’ve never heard that before.
• I didn’t know the Bible said that.
• Tithing? What’s that?
• Being outside is my church. I connect with God through nature.
• I know Jesus is God, but isn’t karma real too?
• I don’t need anyone else. It’s just me and Jesus.

Spiritual children say:

• I don’t know if this church is meeting my needs anymore. Maybe I should go to a different church that does better.
• Don’t branch my small group into two. We won’t get to be with our friends.
• Who are all these new people in the church? It’s getting too big.
• I didn’t like the music today. They should play more contemporary stuff.
• I wasn’t fed at all by that sermon today.
• Why don’t they have a ministry for singles in this church? They need to have one for singles.

Spiritual young adults say:

• In my devotion I came across something I have a question about.
• I really want to go on that mission trip this summer.
• I just love being a worship leader. I love seeing the congregation worship together.
• Frank and Hilda missed our small group today so I called them to see what was up.
• Look at how many are at church today. It’s awesome!

Spiritual parents say:

• I wonder if God is leading me to invest in "Frank" and help him mature in his faith.
• We get to baptize someone in our small group today. When is the next class meeting where we can get him plugged into ministry for his growth?
• The most important discipleship is with my children. Will you hold me accountable to lead devotions with my kids? I get so busy that I forget and become inconsistent.
• I have a young adult who is ready to be an apprentice in our group; it won’t be long before we are ready to branch out our small group.

1) What are some indicators of spiritual growth/maturity? See Gal 5:22-23.
2) Do we have any help from within the church to help us understand where we are in our growth? See Acts 20:28-30.

Here are some practical disciplines to help strengthen or start growing spiritually:
1) Pray consistently
2) Read your Bible daily
3) Fellowship with other believers regularly, both on the Lord’s Day and in small groups
4) Perform acts of service
5) Worship in word and deed
6) Give faithfully as your heart leads



¹Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is . . .: How to Live the Great Commission with Passion and Confidence (Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2013), 38–39.