Shall we turn to the book of Romans, chapter 8, verses 29 and 30; and then to Ephesians, chapter 4, verse 13.
For whom He foreknew, He also foreordained to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren:
and whom He foreordained, them He also called:
and whom He called, them He also justified:
and whom He justified, them He also glorified.
Till we all attain unto the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a full-grown man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.
This is our servant conference on service. You remember when our Lord was tempted. He said, “You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve.”
We know worship is our life, and service is our heavenly vocation. God put us on this earth to serve Him. After all, He wants us to be worshippers, because He alone is worthy of worship.
We gather for the purpose of learning how we should serve well before the Lord. If we are to serve the Lord properly, there are certain prerequisites. One prerequisite is that we must grow spiritually and become spiritually mature.
If we are not growing mature spiritually, we may have a heart to serve, but we do not have the strength to serve.
Every morning, we will consider together this matter of spiritual maturity. Together, we have five sessions.
This morning, we would like to consider that spiritual maturity is God’s will for all of us.
In the second session, we will share on the matter of the adoption of sons—sonship.
Then we will share on some manifestations of fleshly Christians.
In the fourth session, we will share on some features of those who are spiritually mature and how we can seek to grow in the Lord.
Finally, we will consider how we arrive at the full measure and stature of the Son of God.
This morning, we are considering that spiritual maturity is God’s will. We know that God is the origin of everything. “In the beginning, God.” Not only in the physical creation, but even in the spiritual world, God is the origin of everything.
Therefore, when we consider spiritual maturity, we have to begin from God’s standpoint. To seek to be spiritually mature is indeed God’s will.
It is possible for someone to seek spiritual maturity and yet not be within the will of God, because it is not for His will or His purpose, but for oneself. Then the consequence of sin will come into our lives.
When God put man in the garden of Eden, man was like a child. Physically, according to creation, he was a grown-up person; but spiritually, he was just a child.
God’s will was that man should grow up. The way God intended man to grow was the way of life. Therefore, He put man before the tree of life. God’s purpose was for him to grow.
But the way to grow and mature is through God’s life. Man did not seek to grow through the way of life. Instead, he sought to grow by relying on the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
At that moment, man wanted to grow, but he wanted to grow in his own way. He wanted to develop himself outside the life of God. He wanted to grow in knowledge, but not to grow spiritually.
Because he sought growth outside the way of life and outside the way of God, he was not formed into the image of the Son. He lost the image of God and fell into the hands of Satan. God’s purpose could not be fulfilled, and God could not receive His glory.
Brothers and sisters, when we seek to be spiritually mature, what is our motive? Do we see that this is indeed God’s will? Therefore, do we seek to grow for His glory, or do we seek to grow for ourselves?
If growth is for ourselves, there may be two consequences. Some may indeed grow, but they desire to become spiritual heroes. They have ambition and seek great things for themselves, but the motive is all for themselves.
In that case, we fall into the devices of the enemy.
Others may think that to remain a child is a very comfortable life, because they do not have to assume much responsibility. They simply sit and receive supplies from others. Therefore, they think it is better to remain as a child.
But brothers and sisters, when we consider maturity, we have to go before God. We need to allow the Lord to examine our motives.
We must ask ourselves: Why do I want to grow or mature spiritually? Is it for myself, or is it for God? Is my way of seeking growth according to God’s way or according to my own way?
The foundation for spiritual growth is this: we cannot make ourselves the goal of our spiritual maturity.
The four Gospels show us how the Lord lived His life. He is our example. The Word became flesh and dwelt among men, full of grace and truth.
The Lord came to this earth in a way totally different from Adam. Adam was created as a grown-up man. Strictly speaking, he was not the typical man. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the typical Man.
Even though He was God’s Son, when He came to be man, He began His human life as a baby.
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given.
The Son was given to us, but before He was given to us, He was born as a child. From childhood, He gradually grew.
And the child grew, and waxed strong, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon Him.
When He was twelve years old, His parents brought Him to Jerusalem, to the temple. At that time, according to Jewish custom, He became a son of the law.
The Lord Jesus had a strong desire to be about His Father’s business. He knew His Father’s will. Yet, even though He knew that He should be about His Father’s business, in obedience to His earthly parents, He went home with them and continued to grow.
And Jesus advanced in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.
The Lord grew in a balanced way: spirit, soul, and body. He came to fulfill the work of redemption. In Him, we discover that God’s will is for us to grow. He never intended us to remain as children. He wants us to grow and mature so that we can rise up and serve God’s will.
The Lord had disciples. There was a small group that believed in Him, and He called them to follow Him. To be a disciple of Christ is to follow Him and to learn from Him.
We put ourselves in His hands for Him to train us so that we may grow spiritually. The twelve were called by the Lord, and they grew up with the Lord.
Physically, the disciples were already full-grown. But spiritually, they were like children. During the years they followed the Lord, they even disputed among themselves, “Who is the greatest?” They manifested their flesh.
Over time, they were instructed by the Lord, and the Lord’s instruction adjusted them. Many followed Him to a point and then deserted Him, because they felt that His word was too hard for them.
But Peter said:
Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life.
And we have believed and know that Thou art the Holy One of God.
The Lord continued His work in them so that they might grow spiritually. They saw Him go to the cross, and they witnessed our Lord resurrected from the dead.
The Lord breathed into them and said:
Receive ye the Holy Spirit.
On the day of His resurrection, they received the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Then, on the day of Pentecost, they were filled with the Holy Spirit. They went out, and the gospel spread to the ends of the earth.
In the lives of the disciples, we see how they grew and matured spiritually. Because they were mature, they could assume the spiritual responsibility entrusted to them.
From the life of the Lord and from His disciples, we see that it is indeed God’s will that we should grow up spiritually. It is through spiritual maturity that we can serve Him properly.
Now we come to the truth concerning growth. In Romans 8:29-30, we see God’s salvation. God’s salvation is not merely a teaching; it is a Person. God’s salvation is God’s Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
He is not only our Savior; He is our salvation.
The goal of salvation is not merely the forgiveness of our sins, nor even justification. It is that we may overcome death, overcome sin, overcome the power of sin, and live a sanctified life on this earth.
Yet God’s ultimate purpose is that we may be glorified. Even before we existed, God saw us in Christ Jesus. He chose us and predestined us.
Why did He predestine us? Was it merely that we should be saved? No. He predestined us that we might be conformed to the image of His Son.
To be saved by grace is indeed a great thing. Only God can do such a glorious work. But from God’s standpoint, saving us from sin is not His final purpose. He desires to bring us into His glory.
Glory means that we are conformed to the image of His Son, so that His Son may be the firstborn among many brethren.
The firstborn is not merely the One who was born first. In Scripture, the firstborn speaks of priority and sovereignty.
God gave us the life of His Son, and the nature and character of His Son are to be formed in us. In every way, we are to become like His only Son.
God’s purpose is not merely to save us and leave us as children. He wants us to become His sons. He wants His Son to be the firstborn among many brethren. This is glory.
Let us turn to 1 Corinthians, chapter 3, verse 1.
And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, as unto babes in Christ.
I fed you with milk, not with meat; for ye were not yet able to bear it: nay, not even now are ye able.
Paul said to the Corinthians, “I could not speak to you as spiritual men because you were men of flesh. You were babes in Christ.”
When Paul was with them, they were babies, so he gave them milk because they could not receive solid food. That was their condition at the time. But now they still remained as children.
According to the time, they ought to have grown. We cannot remain as babies. After several years, if there is no growth, that is not normal.
We should grow up. For the sake of God, we should desire to become men of God.
Let us turn to 2 Corinthians, chapter 12. Paul said:
I know a man in Christ, fourteen years ago … such a one caught up even to the third heaven.
And I know how that such a one was caught up into Paradise.
A man in Christ is a mature, grown-up man.
In 1 Corinthians 1:30, we are told that by God’s doing we are in Christ Jesus, who became unto us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption.
Positionally speaking, we are already in Christ Jesus. But often we do not live in Christ. The man in Christ is not merely in that position; in his life and living, he lives in Christ.
The man who lives in Christ is a mature, grown-up man. Even though we are in Christ, if we do not live in Christ, we are not able to grow.
Let us turn to Galatians, chapter 3.
O foolish Galatians, who did bewitch you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was openly set forth crucified?
This only would I learn from you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now perfected in the flesh?
Then in Galatians 4:19, Paul says:
My little children, of whom I am again in travail until Christ be formed in you.
The believers in Galatia had a heart to seek growth, but their way was wrong. They thought that they began by the Spirit, but that they had to be perfected by keeping the law.
Because they departed from the way of life, they could not grow. They remained as children and fell from grace.
Paul said, “I am again in travail until Christ be formed in you.” Yes, we have received His life, but His life must be formed in us. The image of the Lord must be seen in us.
We may have a heart to seek growth, yet fail to allow the Spirit to perfect us. Instead, we rely on the flesh and think that we can keep the law. Then we fall from grace.
God delights to reveal His Son in us. Paul said:
I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I that live, but Christ liveth in me.
As Christ lives daily in us, He is formed in us. Then men will see Christ. This is spiritual maturity.
Now let us turn to Ephesians, chapter 1, verse 5.
Having foreordained us unto adoption as sons through Jesus Christ unto Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,
to the praise of the glory of His grace.
Here we see God’s eternal purpose. He predestined us unto the adoption as sons through Jesus Christ. He has placed us in the position of sons.
Then Ephesians 4 shows us the corporate aspect:
Till we all attain unto the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a full-grown man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.
This mature man is the corporate man, the church. For God’s purpose, we must not take this matter of sonship lightly. We must value and treasure this birthright.
For God’s will, we must long for the Body, the church, to grow and mature. When the church reaches the mature stature of Christ, then the Bridegroom will come to receive the bride.
Let us turn to Philippians, chapter 3.
That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, becoming conformed unto His death;
if by any means I may attain unto the resurrection from the dead.
In Philippians, we see Paul’s pursuit of the Lord Himself. When he met the Lord on the way to Damascus, a drastic revolution took place in his life.
He no longer sought the righteousness that was through the law. He came to know the righteousness that comes through faith in Christ Jesus. Because he longed for the Lord, he counted everything as refuse.
Paul not only experienced the grace that justified him; he also experienced the saving work of God in his life. He desired to know the Lord, the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings.
The sufferings of Christ have two aspects. One is His redemptive suffering, which He suffered for us. The other is suffering for righteousness and for the will of God. Because of His resurrection life, we are able to suffer with Him.
To be conformed to His death means that everything which is not of God must be put to death. His death is like a mould, and we must be fitted into that mould.
But death is not the end. There is resurrection—the out-resurrection, the first resurrection. Paul desired to have a share in that resurrection.
This was Paul’s desire and his holy ambition: to become a man of God. We all need to have this kind of desire.
Let us turn to Colossians, chapter 2, verses 9 and 10.
For in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily,
and in Him ye are made full.
Then Colossians 1:28 says:
Whom we proclaim, admonishing every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ;
whereunto I labor also, striving according to His working, which worketh in me mightily.
The fulness of the Godhead dwells bodily in Christ. This is reality. Yet we are also told that we have been made complete in Him.
God’s will is fulness. God desires perfection for us—not sinless perfection, but maturity. The purpose and aim of all ministry is to present every man complete in Christ.
The purpose of ministry is to bring men into the experience of all the fulness of Christ.
Let us turn to 1 Thessalonians, chapter 5, verses 23 and 24.
And the God of peace Himself sanctify you wholly; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved entire, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Faithful is He that calleth you, who will also do it.
Here we are told that spirit, soul, and body are to be preserved complete and without blame. Our spirit has been regenerated, our soul is being transformed, and we await the redemption of our body.
Then the whole person can stand before the Lord without blame. This is God’s will.
Who can accomplish this? He who calls you is faithful, and He Himself will bring it to pass. Sometimes these promises seem too glorious to us. How can we arrive at such a glorious condition? Thank God: He who calls us is faithful.
Let us turn to 2 Thessalonians, chapter 1, verses 11 and 12.
To which end we also pray always for you, that our God may count you worthy of your calling, and fulfil every desire of goodness and every work of faith, with power;
that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and ye in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Thessalonian believers had works of faith, labors of love, and patience of hope. But they needed to go on. Paul prayed that they might be counted worthy of their calling, that every desire for goodness and every work of faith might be fulfilled.
The Lord is to be glorified in us, and we in Him. This is glory. Therefore, we need to seek to grow spiritually.
In 1 Timothy, we are told that godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life which now is and of that which is to come.
We need to exercise ourselves unto godliness. Bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for this life and for the life to come. We must cooperate with the work of the Holy Spirit within us and exercise ourselves to be like God.
In 2 Timothy, chapter 4, Paul was at the close of his life. He said:
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith:
henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give to me at that day;
and not to me only, but also to all them that have loved His appearing.
In Philippians, Paul said that he had not yet attained, and that he forgot the things behind and pressed on toward the goal. But as he came to the end of his life, God gave him an inward assurance. By grace, he had fought the good fight, finished the course, and kept the faith.
This crown is not only for Paul, but for all those who love the Lord’s appearing. Therefore, we need to be those who long for the appearing of the Lord.
Titus 2:11-13 tells us:
For the grace of God hath appeared, bringing salvation to all men,
instructing us, to the intent that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly and righteously and godly in this present world;
looking for the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 6:1 says:
Wherefore leaving the doctrine of the first principles of Christ, let us press on unto perfection.
James 2:22 says:
Thou seest that faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect.
When we come to Peter, we see the need to be diligent, to seek knowledge, and to go on with the Lord. In John, we see growth from little children to young men and then to fathers.
We are to build ourselves up in the faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. We are to keep ourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
When we come to Revelation, we see the New Jerusalem. God’s purpose is fulfilled.
Brothers and sisters, spiritual maturity is for God’s purpose and for His will. Are we willing to satisfy His heart?
This is one reason why we should grow spiritually.