Tenchi
Member
Philippians 3:12-14
12 Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect,
but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.
13 Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet;
but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead,
14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
The Gospel of Salvation declares that all people are lost in darkness, separated from their Holy Maker by their sin, bound under the power of the World, their own flesh, and the devil (Ephesians 2:1-3; Titus 3:3; Colossians 1:21; Romans 3:10). In such a state, we were all "without strength" to save ourselves from the just and holy wrath of God that our sin deserves (Romans 5:6). But God, who is "rich in mercy," because He is a God of love as well as justice, made a way through Jesus Christ for us to be reconciled to Himself (Ephesians 2:4-6; Colossians 1:19-22; 2 Corinthians 5:21). In love and grace, God reached out to us who were helpless and soiled by sin, offering to us cleansing, forgiveness and new life in Jesus Christ (1 John 5:11-12; John 14:6; 1 John 1:9; John 3:3-7).12 Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect,
but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.
13 Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet;
but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead,
14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
When, in positive response to the Gospel, a person is "born again," given new spiritual life in the Person of the Holy Spirit, they embark on a process of growth and change, moving from spiritual infancy to spiritual adulthood. What does "spiritual infancy" look like? Well, the Bible offers a pretty good description, actually:
1 Corinthians 3:1-3
1 And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ.
2 I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able,
3 for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men?
The marks of a spiritual infant in this passage are:
- being "fleshly," or "of flesh," which is to say, occupied by the things of the flesh: bodily impulses, sensuality, a tight focus on the immediate rather than the eternal, pursuing material gain, and self-centeredness.
- cannot receive spiritual "solid food," only spiritual "milk" which are the "baby truths" of Christian living: God loves me, God forgives me, sin is bad and obedience to God is good, I'm saved from eternal hell, I should confess my sins when I commit them, etc..
- jealousy, partisan strife (I like Apollos better than Paul!).
Make no mistake: Though the description Paul offers here of the believers at Corinth is very...unflattering, he confirms again and again that they are, nonetheless, genuine children of God, they are truly "in Christ" though they are infants in him.
Hebrews 5:12-13
12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food.
13 For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant.
Other indications of spiritual infancy given here are:
- inability to teach the deeper truths of spiritual living.
- need to be taught - again - the "elementary principles of the "oracles of God (or Scripture)."
- partakes only of spiritual "milk."
Hebrews 6:1-2
1 Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God,
2 of instruction about washings and laying on of hands, and the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment.
The spiritual infant also:
- is reluctant to leave off spiritual "milk" and "press on to maturity."
- is caught in a cycle of repentance, sin (dead works), repentance, sin.
- hasn't deepened in their faith in God.
- is occupied with external obedience to God in religious ritual.
- must be taught again and again to think in eternal terms and live in the light of the Final Judgment to come.
Ephesians 4:14
14 As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming;
Being spiritually childish involves:
- being "tossed here and there by waves and winds of false doctrine, trickery of men, and deceitful scheming." This happens, in part, because the spiritually immature person is often "double-minded," doubting God, with one foot in the World and the other in the kingdom of God, (James 1:6-7; 1 John 2:15; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18), refusing to "come out from among them and be separate."
No born-again person has to remain a spiritual infant. Thank God. In the Person of the Holy Spirit, under the mind-transforming power of God's word, through the teaching, encouragement and support of the Body of Believers, the child of God can grow to maturity spiritually, attaining to "the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ" (Ephesians 4:13).
Understand, though, that no believer is instantly all-perfected in their practical living. This isn't an excuse to remain infantile spiritually, of course; becoming more and more like Christ ought to be a constant in the life of every born-again child of God (Romans 8:29). The legalism, fear and hypocrisy that develops under the false doctrine of sinless perfection, though, is not a biblical alternative to spiritual juvenility. This false doctrine doesn't help holiness but actually hinders it, obscuring the rot of sin in one's life under a cloak of prideful (and often fearful) error.
God remembers we are dust (Psalm 103:14). He is well-acquainted with our human infirmities (Hebrews 4:15). He is not standing over us, glowering, poised to sever us from Himself the moment we sin. He does not say when we sin, "I never knew you!" Instead, He has delivered to us in His word and in the Person of the Holy Spirit all we need to grow from carnal "infants in Christ" to men and women of deep faith, holy lives and great wisdom, the character of Christ shining brightly in and through us.
Be at peace, then: God ain't finished with you yet!
Philippians 1:6
6 For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:23-24
23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
24 Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.
Jude 1:24-25
24 Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy,
25 to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.
Hebrews 13:5
5 ...for he (God) has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
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is how do believers pursue genuine spiritual development in today’s world 
where it seems many established churches 
️ prefer to keep adherents entertained and under developed?
cultivating a more biblical worldview is challenging. My problem is that I see churches