How to Be Really Perfect Understanding Christian Maturity #3, The

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    How to Be Really Perfect: Understanding Christian Maturity
                    #3, The Means to Maturity.”
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    Christians are “born again” as spiritual infants who must “grow in
the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ,” 2 Pet 3.18. God’s
will is also for us to be mature, spiritually, to “grow up.”
     “Speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him
    who is the Head, that is, Christ,” Ephesians 4.15, NIV.
     Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you
     may grow up in your salvation,” 1 Peter 2.2, NIV.
     The Greek word which is used to describe spiritual maturity is
“teleios,” denoting perfection, completion, or maturity (physical or spir-
itual), depending on context. But how can you tell whether or not a
Christian is growing toward spiritual maturity? In the first two lessons,
we looked at six marks of spiritual maturity.

    The ability to handle solid food, Heb 5.11-14.
    The discipline to think, 1 Cor 14.20.
    The desire to teach others, Heb 5.11-14.
    A proper relationship with other Christians–Eph 4.11-13.
    A continuing zeal for spiritual growth–Phil 3.7-15, NIV.
    Control of the tongue–James 3.1-2.
   The Bible also speaks of several means by which Christians can
grow toward maturity. Let’s notice some this evening.

    I.The proclamation of the truth–Col 1.25-28.

        I.A.Note the purpose of Paul’s preaching–the presentation of
        every person as “complete,” or “perfect” in Christ. True “Pur-
        pose-driven preaching” focuses on spiritual maturity.

        I.B.Note how this preaching is executed.

            I.B.1.By admonishing and teaching.

            I.B.2.“With all the wisdom God has given us,” NLT. Con-
            trast with “the wisdom of this world,” 1 Cor 3.18-19.

        I.C.The ability to handle the truth is a sign of maturity–1 Cor
        2.6. Cf. NLT, “Yet when I am among mature Christians, I do
        speak with words of wisdom.”
    II.The prayer of others–Col 4.12.

        II.A.Remarkably, the maturity of believers can be enhanced by
        prayers offered on their behalf by other believers!

            II.A.1.It’s certainly praying in God’s will!

            II.A.2.It’s unselfish prayer. Contrast with the majority of
            prayer requests and the focus of most prayers,

        II.B.Maturity involves assurance regarding God’s will. Mature
        people know what God’s will is!

    III.The practice of discipline–Heb 5.14.

        III.A.In a sense, maturity involves a learning curve which in
        turn comes from practice and training.

            III.A.1.Cf. learning to crawl, walk, drive, play an instru-
            ment.

            III.A.2.The spiritual “disciplines” of Bible study, prayer,
            walking in the Spirit, meditation, etc.

        III.B.A strong evidence of maturity is discernment, becoming
        spiritually discriminating. Cf. other things we’re “good at.”

    IV.The perseverance problems bring–Rom 5.3-5.

        IV.A.Teleios does not occur in these verses but problems are an
        effective catalyst for spiritual growth.

        IV.B.Cf. how children must learn by experience; how even Je-
        sus “learned” by experience–Heb 5.8.

        IV.C.Cf. the testimony of Paul–Phil 4.10-13.

     Read Heb 5.11-12. No Christian is “born” mature. It takes time,
teaching, teamwork, and tenacity. Nor do we ever “arrive” spiritually
in this life. Yet, we’re to be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect so
we should be heading in that direction!
          Next week, we’ll conclude this study by considering “The Mea-
sure of Maturity,” that by which true maturity must be gauged.