Growth

Growth:
Growth is a process of progressive development toward maturity, and genuine growth involves observable change. Specifically, we will be considering spiritual growth.
In the spiritual sense, growth carries the same fundamental idea: growth must be accompanied by change and transformation.
The Bible tells us in 1 Peter 2:2, “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation.”
This shows that when a person is saved, there is an expectation of growth and transformation in that person’s life. Salvation is not merely an event that happens to us; it introduces us into a life in which we are expected to continually grow.
Similarly, Jude 20 says, “But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit…”
The phrase of our emphasis is “building yourselves up.” Jude is emphasizing the responsibility of believers to continually build themselves up in the faith they have received.
This same idea is expressed in 1 Peter 2:2, where believers are instructed to grow through spiritual nourishment. We also find the command in 2 Peter 3:18, “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
All of these passages point to one fundamental truth: as believers, we are expected to grow. There is a need for spiritual growth.
Growth necessarily involves transformation. We see this even in nature. Some organisms do not remain in the form in which they began; they undergo a gradual process of development and transformation. In a similar way, the believer should not remain spiritually the same person he or she was at the beginning of the Christian journey.
There ought to be a noticeable change.
There ought to be a transformation.
Primarily, this transformation comes through increasing conformity to Christ as revealed in and governed by the Word of God.
There are many things that can occur in the life of a believer ministering in the Holy Spirit: healing the sick, seeing visions, experiencing miracles, and having other dramatic spiritual experiences. These things are good and, where genuinely from God, are also important for a believer, as the Lord has entrusted them to us. But they are not the primary yardstick by which spiritual maturity should be measured.
The fact that someone performs miracles does not automatically mean that the person is spiritually mature. The fact that someone sees visions does not, by itself, prove spiritual growth. Even dramatic spiritual experiences cannot substitute for genuine transformation of character.
The more fundamental question is:
Are you becoming more like Christ?
Are you increasingly submitting your life to Scripture?
Are you obeying the Word?
Is the Word changing your character, your attitudes, your desires, your relationships, and your conduct?
That is where spiritual growth becomes evident.
Growth is ultimately demonstrated by conformity to God’s Word.
Prayer also plays a significant role in this transformation, in the sense that as we spend more time with Him, we are conformed to the person of Jesus. Prayer is not merely a means of presenting requests to God. Prayer does more than ask God for things. Prayer changes the person who prays.
As we spend time with God in prayer, we are transformed in our hearts, desires, perspectives, and understanding. Prayer brings us into deeper fellowship with God, and that fellowship should produce transformation in our lives.
Therefore, while there are various means through which believers can grow spiritually, two fundamental disciplines stand out: the Word and prayer.
We must give ourselves continually to Scripture and prayer. Acts 6:4 gives us a beautiful picture of this priority, “But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”
If we desire to grow, we must intentionally place ourselves in an environment where transformation can take place.
We must read the Word.
We must study the Word.
We must meditate on the Word.
We must obey the Word.
And we must give ourselves to prayer.
Because spiritual growth is not simply about having more spiritual experiences; it is about becoming more like Christ.
The goal is not merely to know more Scripture, although we need to, or to experience more supernatural manifestations. The goal is that our lives increasingly reflect the One we profess to follow.
We were saved, but we were not saved to remain the same. We were saved to grow.