If you had to pick four key indicators of whether or not a person was a mature follower of Jesus, what would you pick? That’s not a small question. It’s one that all of us have, whether we know it or not, an answer for.
The most common four measure that I’ve used for myself and that, in my experience, most people in the church default to, are:
- How much am I sinning?
- How much am I reading my Bible and praying?
- Am I an active part of a church?
- Am I sharing the Gospel with those around me?
The less you sin, the more mature you must be. The more time you spend reading your Bible and praying, the more mature you must be.. If you’re laying down your life for the sake of the mission of God – making Jesus known to neighbors and those on the far fringes of known society – you must be mature.
Each one of those are good things and, at some level, helpful questions to ask ourselves. But are they the true “KPIs” (Key Performance Indicators) that we should use to measure our spiritual growth? Paul certainly doesn’t seem to think so when he writes in Philippians 3,
But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead
Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained.
Philippians 3:7-16
How maturity thinks
Paul concludes the above section with the statement, “let those of us who are mature think this way”. The preceding sentences, therefore, give us a glimpse into what the Apostle Paul believes spiritually mature thinking looks like. There are at least four things that we must note from these verses:
1. Jesus is everything
“But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. “
Foundational to spiritual maturity is the heart-level belief and emotion that affirms that Jesus is worth everything. The mature follower of Jesus, like Paul, has an all-consuming longing to be with and to know the beauty and delightfulness of their savior. Their souls says, like Peter to Jesus, “to whom else shall we go? You alone have the words of life.”
You can fight hard and manage sin, spend hours studying the Bible and practicing spiritual disciplines, and even be a zealous evangelist without having Jesus as your everything. That’s called religion. The heart of the Gospel is that your heart is transformed to see the beauty of Jesus and go after it.
2. My righteousness isn’t my own
“not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ…”
The second essential sign of spiritual maturity is that we realize that self-improvement is a fantasy. There’s no way we can prove ourselves to God or to the people around us. Our righteousness comes by grace, through faith. It’s a gift of God, so that no one can boast (see Ephesians 2).
This means that the spiritually mature person has realized that they don’t need to work to prove themselves. Indeed – that they must not work to improve themselves. If we work to prove ourselves – to God or to others – we are assuming that our righteousness is our own and not something given by faith. Hear Paul’s admonitions to the Galatians:
“Are you so foolish and senseless? Having begun [your new life by faith] with the Spirit, are you now being perfected and reaching spiritual maturity by the flesh [that is, by your own works and efforts to keep the Law]?”
– Galatians 3:3 (AMP)
Contrary to the general expectation that the person who is spiritually mature will be the one who is volunteering the most hours, working the hardest to battle their sin, or spending the most time studying scripture, the deeper truth is that the spiritually mature follower of Jesus marked by rest and peace. They’ve stopped striving to prove themselves or to please God and others and they now carry with them a beautiful kind of calm that is almost heavenly.
3. Forget what is behind
“But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind…”
Along with the beautiful truth that our righteousness isn’t our own – it’s a reality given to us in Christ through faith – the spiritually mature person no longer dwells in the past. They, like Paul, “forget what lies behind.” They’ve stopped the constant evaluation of how they did earlier today or yesterday or last week and are instead completely un-selfconcious.
In some circles of Christianity, including where I grew up, there was an implicit belief that the person who could “confess” their sins from the past day with the most alacrity was the most mature. Holiness – spiritual maturity – was marked by a feeling of of heavy regret for all your past sin, mingled with the hope that Jesus had covered that sin.
Hear God’s word on this. That is not spiritual maturity. That is not faith. Spiritual maturity is to accept the righteousness Christ has covered you with, let go of the past, and move into the future. If you’re in Christ then you’re past no longer defines you – Jesus is the one who defines you.
4. Press toward what’s ahead
“….and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
Forgetting what is behind isn’t an end in itself. We’re not meant to be people who merely “live in the moment” with no care beyond our current pleasure or whim. This is no “hakuna matata” attitude – far from it. Because our righteousness and standing is firmly placed in who Jesus is, we are freed from our past and freed for “the goal of the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
The fourth essential sign of spiritual maturity is that we are pressing toward the goal that God has given us in Jesus.
Just because the spiritually mature person isn’t working to prove themselves to God or man doesn’t mean they aren’t working. Paul is a powerful example of this. Despite is radical assurance that he could sit back and do nothing to improve his standing with God, he worked, “straining forward” toward the prize God had for him. Spiritual maturity means knowing that God has a call for your life and pressing towards fulfilling that call.
What this means for us
“Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained.”
Spiritual maturity is evidenced by accepting Christ’s righteousness, not dwelling on the past, and pressing toward God’s future.
Practically, what does this mean for us? Particularly if we’re far from operating with that level of maturity? Hear Paul’s final words in these verses as encouragement: “if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained.”
God will reveal it to you
If you feel distant from the kind of maturity described above the answer isn’t to try harder. That’s the exact opposite of what’s being said here. The answer, in all it’s strange and uncomfortable simplicity is to trust more deeply.
Trust that God will reveal it to you. Enter into prayer with trust, asking God to shift your thinking. Engage God’s word – particularly his promises – and let them remind you time and again of the foundational reality that your standing with him is by grace, through faith. As Jesus told the crowds who came to him seeking another miraculous feeding, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” (John 6:29)
Hold true to what you have attained
Rather than trying to be something we’re not or live at a level we’re not at yet, let’s do as Paul commends and hold true to what we know. Go all in on what you do understand in your spiritual life. Hold true to it. As you do so, God will grow you. Gerhard Tersteegen summarized this reality well in a brief poem:
Thou sayest, Fit me, fashion me for Thee.
Stretch for thine empty hands, and be thou still:
O restless soul, thou dost but hinder Me
By valiant purpose and by steadfast will.
Behold the summer flowers beneath the sun,
In stillness his greatly glory they behold;
And sweetly thus his mighty word is done
And resting in his gladness they unfold.
So are the sweetness and the joy Divine
Thine, O beloved, and the work is Mine.
quoted in The Complete Green Letters by Miles Stanford, p.17
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