WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE SPIRITUALLY MATURE?
Spiritual maturity doesn’t come from what you know, but who you know. Paul’s greatest desire was to know Jesus intimately.
Spiritual maturity is simply measured by love or knowing God who is love. I know a lot of people who have a wealth of biblical knowledge; a few have masters and doctorates in theology, but they are not very loving or even friendly people. Some are downright prideful. They perfectly exemplify what Paul says about knowledge that isn’t tempered by love.
We know that “We all possess knowledge.” But knowledge puffs up while love builds up. (I Corinthians 8:1)
In 1 Corinthians 13, which is often referred to as the love chapter, Paul teaches that though great faith, in-depth knowledge, and the ability to operate in the spiritual gifts are essential, the fruit is greater! What matters is love! A spiritually mature individual is simply someone who understands God’s love and walks in the reality of it. Paul closes Chapter 13 by saying, “abide faith, hope, and love but the greatest of the three is love.” Why is love greater than faith and hope? Simply because you can trust or have faith in someone who is able to love you perfectly. When your heart is established in God’s love for you, faith and hope are rooted deep in the ground that produces an abundance of fruit. Knowing Jesus reveals His Father to us and knowing God is always expressed in how we love people.
Ed and Laurie Elliot