Paul makes no bones about it, letting the Philippian church know how all who are mature should view things.
[This discussion can be read aloud in just over 9 min.]
Philippians: Shine Like Stars – DAY 77
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DAY 77/THURSDAY
Philippians 3:7-16
All Who Are Mature
“But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ 9and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.
10I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of His resurrection and participation in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, 11and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.
12Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
15All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. 16Only let us live up to what we have already attained.”
Philippians 3:7-16 (NIV)
Who Is Mature?
First, take a look at some definitions & descriptions of “mature” & “maturity.”
mature:
| characteristic of maturity |
| “Someone who is mature acts grown up, like an adult. However, when one sister says to another, ‘That’s so mature,’ she’s usually using the word sarcastically, because her sister has done something very immature, like sticking out her tongue.” |
| “The adjective mature doesn’t only describe advancing age, although the residents of a senior citizens’ home could definitely be considered mature. Anything that is fully developed, like an aged cheese or bottle of wine, can also be called mature.” |
maturity:
| the behavior or manner expected of or appropriate to an adult |
| “When something reaches its full level of development, it has achieved maturity. Easy enough when you’re a perfectly ripe peach. Maturity in humans is not so easy to accomplish or achieve.” |
| “Some people might be physically mature, which is to say that they are fully physically grown, but don’t yet exhibit signs of emotional maturity — such as a willingness to accept responsibility, or maintain poise in serious situations — for a long time afterward.” |
All Who Are Mature
Now, read Paul’s Holy Spirit-inspired words again:
“All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. 16Only let us live up to what we have already attained.”
Philippians 3:15-16 (NIV)
Paul is not talking about physical, mental, or emotional maturity, but spiritual maturity. As we discussed on DAY 76: Perfectly Perfectible, every Christian is in a process of being perfected, being made holy — becoming like Jesus.
Maturity is a process by which something or someone is reaching its, his, or her full development. In the spiritual maturity process, a.k.a. sanctification, Christ’s disciples are being conformed (adapted) to His image & transformed (changed) into His likeness.
Spiritual maturity does not depend solely on age. An 8-year-old can be more spiritually mature than an 80-year-old. Although an 80-year-old has had more time to become mature, he or she has not necessarily used those years to put their faith in or grow in Christ.
Growing in Christ requires choosing His way over your way day by day. The more often you choose God’s way of living life as a disciple of Christ, the more spiritually mature you will become.
The word mature appears nine times in the NIV New Testament. Read a few of these sections of Scripture along with me to gain a more complete understanding of spiritual maturity.
Learning, Training, & Teaching
“We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand. 12In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! 13Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. 14But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.
6:1Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, 2instruction about cleansing rites, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3And God permitting, we will do so.”
Hebrews 5:11-6:3 (NIV)
The writer of Hebrews informs us that maturity involves:
- learning, not just the basics of belief, but beyond;
- training yourself to tell the difference between good & evil by using Scripture & living it out;
- being able to teach what you’ve learned to less mature believers.
Perseverance
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
James 1:2-4 (NIV)
You cannot become mature without perseverance. Tests & trials are going to come no matter what, but it’s the believer who perseveres — refusing to stop & give up during trouble — who becomes mature.
Choked!
“The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. 15But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.”
Luke 8:14-15 (NIV)
Jesus’ parable about The Sower, the Seed, & the Soils in Luke also emphasizes the need for perseverance in the life of a maturing believer. You cannot mature if worldly worries, riches, & pleasures cause you to stop walking in faith & give up on God’s way.
No Longer Infants
“So Christ Himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12to equip His people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
14Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. 15Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of Him who is the head, that is, Christ. 16From Him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.”
Ephesians 4:11-16 (NIV)
Those who are spiritually immature are described as being “tossed back and forth” and “blown here and there;” in other words, they are not secure in Christ. They don’t know God & His Word well enough to realize when someone is teaching lies & deceiving them.
Those who know the truth will not only have security, but will speak the truth in love to others, growing in maturity.
Now that we have a better idea of spiritual maturity, let’s reread Paul’s words to the Philippians about the way mature believers are supposed to view things.
The View of the Mature Believer
“But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ 9and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.
10I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of His resurrection and participation in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, 11and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.
12Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
15All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. 16Only let us live up to what we have already attained.”
Philippians 3:7-16 (NIV)
That tall trophy? Contest ribbon? Shiny place medal? Certificate of award? — Garbage!
I’m not saying you need to go chuck all of your bling & hardware into the trash right now.
I am saying you need to think of them as worthless when comparing them to how great it is to know Christ!!!
- Jesus is better than trophies & tiaras.
- Jesus is better than all our dreams, delights, & desires.
- He’s not only better… HE IS THE BEST THING EVER.
This is the view of the mature believer. Faithful followers of Jesus become mature disciples of Christ as they live like it’s true that Jesus is better than everything else, pressing on when life gets tough simply because they love Jesus and this is what He has told them to do.
DAY 77/THURSDAY Prayer
Father God,
Thank You for Your Word.
I have seen that becoming spiritually mature requires some hard things, but those things are worth doing because I want to “grow up” in Christ. Help me leave childish, immature ways behind and “press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me” (Philippians 3:12).
Lord, help me to: learn, not just the basics of belief, but beyond; train myself to tell the difference between good & evil by using Scripture & living it out; be able to teach what I’ve learned to less mature believers.
Enable me to persevere, not giving up during tests & trials and not getting “choked” by worldly worries, riches, & pleasures.
I don’t want to be an infant, insecure in my faith, but a grown-up, bold believer who confidently knows the truth and speaks it to others in love.
When I get distracted by the shiny things of this world, Lord, remind me that Jesus is the best thing ever!
In His precious name I pray,
Amen.
DAY 77: Paul makes no bones about it, letting the Philippian church know how all who are mature should view things.