Lesson for August 4, 2019
The Integrity of God- Lesson 9
The Profile of the Spiritually Mature Believer
Let’s begin with a verse that is well known in the Christian community, but not always correctly understood. This verse is Romans 8:28 and is often used by believers as a catchall for problem-solving. However, Romans 8:28 is actually not written to be a problem-solving device for all Christians. In order to get the proper interpretation of this verse we must consider the context in which Paul wrote it. Who was he writing to and what was he writing about is the correct approach. Romans 8 is about deliverance from legalism and victory in Christ and refers to blessings for undeserved suffering. But when we consider this passage in more detail, we find that Romans 8:28 is written specifically to spiritually maturing (advancing) believers only.
Maturing in the spiritual life is a process of advancing from spiritual childhood, to spiritual adolescence, to spiritual adulthood. In spiritual adulthood we advance from spiritual self-esteem to spiritual autonomy to spiritual maturity. In spiritual maturity, we continue to advance, a process that never stops if we want to continue to glorify God. Even the Apostle Paul, as advanced in his spiritual life as he was, continued in his spiritual advance. (Philippians 3:12-16)
So, we begin our profile of the spiritually mature believer with Romans 8:23-28. Paul had just described in verses 18-22 the suffering of the entire human race as a result of sin and the anticipation (hope) of the final solution to the sin problem which is the believer in resurrection body for all eternity. In verse 23, Paul begins to describe the spiritually mature believer. We know this because of the words “having the first fruits of the Spirit.” The “first fruits” are merely the taste of the far greater blessings that are to come in eternity in our resurrection bodies. Eternal rewards at the Judgment Seat of Christ are given to those who fulfilled the plan of God by training themselves in the use of Bible doctrine, being consistent in the study and application of God’s Word and reaching spiritual maturity while on earth. In addition to the word “first fruits” in Romans 8:23, we have the word “groan’ which is used by Paul to describe the undeserved suffering of the spiritually mature believer in evidence testing.
Romans 8:24 further emphasizes that the context of this chapter is written to spiritually maturing believers. The word “hope” in this verse refers to what lies ahead in eternity for those who fulfill the purpose for which they were created, which is to glorify God to the maximum, to be a credible witness in the resolution of the Angelic Conflict and to execute the Protocol Plan of God. Hope in the Bible means confident expectation and confident anticipation with joy and only those who fulfill God’s plan can anticipate with joy their resurrection and the rewards that await them in eternity. If a believer has failed to fulfill his purpose on earth, he will not anticipate with joy what is awaiting in eternity. First, he most likely will not know what awaits him in eternity and second, he may not understand the blessings and rewards.
Romans 8:26-27 are parenthetical describing how God the Holy Spirit helps us in time of undeserved suffering. These verses refer to the ministry of intercession of the Holy Spirit. The ministry of intercession is the Holy Spirit mediating on behalf of the believer. This is a normal function of a priest. The believer is a royal priest, Jesus Christ is our Great High Priest, but the Holy Spirit is never said to be a priest (strictly a human function). However, we are told that the Holy Spirit makes intercession for believers. The reason this is possible is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Since He is indwelling a priest, He is able to “make groanings which cannot be uttered” for us. His intercession is for us in times in which we are unable to pray due to intense suffering, distress or when we simply don’t know how or what to pray.
Romans 8:28 gives us further proof that these verses and specifically verse 28 is written to spiritually maturing believers only. The phrase “who love God” is the key. All believers do not love God. All believers have eternal life and will spend all eternity with Jesus Christ, but all believers do not develop a relationship with God and love Him. Personal love for God is developed only by the consistent study and application of His Word.
Personal love is based on the virtue of the object, the one who is loved. Personal love for God is a function of the Royal Priesthood of the believer. Before we can love one another, we must learn to love God. We learn to love God only by getting to know Him through His attributes as revealed in His Word. As we get to know Him through His Word and obedience to His Word, we develop capacity to appreciate Him and enjoy His blessings. Our personal love for God is based upon our thinking, not our emotions. No one can be forced to love God. As with everything in the Christian Way of Life, it is a matter of personal volition. However, we are commanded to love God. (Deuteronomy 6:5) Loving God changes our human norms and standards to divine norms and standards and gives us a foundation upon which to build our Christian lives. This, of course, not only affects our relationship with God (our spiritual life), it also affects our relationship with others (our Christian life). (I Peter 1:8; Ephesians 3:19)
All things work together for good to the spiritually maturing believer onlybecause God causes them to do so. The Greek verb for love is “agapao,” which means love in the sense of esteem or delighting in. It is a reference to the spiritually maturing believer’s attitude toward God. Only the advancing believer truly loves God because he has come to know God through the study and application of Bible doctrine. We can be in the process of learning to love God but until we crack the first stage of the spiritual adulthood, we do not truly love God to the maximum. In other words, when you reach the point of entering into spiritual adulthood you have developed the capacity for love, which is transformed into occupation with the Person of Jesus Christ. Occupation with the Person of Christ is the attitude and function of the advancing believer. These are the ones who love God and therefore to them only do all things work together for good.
Romans 8:28 refers to the variety of blessings for undeserved suffering which combine with the other greater blessings of spiritual maturity. These are greater blessings in time which are given to the advancing believer. Remember, undeserved suffering has a purpose, which is establishing in the soul the reality of hope for the future resurrection body and for our spiritual growth. Mankind has three hopes from birth. The first hope is salvation, and that hope becomes a reality when one believes in the Lord Jesus Christ. The second hope is greater blessing in time, and this is for the believer only and becomes a reality when a believer enters into the first stage of spiritual maturity. Eventually, the third hope will be a reality at the Rapture of the Church. But right now, all advancing believers possess all three hopes (the first two are realities and the third will be).
In eternity past, God provided everything necessary for a believer’s advance to spiritual maturity.
Spiritual maturity is the maximum expression of the grace of God in the Protocol Plan of God. The Protocol Plan of God is the only plan for the Church Age. Spiritual maturity is characterized by spiritual independence, which results from metabolization of doctrine plus passing four momentum testings: people, system, thought, and disaster testing. This means spiritual maturity can face every problem in life with a maximum amount of inner happiness. There is no tragedy, disaster, difficulty, or heartache that can overcome the self-confidence from doctrine of a spiritually mature believer.A spiritually mature believer has become spiritually self-sustaining. However, this does not imply that a spiritually mature believer is to stop learning and advancing by means of the study and application of accurate Bible doctrine. This does not imply that a spiritually mature believer will never need spiritual advice or help from their pastor or another spiritually mature believer who they respect.
A spiritually maturing believer functions under maximum effectiveness in life. Maximum effectiveness means maximum contentment. (Philippians 4:11-13; Hebrews 13:5; I Timothy 6:6-8)Maximum grace orientation to life is another function of a spiritually maturing believer. Grace orientation of a spiritually maturing believer literally removes the “rough edges of life” into smooth grace thinking, along with grace motivation, grace decisions, and consistent grace functions and actions. Each stage of spiritual adulthood advances and perfects grace orientation in our life. In spiritual self-esteem, the process begins. In spiritual autonomy, the process continues. In spiritual maturity, the process continues to be perfected.
Maximum control of your own life also accompanies spiritual maturity. This means maximum utilization of the privacy of your royal priesthood, used properly before God as a part of your personal love for God. This means maximum use of impersonal love toward all mankind. This means the elimination of false applications in your life, such as comparing yourself with others. In spiritual maturity, a believer lives his own life as unto the Lord rather than as unto other people. Therefore, he is able to control his life. Since the Lord really has all the control and a spiritually mature believer’s volition is subordinate to the Lord, he is in a state of maximum happiness.
A spiritually maturing believer takes responsibility for his own decisions (good or bad). He also takes responsibility for others if they are under his leadership but does so without seeking to control and interfere in their lives. Therefore, a spiritually maturing believer is motivated without being possessive or lusting for power. A spiritually maturing believer is not possessive of those whom he loves, thus avoiding the pitfall of jealousy.
A spiritually maturing believer concentrates on the #1 priority: relationship with God over relationship with people, God emphasis over people emphasis. Concentration produces a mental attitude of hope. Intense concentration on Bible doctrine results in intense application of doctrine, and intense application results in spiritual maturity.This advancing believer has a dynamic mental attitude from accumulated metabolized doctrine plus maximum utilization of the Problem-Solving Devices of spiritual adulthood. (Philippians 3:15-16)
A spiritually maturing believer has a maximum personal sense of destiny. No matter what happens in his life, he relates all “the good and the bad” to the fact that God has a purpose for his life. He understands that purpose, applies it to situations, maintains his happiness and passes the testing of his faith. Therefore, a spiritually maturing believer recognizes that he has fulfilled his purpose and destiny in life; he is executing the Protocol Plan of God. He can face any testing and handle any problem. A believer in spiritual maturity has increased his personal love for God. He has become aware that in fulfilling the plan of God for his life, he is fulfilling his own destiny to God. By relating to God instead of to people and circumstances, spiritual maturity increases one’s personal sense of destiny. Destiny must always be related to God rather than to people, circumstances, or human success standards.
Maximum production in Christian service is a characteristic of a spiritually maturing believer. Maximum production means maximum exploitation of your spiritual gift, whatever it is. It means maximum effectiveness in Christian service so that you will have gold, silver, and precious stones at the Judgment Seat of Christ. Maximum production means understanding your human limitations and never allowing human ambition to exceed your human limitations. Instead of living your life by standards that people have developed for you (by flattery, encouragement, persuasion), spiritual maturity develops common sense, and a marvelous sense of humor. You are never envious of those whose abilities seem greater than yours, whose success (by human standards) is greater than yours. Therefore, spiritual maturity eliminates any frustration of life caused by not succeeding as you or others thought you should. You have a destiny far greater than that of any person who’s ever been successful or great in this life!
The environment for advancing in spiritual maturity is spiritual freedom. In the Protocol Plan of God, a new type of freedom exists, which has never existed before in any other dispensation – spiritual freedom provided by residence in God’s power system. So, this spiritual freedom provided inside the Divine Dynasphere is a very important factor. Spiritual freedom can exist with or without human freedom. Spiritual freedom is the divine provision of grace to execute the Protocol Plan of God through residence, function, and momentum inside God’s power system.
When you are functioning within God’s power system (filled with the Holy Spirit) you have spiritual freedom. In God’s power system, the Holy Spirit is the enabling power for the execution of the Protocol Plan of God. We glorify Christ by living inside the Divine Dynasphere, the place of the enabling power of the Spirit, the place of metabolization of doctrine, the place of advancing to spiritual self-esteem, spiritual autonomy, and spiritual maturity.
There’s fantastic distribution of escrow blessings for spiritually mature believers in eternity. An escrow is a trust fund, a deed, a bond or other written agreement entrusted to a third person by the party of the first part, to be given to the grantee. God the Father is party of the first part, the Grantor. Every Church Age believer is the grantee. The third party is our Lord Jesus Christ, the depositary and our escrow officer. The deposit, or escrow assets (greater blessings), are placed beyond the control of the Grantor, in that He cannot cancel them. God the Father cannot cancel what He has deposited with Christ, i.e., your portfolio, and your special escrow blessings. These escrow assets are above and beyond the forty spiritual assets that all believers receive at salvation.Rulership over cities and the Crown of Righteousness is for believers who attain spiritual maturity. The Crown of Life is for spiritually mature believers who pass advanced divine testing. The Crown of Joy is for those who consistently share the Gospel with others. The Crown of Glory is given to a pastor who is faithful in teaching the Word of God and bringing believers to spiritual maturity. The Winner’s Crown is for those who advance according the precisely correct procedure of the Protocol Plan of God.
A spiritually mature believer is classified as an invisible hero because of his impact on human history. The greatest impact in the last 2000 years and an impact that will continue until the Rapture of the Church will come from the spiritually mature believer. God has designed a system whereby invisible impact from an invisible hero is far, far greater than that of any visible hero. A spiritually mature believer glorifies God in two stages: 1) the attainment of spiritual maturity. 2) passing of advanced testing and becoming a witness for the Prosecution in the Angelic Conflict. This is the ultimate in glorifying God.