Christian Maturity

Ephesians 4:1-16 Spiritual Maturity

Factors Contributing To Christian Maturity

The definition of maturity is one that has been largely determined within several worldviews prevalent in what some have declared to be out post-christian society.  Some have described "Maturity" from the findings and descriptions of modern psychological theories. Emmanuel Kant described maturity in terms of individual autonomy.  According to Kant, "immaturity is self-imposed when its cause lies not in lack of understanding, but in lack of resolve and courage to use it without guidance from another." Maturity, then, is to be free from the laziness of dependence upon moral guides and through individual rationality self-determine one's own morality.

In the field of education there has been an obsession with developmental psychology, that every child grows to maturity through several specified stages.

Kant's concept of individual autonomy is embedded in some modern psycho-social development theories. Fundamental to these theories is the premise that human persons develop from infancy to old age according to a series of identifiable stages. Developmental objectives culminate in autonomy.

Piaget 4 stages of Cognitive Development: Children should progress from being Concrete thinkers towards thinking abstractly about things.

Kohlberg.. stages of moral development.

Erikson's 8 choices folk make as they mature to make sure they don't get stalled in some part of their psycho social development.

Trust vs. Mistrust    Hope       0 - 1½

Autonomy vs. Shame    Will     1½ - 3.

Initiative vs. Guilt    Purpose     3 - 5.

Industry vs. Inferiority    Competency  5 - 12.

Identity vs. Role Confusion   Fidelity   12 - 18.

Intimacy vs. Isolation     Love       18 - 40.

Generativity vs. Stagnation     Care   40 - 65.

Ego Integrity vs. Despair      Wisdom  65+

Rather than being an issue of development, God's Word defines maturity as moral, spiritual and relational (all aspects derived from what it means to be created in the image of God, and then after the fall aspects redeveloped in the new creation that is in the image of our Creator, according to Col 3).

Dr. W.E. Andersen, former Lecturer in Education at the University of Sydney, has encouraged students to consider a different, more relational model for maturity: "Persons are whole beings who develop, in their multi-faceted ways, whenever and wherever they are caught up in new relations either with aspects of themselves or the reality around them. To contribute to this development, then, it is just not feasible to concentrate on one facet. Just as architecture has come to consider the relevance to its design of every aspect of living within a building, so those who help in the building of persons must not be surprised when a variety of factors, related to personal development, confront them… Persons are also needy human beings whose nature is to be both active and responsive to the actions of others, and hence who were fashioned for participation in personal relationships with God and with fellow-humans. Further, they are inescapably orientated beings: that is, designed to become focussed about some centre, and to develop a life-view in accord with it; and they are creatures whose consciousness is a blend of thinking, feeling and doing. Though distinctive as individuals, and needing to develop a self-concept which is serviceable in all their relations, they flourish only within the solidarity of a family, or a family-like community. As they discern between persons and things, they become responsible for acting morally. Andersen, W.E. (1983).'A Biblical View of Education' Journal of Christian Education papers 77 p. 22, 23.

He notes that individual maturity does not have the goal of individual autonomy, but rather the ultimate goal — restoration of wholeness, the restoration of the image of God in man. This concept of wholeness and restoration is a theologically and ethically laden concept, that implies a fallenness in humanity (sin), and its implications for morality within that restoration. Andersen identified several factors necessary for the development of maturity in individuals in community.

A Knowledge Factor

11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers,12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood,

The Pendulum extreme of Kantian scientism and modernism

Theologian E.Y.Mullins notes: "Physical science has tended to narrow the idea of truth to propositions which can be proved in exact mathematical terms. But this narrowing of the conception is due to a confusion of truth itself with a particular form for expressing it. There are many ways of expressing the meaning of reality. The claim to truth cannot be based upon any one way to the exclusion of others. The test of the claim to truth is the test as to the reality with which it deals, at least this is the primary and fundamental test. Spiritual realities will not yield the same formulae for expressing their meaning as those found in the sphere of physics. But they are none the less real and may find interpretation in terms of truth. Again, the appeal of the truths of religion is of the strongest kind. It is an intellectual appeal in the narrower sense of the word. The reason is satisfied because the truths of the Christian religion may be presented in a coherent system which has unity and self-consistency. The moral nature is satisfied because the result is the triumph of the moral nature over sin and self and the world. All the higher personal life is satisfied because in the Christian experience human personality comes to its own. Self-realization, a consciousness of having found the meaning of life and destiny, is bound up in the Christian experience."

The Pendulum of extreme of Pluralism, Personal individualism and Postmodernism, What is truth?

Propositional truth

The term "truth" had currency in Greek philosophy, Roman thought, and the Hebrew Bible including its many uses in the Old Testament Greek Septuagint (lxx).992 In Greek philosophy, one of the senses of 'alethia' involved an accurate perspective on reality993. Romans similarly spoke of veritas as a factual representation of events. In the Hebrew Scriptures, "truth" (emeth, emunah) primarily conveyed the notion of God's faithfulness. This faithfulness had been revealed throughout the history of Israel and, according to John, found supreme expression in the life, ministry, and substitutionary death of Jesus (John 1:14; 14:6). In John's Gospel, where the importance of "truth" is in the Synoptics, the notion of 'truth' is inextricably related to God, and to Jesus' relationship with God, and the possibility of personal and individual relationship with God. Hence the concept of 'truth' and knowledge conveyed more than propositionally true statements, there is also a relational aspect that spoke of faithfulness and rectitude to the nature of God himself.

We can help others to know the truth, understanding the relationship between objective knowledge disciplines and the subjective experience of truth.

Spirituality is demonstrably necessary for the development of a meaningful and purposeful existence. Noble (2001) highlighted two characteristics that are important for psycho-social development: the conscious realisation that our physical reality is part of a bigger multidimensional reality; and, the conscious striving to attain psychological health for oneself and for the greater good. The emphasis on consciousness in Noble's description underscores the cognitive dimension of the spiritual way of knowing.

Send the right Message

2Peter 3: 18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Personal truth

Serve the right Master

Acts 4 They could see these men had been with Jesus.

Ephesians 4:13. Similarly, Colossians 1:27 states "We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ."

 

Purposefulness Factor

13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,

Human beings perceive themselves as purposeful beings who are able to give order and direction to their lives through their ability to evaluate and make choices which are in keeping with their moral desires and orientation. "We understand ourselves as creatures with purposes and goals and see our action as guided or informed by these...action is typically linked with responsibility. If I succeed at a certain goal, then I am generally held accountable for that outcome. If on the contrary I contribute to an outcome that was not my desire of purpose, my personal responsibility decreases." The person who suddenly finds themselves retrenched, unemployed or chronically ill, can find their self-concept decimated. Rather than objectifying a vocational goal, Taylor and Andersen utilise the concept of fullness as the goal to which humans are to attain. This fullness is found in self-forgetfulness in compassionate loving relationships, rather than self-actualisation through performance in a vocation.

It is this goal of fullness that Andersen establishes as a worthwhile New Testament goal: "Until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ."

By recognising maturity as the goal that develops a sense of fullness, rather than autonomy or vocation, spirituality becomes incorporated into purposeful living. "The goal is maturity and knowledge of the Son of God, but the process is one of the individual-in-community and the community acting through believers in such a way that individual and community emphases are virtually inseparable."

A Self-Concept factor

to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,

"What am I referring to when I say the word "I"? … Where does my sense of self come from? … Was it made for me or did it arise spontaneously? … Am I different when I present myself in different ways to my boss, my family, my friends, social security, someone I'm in love with or a stranger in the street? Do I really know myself?" Charles Cooley believed that one's sense of self depends on seeing one's self reflected in interactions with others. The 'looking-glass self' refers to the notion that the self develops through our perception of others' evaluations and appraisals of us. This process started in childhood - children began to develop a sense of self at about the same time that they began to learn language. The acquisition of language skills coincides with the growth of mental capacities, including the ability to think of ourselves as separate and distinct, and to see ourselves in relationship to others.

A Christian view of the self takes into account our fallenness, and our redemption in Christ. It takes into account our Sanctification, that God has a purpose for our lives to conform us to the image of Christ (Rom 8:29) and "you have put off the old self with its practices10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.11 Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all." (Col 3:9,10).

The self concept factor includes understanding who we are before God: our Spiritual gifts, our Heart, our Abilities, our Personalities and our Experiences.

 

A Love factor

15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,

The priority of love in Jesus' teaching provides a model of self-sacrificial behavior bringing fulfillment in community. "In the New Testament building up a person is inextricably bound up with a warm concern for and interest in that person. It also involves the desire for a reciprocal relationship and while it is possible for one person to love another without such reciprocation, love is such that it invites personal response. We express love in a readiness to initiate and share a personal relationship with the other person if he or she welcomes the relationship." There is a sense of communion with God and others that comes about as we are outward focused and self forgetful in our love towards God and others in the community of believers.

Hence the greatest commandment is  You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.38 This is the great and first commandment.39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets."

"Love (agape) is or vital importance in maturity. It is the Christian value that is central to the whole process of "upbuilding." Thus "each of us should please his neighbour for his good, to build him up." "Though many factors contribute to upbuilding, love is essential." Further, love binds many fruitful actions and attitudes together harmoniously. Love, however, is not primarily a vague feeling or attitude. In the New Testament it refers collectively to loving actions: "Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue, but with actions and in truth." "In the New Testament building up a person is inextricably bound up with a warm concern for and interest in that person. It also involves the desire for a reciprocal relationship and while it is possible for one person to love another without such reciprocation, love is such that it invites personal response. We express love in a readiness to initiate and share a personal relationship with the other person if he or she welcomes the relationship."

 

Frankl comments "By declaring that man is responsible and must actualize the potential meaning of his life, I wish to stress that the true meaning of life is to be discovered in the world rather than within man or his own psyche, as though it were a closed system. I have termed this constitutive characteristic "the self-transcendence of human existence." It denotes the fact that being human always points, and is directed, to something or someone, other than oneself - be it a meaning to fulfil or another human being to encounter. The more one forgets himself - by giving himself to a cause to serve or another person to love - the more human he is and the more he actualizes himself. What is called self-actualization is not an attainable aim at all, for the simple reason that the more one would strive for it, the more he would miss it. In other words, self-actualization is possible only as a side-effect of self-transcendence." Sacrificial, serving, self-forgetful love is the only way to move towards self-actualisation, by becoming self-forgetful.

Frankl, V Man's search for meaning: the classic tribute to hope from the holocaust Sydney: Rider p.115

 

A Relational Factor

16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

There is a growing crisis of depersonalization in modern westernized society where our primary mode of communication is technologically based and characterized by the depersonalization of human relations (Laura, Marchant & Smith, 2008) Depersonalization defines the extent to which human relationships have substituted face - to - face human interchange in preference for technologically mediated communication. The implications of this social development are profound: forms of social disconnection and alienation, resulting in loneliness, depression, social isolation and a rise in uncivil behaviours based upon frustration, hopelessness and the devaluation of human life are becoming increasingly evident in our communities and schools.

There is an urgent need for people to find a personal sense of purpose, develop deep and sustainable personal relationships by immersing ourselves in high-contact personal environments..

An overemphasis upon individualised, technologized instruction may be depersonalising the socialisation process in many schools.

Depersonalised churches are churches where there is little focus on meaningful relationships outside of the church service.

Listen to how foreign that was to the New testament church.

Acts 2: 42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common.45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts,

 

As love cannot exist without an object, the relationality of love is an obvious necessity; whether it be to God, individuals, corporate bodies, cultural products or nature in its breadth 

But in so many cases, the ability to talk to somebody who will listen, and the sense that one's troubles are taken seriously are themselves potent therapy. And when such confidence is inspired, there are few problems about the social cohesion of the group."

Think of your favourite teacher at school.  A personal manner of teaching involves teaching with a measure of feeling, rather than a style that lacks any trace of warmth. A "cold " or "detached" manner, doesn't cut it anywhere. Love can make an impact, even though it cannot be taught. Peace is not the same as the absence of discord or strife. Both in the Old Testament (shalom) and the New Testament (eirene) peace means living fully within all the basic relationships of God's creation and doing so with joy. Nicholas Wolterstorff (19831051) gives a beautiful summary of peace:

• Shalom in the first place incorporates right, harmonious relationships to God and delight in his service.

• Secondly, shalom incorporates right, harmonious relationships to other human beings and delight in human community.

• Thirdly, shalom incorporates right, harmonious relationships to nature and delight in our physical surroundings.

In summary, "the right relationships that lie at a basis of Shalom involve more than right relationships to other human beings. They involve right relationships to God, to nature, and to oneself as well."

 

A Small Group Factor

16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

Humanity is relational. We are embedded in "swarms of relationships". We have biological relationships, familiar relationships, shallow relationships, deep relationships; "one cannot be a self on one's own. I am a self only in relation to certain interlocutors: in one way in relation to those conversation partners who were essential to my achieving self-definition; in another in relation to those who are now crucial to my continuing grasp of languages of self-understanding – and of course these classes may overlap. A self exists only within what I call 'webs of interlocution'.

Human beings utilise Language. Language is our means to relationships with others1060.

Economic necessity in Western democracies has tended to minimise the amount of time individuals have to enjoy group life. Technological options such as television, video gaming, and other communications media have reduced face-to-face interaction in family and community networks. Group life, where people meet regularly for interactional sharing and review of ideas, has largely disappeared, even from churches, where group life was once the distinctive feature of early Methodism.

 

A Resilience Factor

14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.

Resilience is found in Purpose In This Life

Victor Frankl an Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist, quoting Nietzsche, after considering the differences between those who did or didn't survive the German concentration camps of World War 2, noted that "Those who have a 'why' to live, can bear with almost any 'how'." "The one thing you can't take away from me is the way I choose to respond to what you do to me. The last of one's freedoms is to choose one's attitude in any given circumstance." "In some ways suffering ceases to be suffering at the moment it finds a meaning, such as the meaning of a sacrifice." This is the paradox of suffering. Suffering produces resilience when there is a meaning behind the suffering. Life is never made unbearable by circumstances, but only by lack of meaning and purpose.

"Spirituality turned out to be the most important significant predictor of depression. (2017)" "Most of these adolescents reported some connection with religious and spiritual concepts, and those with higher levels of spiritual well-being, in particular, existential well-being, had fewer depressive symptoms and fewer risk-taking behaviors. This supports the inclusion of these concepts in our efforts to help promote resilience and healthy adolescent development. (Cotton et al., 2005)." "Religious coping was significantly predictive of spiritual outcome, and changes in mental and physical health. Generally, positive methods of religious coping (e.g. seeking spiritual support, benevolent religious reappraisals) were associated with improvements in health."

Resilience is found in a Purpose Beyond This Life

Taylor acknowledges the necessity of something beyond this life after death, as securing purposefulness and meaning inspite of death.

"What I mean by this is something more like: the point of things isn't exhausted by life, the fullness of life, even the goodness of life. This is not meant to be a repudiation of egoism, the idea that the fullness of my life (and perhaps those of people I love) should be my only concern. Let us agree with John Stuart Mill that a full life must involve striving for the benefit of all humankind. Then acknowledging the transcendent means seeing a point beyond that. One form ofthis is the insight that we can find in suffering and death - not merely negation, the undoing of fullness and life, but also a place to affirm something that matters beyond life, on which life itself originally draws...What matters beyond life doesn't matter just because it sustains life; otherwise it wouldn't be 'beyond life' in the meaning of the act.

 

 

An Assessment Guide For Maturity (wholeness, Fullness)

•Knowledge

•Love

•Relationality

•Purposefulness

•Self-Identity

•Resilience

•Spirituality

 

Church Modelling

•Biblical knowledge

•Atmosphere of loving service to one another

•Small Group relationality

•Purposefulness (training towards these things)

•Gospel associations, affirmations, articulations

•Stretching opportunities (missions)

•Dependence upon God

 

Organising our denomination around Ephesians 4

•Servant Leadership (modelled and taught)

•Multiplying leadership and resources

•TEAMS

•Delegation and Supervision

•Every member ministry

•Coping with pressures