How would you describe a spirituallly mature person?

[Deba]

Do you have a mental critieria that you use?

Do you know what qualities a spiritually mature person would possess?

Interesting article on the subject.
Many Churchgoers, Pastors Struggle to Define Spiritual Maturity| Christianpost.com

 

[SavedByGrace3]

A spiritually mature person is one who is full of the knowledge of the Lord, who walks in love, and who is both confident and humble in their faith. Love conditions their fellowship in many ways.
They facilitate faith in others.
They give and ask for nothing in return.
Their love disarms opponents of the grace of God.
They show forth the fruit of the reborn spirit within them.

I think of my grandmother Short. In all the years I knew her(she was 92 when she passed), I never heard her say an unkind word about anyone. She would always find something nice to say about the person... even if that person was a stinker. She never raised her voice to us when we were little. She was submissive to her husband.... (speaking of stinkers ).
She was a leader in the ladies groups in the church and was always the first to step up when a job needed to be done. And could she grow a garden!!!!
She was Episcopalian!

If you look up the word "spiritual" in the dictionary... that is my grandma Short in the picture.

 

[Tamara224]

Do you have a mental critieria that you use?

Do you mean like a checklist of things they know?

Yeah, I guess there are some foundational principles that I expect a mature Christian to know.

But maturity doesn't necessarily mean that a person has great understanding of deep theological concepts.

Do you know what qualities a spiritually mature person would possess?

First and foremost would be humility. Also, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.


ETA: Just read the article. That's sad, but it doesn't surprise me. I don't remember who said it, but I think I heard it on the radio: "The Church in America is 2 miles wide and an inch deep."

 

[msbojingles]

How would you describe a spirituallly mature person?

One that's dead. (Christian, of course, and yes, I actually mean that in all seriousness.)

 

[nephilimiyr]

Someone who uses the faith they have with confidence and with an expectation for results. A person who understands who they are in Christ and then takes advantage of the authority that that gives them. A person who shows no fear and is never or rarely worried. A person who relies on God our Father and whose love is evident by everyone and shows mercy and forgiveness to all and under any circumstance.

Just read the article and I am not surprised.

 

[SUNSTONE]

Someone who doesn't sin, who thinks of people as more important than themselves, who lays down their wants to live the life that Jesus lived in taking care of other's needs, someone who cherrishes the family of God and loves to spend as much time with them as possible.

 

[Watchman4hm]

A doer of the word, not a hearer only..

 

[ANM29]

I am going to go with they have a clear understanding of what there mission is here on earth as a follower of Christ. They know that it is about maturing in the love of God, and doing all things in Love....The greatest commandment of all time ( which sums of what ALL this is about at the end of the day ) is to love God with all you have and your neighbor as yourself.

Jesus Christ is the center of their lives...by which they long to know him more and more and hunger and thirst after righteousness while not loving their own lives even unto their death.

The also are spirit-filled and do not walk after the flesh, but in the Spirit........while aware, there is always MORE to know, always a deeper walk, a deeper glory, another level of God....yet still never satisfied when God does fill them over and over., and always wanting more..

...and another answer could be like Ms.Bojingles said..A dead one....

 

[Catherineanne]

One that's dead. (Christian, of course, and yes, I actually mean that in all seriousness.)

I'm sorry to hear that.

You do realise that there is no such thing as a dead Christian, don't you?

Contradiction in terms.

Meanwhile, spiritual maturity is indeed recognised by the fruit of the Spirit, as found in Galatians. And immaturity by the fruit of the sinful nature, in the same chapter.

 

[nhisname]

Do you have a mental critieria that you use?

Do you know what qualities a spiritually mature person would possess?

Interesting article on the subject.
Many Churchgoers, Pastors Struggle to Define Spiritual Maturity| Christianpost.com

You judge by the fruit

 

[JAS4Yeshua]

A person who believes he or she is spiritually mature would not be spiritually mature. Our lives should be in humble obedience to the Lord. We are to be shaped and molded by the Lord, into the image of His Son.

I believe that using a label on someone, or worse, on yourself, of being "spiritually mature" is a way of lifting someone up, instead of looking to the Lord. There are traits we should all long to have in our lives, but these traits alone shouldn't be measured as part of spiritual maturity.

 

[ARBITER01]

One that's dead. (Christian, of course, and yes, I actually mean that in all seriousness.)

Exactly,..

Joh 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

When it is no longer you, it is GOD.

 

[Giver]

Someone who doesn't sin, who thinks of people as more important than themselves, who lays down their wants to live the life that Jesus lived in taking care of other's needs, someone who cherrishes the family of God and loves to spend as much time with them as possible.

That is all it takes to be a mature Christian, hearing Jesus’ Word and living that Word. If one loves God he or she will not sin, and will love their brothers and sisters.

 

[enoch son]

Are all spiritualy mature now! All are hidden in Christ on the cross? His He not mature? It's the out-reurrection people have problems with. (greek Phil. 3;11-19.) People are hung up in the matter of Christ death (Phil. 3;10). They can not move up in standard because they try to do it by works of sights. If you want to see the works of sight read 99 o/o of the post here. God and God alone is the reaiser of the standad. It's all in phil 3.

 

[nephilimiyr]

One that's dead. (Christian, of course, and yes, I actually mean that in all seriousness.)

Exactly,..



When it is no longer you, it is GOD.

Ok, I'm getting where you two are coming from and agree.

Romans 6:6-7, For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin, because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.

 

[ARBITER01]

Ok, I'm getting where you two are coming from and agree.

Romans 6:6-7, For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin, because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.

Yeppers Neph. Holiness only comes from GOD, and it takes lots of prayer and fellowship with HIM to die to self, and to remain dead also as it is a daily thing.

For me, maturity in spirit is measured by if GOD is our credentials or not. We can be walking libraries down here or we can be conduits of HIS power for the body of Christ.

It is a personal choice to draw nigh unto HIM and have an up close relationship.

 

[Elijah2]

Do you have a mental critieria that you use?

Do you know what qualities a spiritually mature person would possess?

Interesting article on the subject.
Many Churchgoers, Pastors Struggle to Define Spiritual Maturity| Christianpost.com

Yep, a person better than me!

The same qualities that are written in 1 Tim 3:2-6!

 

[nephilimiyr]

Yeppers Neph. Holiness only comes from GOD, and it takes lots of prayer and fellowship with HIM to die to self, and to remain dead also as it is a daily thing.

Oh boy don't I know that to be true.
I also thought of quoting where Jesus says to deny self and pick up your cross and follow him.

For me, maturity in spirit is measured by if GOD is our credentials or not. We can be walking libraries down here or we can be conduits of HIS power for the body of Christ.

It is a personal choice to draw nigh unto HIM and have an up close relationship.

 

[ARBITER01]

Oh boy don't I know that to be true.
I also thought of quoting where Jesus says to deny self and pick up your cross and follow him.

That cross signifies our death, and you're right about that passage, it is a daily thing because our flesh can always revive itself outside of GOD's fellowship.

 

[enoch son]

It's call the kingdom darkness (man's fallen state of works) in to the kingdom of light. No works just God.