“"Press On"”

Sunday, January 05, 2025

Considering that God made his plans for man’s redemption and eternal life “before the foundation of the world” (Ep 1.4), it should be no surprise that he built into this creation some physical analogies for spiritual truths. One of these is the process of human aging, moving seamlessly from stage to stage and progressing toward the next step. Life in the spirit is the same. Jesus told Nicodemus, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God” (Jn 3.3). When babies are born, they are pure, innocent, and entirely dependent on others to feed them, protect them, and keep them warm. A new life in the spirit is the same, in spiritual terms. It’s worth noting also that newborn babies tend to scream incessantly and sometimes unaccountably, regularly soil themselves, and are totally incapable of properly using their hands, feet, and even eyes. They’re not only helpless, they’re extremely annoying, and it seems virtually certain God designed us to find them cute, to discourage us from killing or abandoning them in frustration. Should we expect the newborn Christian to be terribly different?

But Jesus wasn’t done with the analogy. On a later occasion when his disciples were vying for status, he told them,

“Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

(Matthew 18.3-4)

Healthy, properly nurtured babies naturally grow into children. Jesus tells us humility is an aspect of childhood worth imitating. Like babies, children also have some bad qualities, including selfishness, foolishness, and stubbornness; but in general kids instinctively have some fear and respect for adults, and especially their parents. They trust that their parents have the situation under control, mostly believe what they’re told, and maintain a great sense of wonder at the newness of each day’s experiences. Young Christians are, and ought to be, the same.

However, if a child never grows up, his behavior ceases to be described as childlike, and instead is termed childish—emphasizing the bad qualities, rather than the good. Paul writes that the different roles in the church are designed to foster growth

to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 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.

(Ephesians 4.13-14)

If a child never grew up, we’d know there was something deeply wrong. The same applies to the Christian who fails to mature. This has always been a common problem; in addition to Paul’s exhortation above, the author of Hebrews tells his audience that they “ought to be teachers” by now, but that they still “need milk, not solid food,” since they are still children (He 5.12). He then urges them, “let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity” (6.1). What are the marks of this spiritual adulthood? For one thing, having a thorough, comfortable understanding of the “elementary doctrine of Christ,” like repentance, faith, baptism, the church, resurrection, and eternal judgment (cf. vv2-3). For another, having your “powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil” (5.14).

John singles out these spiritual adults, telling them “you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one” (1Jn 2.14). The emphasis on strength gives us a hint about their relationship and duty toward the body of believers; and Paul gives a multitude of essential instructions to Timothy and Titus, two men in this category. But again, they’re not done growing. Sure,  physical growth ends at adulthood; but there’s another stage in life—those whom, in the same passage, John calls, “fathers.”

Just like we’d know something was wrong, if a child stopped physically maturing, we know it is disorderly for a 40-year-old to hang out primarily with teenagers. He’s supposed to have matured in less visible ways since that stage of life, and his pretense of perpetual youth is foolish and undignified. Christians, likewise, need to continue growing spiritually as they age. When discussing the church’s earthly leaders, the Apostles use the term, elder, interchangeably with bishop (overseer) and pastor (shepherd). The special value and usefulness of these older Christians comes from their vast accumulation of experience, and even though they increasingly lack the strength to do some of the serving that they did in the prior stage of life, they are far more capable at advising and directing those who have the ability but lack the wisdom.

But this paternal stage is still not the endpoint in spiritual life. Even the “fathers” are to progress toward one more stage.

For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.

(2 Timothy 4.6-8)

You must not stop growing and maturing, until you reach that final goal. It’s a long process, and it’s fine to be at any stage along the path we’ve mapped out here, even if it doesn’t match up with your physical stage in life. What’s not acceptable, is to stay where you are. Wherever we are, at whatever stage in life, we must all “press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Php 3.14).

Jeremy Nettles

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