ARE YOU GROWING UP?
1 John 2:12-14
INTRO: We are going to talk about Christian growth today and the stages of progress and development in the Christian life. But there is one spiritual reality that is true about every member of the family of God. Your sins have been forgiven. The word forgiven means “to send away, to put away.”
There are three stages given in these verses. 1. Spiritual Infancy. 2. Spiritual Adolescence. 3. Spiritual Maturity. Where are you today? At what stage are you in your growth as a believer?
I. SPIRITUAL INFANCY (v. 13).
Spiritual infancy is mentioned in v. 13. There are different words used in vv.12-13. V. 12 uses a word that is a general word for all believers (ôåêíßá) teknia. V. 13 uses a different word (ðáéäßá) paidia that means a person that is just born and is in the infancy stage as a babe in the Lord Jesus Christ.
When a little baby is born into the world it becomes aware of a new existence and of new faces in its life. That little baby begins to see a mother’s face, a father’s face, and then it begins to learn other faces. That’s all it knows.
ILLUS: On a Sunday night, I was at home with my mother and the Spirit of God got hold of my heart. I realized that I was a lost 8-year old boy, that Jesus loved me and died on the cross to save me. So I gave my heart to Jesus, and I was born into the family of God.
You know what? I didn’t have a spiritual vocabulary. I had no spiritual teeth. I couldn’t pronounce all of the words of my new life. In Romans 8:15, the Bible says “We have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.” And the word “Abba” is a baby word. You don’t have to have any teeth to say “Abba” or to say “Da-da.” Have you ever noticed that’s the first word babies learn? Have you mother’s ever noticed that? It is always “Da-da.”
I didn’t understand all there was to know about Jesus, I still don’t. I couldn’t have told you what repentance was if my life had depended upon it. I couldn’t have explained what faith meant. Listen, friend, you don’t have to understand it all in order to experience it all. Some of you are in spiritual infancy. You are a newborn babe in Jesus.
Normal baby. There are several characteristics about a little baby. 1. It needs love and security. 2. A little baby is totally dependent on others. 3. Under normal conditions a little baby is able to grow.
When you come to know Jesus and become a babe in Christ, under normal conditions you have the capacity to grow. You don’t have to stay a baby. That’s the importance of a church.
There are several things that need to be if a baby Christian is going to grow. One of the things is a correct atmosphere. You don’t just take little babies when they’re born and neglect them. God intends for spiritual babies to be in an atmosphere of a loving, caring, warm church, in an atmosphere where growth can take place.
Breathing. A little baby must be able to breathe properly if it’s going to grow. Breathing for the baby Christian is prayer. Through prayer we make contact with the heavenly Father. It is our spiritual air.
Eating. You’ve got to eat properly. And that’s where the Bible comes in. But did you know the Bible talks about believers who are in the infancy stage and they’ve never grown beyond it (1 Corinthians 3)?
How do you recognize spiritual babies? Well, there’s several ways you recognize them. 1. Selfishness. You show me a believer in a church that is always self-centered, always interested in what everything is going to do for self, I’ll show you a spiritual baby. Babies are selfish. 2. Babies make messes. Did you know that? I mean babies make bad messes.
ILLUS: You got ready this morning. You put on that new suit and that tie and you were getting ready to come to church. You reached over and picked up little Hannah, put her up on your shoulder and she said, “Burrrrrrrp.” All over you. She didn’t care, it didn’t matter if it was a brand new suit. She just made a mess all over your suit. You see, babies make messes.
II. SPIRITUAL ADOLESCENCE (vv. 13-14).
The second stage revealed in these verses is what I like to call spiritual adolescence. He uses in v. 13 and again in v. 14, the term “young men.” He’s using that in a generic sense. He means young men, young ladies; he means believers who are at the adolescent stage. They are beginning to make some progress now in their lives as Christians.
Because you are strong. Now of course, we know that is characteristic of youth. The days of youth are the days of strength. You are normally stronger when you are in the age of adolescence that any other period of time in your life.
Well, the same thing is true in spiritual adolescence. Those are the days of your strength. Those are the days when you’re waiting upon the Lord and you’re renewing your strength, exchanging you strength for His strength; drawing upon His power; and you are strong spiritually.
Then what is their secret of strength? How does that believer who is now making progress in his life develop that kind of spiritual strength? Well, look at what he says. “The Word of God abides in you.” The word abides there is a present tense verb that means “continually abides.” Actually the word really means “to settle down and make its home in you.”
Now you see, folks, it’s one thing to be at home in the Bible, it’s another thing for the Bible to be at home in you. It’s wonderful for you to possess your Bible, but it’s even more wonderful for your Bible to possess you.
III. SPIRITUAL MATURITY (vv. 13-14).
Two times in these verses he says the same thing to the fathers. Look at v. 13, “I write unto you, fathers...” He’s talking about spiritual fathers. Look at what he says, v. 13, “I write unto you, fathers, because you have known him that is from the beginning.” He says it again in v. 14, “I have written unto you, fathers, because you have known him that is from the beginning.”
Do you know what the characteristics of spiritual maturity are? Do you know when you’ve really hit that stage of spiritual maturity in the Lord? You know that you’re in that stage of spiritual maturity when the serving the Lord is the most important thing in your life.
Friends, I have news for you. If you live long enough, some of the things that you hold dear in your life, you’re going to lose. You’re going to lose those precious loved ones who have been by your side all through these years. You’re going to lose that health that has enabled you to do the things you have done. You may even lose that job. There’s only one thing that’s going to matter then and that’s your relationship and your knowledge of God.
CONC: Friends, when you get to the place in your life that you are more interested in the giver than you are in His gifts, when you are more interested in the Father than in what the Father can do for you, then you’re on your way to spiritual maturity. What stage of spiritual growth are you in?
NOTE: This message is a revision of a sermon preached by my late father Ted Wood. It appears (though I can’t be certain) that he may have used Warren Wiersbe’s book "Be Real" for some of his inspiration.
