HOW TO MATURE IN CHRIST
SECOND STAGE: CHILDREN
How to Mature in Christ Stage 2: Children
Lesson 1:
INTRODUCTION:
NKJV: 1 John 2:12-13, “I write to you, little children, Because your sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake. 13 I write to you, fathers, Because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, Because you have overcome the wicked one. I write to you, little children, Because you have known the Father.”
NKJV: 1 John 2:18, “Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour.”
NKJV: 1 John 3:7-8, “Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. 8 He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.”
I. Theme Of The BibleFLOUSHING: How to Grow and How to Know the Will of God
It is God’s Intention that every child of God flourish spiritually (thrive vigorously) early in the new life and continue to flourish even in old age. In order to flourish it is necessary to grow and bear fruit.
NKJV: Psalms 92:12-14, “The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon13 Those who are planted in the house of the Lord Shall flourish in the courts of our God.14 They shall still bear fruit in old age; They shall be fresh and flourishing,”
NKJV: Ephesians 5:17, “Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”
A. How To Grow: There are four steps to flourishing in growth and fruit bearing:
(1) Feeding (2) Abiding (3) Meditating (4) Fragrance
1. FEEDING:
(This step was covered in the first stage)
If we have a hunger for the Word of God and learned to feed on the Word to satisfy the innate craving of the human heart, by feeding both privately and publicly, and have learned to digest it through prompt, precise, and persistent obedience, feeding the spirit and not the flesh, we are ready to take the next step to Flourishing, which the Lord Jesus gave us.
2. ABIDING:
As we read these scriptures, we learn of four different aspects in which the believer must give diligent attention to abiding if he/she is going to flourish: abide in Christ and Christ in you. Christ’s words abide in you, abide in Christ’s love, and abide in the Holy Spirit.
NKJV: John 15:1-10, “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so, you will be My disciples.
9 As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. 10 If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.”
NKJV: 1 John 2:24, “Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father.”
NKJV: 1 John 2:27-28, “But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him. 28 And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming.”
a. You in Christ and Christ in You
NKJV: John 15:4, “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.”
In John 15, the Lord Jesus Christ is teaching the intimate relationship which exists between His Disciples and Himself. This relationship must be maintained by the disciples if they are to bear fruit, glorify the Father, and experience the continual abiding joy of the Lord Jesus Christ in all its fullness.
What is this relationship? Jesus said abide in me. As we abide in Christ, cleansed, alive and growing, he abides in us. Abiding in the Lord Jesus Christ has three relationships: branches, disciples, children.
1) As Branches:
When the Lord Jesus wanted to teach the significance of abiding, He illustrated abiding by the relationship of the branches to the vine.
He said:
NKJV: John 15:2-7, “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.”
A) To Bear Fruit:
God is looking for the branch to bear fruit. He watches it closely and purges it so that it will bear fruit.
God is ever watching and nurturing us so that we will grow, mature, flourish, and bear fruit. However, our responsibility is to abide in Christ so that when we reach the stage of maturity and are ready to bear fruit, others will not be able to distinguish between our lives and the life of Christ living through us.
There are 3 stages of fruit bearing.
(i) Fruit: The question is raised, “what is fruit?”. Spiritually, it is the result of reproduction or the off-spring. God expects us to reproduce in kind. He desires that we bring others to Christ. He is looking for little babes to be born into the family of God through your witness.
(ii) More Fruit: In this stage the branch reproduces many times over. God does not want you to stop reproducing. He wants you to keep on bringing others to Christ even in your old age. Don’t stop witnessing! Keep reproducing and adding to the family of God.
NKJV: Psalms 92:14, “They shall still bear fruit in old age; They shall be fresh and flourishing,”
(iii) Much Fruit: Reproduce many more fruit-bearing branches by discipling others to reproduce. The Father would have us bear much fruit, but alas, some never get to the place where they can ever bear fruit.
He allows believers, who have been saved a long time but are stunted in growth, to continue living is that He wants to give every opportunity in expectation that they will flourish and bear fruit.
NKJV: Luke 13:6-9, “He also spoke this parable: “A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. 7 Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, ‘Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?’ 8 But he answered and said to him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. 9 And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down.’ ”
When one passes the point of recovery to bear fruit because of failure to abide in Christ, he will be taken away or taken up, that is he will die physically.
B) To Burn In The Fire:
If the branches do not abide in Christ, they wither and become useless.
NKJV: John 15:6, “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.”
The believer-branch must abide in Christ. Believers sometimes wither under pressures if they do not abide in Christ. It behooves you to abide in Christ lest a similar fate be yours, that is you die and your testimony be burned in the fire by those who know you.
2) As Disciples:
The Lord Jesus illustrated abiding by the relationship of His disciples to their lord and Master. He made fruit-bearing a criterion of proof of true discipleship. You are called upon to abide and continue to abide in Christ as you mature so that His life living in and through you will result in other disciples.
God wants you to bear fruit. Thus, He will be glorified in you.
NKJV: John 15:6, “By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so, you will be My disciples.”
3) As Children (1Jn 2:28)
Only by abiding in Christ can we be sure that we will not be ashamed to meet the Lord Jesus Christ when He comes back to take us to be with Him. But rather that we will have confidence that we shall be with Him and like Him. We shall also have the confidence to witness for Him.
Now, while you are in spiritual childhood take great care to abide in Christ and He will indeed abide in you.
NKJV: 1 John 2:28, “And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming.”
B. Christ’s Words Abide in You (Jn 15:7, 1Jn 2:24)
To enhance this abiding relationship, you must see that His words abide in you. The fullness of the Lord Jesus Christ can only be realized through the written Word of God and obedience to it.
It is important that you obey the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, which include His commands:
(1) “This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” NKJV: John 15:12,
(2) “do this in remembrance of Me.” NKJV: Luke22:19-20
(3) “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations” NKJV: Matthew 28:18-20,
(4) “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” NKJV: Matthew 28:19
The words of our Lord Jesus Christ are to remain in us in expectancy to be fulfilled in our lives.
C. Abide in Christ’s Love:
NKJV: John 15: 9-10, “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. 10 If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.”
In order to continue in the love of our Lord Jesus Christ we must keep His commandments as listed above. The love of Christ is so great it is sufficient for the whole world. It is available for everyone. But everyone does not respond to it.
You must allow His love to flood your heart and souls and allow it to flow back to Him and out to others. Keep your heart open to receive and return that love continually.
D. Abide in the Holy Spirit:
NKJV: John 14:26, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.”
We are exhorted by John to stay in close relationship to the Holy Spirit. He is to have control over you and your members (i.e., your eyes, ears, mouth, arms, hands, legs, feet and mind).
NKJV: Ephesians 5:18, “And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit”
One who is drunk with wine is under the control of the spirits in the wine with which he is filled. Just so when one is filled with the Holy Spirit the results are spiritual in nature.
You are to stay in the state of expectancy to be responsive to the Holy Spirit.
NKJV: Romans 8:14, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”
Abide in the expectancy of obedience and control by Him.
NKJV: 1John 2:27, “But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.”
3. MEDITATING: (Ps 1:1-3, Josh 1:8, Ps 119:11,15,97,98)
It is not enough to feed on the Word of God. If we are to abide in Christ and His words are to abide in us, we must MEDITATE on the Word of God.
We read that “blessed is the man” or truly happy man has his delight “in the law of the Lord (i.e., the Word of God)” and in His law he meditates day and night” Psalms 1:1-2.
The word meditate means to mutter it in pleasure, to ponder, to speak. To do this the Word of God must be memorized. In this way you can now share God’s Word with others.
Note five benefits:
(1) Flourish (2) Prosper (3) Good Success
(4) Preserved from Sin (5) Made Wiser than our Enemies
(1) Flourish: God has given us a wonderful comparison and description of flourishing tree.
NKJV: Psalms 1:3, “He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.”
(2) Prosper: Not only will he who meditates on the Word of God flourish, but also prosper. The child of God who meditates day and night can enjoy such prosperity.
(3) Good Success:
NKJV: Joshua 1:8, “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you[a] shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”
Joshua had only a portion of God’s word. Moses delivered that portion consisting of the five books of the law (Genesis through Deuteronomy) to Joshua before he died. The Lord himself spoke to Joshua concerning his word.
He expected two things of Joshua:
(i) keep it from departing out of (or keep it in contact with) his mouth (in other words he should continually speak or quote it)
(ii) meditate in it meditate in it day and night in order to obey it in detail.
Two things would result:
(i) his way would surely be prosperous
(ii) he would be sure of good success
What more could he ask? Along with continuous meditation come God’s constant presence. This is a New Testament as well as an Old Testament Truth.
NKJV: 3 John 2, “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.”
(4) Preserved From Sin:
NKJV: Psalms 119: 11-15, “11 Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You.12 Blessed are You, O Lord! Teach me Your statutes.13 With my lips I have declared All the judgments of Your mouth.14 I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, As much as in all riches.15 I will meditate on Your precepts, And contemplate Your ways.”
By meditation on God’s word, we become alert to the wiles of Satan and the ways to sin. Meditation fortifies us against temptation and provides a weapon to ward off temptation. In Matthew 4 the Lord Jesus quoted the appropriate scriptures against Satan to defeat him because God’s Word was in his heart.
In addition, meditation on God’s word will help you develop respect unto God’s way, Psalms 19:15 (above).
As we hide the Word in our hearts, the Holy Spirit will prompt us through it so we obey God and follow the Lord Jesus Christ. We will regard God’s way and reject man’s way which contradicts God’s way.
(5) Wiser Than Our Enemies (Ps 119:97,98)
We shall be made wiser than our enemies by meditation on God’s word. Remember that we learned who our enemies are in Stage 1: Babes, in the lesson on fighting. They are Satan, the demons, the world (of people), the flesh (self-life), and false (professing) believers.
Meditation on God’s Word will enable us to overcome these enemies because we will understand their ways and we will know how to deal with them effectively and successfully.
NKJV: Psalms 119:97-98, “Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day. 98 You, through Your commandments, make me wiser than my enemies; For they are ever with me.”
4. FRAGRANCE: Song of Solomon 4:12:5;1)
As a plant grows into a fruit producing tree, we can expect three things from it: fragrance, flowers, and fruit. The fragrance on some trees appears before the flowers and indicates that there will be flowers. Other trees give off their fragrance from the flowers they produce. Flowers thus indicate fruit will be following soon.
So it is with the true believer in Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ indicated very clearly that He and the Father expect every child of God to mature and bear fruit. As we develop in Christ and allow him to live his life through us, we shall first begin to give off fragrance.
As we come to know Him and He lives his life through us, the knowledge of Him gives off a fragrance in our lives. Day by day others recognize that we know Him. There is a fragrance given off because of knowing Him.
NKJV: 2 Corinthians 2:14-16, “Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. 15 For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. 16 To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these things?”
(A) The Fragrance of Christ:
Paul called this fragrance “a sweet savour of Christ” (see 2 Corinthians above). As we begin to evidence victory over sin and Satan in our lives, we begin to manifest or give evidence of our knowledge of Him by the “fragrance of Christ” in us. This fragrance is given off in two directions, to two different kinds of people. Hence the aroma is two-fold. The sweet savour of Christ is a fragrance of death as well as a savour of life.
(1) The Savour of Death:
The sweet savour of Christ is an odor or saber “of death unto death” to those who are saved because they have repented and have exercised saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and can recognize those who reckon themselves to be crucified with Christ. When this “fragrance of Christ” is evident to those who are saved, it is only manifest because the child of God has reckoned himself to be dead to sin, self, and the world.
NKJV: Romans 6:11, “Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
NKJV: Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
NKJV: Galatians 5:24, “And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”
Only then can he give up a fragrance of death to others who are saved. There can be no savour of death without death. When we give evidence of death to sin, self, and the world, it encourages others who belong to Christ also to be Dead to sin, self, and the world in order for Him to live his life through them. Thus the savour of death is given forth to those who are served.
NKJV: Galatians 6:14, “But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”
(2) The Savour of Life:
The sweet savour of Christ is an odor which the child of God gives off by living for Christ. Thus the “fragrance of Christ” is evident to those who have not repented and do not exercise saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
It serves to encourage others who have not trusted Christ to repent of their sinful ways and exercise saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and let Him to begin to live His life through them.
The savour of life to those who perish beckons them to receive life everlasting. Not only does the child of God give off the fragrance of Christ, but also produces a fragrance for Christ.
(B) Fragrance For Christ:
Solomon speaks of a garden for the Beloved in Solomon 4:12 and Solomon 5:1. It is described as producing fragrance, flowers, and fruits for the Beloved. Our Beloved is the Lord Jesus Christ. Our lives are likened to a garden. The enclosure refers to the separation unto Christ from all that would spoil the growth and the fragrance, flowers, and fruits which will result from the growth.
There are nine different aromas:
NKJV: Solomon 4:13-14, “Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates with pleasant fruits, fragrant henna with spikenard, 14 spikenard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense, myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices.”
The believer must give off a fragrance by living for Christ in Holiness, that is allowing Christ to live out His life through the believer.
NKJV: Romans 6:19-22, “I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness.
20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. 22 But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life.”
But also, additional fragrance is given off by our suffering, affliction, persecution, and pressures of life. How important it is for you to abide in Christ, meditate on God’s Word, and give off the fragrance of Christ.
It is important to abide in Christ so that we can bear fruit, more fruit and much fruit. Without Christ we can do nothing. Without abiding in Christ we cannot bear fruit.
Without abiding in Christ we will not be able to bring others to Christ, not see answers to prayer, nor give off a fragrance for god’s glory.
Unless we abide in Christ and he abides in us, we cannot please God, our Father, nor the Lord Jesus Christ. Abiding in Christ, in the love of Christ, and in the Holy Spirit is absolutely necessary in order to bear any fruit and thus to glorify God, the Father and to experience the continual-flowing fullness of joy, even Christ’s own joy.
NKJV: John 15:8-11, “By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. 9 As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. 10 If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. 11 These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.”
