What Makes a Christian 'Mature'? - Part 2

How does scripture describe Christian maturity?

There are a couple examples in scripture that I think encapsulate the essence of what Christian maturity looks like. The author to the Hebrews will write in chapter 5 verses 13-14 "Now everyone who lives on milk is inexperienced with the message about righteousness because he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature — for those whose senses have been trained to distinguish between good and evil." (CSB) Here the distinguishing feature of maturity is someone who's been trained by the message of righteousness to the point where they are keenly aware in their senses the difference between right and wrong. This is someone who most likely has a godly conscience and is able to discern within themselves whether an action/idea/situation is good or evil. Being sensitive to this, those who are mature will have a character shaped by goodness because they have been trained to see it, love it, and do it.

Another example is where Paul the apostle addresses the church in Corinth (1 Cor 3:1-4) telling them that he wasn't able to speak to them as 'spiritual people' because they were still people 'of the flesh' which he calls 'babies in Christ'. He laments the fact that they still aren't ready for the things he wants to teach them because they still require 'milk' given that they are still 'worldly'. What does he mean by this? Well, in context it seems that because the church was still fractured by jealousies and divisions they hadn't yet understood what it meant to grow up into Christ. Though they thought they were mature, Paul cites that as evidence against them because they were operating out of envy and strife. It's worth noting as well that earlier in this letter Paul makes mention that the Corinthian church doesn't lack any spiritual gift in their midst (1 Cor 1:6-7), which is evidence of the fact that gifting and spiritual experiences are not equal to maturity in Christ.

Let's turn our attention now to where Paul lists the qualifications for someone who is an elder or overseer in the church. These are found in Titus 1:6-9 and 1 Timothy 3:1-13. Now I am working from the premise that these individuals are elders in the faith because of their maturity, so I won't spend too much time making that case. I only want to point out that the bulk of the descriptions of these people centre around their character. They need to be 'blameless', 'righteous', 'gentle and not a bully', 'not quarrelsome', 'hospitable', 'loving what is good', and so on. The only skill or talent-based component in either list of qualifications is the ability to teach. 'Teach what?’, you might ask. It's my contention that what Paul has in mind here is not an ability to teach high levels of theology akin to what we might find in a bachelor’s program at a bible college. After all, those programs are the result of some two thousand years of theological reflection. What it seems they needed to be well versed in was the basics of 'the faith' which would have included the necessary details about King Jesus, his death, burial, and resurrection and how to live in faithfulness under his lordship. Remember that in all likelihood, literacy rates and education levels were extremely low in those days, including in churches - the kind of people that Paul could say 'not many were wise from a human perspective, not many powerful, not many of noble birth' (1 Cor 1:26). These are the same people from whom these 'elders' in the faith would be elevated from. I think Peter captures the essence of their duty which is to be 'examples to the flock'. Someone of maturity in Christ is someone who's life can be reasonably held up as an 'example' to the rest of the flock of what faithfully following Jesus looks like.

So what then does maturity look like?

From my reading of scripture and what I've seen in the church I've arrived at the conclusion that maturity in the Christian faith looks like someone who knows Jesus in such a way that their whole life is marked by his character. Someone who is not only well-versed in the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23) but whose life is an example of that fruit in action. These are the ones who are worthy of imitation. Who, if you were around them long enough and let them rub off on you, you would find yourself becoming more and more like Jesus; they are happy to serve others without recognition; they put others needs before their own; and they ensure that people are not only loved in word but also in deed.

In my experience, a lot of these people are not great public speakers. They aren't necessarily overly charismatic and they don't draw the attention of every room they walk into. This, of course, is not always the case, as being talented, gifted, or charismatic aren't antithetical to being mature and Christlike. They just aren't the essence of it. Those who are mature in Christ are also those who love well even in the smallest of details. Like allowing others to speak and to listening to them without the need to impose their own ideas. Christian maturity is winsome. An increasing desire to love people well will bring with it an increased level of self-awareness and the ability to understand how our actions, words, and demeanour affect those around us. Being self-regulating and personable is necessary to love difficult people. I don't think I've ever met someone who has been matured by the loving character of God who isn't personable.

The essence of all this, if it hasn’t been made clear enough already, is that maturity in Christ looks like an ever-growing ability to love like God loves. Love shapes character. If that seems all too simple or idealistic then I would ask you to consider Jesus and what he reveals to us about the character of God. Jesus tells us that being 'perfect as the Father is perfect’ looks like having the ability to love your enemies and those who can do nothing for you. That your love is indiscriminate. Consider also what John tells us in his Gospel. That we will be known as disciples of Jesus by our love (John 13:34-35). While maturity can be described in a multitude of ways, at its essence it’s an ability to love.