by David Kum
CHAPTER ELEVEN
SPIRITUAL MATURITY
Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all; But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father. Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world: But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Gal 4:1-6
A lot of Christians are still at the “child” level so they relate with God as “children”. The maturity of a child is dependent upon how much of his environment he knows and how well he relates with that. These are the factors that let us know if the child can take responsibilities or not. It is not the age of the child it is his ability to take responsibility that makes him mature.
When the child has come of age, he will no longer be under any supervision as he can take responsibility for his actions and relate with his environment. He knows all that is available for him to put it to advantageous use.
God wants you to come of age in the spirit by understanding spiritual things. When you have this understanding, your prayer language will change. The way you relate with the devil will change. The way you respond to life’s situations will change because this knowledge tells you who you are, where you are and what you have.
Whenever Jesus was teaching, the people noticed a difference in His teaching as compared to the teachings of the scribes and the Pharisees. The Bible tells us: “And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.” Matt 7:28-29
The authority that the scriptures refer to is the assurance with which He taught them. He taught them as one who knew what He was saying; He taught them as someone with the experience of the things He was talking about, it was a blessed assurance. By His teachings he carried them from a realm of religion to a realm of the reality of what they had made a religion out of for so long.
The people had been taught in a manner that projected the prophecies and all the promises of God to be some mysterious future experience they might probably never have. But the teachings of Jesus brought the word of God closer to them that is why He would open the scriptures, read the prophecy concerning Him close the scroll and tell them “…This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears” Luke 4:21
Before Jesus came, no one dared to say that. But the realm where Jesus came from and from where He operated, He had the authority to say that. He was the master of the kingdom.
It is just like when you have a broken vehicle, you don’t take it to the doctor or the tailor. You take it to the mechanic’s workshop because that is the person who is qualified to fix that vehicle. He is the only one that has enough knowledge on that. This knowledge gives the kind of authority that the scriptures refer to in Matt 7 in the case of Jesus.
Being spiritually mature as the sons of God puts the resources of the kingdom of God at our disposal. That’s why I said, when you have this understanding, your prayer language will change. Jesus never prayed the “asking” prayer as most Christians do. When He took the five loafs and fishes the Bible said “He gave thanks” and began to break them and fed the people with them.
You don’t ask for what you already have. You just thank the Father for them
When the master came to the tomb of Lazarus, the Bible records “…And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me. And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.” John 11:41-44
Again we notice Jesus giving thanks with an understanding of who He is in the kingdom. He didn’t pray and say “God please raise my friend Lazarus” but as the son who is of maturity in the kingdom of His Father, he exercised that authority.
In the parable of the prodigal son, Jesus gave us a clear example of how we who are of the kingdom and in the kingdom should relate with the father and the kingdom.
The prodigal son had squandered all of his Father’s wealth and had returned to the father to beg him to be one of his workers just so he could feed himself but the father threw a party for his return and honored him with a purple robe.
The elder brother to the boy returned home from the field and noticed all the music and celebrations taking place. He called one of the servants and asked what was going on? The servant told him of his brother’s return. The Bible said: “And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him. And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends: But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf. And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine.” Luke 15:28-31
Isn’t this incredible? “…all that I have is thine.” But he didn’t know! The father was saying to the elder brother “you didn’t have to wait for me, everything I have is yours” If he had wanted to make merry with his friends, the resources were at his disposal.
This is how a lot of Christians relate with God. They relate with God as this hard task master who must be begged to release His kingdom resources to our aid. These are things we already have in Christ Jesus. We just thank the Father for them and use them or invoke them.
Notice peter’s response to the lame man at the gate of the temple called beautiful. “Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.” Acts 3:6
Peter said “such as I have”. Peter understood that he was in charge of all that power. He didn’t say he was going to ask God to heal the man; No! He possessed the power to heal him there and then.
It wasn’t about a worldly possession for peter, he had no worldly possessions but that could not limit him because he had spiritual possessions hallelujah! Now that is the kind of maturity that gives us the responsibility to handle the possessions of heaven.
The kingdom of God does not consist in worldly possessions or pleasure as Paul teaches in the book of Romans 14:17. The power we possess in the kingdom is one that brings about change regardless of any natural circumstances.
The son of the kingdom is not the one who possesses gold or silver because truly, there is a limit to what gold and silver can do and these are resources that lose value with time. But the kingdom resources never lose value because their value is of a transforming power.
Now the thing about walking in the power of the Holy Ghost is that the very things we struggle to accomplish with worldly possessions can be accomplished by the power of the Holy Ghost and even more.
Looking at the man at the temple gate, no amount of money given to him could make him walk showing us that God’s power goes beyond our limitations.
Peter had been the disciple of Christ for so long but never had the understanding that he had of the things of the spirit until Jesus left and the Holy Ghost came. At some point they attempted to cast out devils and they could not, they asked the Master why they couldn’t do it. Surely they didn’t know how the kingdom operated.
But at this point peter had “come of age”. This is where the Holy Ghost will bring you if you let Him. The Bible says in John 1:12 “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:” then Paul further teaches in Rom 8:14 “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God
.”
“…power to become the sons of God” what is the “power” that the scripture is talking about? What makes it a thing of power to become a son of God? Do you now move into a mansion with servants attending to your every need? Do you now have some political domination over people?
Being a son of God upgrades you beyond the world. What the scripture is talking about is the Holy Ghost. It is the leading of the Spirit of God that makes us the sons of God. This is the most powerful experience a Christian can ever have and it can be a life-time experience.
From the author
Hi there,
I want to take this opportunity to thank you for reading this book. Jesus said “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” John 6:63
Beyond just a book, its quality and arrangements; it is my earnest prayer that the words you have just read were a ministration of the Spirit and life of the word of God unto you. I also pray that by these words; you have learned something new or have gotten a confirmation of the revelation of God’s word in your spirit.
If this little book has been a blessing to you; I would love to hear from you. may God bless you always from glory to glory.
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