Listen to the 3 stages of the Christian life according to the apostle John. He says in 1 John 2:13–14:
"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 evil one. I write to you, dear children, because you have known the Father. I write to you, fathers, because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one."
John describes the three stages as the following:
John describes the three stages as the following:
Children: They have known God. They have a young and vibrant relationship with God, but they lack much else.
Young Men: They are strong in the Word of God and are now conquering the devil because of it. They are breaking strongholds of lust, depression in their own lives, and are also starting to help others. They are the front line of the Church. They are out of the pews and now helping people to walk as God has called them to.
Fathers: They have known God. Unlike the children, the father’s knowledge of God is vastly deeper. They have a history with God. God has carried them through trials, worked greatly in their lives, and like most good fathers they are always sharing their story with others. They help others through the testimony that God has developed in their lives.Another characteristic of the father is that they are giving birth. They have spiritual children in the Lord and they are given to mentorship – discipleship.
This is the pathway that God has for every Christian. Sadly, we have infants who stay infants for twenty years or more. They are in the pew and not going anywhere. They are not helping anyone. They don’t have spiritual children, and they can’t even discipline their own spiritual lives. That is not God’s plan for the Church. In fact, if the leadership of the Church does not labor in maturing these young Christians, the Church will eventually have many problems.
Listen to how Paul described the church of Corinth:
"Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men?"
(1 Corinthians 3:1–3).
In describing the Corinthian Church as infants, he said they could not eat solid food yet. They were living on basic doctrines of Scripture. They were worldly, which means one couldn’t really tell the difference between them and the world. They were doing much of the same things as the world and probably at many of the same places. This immaturity led to jealousy and quarreling. Immaturity often leads to Church division, Church fights, and Church splits. The members of God’s Church must be developed into maturity or it will lead to the ineffectiveness of the Church.
The Church is matured as we learn Jesus Christ
“We proclaim Him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ” (Colossians 1:28).
Paul said he proclaimed Him, referring to Christ, in order to mature the congregation. He also said this to the Corinthians. “For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake” (2 Corinthians 4:5). This no doubt refers to preaching the gospel and leading people to Christ. But, it also refers to the continual proclaiming of Christ to believers as the model of our faith. Hebrews 12:2 says, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
We must continually point people to Jesus Christ and His example. He is the example of how to handle persecutions, troubles, challenges and successes. He is our example of how to pray. He is our example of how to live a life of faith and to be filled with the Holy Spirit. If we’re going to mature, we must continually look – observe the example and teachings of Jesus Christ.
