“Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained.”
(Philippians 3:15–16, ESV)
Everyone is born an infant and grows in stature and intellect. It is an interesting reality. The child grows in strength and understanding. Through this process there are significant signs of maturity. When we look at a mature person, some of the signs are gray hair, wrinkles, and declining health. However, the signs of maturity from an intellectual standpoint can be varied. Some mature people will be sharp as a tack while others experience cognitive decline. However, one thing that intrinsically characterizes one who is mature is the wisdom that comes with age. Mature people have experienced much in life and with those experiences comes wisdom.
Now, in the faith we often speak of spiritual maturity. What is spiritual maturity? Some might say that it is the intellectual understanding of the word of God. While, knowledge of the Bible is essential for the mature Christian, it is more than mere knowledge alone. Some will add, strong faith to this picture of maturity, and again this is essential also. Mature believers have grown to the place where they trust in what the Lord is doing and understand things from the word as it applies to life. Maturity comes about over years of living the Christian life in a close relationship with the Lord and learning how to traverse life’s situations by God’s grace.
Paul adds a qualification for the spiritually mature that many will overlook. Paul wrote, “Let those of us who are mature think this way.” To understand this, we need to look at the preceding verses where Paul stated, “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect” (Philippians 3:12, ESV). Paul indicated that the mature believers have reached a point of humble reflection where they conclude that they are still not fully mature. In other words, they will conclude that there is still a gross amount of immaturity still lingering in them, since they have not yet achieved perfection in Christ likeness.
One of the greatest signs of immaturity is spiritual pride. It is that inner feeling that one has already arrived. These are the believers that they think they are “all that and a bag of chips.” This attitude is born of the old fleshly nature which caters to the world system, of which one of its devastating detriments is the “pride of life.”
So, let us beware of the lure of pride in our lives and shake off its evil tentacles, which are detrimental in growing in Christ. Let us keep the humble perspective that we have an infinite amount of growth to achieve the excellencies of Christ. Regardless of how spiritually mature we may think we are, we must still press on towards that heavenly goal.
Renewing the Heart 