Foundations for Biblical Manhood: Direction
We have recently explored the foundations for Biblical manhood, based on the book "The Titus Ten" by J. Josh Smith, through a series of blog entries. We have discussed practical applications and provided actionable suggestions. In this final blog pos
t on the topic, I would like to offer you a framework to understand how God works in our lives to teach us spiritual truths.
During my early days as a new Christian, I had the opportunity to participate in a three-year discipleship program led by the late Pastor Gib Martin of Trinity Church in Burien, WA. In this program, we delved deep into the theology of the Bible and how to communicate it effectively. Pastor Gib shared a valuable tool with me that helped me grasp how God's process of sanctification unfolds in our lives—a drawing of a spiral representing the journey to maturity.
The spiral begins with the New Birth, when we are born again through confessing Jesus as Lord and believing in His resurrection (Romans 10:9). This starting point marks the outer edge of the spiral, which continuously draws us closer to God until the day we meet Him face to face. Perpendicular to the spiral lines are various topics that God wants to teach us. Each time a topic intersects with the spiral line, it signifies a moment when God imparts new insights regarding that particular area. The examples I provided are just a glimpse of the vast knowledge and training that God provides as we grow in faith. This spiral represents the ongoing sanctification process, as God continually draws us nearer to Himself (the arrows indicate continued growth and movement toward God). This pattern of learning age-appropriate content on a topic and progressing to the next level after graduation is a familiar experience in any educational system.
So let's look at some scripture on why this is important: When we give our life to Jesus, we are born again (John 3:3-5 and 1 Peter 1:23). We are a baby in the faith, and we crave what Scripture calls "Pure spiritual milk" (1 Peter 2:2). We are not ready for solid food and must grow into a place where we can take that (1 Cor 3:1-2, Heb 5:12-14). This process of growing from baby Christians to mature Christians is described in several verses. This is a sample of them:
Philippians 1:6 (NET) "For I am sure of this very thing, that the one who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus."
2 Corinthians 3:18 (NET): "But we all, with unveiled faces reflecting the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another, which is from the Lord, who is the Spirit."
2 Thessalonians 2:13 (NET): "But we ought to thank God always for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord because God chose you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth."
Philippians 2:13 (NET): "For the one bringing forth in you both the desire and the effort – for the sake of His good pleasure – is God."
1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 (NET): "Now may the God of peace Himself make you completely holy, and may your spirit and soul and body be kept entirely blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is trustworthy, and He will, in fact, do this."
Like a parent with an infant, when we are born again, God starts working in us to teach us baby Christian-level things. These things seem really amazing because we have not known them before. In fact, the Bible says that we could not have seen them before because they are spiritually discerned and not available to people without the Holy Spirit.
1 Cor 2:14-15 (NET): "The unbeliever does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him. And he cannot understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The one who is spiritual discerns all things, yet he himself is understood by no one."
At the time, it seemed like you have understood it all, and now you are ready to go tell the world about it, and you should, but here is the deal: remember it is just baby food. There is so much more to know. Eventually, as you show that you can steward the truth God has given you well, He will show you the deeper truth. There is a super important verse that gets overlooked regarding our knowledge of God that points all of us always back to humility and teachability:
1 Cor 8:2 (NET) "If someone thinks he knows something, he does not yet know to the degree that he needs to know."
God continues to deepen our understanding of various truths, but He does so in unique ways for each person. The order and depth of the lessons we receive from God are known only to Him (1 Corinthians 2:16). This process appears to be influenced by our woundedness and the specific calling God has placed on our lives. In Matthew 12:20, we are reminded that God handles our woundedness delicately like a bruised reed He will not break. He knows that certain knowledge could overwhelm or discourage us, so He withholds it until we are ready. God does not give babies boulders to carry. At other times, God may immediately address areas of sin in our lives that need correction, at a level appropriate for our spiritual growth, before moving on to other work. Throughout this journey, we should hold on to the promises of Philippians 1:6 and 2 Timothy 2:13, knowing that even when we struggle and fall short, God remains faithful because it is in His nature. In these moments, one of the most helpful verses to live by is:
Romans 12:2 (NET) "Do not be conformed to this present world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind so that you may test and approve what is the will of God—what is good and well-pleasing and perfect."
As we mature, we will be given "big fat Biblical steaks" and God will show us deep truths of great mysteries that are hidden. Often, these truths given to the more mature require so much previous knowledge gained that they are simply not understood by babes in the faith and can honestly be reckless to share (you don't hand a toddler scissors to ru
n with). At this phase in our growth, the Bible gives a special warning about putting truth or spiritual growth before love:
1 Cor 13:2 (NET) "If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing."
Eventually, we all reach that day when we step out of our mortal flesh and into the presence of God. We get to experience what Paul writes about:
1 Cor 13:12 "For now we see in a mirror indirectly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, just as I have been fully known."
Until that day, we are always seeing some distortion in what we are understanding. That's just how God has chosen to make it. We need to have the humility to know that.
For all of us, we must always be moving toward God to grow. In Luke 22:42, Jesus gave us the perfect prayer and way to aim our lives so that we have the most unhindered growth possible when He said, "Yet not my will but yours be done." Let that be our most earnest prayer as we seek to move from baby food to a 32oz Tomahawk in the Lord.
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