We are all living in the realm of spiritual darkness. None of us can deny that our soul is tainted with sin. For some people, their dark experiences in this world are too horrendous to speak of, and have bound them in shame, fear, denial, bitterness, anger, and hopelessness. But there is a light that shines in the darkness for all to see, a light which the darkness cannot overcome, the True Light, Jesus Christ, who will give those who believe in His name the right to become children of God (Jn. 1:9-13).
When we first become born-again, we will find ourselves in a state of wonderment: “Wow, the invisible realm is really real, God created everything with a purpose, there is more to this life than what I could have ever imagined, and He is in total control of everything that is going on in this crazy world!” We feel like we’ve finally made it home where we belong, as a child of God, having our sins forgiven and knowing God personally as our heavenly Father.1
When we become more aware of the reality of God and the existence of His kingdom, and come to the knowledge of truth, we start to realize how dark the ways of the world are and that we are no longer in bondage to the world system, for we have found freedom in Christ. One of the biggest and revolutionary hurdles a new believer will have to jump over is understanding the purpose of the law of God, which is basically a law of sin and death because the law reveals the sin that dwells within us (Rom. 7:20) when we realize that the weakness and failure of the flesh to uphold the whole law of God cannot produce the required righteousness; and that we are now set free to live by the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus who fulfilled the law when He atoned for our sins, justifying us before God and therefore making us righteous in Him (Rom. 8:1-4).
When we have mastered the knowledge of this truth in our heart, we will be able to be free from focusing on pleasing God by our works and inadequacies of the flesh and instead focus on the power of the Holy Spirit in us to grow in the knowledge of God (Jn. 14:26), which will bring Him glory. This is true freedom and it is ours to be had freely. To fully understand this is essential to moving forward in our spiritual growth, which involves the process of renewal, restoration and sanctification into the image of God through Jesus Christ, to “be holy for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:16).
As we learn what it means to be justified by Christ’s atonement and how He has made us righteous before God, our identity as a child of God becomes more clear and secure. We realize that we are in the world but not of it (Jn. 17:14-16; Philip. 3:20; 1 Pet. 2:11), for we are a new creation in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17), having our mind renewed (Rom. 12:2) every day in the ways of God and of being His child through studying His word through the teaching by the Holy Spirit. We learn what it means to be a living sacrifice for God (Rom. 12:1), living a life from the heart, in Godliness, a life that is pleasing to Him in which we practice “dying” to the flesh and the things of the world which are opposed to God (Matt. 16:24; Gal. 5:24).
Life starts to become more challenging at this point, as we go through this sanctification process where we may feel like we are being tested as though we are going through a refiner’s fire, where our heart for God is being purified (Job 23:10; Zech. 13:9; 1 Pet. 1:7). We learn what it means to be a priest before God (Rev. 1:6), where we worship God in Spirit and truth (Jn. 4:24), and minister to Him by offering Him our incense of prayer and intercession, worship and praise. Our devoted fellowship with God is our lifeline to keep us motivated and empowered to carry on and move forward to do His will on the earth, against all the opposition to Him and His ways. 1 Peter 2:5, 9 “you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ….But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;”
It can be a rude awakening for many Christians when they realize that this world is temporarily ruled by Satan. This enemy, along with the principalities and powers, are still at hand and his goal is to lie and deceive people about the truth of God, and to cause us to stumble back into the ways of the flesh and condemn us for doing so. So we must always be on guard with God’s provisions to overcome the enemy until the Lord returns and not grow weary with the fallen condition of the flesh and the darkness of the world. The Bible says in Romans 8:23, “Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.”
During this time of Christian growth our faith increases as we learn the ways of the Kingdom of God, such as God’s covenant, prophecy and its fulfillment, receiving and using the spiritual gifts within the body of believers (Rom. 12:6-8; 1 Pet. 4:10; 1 Cor. 12:4-11), edifying one another in the faith (Eph. 4:15-15), and becoming more discerning of the subtle snares of the enemy (2 Cor. 2:11; 1 Pet. 5:8). As we abide in the ways of God we eventually start to bear the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23), becoming more like Him every day. When we read the Bible, it’s as if it is like a treasure chest full of precious jewels, we become fascinated with the life changing capabilities of God’s timeless wisdom and enlightenment of His ways that are revealed throughout, always discovering something new and revelatory every time we read it. It is the living Word of God, for it still speaks to us today bringing us the good news of the hope of eternal life. The more we read it the more we understand the heart of God.
As we become more mature, we start to move on in our practical walk with God when we realize we are more than conquerors in Him. The more we learn the Word of God, the deeper our relationship grows in Him and the more we will trust in Him, especially when we are called to suffer trials, tribulations, persecution and even martyrdom for His name’s sake.
Not all Christians are called to be martyrs, and many do not make it to this stage of spiritual growth, for the nature of the flesh entices us to stay in our comfort zone. But just imagine what it could be like to have such a rich relationship with God that you trust Him to the point that you would fearlessly die for His name’s sake, to not love your life even to the point of death. In Hebrews 11, the “hall of faith” chapter, we have many testimonies of people who fully trusted God with their life. Verse 6 makes the statement “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him,” and then in Chapter 12 we are encouraged in verses 1-2 “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” And we also have this as an incentive, as we mature in Christ, our relationship with Him develops into one of trust and intimacy, where we not only know Him as our Savior and friend (Jn. 15:13-15), but also as our heavenly Bridegroom. Imagine that. As a reward of not being ashamed of the gospel, even unto death for some of us, we will be invited to the great heavenly wedding feast of the Lamb (Christ) and His bride (believers) (Eph. 5:25-27; Rev. 19:7-9), a joyous celebration to set off the start of our new eternal life in the kingdom of God.
During our short stay here on earth we are given the opportunity to take part in the greatest story ever told, to know the love of God and the salvation of His Son Jesus Christ who has defeated the enemy and will bring all sons and daughters to glory in His name. One day we will be singing before His throne, Revelation 5:13 “And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying:
“Blessing and honor and glory and power
Be to Him who sits on the throne,
And to the Lamb, forever and ever!”
For an interesting typological view of the growth of a Christian based on the Tabernacle of God, go to this link: https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/mcgee_j_vernon/eBooks/tabernacle/table-of-contents.cfm
Here is an informative article by John MacArthur on the stages of Spiritual growth based on 1 John 2:12-14, www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/62-14/The-Stages-of-Spiritual-Growth
Notes
1. Your earthly father cannot be perfect on this side of heaven. He may have let you down many times and may have failed to nurture you. Some fathers have abused their children. But you can be consoled and relieved by the fact that we have the best Father in the world, our heavenly Father God who is everything we could possibly want in a father. As believers, we now are aware of God as our heavenly Father and can depend fully on Him for our life sustenance. Through this relationship with our perfect Father God, we can be forgiving of our earthly father for being imperfect, and perceive him and our expectations of him in a realistic light. He is a sinner in God’s eyes just like you, in need of salvation and restoration.