A Personal Spiritual Growth Plan
A Personal Spiritual Growth Plan (Explanation)
If a person is not given proper guidance after conversion, then their spiritual growth is uncertain. For many Christians who did not receive proper guidance, they had to “figure it out” on their own or, if they were fortunate, trust older Christians in their community. For new Christian converts, their local church becomes the center for the believer’s spiritual growth and fellowship. This document will serve as an overview of the basic spiritual marks (characteristics) that should be fundamental to every Christian and what role the individual and the corporate church play in shaping those marks. The Scriptures and scholarly authorities will be cited to support these claims. Finally, the results of a survey based on six Christian marks will be evaluated. Recommendations and a spiritual growth plan will be presented based on these findings.
Spiritual Disciplines as a Means of Godliness
The spiritual marks that will be discussed in this document are confession, gospel–focused worship, discipleship, the discipline of godliness, prayer, and humility. Granted, other marks, such as giving and serving may be deemed equally as important as the six listed above. Our intention is not to cover all spiritual marks. This endeavor would be exhaustive and beyond the scope of this paper. Our purpose is to present six basic marks that are assumed as essential and from which all other marks may freely stem. For example, we propose that when Christians are committed to gospel-centered worship and humility, they will have a positive response to giving and serving.
Confession
Every local church should adhere to a confessional statement of faith. Many denominations have a general statement of faith. However, individual members may be in the dark as to what this statement is and means. A confessional statement ought to be brief and concise. New converts and older believers alike should be able to understand the confessional statement.
In Scripture, the New Testament apostles and communities rallied around confessions focused on Jesus Christ. Peter’s confession in Acts 10:34–43 highlights that Jesus Christ is Lord, the Son of God, that Jesus died on a cross for the sins of men, that he was raised from the dead by God the Father, and that he had chosen certain men to preach that God ordained him to be the judge of all humanity and that through his name anyone who trusted in him, their sins would be forgiven. The early church believed, cited, and recited confessions like this to each other and to an unbelieving world.
Another New Testament confession is 1 Tim 3:16, “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.” Notice that this confession also focuses on Jesus Christ, his deity, and his purpose. Likewise, Paul’s confession of Christ as he traveled throughout his journeys was that he (Paul) “Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:21).
Paul’s confession of faith to the Galatians reads similarly to his confession in 1 Tim 3:16.
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. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. (Gal 4:4–7)
Galatians 4, this confession emphasizes Christ’s deity, humanity, purpose, and our position in God by Christ. Some consider Acts 2:42–47, a summary of the practices of the early church, as a church confession.
Some early church confessions read like hymns. This would make sense since the church was commanded to encourage each other through song (Eph 5:19). Apparently, Philippians 2:5–11 was an early hymn of the church adopted by Paul in his letter to the Philippian church. This hymn has all of the features of a church confession; namely, the hymn identifies the deity and humanity of Christ, Christ’s purpose in redeeming man, and God’s exaltation of Jesus as the final judge of all humanity.
McClendon and Lockhart make an astonishing discovery concerning confession:
The confession of the church defines the church. Without this confession being biblically delineated regarding the person and work of Jesus, we end up more like members of a country club centered around our consumeristic preferences, creating gods and bibles in our image. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, we end up worshiping ourselves instead of worshiping Jesus. Instead of engaging the culture, we capitulate to it. Instead of making disciples of Jesus, we end up making disciples of ourselves. We focus on what we think and feel is important without proper consideration of the biblical imperatives concerning who Jesus is, what he has done, and who we are to be in light of those truths. We end up without the biblically designed anchor, compass, and filter.
This astonishing discovery makes clear how significant a confessional statement is for individual believers as well as for the collected body.
Gospel–Focused Worship
Worship is fundamental to a believer’s growth and understanding of God. Jesus, in speaking with a Samaritan woman about worship, told her that “the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him” (John 4:23). The Lord acknowledged that this women and others in her time had a misguided view of worship. At that time, some Jews and Samaritans believed that the place of worship, for example, a mountain, a city, or a temple was an integral component of worship. Paul assures the Corinthian church that the place of worship should be within the individual and not a physical location such as a building or a mountain. In 1 Corinthians 6:19, Paul declares that our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.
God is the intended audience of our worship. Psalms 29:2 states, “Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.” From this verse, worship is a kind of giving over to God. We are called to give God our praise because God alone deserves our praise. The verse also sets forth our position before God, “worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.” Because God is holy, we must approach him on his own terms. In other words, we cannot come to God any kind of way. Our approaching God in worship must be in the preparation of the heart, mind, and will as elements of our sacrifice to God. “Only when arrayed in a manner fit for the worship of the Great King, and when consecrated to him like the priests at the temple, are God’s servants prepared to serve him.”
Additionally, in Psalms this sentiment of worship is further expressed. In Psalm 95:6, “O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our maker.” In Psalm 96:7–8, three times the phrase, “Give unto the Lord” is mentioned. If our worship is empty, then this shows how we value the Lord. The root etymology of worship is “worth.” God ought to be worth something to those who believe in him. We show forth his worthiness in our worship. Psalm 96:8–9 echoes Psalm 29:2. “Worship can’t be calculated or produced. Instead it is evoked; it’s the response of a heart evoked by the beauty, glory, and allure of the object of your mental focus—holy God.”
Revelation 4:8–11 shows forth God’s worthiness in worship. In this passage, the four beast and the twenty-four elders, representation of God’s created order, are engaged in the worship of God.
And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come. And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever, The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. (Rev 4:8–11).
Notice how the elders cast their crowns before him that sat on the throne. All of man’s authority belongs to God. Further, the object of our worship is directed to the one who is seated on the throne.
Jesus is seated on the throne in heaven. He is worthy of our worship because he was slain as a lamb before the slaughter (Rev 5:12). Thus, our worship must be Christ or gospel-centered. The gospel message must be the emphasis in worship. Without it, worship becomes fixated on the achievements of self. Jared Wilson states that “the central idea of the church should be the gospel.” Paul gives a clear meaning of the gospel. Paul writes, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek” (Rom 1:16). The power of God unto salvation is God’s supernatural ability to draw people to him. This drawing ability is totally in God (John 3:8, 6:44). The mechanism by which God chooses to save is by the preaching of the cross. “For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe” (1 Cor 1:21). Paul further explains that “we preach Christ crucified…” (1 Cor 1:23). This is the gospel message that Christ came to die for sinners.
The gospel message in worship is fundamental to our worship experience. It is the gospel that elevates Christ and humbles man. The gospel is the key to our worship. The gospel acknowledges our self-centeredness, which we must confess and repent of. It is the gospel that then produces spiritual growth and fosters harmony within the body of Christ. Wilson explains it this way. “If we will commit to preaching the truth that embracing Jesus Christ means dying to ourselves and repenting of our self-centeredness, he will produce the fruit of discipleship in community within our churches.”
Discipleship
The church is called by God to “make disciples.” Our current model must reflect the practices of the New Testament. Jesus said, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matt 28:19, NIV). Discipleship is modeling Christ through engagement with others by studying the scriptures together, praying for one another’s spiritual growth, encouraging each other, and allowing yourself to be vulnerable by the correction of others. This is at the heart of Paul’s advice to Timothy. “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (2 Tim 3:16). Words emphasized are italicized.
The first church immediately after Pentecost modeled discipleship. “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer” (Acts 2:42). Discipleship is engaging. People must be present for engagement to take place. The believers after Pentecost were together (Acts 2:44). Likewise, Hebrews 10:25 is an encouragement to the church to continue to assembly for worship and for discipleship. Whitney exclaims, “But evangelism is also a Discipline in that we must discipline ourselves to get into situations where evangelism can occur, that is, we must not just wait for witnessing opportunities to happen.” There is no time table as to when you should start witnessing. Our witness should start immediately after we are saved. The man born blind in John 9, instantly when Christ healed him started evangelizing: “One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see” (John 9:25).
The Discipline of Godliness
The Bible calls believers to actively pursue godliness. Paul exhorts Timothy and his followers to “exercise thyself rather unto godliness” (1 Tim 4:7) and “godliness is profitable unto all things” (1 Tim 4:8). But what is this godliness? Paul shows Timothy that godliness is practical. Concerning godliness, the apostle tells Timothy to be actively engaged in reading the Scriptures, teaching, evangelizing (do the work of an evangelist! 2 Tim 4:5), meditating on Scripture, and being mindful of his conduct and behavior (1 Tim 4:13, 15–16). These tenants along with prayer serve as foundational traits for godliness.
Let us be fully persuaded; that is, let us make sure we are clear on the purpose of pursuing godliness. Godliness is not to make one a super saint. On the contrary, the goal of godliness is to “lay hold on eternal life” (1 Tim 6:12). The believer’s aim in life is to one day live with Christ in eternity. Godliness is therefore the submission of our lives to Christ to allow his life to be manifested in our current existence (Rom 8:29; Gal 2:20). Gorman is eloquent in his delivery on how godliness is the believer’s conformity “to the image of his Son.”
God’s goal, writes Paul, is to call a people, to create a family of persons “conformed to the image of his Son” (v. 29). That conformity, for Paul, is narrative in character, a two-part drama of suffering/death followed by resurrection/exaltation. Thus the narrative of the community in Christ must correspond to the narrative of its Lord…. Conformity to Christ—“to the image of [God’s] Son”—in resurrection is the logical and guaranteed sequel to a life of death to self and of suffering for the gospel that corresponds to the narrative of Christ’s dying and rising (see further discussion in the next section). The first half of Romans 8, then, narrates the first dimension of cruciform hope, “put[ting] to death the deeds of the body” (v. 13)—what Paul calls elsewhere “crucify[ing] the flesh” (Gal. 5:24), “dying to sin” (Rom. 6:2), and “crucify[ing] the old self with Christ” (Rom. 6:6). Paul is clearly not disparaging the body per se, nor the activities of the body, as texts like Romans 6:13 (“present yourselves … present your members to God”), Romans 12:1–2 (“present your bodies as a living sacrifice”), and 1 Corinthians 6:19–20 (“your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit.… Therefore glorify God in your body”) make plain. The real issue for Paul is not the body but the “flesh”—the human person considered apart from and in opposition to God—and the mind yielded to sin. When the mind is under the power of sin and attentive to the flesh, rather than the Spirit, the body becomes the place where anti-God behaviors are expressed, which is why Paul stresses the role of the mind in both Romans 8 and Romans 12. In such conditions, the body is a “body of death” (Rom. 7:24) whose end is death rather than eternal life (Rom. 6:21–23).
Thus, godliness is the believer’s submission to Christ so that the flesh or our selfish desires may be crucified on the cross. Gorman calls this transformation in a believer’s life to the cross cruciformity. The New Testament calls this transformation godliness.
Prayer
Christians are also called to have an active prayer life. Prayer makes a difference in believers’ lives. Unfortunately, many Christians either don’t pray, pray too little, or find it difficult to pray. Prayer is a part of godliness. Donald Whitney states, “The three duties of reading Scripture, meditation, and prayer belonged together, and though each could be done occasionally on its own, as formal duties to God they were best done together.”
Whitney highlights J. C. Ryle’s sentiments concerning prayer. “What is the reason that some believers are so much brighter and holier than others? I believe the difference, in nineteen cases out of twenty, arises from different habits about private prayer. I believe that those who are not eminently holy pray little, and those who are eminently holy pray much.”
Our model for all things godly is Jesus. When Jesus was here in his humanity, he led an active prayer life. Several times in the Gospels, we are told that Jesus went out to pray (Luke 5:16; 6:12; 9:28; 22:41–45). The disciples requested that Jesus teach them how to pray (Luke 11:1). The Lord presented every situation to the Father in prayer. Our prayer life should model
Christ’s example.
Paul requested that the Roman believers “strive” with him in prayer (Rom 15:30). Striving in prayer denotes, at times, the difficulty of prayer. But since we know through discipline, the spiritual outcome, which is our eternal destiny in glory, we endure our current struggles. Paul tells us that our present struggles (he calls light affliction), which are only for a moment, work for us a more exceeding and eternal weight of glory (2 Cor 4:17; Rom 8:18).
Prayer becomes a struggle when we deem it unfruitful or do not fully understand the will of God. Not knowing the will of God will cause some to pray for selfish reasons or not to pray at all. Selfish prayers are not answered according to James 4:3. Some who deem prayer unfruitful may struggle with patience (See James 1:2–7). At the same time, others see prayer as getting God to do things for them as if God is a genie or fairy. An improper understanding of prayer is due to not adequately understanding the scripture regarding prayer.
A proper biblical understanding of prayer reveals that we must pray according to God’s will (Luke 22:41–42; Matt 6:10; 1 John 5:14–15). Jesus helps us by giving us purpose in prayer. The Lord points out in prayer that the Father knows how to provide us with the best gift, the Holy Spirit (Luke 11:13). It is apparent that we do not know what to ask for outside of God’s will. Jesus points out that the Holy Spirit is our greatest need. Scripture even teaches that the Holy Spirit helps us in our prayers since we do not know what to ask. “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered” (Rom 8:26).
An excellent model to follow in prayer is to pray the Scriptures. Praying with the Scriptures as a guide allows you to understand the will of God. Michael Haykin, in writing on prayer, states that our prayers should be in accord with the advancement of the kingdom of God. “May God give us a heart and a will to make prayer, prayer for the exaltation of God and the extension of the kingdom, a daily reality in our lives.” One great way to achieve the exaltation of God and for the extension of the kingdom is to pray along with Scripture. To grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, Christians should always pray so that they will not be discouraged (Luke 18:1). Paul encourages Timothy, “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men” (1 Tim 2:1). It is evident prayer must be made a part of a Christians daily routine in order to pursue godliness.
Humility
The mark of humility is essential for a believer’s identification with Christ. Above all other characteristics, humility is the quintessential quality that sets Christians apart from the world. In his book, Humility: The Beauty of Holiness, Andrew Murray responds to the charge of believers exhibiting Christian virtues and being void of humility.
There is more than one answer can be given. But the principal answer in our present connection is this: They indeed have a measure of faith, in proportion to which, with the special gifts bestowed upon them, is the blessing they bring to others. But in that very blessing the work of their faith is hindered through the lack of humility.
Here, Murray reiterates the possibility that a Christian may have faith and gifts but not exhibit humility and still be empty and fruitless.
Humility sets Christians apart from the world because humility identifies the believer with Christ’s humility displayed on the cross. Only in our submission to God, by understanding Christ’s submission and humility at the cross, can we come to full knowledge and growth in God. Murray adds, “The first and chief of the marks of the dying of the Lord Jesus, of the death marks that show the true follower of Jesus, is humility.” Paul comes to this realization. In Philippians, Paul writes, “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death” (Phil 3:10). The Greek verb for “know” in this verse, (γινώσκω, “ginōskō”) means to understand or recognize something or someone by observation or by experience. The verb denotes association gained by relational interaction. Thus, when Paul says that he wants to know Christ and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable to the death of Christ, Paul is seeking to experience Christ at the highest level of humility, and that is the humility that Christ displayed on the cross. In man’s desire to experience Christ, Paul shows in Philippians 3:10 that we only come to experience Christ more deeply by sharing Christ’s suffering and humility through the cross (Matt 16:24–26).
The high value of humility is echoed by Christ when he challenged anyone that would follow him. “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me” (Matt 16:24). Christ thus challenges believers that the only way to be identified with him is through humility. And that humility can only be identified with Christ’s work at the cross. Humility is the self-denial of all attitudes, ambitions, and desires surrendered to the will of Jesus Christ. Paul establishes this further with the church of Galatia. Paul writes in Galatians, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me” (Gal 2:20). Paul sees in this verse, our identification with the crucified Christ, our total submission to him as our present status in Christ. Paul states in Philippians, through an earlier accepted church hymn, that believers are connected to Christ by having the same mind of Jesus in his humility and submission at the cross.
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. (Phil 2:5–8).
Of all that believers could be identified within Christ, the Bible clarifies that we are only identified with Jesus when we exhibit the fruits of Christ’s humility at the cross. Murray is correct:
Is it any wonder that the joy of salvation is so little felt when that in which Christ found it and brings it, is so little sought? Until a humility which will rest in nothing less than the end and death of self; which gives up all the honour of men as Jesus did, to seek the honour that comes from God alone; which absolutely makes and counts itself nothing, that God may be all, that the Lord alone may be exalted,—until such a humility be what we seek in Christ above our chief joy, and welcome at any price, there is very little hope of a religion that will conquer the world.
Murray reiterates that it is the believer’s humility in self-denying sacrifice, as in Christ our example, that we enter into an intimate relationship with Christ and, as a result, experience his joy. Peter expresses this in his epistle. “But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy” (1 Pet 4:13). For Peter, the believer’s joy, as partakers in Christ’s suffering, will not only be experienced at Christ’s return but also during our present lifetime. Thus, Peter leads with “But rejoice” at the beginning of the verse (our present joy in response to suffering), and then Peter says that when Christ’s glory is revealed (a reference to his Second Coming), believers will be glad with exceeding joy.
Joy is one of the Spiritual fruits believers are encouraged to experience as a result of identifying with Christ’s suffering. Jesus said, “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.” (Matt 5:11–12) As we seek to humble ourselves in Christ, may we also experience the joy that comes from identifying with Jesus and his humility at the cross.
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