Christians do need to obey God’s command to gather regularly with their fellow saints under the oversight of a faithful minister (1 Peter 5:2–3). This is the way God has ordered his church on earth so that his sheep are properly cared for and guarded from the snares of the evil one (Hebrews 13:17). You can be confident about your spiritual growth in Christ, because God is in control (Ephesians 1:11–12).
The good seed cannot flourish when it is repeatedly dug up for the purpose of examining its growth.
— J. C. Kromsigt
One of my favorite things about trees, especially mature ones, is the way they provide shade and shelter from the natural elements. Yet, everyone knows a seedling doesn’t give much of either. Trees need a consistent supply of sun, water, and nutrients over a long period of time to survive and thrive.
Christians often wonder whether they are growing in holiness.
Sanctification is a slow process of dying to the flesh (mortification) and living unto God (vivification). Just as it is impossible to know exactly what a tree seedling is going to look like in ten years, it can be frustrating to attempt to evaluate a person’s growth in Christ over the short term.
In his parables Jesus uses the image of plants to describe spiritual growth in the gospels of Matthew and John (see Matt. 13:1–32 and John 15:1–7):
“Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear.”
Matthew 13:8-9, The Parable of the Sower
Jesus uses the metaphor of a vine and its branches to describe the organic union believers have with him.
Throughout the New Testament, believers are encouraged to grow in long-term community with each other in the local church (Acts 2:42; Eph. 4:11–13; Col. 3:16). In his letter to the Ephesians, the apostle Paul writes about this dynamic of growth within the body of Christ:
Subscribe to Free “Top 10 Stories” Email
Get the top 10 stories from The Aquila Report in your inbox every Tuesday morning.