Developing Horizons Magazine (2).pdf Spring 2015 | Page 22

Spiritual Growth
By Rich Balkcom

T

owards the middle of last year, I had a friend ask
me, “How do I know if I’m growing spiritually?” Wow!
What a great and thought-provoking question. As I reflected on the topic of spiritual growth, I realized many
believers ask very similar questions: Am I growing in
Christ? What does spiritual growth look
like? Is spiritual growth a special formula
or checklist?
As I prayed, God revealed this scripture to me, and it’s a wonderful place to
start! “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
To Him be glory both now and forever!
Amen” (2 Peter 3:18). Peter issues a
command to God’s people: grow! In the
Greek, grow (auxano), means “to grow,
increase, and become greater!” Peter
said, “Spiritually grow, increase, and become greater in
the grace and knowledge of Jesus.”
Every Believer desires, on some level, to grow and
mature in his or her walk with Christ because spiritual
growth is God’s desire for His people. Because you are
sons (children of God), God sent the Spirit of His Son
into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out “Abba” Father.
(Galatians 4:6). God’s Spirit, the Holy Spirit, in your
heart, is calling out for an intimate bond, a close connection, and a growing relationship with Him!
If you place two fingers on the side of your neck,
you can feel your physical pulse, and it lets you know
you’re alive. Now, metaphorically, you may do the
same with your heart. Do you feel a strong or weak
pulse? Do you feel the strong grip of God’s grace? Do
you feel a heart that’s obedient to God’s Word, that
joyfully loves others, and bears good fruit?

22

How does one define spiritual growth? The simplest
definition of spiritual growth is matching your practice
with your position in Christ. Your position in Christ
is perfect: You have righteousness from God (Romans

1:17), you are complete in Christ (Colossians 2:10),
you have all things that pertain to life and godliness (2
Peter 1:3), and you have all and every spiritual blessing
in Christ (Ephesians 1:3).
The goal of spiritual growth is making
progress toward matching your practice
with your position in Christ. This is a
life-long journey. Paul tells Timothy that
this process of spiritual growth is like a
race: “I have fought the good fight, I have
finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2
Tim 4:7).
It’s like this: If you’re an unbeliever,
then you are just a spectator standing
on the sidelines watching God’s race
happen. The moment you believe as
Romans 10:9 says, “Confess with your mouth that Jesus
is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him
from the dead, you will be saved….” Then at that very
moment, God puts you on the starting line of the race,
and your position changes from being a spectator to an
active participant! The starting g [