Are you growing spiritually, or just showing up? Spiritual growth is something every believer talks about, yet many of us have stopped growing without even noticing. The church in Colossae had the same problem. What Paul wrote to them still speaks to us today.
Does God Expect Us to Grow Spiritually?
If you look at the very DNA of this world, everything has been designed and engineered to grow. When a farmer plants a seed, what is his intention? He wants it to grow. When parents bring a child into the world, they are thinking the child will grow. When someone starts a business or makes a financial investment, they expect growth.
Career, finance, family, job. In every area of life we want some progress. You won’t find one person who doesn’t. It is so deeply embedded in us that we invest a lot of time chasing it.
So here is my question. If we as mere humans want everything in our lives to grow, how does God look at us? The Lord gave us new birth and placed us here. Don’t you think He wants us to grow too?
I see it like a bird. Any bird needs two wings to fly. For a church, one wing is spiritual growth and the other is the number of people coming in. A church needs both. But before God, a church is measured by its spiritual growth.
And please don’t mistake one thing. Spiritual growth is not defined by standing up front. It is not defined by talent, or by the fact that someone can preach. I am talking about your personal life. There is a growth God wants to see in you when you are at work. There is a maturity He wants to see in you when you are at home.
What Does Spiritual Stagnation Look Like?
Think about a five year old child still walking around in a diaper. If there is no medical problem, what would we say? This child hasn’t grown up yet. Or picture a ten year old lying on the floor kicking and crying like a toddler. We would say he is ten, but he still behaves like a one and a half year old.
When children are small they stand against the wall and ask, “Daddy, am I growing?” Growth is something everyone wants. By the time we are 23 or 25 we have probably reached our full height. But in our character, growth is still required every single day.
Spiritual maturity comes because of spiritual growth. A person who is not growing will never be mature. Maturity doesn’t just arrive one day. It is the byproduct of growth. It is not an end product or a final product. It is an ongoing thing.
Often it is only when a crisis comes, when some hardship hits, that we really see whether a person has been growing. On Sunday everyone looks the same. But when you go into your personal life, your words, your attitude, your perception and your thought process all show whether you are growing spiritually.
Do you know what happens to stagnant water? When flowing water is held back in one place, it starts to stink. The Lord designed our spiritual life to grow. If we stop growing, our lives start to stink too. We may still be here, but our lives won’t do any good for anyone. People around us won’t see the difference that should come from us.
Why did we come to know the Lord in the first place? So that my life would change. Me first. If I don’t change, how will the people at home or at work ever see any change through me? People may smile at us, but behind our backs they might ask what kind of Christian this is.
The Hidden Life Where Real Growth Happens
Here is something you must always understand. The outward life is not the true sign of a spiritual life. There is a life that only the Lord sees. That is where the real work of spiritual growth happens.
When the Burj Khalifa was built, it took years before anyone saw the building rise. This was not a normal project. People nearby knew something big was coming, but everything was happening underground. The foundation work was enormous because they knew what they were going to build on it.
Our spiritual life works the same way. When a project goes wrong, the builders don’t keep inventing new things. They stop and go back to the basics to see if something went wrong in the foundation. It might take longer. But once the foundation is right, everything else can be right.
The Biggest Hindrance to Spiritual Growth
So what is the biggest hindrance to our spiritual growth? I believe it is this. The desire is no longer burning. That fire inside, that hunger to grow with my God, has gone cold. We say, I want to grow but I’m not growing. How many more sermons do I need to hear? We collect messages from here and there, from great preachers, and still we are not growing.
Everyone is a victim of this. But at some stage of our life we need to stop completely and ask, what am I doing? Where am I going?
Being Honest Before God
The prophet Isaiah showed us what real honesty before God looks like. When he came into God’s presence, he didn’t write about how wonderful it was. He wrote down his own weakness for us to read thousands of years later. Isaiah 6:5 (NKJV) says “So I said: ‘Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.'”
Would we ever write our failures down like that? We can fool the people around us. But when we come into the presence of God, don’t we have a conscience? When you lay your head down at night and the Spirit speaks to you, can you still say, Lord, forgive me, this is not right? Those tears are where the real presence of God is found.
Why Did the Church in Colossae Stop Growing?
The Book of Colossians has only four chapters. Paul was sitting in a Roman jail when he wrote it, to a church he did not plant and to people he had never seen.
The pastor of this young, dynamic church was a man named Epaphras. And he was crying out to God for his people. Colossians 4:12 (NKJV) says “Epaphras, who is one of you, a bondservant of Christ, greets you, always laboring fervently for you in prayers, that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.”
He wasn’t just praying. He was fighting in prayer. He was praying in agony. What does agony mean? It is more than pain. It is a deep burden that won’t let you sleep, won’t let you eat, won’t let you rest. With that weight on him, Epaphras said, I don’t see my church growing. I have done everything I can.
So he travelled all the way from Colossae to Rome to see Paul. And he told him, Paul, please pray for my church. It isn’t growing spiritually. It’s a good church. There are people. There is clapping. There are Sunday services, meetings, conventions and worship. We have everything. But the people have stopped growing.
When Epaphras began praying with Paul about these things, he ended up in prison too. So another brother carried this letter back to strengthen the church in Colossae. That letter of encouragement is what we hold in our hands today.
When Outside Voices Add to Christ
So what was the problem? In chapter 2, Paul names it. Colossians 2:4 (NKJV) says “Now this I say lest anyone should deceive you with persuasive words.”
The culture outside had started coming into the church. Like a snake slipping in, new teachers came with new teachings and began to confuse what the people believed. At first they all said, Christ is everything. We are complete in Him. We need nothing else. But as time went on, a new idea crept in. Christ is not quite enough. You need something more for the Christian life to really work.
Colossians 2:8 (NKJV) warns us “Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.”
One Bible scholar describes it as a spiritual cancer. False teachers were whispering that Jesus is great, but He is not enough. You need secret, mystical knowledge beyond the Scriptures. And you need to keep the old rituals and holy days you left behind.
Paul also warns about people who go after their own visions. Colossians 2:18 (NKJV) says “Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind.” We hear the same thing today. I have a vision. The verse is written this way, but I think it really means this. Be careful.
You must live your Christian life very carefully. Not every message on YouTube is good for us. Not every song is good for our soul. Not every friendship helps our spiritual life. Test what you hear against the Word of God.
There is a story often told about the French philosopher Voltaire. He is said to have predicted the Bible would disappear within a hundred years. And the story goes that after his death, the Geneva Bible Society used his own house to print and store Bibles. Whatever philosopher or psychologist comes along, the truth will always prevail and the truth will always stand. There is no wisdom and no knowledge beyond this Word. Everything we need is in it.
Holding Fast to Christ: You Are Complete in Him
Do you know when your life truly changes? When you understand who the head of the church is. Your life changes the day you stop looking at a person and start looking at Christ as the head. Christ is the head of the church.
Colossians 2:9-10 (NKJV) says “For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.”
The believers in Colossae had left their old rituals and old ways behind. Now people around them were asking why. Paul reminds them that something real had already happened. Colossians 2:11-12 (NKJV) says “In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.”
You were raised to a new life. So what is the difference between your yesterday and your today? Yesterday you lived the old way, and that is in the past. But today you are saved, baptized and joined to the Lord.
God Forgave It All
And God forgave all of it. Colossians 2:13-14 (NKJV) says “And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.”
Think of a small child who throws a key into the bush. We say, well, nobody is finding that again. That is how the Lord deals with our sins. He says, I don’t keep a track record of your sins. From today you are a new creation. You are My child.
But here is the other side. That doesn’t mean we will never sin again. It means the pull to keep living in sin no longer rules us. If I fall, God is ready to forgive when I come to Him with a broken heart. But I can’t say, it’s the age of grace, the Lord will forgive me anyway. That should never become our lifestyle.
Are You Living a Double Standard Life?
Colossians 2:16-17 (NKJV) says “So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.”
These believers had stopped keeping the old rituals, and the people around them didn’t like it. Why aren’t you doing this anymore? Why have you changed? Paul says, don’t let anyone judge you. Those things were a shadow. The real thing is Christ.
And here is where it touches us today. We go to church on Sunday. But what about the other six days? When I go to work, can I live however I like because nobody from church is around? When I travel to another city where nobody knows me, can I do whatever I want? Never. The Christian life is not just for my town, my home or my church. It is for everywhere.
Don’t let the pressures of the outside world take over your lifestyle. Don’t get confused by these foolish human philosophies. You are new now. Until yesterday you had all those sins, but God has made you new. Every part of your life should change. So why am I still living a double standard life?
Why Sermons Alone Won’t Make You Grow Spiritually
Paul tells us what his job was. Colossians 1:25 (NKJV) says “of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God.” His job was to preach the Word of God. But that’s not all. Colossians 1:28 (NKJV) says “Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.”
Paul’s goal was not to hear people say, that was a good message, or that was a boring message. He wasn’t preaching to get marks. He wanted every believer to stand mature before Christ. One day, when we stand before the Lord, it’s the Lord who should say these people grew.
Now you might be thinking, isn’t it the pastor’s responsibility to make us grow? Epaphras was praying. Paul was preaching. Both of those things were happening, and still the church was not growing.
But listen. The growth of a church is the growth of each person. If each person does not grow, the church will not grow. Don’t think that if the pastor grows, the church will grow. Every person and every family has a responsibility. Colossians 2:19 (NKJV) says “and not holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God.”
A person who holds on to Christ, to His Word and to His wisdom is the one who truly grows. For a newborn baby, a little milk is enough. But for someone who has been in the faith three, four or five years, one message on Sunday is not enough. If we go home thinking this will do, we will slide backwards.
This is the verse that strengthened me so much. Colossians 3:16 (NKJV) says “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”
The pastor preaches. The pastor prays. But are we teaching and admonishing one another? When an issue comes up, we have a responsibility. Our job is not to confuse each other further. Our job is to draw each other closer to Christ.
A Question to Take Home
Every time you come together with other believers, ask yourself one question in your heart. Did I grow even one percent? Is our friendship any different from the friendships of the world?
We put so much into raising our children. We do everything for them. So the question we need to ask today is this. What am I doing in my life to grow spiritually? Do you think church is enough? Do you think one hour of worship is enough for your spiritual growth?
What are you doing?
Frequently Asked Questions
What causes spiritual stagnation?
The biggest hindrance is that the desire to grow is no longer burning. Outside voices that add something to Christ can also confuse believers and stop their growth, just as they did in Colossae.
How do I know if I am growing spiritually?
Growth shows in your personal life, not on Sunday. Your words, your attitude and the way you handle a crisis show whether you are growing.
Who was Epaphras in the Bible?
Epaphras was the pastor of the church in Colossae. Colossians 4:12 describes him always laboring fervently in prayer for the believers there, that they would stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.
Is spiritual growth the pastor’s responsibility?
Not only the pastor’s. Paul preached and Epaphras prayed, yet the church still did not grow. The growth of a church is the growth of each person, and believers are called to teach and admonish one another (Colossians 3:16).
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