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In the Lord's recovery today, there is an urgent need for the growth and maturity required for the formation of God's army; we need to grow in life unto maturity—Exo. 30:14; Num. 1:2-3, 18; Eph. 4:12-16:
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Spiritually, males who are twenty years old and over signify those among God's people who, regardless of their natural status, are strong in spirit and mature in the divine life; only these are qualified to be formed into an army to fight for God's interest and move on earth—Exo. 30:14; Num. 1:3.
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The growth of life is the increase of the element of God (Col. 2:19), the increase of the stature of Christ (Eph. 3:17a; 4:13), the expanding of the ground of the Holy Spirit (5:18), the decrease of the human element, the breaking of the natural life, and the subduing of every part of our soul (2 Tim. 1:7).
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To be transformed is to be metabolically changed in our natural life, whereas to be matured is to be filled with the divine life that changes us; the last stage of transformation is maturity, the fullness of life—Heb. 6:1.
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In the New Testament the word mature refers to the believers' being full-grown and perfected in the life of God—Matt. 5:48; John 3:3, 5-6, 15:
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As believers, we need to go on, to be brought on, to maturity by forgetting the things which are behind and stretching forward to the things which are before, pursuing toward the fullest enjoyment and gaining of Christ for the uttermost enjoyment of Christ in the millennial kingdom—Phil. 3:12-15.
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The prerequisite for maturity in the spiritual life is to grow continually in the divine life—Eph. 4:15.
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The ultimate issue of the believers' growth and maturity in the life of Christ is a full-grown man—the church as the Body of Christ growing into a mature man—vv. 13, 16.
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To be mature is to have Christ fully formed in us; it also means that we have been fully transformed into His image—Gal. 4:19; 2 Cor. 3:18:
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Since the time of our regeneration, the Lord has been working in us so that we may have His image—v. 18; Rom. 8:29.
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When the Lord has fully worked His image into us and is fully expressed through us, we will be mature in life—v. 29; 2 Cor. 3:18.
Morning Nourishment
Col. 2:19 …Holding the Head, out from whom all the Body, being richly supplied and knit together by means of the joints and sinews, grows with the growth of God.Eph. 3:17 …Christ may make His home in your hearts through faith…
If a Christian has the proper growth in life, when you touch his thoughts, you will sense the taste of the Lord in it; when you touch his likes or even his dislikes, you will sense the taste of the Lord; and if you watch the way he decides and chooses, you will also sense the taste of the Lord…. [This] is because he allows the Lord's Spirit and the Lord's life to permeate from his spirit into his mind, emotion, and will. That is, he allows the Lord's life to spread and expand in him and also allows the Lord's life in him to grow step by step and to mature little by little. In the same way, the more the fruit on a tree grows, the more it matures. One day the Lord's Spirit and life will permeate our whole being completely, causing our whole being to be filled with the Lord and to have the taste of the Lord in full. When this happens, we will be mature believers. Not only will we be blameless in our daily walk, but when others touch us, they will be able to sense the taste of the Lord in our thoughts, preferences, and ideas. This will be the case because the Lord's Spirit and life will have spread from our spirit to every part of our soul. (CWWL, 1955, vol. 3,”The Way for a Christian to Mature in Life,” pp. 300-301)
Today's Reading
Our heart is often closed toward the Lord, and the Lord is detained in our spirit to the extent that He cannot come out. Although the Lord is within us, it is as if He is surrounded by signs that say, No Thoroughfare. Thus, the Lord is not able to move within us even a little bit, and He does not have an opportunity to come out of us.This does not mean that we do not acknowledge the Lord at all; it means that there is no ground for the Lord in our thoughts. We think about this and that, but we do not think about the Lord. There is also no ground for the Lord in our emotions. We love many things, but we do not love the Lord. Moreover, there is no ground for the Lord in our will—in our decisions and choices. Our self has all the ground. Although we have been saved and have the Lord in our spirit, the Lord cannot come out from our spirit to control our mind, emotion, and will. We believe in the Lord and have the Lord, but our mind, emotion, and will are independent of the Lord, and the Lord has no ground in these three parts of our soul. This is the reason why we are not mature in life.
In order for us to grow in life, our heart must be open to the Lord, and our mind, emotion, and will must be opened to the Lord. Once these three parts are open, the Lord will be able to spread out from our spirit into our mind, emotion, and will to reach these different parts of our soul. How do we open our heart to the Lord? Whenever we have to make a determination or decision, we should first say to the Lord,”O Lord, I love You. I am willing to please You.” This kind of prayer opens our will to the Lord, and once our will is opened, the Lord will enter into it. In addition, whenever we love or desire something, we should stop for a moment and say to the Lord,”O Lord, I love You. I want to please You.” This opens our emotion to the Lord. When we do this, the Lord will surely enter into our emotion. Similarly, whenever we begin to think about something, we should stop our thinking for a moment and say to the Lord,”O Lord, I love You. I want to please You.” This kind of statement opens our mind to the Lord, and through this opening, the Lord will be able to enter into our mind.
Whenever we open to the Lord in our mind, the Lord's Spirit will gain the opportunity to enter into the different parts of our soul. (CWWL, 1955, vol. 3,”The Way for a Christian to Mature in Life,” pp. 306-308)
Further Reading: CWWL, 1955, vol. 3,”The Way for a Christian to Mature in Life,” chs. 18-19; CWWL, 1953, vol. 3,”The Knowledge of Life,” chs. 1, 12;Life-study of Genesis, msgs. 92-93