Maturity

Mature, Maturity

Etymology: Middle English, from Latin maturus ripe; akin to Latin mane in the morning, manus good
1 based on slow careful consideration <a mature judgment>
2 having completed natural growth and development
3 of or relating to a condition of full development

Biblical Christian Maturity as Defined
by the Apostle John

1 John 2:12-14 (New American Standard Bible)

12 I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven you for His name's sake.

13 I am writing to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the
beginning I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one I have written to you, children, because you know the Father.

14 I have written to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the
beginning I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.

Using a form of Greek parallelism, John, in his address to his disciples after a lengthy opening concerning the Word of Life, Jesus Christ, in chapter 1. John repeats Four Levels of Maturity in the Christian life.

First Level - Infancy - “I am writing to you little children [Gk, teknia, infants] because your sins have been forgiven you for His name’s sake.”

The most immature level of Christian faith is that place where all Christians begin their life journey with Jesus Christ. By placing our faith in what his name represents in the four Gospels written by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, we are forgiven our sins. His name represents the death of Jesus Christ for all men’s sins as the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. Furthermore, the resurrection of Jesus Christ is God’s evidence that faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ is a healthy and valid commitment of one’s whole life and being. In short, new believers in Christ know one thing, if nothing else, about Jesus - that their sins are forgiven through His person and work on their behalf.

Second Level - Childhood - “I am writing to you children [Gk. paideia, children of tutoring age] because you know the Father.”

The next level of developing maturity as a Christian is the cultivation of one’s intimacy with his Heavenly “Dad” through a growing relational knowledge. Just as a child grows in his knowledge of a relationship with his parents, so a Christian grows in what it means to relate to God the Father through Jesus Christ.

Third Level - Young Adult - “I am writing to you young men [Gk., neaniskoi, young men of responsible age] because you are strong, and the Word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the Evil One.”

The Old Testament proverb says, “The glory of a young man is his strength” [Proverbs 20:29]. In the New Testament, the strength of a maturing believer in Christ is defined by his depth in the knowledge, wisdom and understanding of God’s Word and how it applies to standing against the evils of this world promoted by the Evil One. A strong “young adult” Christian is a man or woman of “The Word.” Such believers take the
application of God’s Word into the real world very seriously. The stronger one is able to live his or her knowledge of the scriptures, the more mature they are as young adult believers.

Fourth Level - Parent - “I am writing to you fathers [Gk., pater, one who reproduces himself], because you know him who is from the beginning.”

The ultimate in Christian maturity is for a believer in Christ to reproduce his faith into the lives of others just as Jesus Christ, “him who is from the beginning” [1 John 1:1-2] did with his disciples. Imagine a parent who could never change a diaper, never teach a child to tie its shoe laces, never teach a child to read, never help a young person learn to drive a car, or never know how to feed and clothe their own children. This is the physical equivalent in maturity of a spiritual maturity in a Christian who can never help another understand the Gospel, never help another in how to walk intimately with God through Christ, never help others overcome personal evils when tempted, or never show another believer how to spiritually parent others in the faith. Reproduction of one’s faith into the lives of others at various levels of maturity is the ultimate in Christian maturity this side of heaven.

Four Levels of Practical Development in Everything

From these four levels of maturity as a Christian we can derive four levels of common development in all of life’s pursuits.

Infancy - Introductions to Healthy and Unhealthy Things
Childhood - Education in Healthy and Unhealthy Things
Young Adulthood - Applications of Healthy and Unhealthy Things
Parenthood - Reproductions of Healthy and Unhealthy Things

Ever since the Fall in the garden of Eden [Genesis 3:22], mankind has been plagued with the knowledge of good [the healthy] and evil [the unhealthy]. Through the pain of trial and error we come to learn or “know” by experience the things that are healthy in life and unhealthy in life. Through the process of and commitment to lifelong learning from healthy mentors, people can be guided by The Word of Life into living out the healthy image of Jesus Christ on earth [Romans 8:30]. The Mentors Foundation longs to help would-be mentors become healthy mentors in an unhealthy world. No one has become perfectly mature yet, so we need each other to build us up, guiding us away from unhealthy evils as we are pointed toward healthy and good things.