Hebrews 6:1.
The Tremendous Importance of Spiritual Maturity
The Apostle is distressed. As
he writes this letter it is as though from time to time he meets
something that almost pulls him up dead. Three times at least he
suspends his main theme and puts in a parenthesis. The section
from verse eleven of chapter five to verse three of chapter six
is such a digression. What is this thing, that makes his going so
difficult and strenuous?
It is not the theme that is
difficult!
It is not in the writer
himself! It is certainly not a lack of urgency or importance! The
issues are paramount. The whole significance of the Person,
Incarnation, Cross and Worth of the Lord Jesus is at stake!
No, the difficulty is in those
to whom he writes. Not that they do not know the Lord. They
"have been enlightened"; they had "tasted of the
heavenly gift"; had "been made partakers of the Holy
Spirit"; had "tasted of the good Word of God"; and
"the powers of the age to come"; and yet, and yet,
there is an immaturity, a failure to "go on," a
spiritual infancy which threatens to be fatal in respect of all
the ultimate purposes of their heavenly calling. It is this
arrested growth, prolonged babyhood that holds back the spirit
and the pen of the Apostle, and would even put restraint upon the
Holy Spirit. (See the paragraph mentioned.)
The trouble was seen by their
being always occupied with those matters - "principles"
- which are meant to be built upon, not toyed with. Perhaps the
trouble was deeper than that; it was a dwelling upon the things
as such and a failure to discern their real spiritual meaning and
implications. There are two maxims which it will be well for us
to have settled quite early. One is that we can only "go
on" in the Holy Spirit. The other is that the Holy Spirit
can only take us on as the foundations and "principles"
are laid and settled. There are many of the Lord's children who,
after many years of being such, are under arrest, paralysed,
ineffective, and almost counted out because they are in a state
of unsettlement about the "first principles." With some
it is a matter of "faith toward God"; with some it is
the matter of baptism; with some it is "eternal judgment.''
Let it be clearly recognised that on all such matters the Holy
Spirit Himself will demand an absolute settlement and will not
take us on to "full growth" until the
"principles" are established. Why are there so many
old-aged infants, elderly dependants, spiritual "Peter
Pans," amongst the Lord's people? Why is it that after years
of work and service so many come to a place where they are beaten
and helpless because of being "without understanding"
in that sense in which the words are used? Col. 1:9; 1 Cor.
14:20; Matt. 15:16.
It may be - and certainly
sometimes is - because at sometime the Spirit's requirement as to
some basic principle was unheeded, argued aside, discussed,
passed, or definitely refused. That is a sin against the Holy
Spirit - while it may not be the sin - and that sin is
bound to find us out sooner or later. What we have to say here as
we proceed will make clear what we mean by this being found out.
The letter to the Hebrews marks the transition from the fragments
of the Prophets to the fulness in Christ, this fulness is
spiritual and is consequent upon spiritual revelation which
leaves all the "earthlies" behind and comes into the
"heavenlies," even in the matter of Divinely
constituted institutions, which nevertheless were but as
"schoolmaster" to lead to Christ and maturity. We can
still go on with the "things" and stand still as to the
"meaning." For instance, it is impossible to have
a revelation of the true nature of the Church - the Body
of Christ - and remain a denominationalist or sectarian without
joining issue with the Holy Spirit. It is equally impossible to
remain a Jew as such (in the matter of Judaism) and be a
member of Christ. Once the Holy Spirit has spoken or
enlightened, tremendous crises are reached on foundation
principles, and these crises if not settled soon will come up
later. The Holy Spirit never moves a fraction from His original
premise.
Now, while this is all so
important, it but opens up for us the way to a closer
consideration of what spiritual maturity is.
There are three letters which
deal especially with the matter of unduly delayed maturity, or
spiritual childhood continued in too long. They are: "1
Corinthians," "Galatians" and "Hebrews."
Corinthian
Immaturity
The believers at Corinth had
evidently made some inquiries of the Apostle Paul concerning
certain particular matters which they thought were the cause of
trouble and bad spiritual conditions. The Apostle postponed his
dealing with these until he had dealt with what he himself was
convinced was the cause of the trouble. This was not the
particular "problems" about which they were concerned,
but that which lay behind them and much more. They were occupied
with the externals of the faith both as to personal, domestic and
church affairs. The Apostle goes to the heart of things and makes
it perfectly clear that their trouble was arrested spiritual
development. Thus he mentions some of the symptoms which prove
this. The first one was partisanship. They had men in their eye.
Human selection, favour, preference issuing from temperamental
reactions caused them to "hive off," form circles,
parties around the mannerism, 'line of things,' or make-up of
this man and that. Some would prefer the mystical and poetical to
the practical. Others the opposite. Some would take up with the
subjective line of things and decline the objective and vice
versa. And so on and on. Then there would be the men themselves
with what was liked and what was disliked. Concerning all this,
the Apostle says "I could not speak as unto spiritual but as
unto babes, I fed you with milk" (3:1,2). The fundamental
fault with all this was that with them the Lord Jesus had not
become pre-eminent; it was not Him always in view, to whom they
gathered, whom they were seeking. It was not a matter of what of
the Lord Jesus had this one and that one to impart. It was the
vessel not the treasure; the channel not the stream. In effect
the Apostle says that it is a mark of real spiritual growth and
maturity when the Lord's people are not influenced by the
instrument as such, but have their hearts directed toward
Himself, and are asking all the time, "What has this one and
that one of the Lord?" So in this matter as in all others
the remedy presented is a putting of the Lord Jesus in His place,
which is the supreme place, and the place which excludes all
human obtrusions, for or against.
The heads of these Corinthians
were projected toward the servants of the Lord instead of their
hearts being set on the Master. Divisions are so often childish,
and when looked at from a point of greater spiritual advancement
are seen to be so. Then it is perfectly clear that human elements
played all too great a part, and if only the Lord Himself had
been the dominating reality and object of concern, things would
have been different.
Then these Corinthians were all
too much taken up with "gifts," experiences,
demonstrations, manifestations. "Tongues," for
instance, had come into prominence in a manner out of proportion
to the general work of the Spirit. The display gifts were holding
the stage of their interest and concern. This also is related to
their immaturity. Infants like outward effects. Children like
sights and sounds. The Apostle again implies that this means that
the Lord Himself is not the object, but the things. What a test
this is! How many there are who must have "signs and
wonders," sensations, evidences, outward proofs, things seen
and touched and proved by the senses. This is all infancy, and as
we go on with the Lord He woos us from this realm and personally
takes the pre-eminence. It was in relation to all this that the
Apostle appended or concluded with that which has become such a
common form of "benediction" - "The Grace of our
Lord Jesus Christ," over against works; "The Love of
God," over against or deeper than signs and
"gifts" as such; "The fellowship of the Holy
Spirit," over partisanships, and distinctions among men. If
in the relationship and connection of these words as originally
used they were a little bit as effective as they are now so
largely employed as a formula, what a difference there would be
in the testimony of the Lord Jesus in the world.
Oh, beloved friends, let us put
the Lord Jesus in His place, and keep our eyes on Him and off men
and things, and the enemy will have less ground upon which to
dishonour His Name among men. In this matter "let us press
on to full growth."
First published in "A Witness and A Testimony"
magazine, Jan-Feb 1930, Vol 8-1