Arsenal of the King International Ministries
By Chaplain Johnson
How to Tell Where You Are Spiritually
Paul told the Ephesians that the role of the saints was to be equipped for ministry and grow until they all reached a place of maturity measured by Christ’s fullness (Eph. 4:11–13).
Not all growth is true spiritual growth. A believer can grow in knowledge, grow in activity, and even grow in outward appearance, while still remaining weak in love, surrender, and obedience.
That is why every Christian must stop from time to time and ask an honest question: am I growing in the right places?
One helpful way to examine your spiritual walk is to look at three simple areas: your love for God, your love for one another, and your love for your neighbors.
Love for God
The first area of testing your growth is your love for God.
Do you desire to grow closer to God and please Him with your life?
“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” Matthew 22:37
This is the upward part of the Christian life.
Love for God includes:
- reading and meditating on Scripture
- prayer
- dependence on the Holy Spirit
- fasting
- solitude
- worship
- relationship with God
- learning to listen to the Lord’s voice
A believer may be busy with many things, but if love for God is weak, the whole spiritual life will suffer. Growth begins by drawing near to the Lord and seeking Him with a sincere heart.
Love for One Another
The second area of testing your growth is your love for other believers.
Spiritual maturity is not shown only by private devotion, but also by how a believer treats the family of God.
John 13:34–35
“A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”
This is the inward part of spiritual growth within the body of Christ.
Testing your growth in this area includes:
- fellowship with other believers
- using your spiritual gifts to build up the church
- praying for fellow Christians
- resisting sinful attitudes toward others
- avoiding gossip
- practicing forgiveness
- walking in peace
How do you treat other believers? What is your attitude toward Christians like? Do people see your love for Christians?
1 John 4:11
“Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.”
Love for Our Neighbors
The third area of testing your spiritual growth is your love for neighbors who do not know Christ.
Do you love neighbors who do not know Christ?
Matthew 5:44
“But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.”
Testing your growth in this area includes:
- praying for those who do not know Christ
- building relationships with them
- listening well
- showing hospitality
- serving those in need
- sharing the gospel
- loving even those who have caused hurt
A growing believer does not keep the love of Christ to himself, but seeks to become a faithful witness in the world.
Luke 10:27
“And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.”
Am I Growing in the Right Places?
Questions to Ask
So how do you examine your walk with Christ?
Take a quiet moment before the Lord and ask the Spirit of God to reveal the true condition of your heart. People may hide many things from themselves, but God sees all the secret places of life.
Hebrews 4:13
“Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.”
With a piece of paper or your phone before you, prayerfully walk through these questions and let the Lord show you where change is needed.
- Has God exposed things in your life that need to change?
- Are you growing in a love relationship with God?
- Are you walking in love toward other believers?
- Are you reaching outward with compassion, truth, and gospel witness?
- Where are you growing well?
- Where do you need help?
A Call to Reflect
Take a quiet moment before the Lord and examine your walk with Him. Look over the list you made under the direction of the Holy Spirit.
As you reflect on your love for God, your love for other followers of Christ, and your love for neighbors who do not know Christ, the condition of your spiritual life becomes clearer.
Psalm 139:23
“Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts.”
Through the Spirit of Christ you begin to see where you are growing in Christ and where you still need His help.
These questions are not meant to discourage you, but to lead you into greater surrender, deeper obedience, and continued growth in Christ.
God wants you to grow, and He will give you the help you need when you call out to Him for mercy, strength, and courage to change.
Philippians 2:13
“For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.”
Prayer
When you have identified your strengths and weaknesses, go before the Lord and seek Him for forgiveness.
Seek forgiveness for where you have failed.
Psalm 51:10
“Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.”
Ask the Lord to strengthen your love for Him, deepen your love for fellow believers, and enlarge your heart for your neighbors.
Ezekiel 36:26–27
“A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you… and cause you to walk in my statutes.”
Ask for strength to endure, and courage to change attitudes and weaknesses that may have kept you stagnant.
Philippians 4:13
“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”
Spiritual growth is about Christ being formed in us for the glory of God.
Philippians 1:6
“Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.”
May God bless you abundantly as you seek to grow and prosper in the Lord Jesus.
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Love in Christ,
Cassia
Arsenal of the King International Ministries 