It is a very great blessing for each of us if, at the very beginning or in the course of our spiritual growth, someone tells us what we will pass through and experience later. Then we will better understand what is happening and will be prepared for all the changes that we have already heard about and have now approached.
The faith of each of us passes through certain stages of development, and each subsequent stage proceeds from the preceding one and is based on what has already been experienced.
Wise people have studied this development and discovered that the path of every Christian passes through six stages, which I will describe in this and the following lessons. It is absolutely essential to understand this correctly, so that we will not be surprised by the trials, the changes, the darkness, and the disappointments in ourselves through which each of us will pass. When I know what awaits me ahead and what I need to attain, I see the goal and move toward it. My life is hidden in Christ, and I do not know how spiritual growth takes place within me, but by the outward appearance of a spiritual person, I can determine which stage that person is in.
When the Lord shows me an ear of grain, what it once was, and what it looks like before the harvest, it is very easy for me to determine where I am and how I should move forward.
But spiritual growth has its own laws. For example, the growth of wheat requires a certain time for sowing, ripening, and harvesting, and every farmer knows these seasons. In spiritual growth, however, growth can stop or cease, or a person can return to the place from which he came. These are not very good events, but if they take place within the body of Christ, there is Hope that such people will be healed, restored, and move forward. Growth can also proceed quickly if my heart is open to it, if I already know much, and if I continue learning new things. And if someone tells me what is happening, shows me this path, and explains what I will encounter and what I should not fear, I can travel the marked trail very quickly, seeing the blood and reading about the experiences of the pioneers.
Some of you may read this sequence and say that none of it is true because you have not experienced anything like it. Such people can only be told with confidence that they have become stuck somewhere and that something is wrong with their growth.
But let us consider these six stages of faith in sequence.
I myself came to God from the world, and I know what a worldly person experiences when he begins to grow. It is difficult for me to understand what a person born into a family of believing parents experiences, but at some point that person is also born again and passes through the very same stages of growth, though in a different way.
1. Becoming Acquainted with God. First Love.
At some point, all of us came to know God personally, when He appeared in my life in a wonderful way. It is like a bright flash of light in the kingdom of darkness. I saw how beautiful the light is and how great God is; I heard His call, and my heart responded to it. My new experience of being born again is unique and unlike anyone else’s, but it is part of my life, and I love to tell others about it, experiencing that joy again each time and recalling new details of what drew me to Jesus. I still know so little, but I know the One Who died for me, and I can tell about it with such power that those who listen to me will be filled with delight or even weep with emotion. I myself have heard many testimonies of how God saves, how He plucks a brand from the fire and makes it His Own. I recognize this voice of God, and the Lord gives me the ability to understand Him and hear the voice of the Spirit.
At this stage, I am overflowing with a storm of feelings and emotions, and I tell all those close to me about what has happened to me. If I have the gift of persuasion, I can help others come to know God and lead them to Jesus. I have a new Friend—how wonderful He is, and how I love Him! I am ready to speak about Him for hours, to listen to things about Him, and to rejoice in Him. I am ready to go wherever He tells me to go, and in every brother or sister I see a teacher and mentor for myself.
My knowledge is extremely limited, but I have an experience, deep feelings, and a storm of emotions that simply overflow within me. I am alive; I have been born for God; I will live forever! God loves me, and I not only understand it, but I know it! Oh, if only I could always remain in this state, and if everyone were like this, the whole world could be notified very quickly and helped to find Jesus.
And I desperately need a spiritual mentor who will teach me good things, explain the church’s order and teachings to me, and help me move into the next stage. If there are no such people, I may become stuck in the first stage, make my experience the foundation of my faith, and live by it, constantly recalling in my stories what I experienced and how I found God. Oh, how wonderful He is! I do not yet have any theology, but I have Jesus, and that seems sufficient to me.
Spiritual literature can also become my mentor, and with its help I can move into the next stage of faith.
2. Discipleship.
The world of the Bible is so beautiful. I could not even have imagined how fascinating and instructive this book is. And what wonderful works have been written by those who studied the Word of God and then decided to write a book about their discoveries. I gladly learn from these people. I am ready to listen to each and every one. I am deeply interested in learning everything new. How grateful I am to God for this abundant light of new revelations, and how grateful I am to the people who came to know God and shared this knowledge in their works. Through these works, I become established in my faith. I understand that my church is the truest, that its teaching is the most correct, and that my mentors are the wisest people in the world. I have spiritual leaders and authorities whom I am ready to heed and follow wherever they direct me. And what a joy it is to attend and listen to various seminars. How wonderful it is to learn everything new and useful. And I am learning.
The Bible has become my bread of life. I discover new facets for myself, come to know God even better, and marvel at how great and wonderful He is. I never grow tired of learning, and everything is so interesting to me. I know the One in Whom I have believed, and I believe that He is my Savior; I also already know how He saves.
And if, at this stage, I come across the materials of the School of Agape Love, I will gladly immerse myself in this field of study and gnaw away at this stone, joyfully awaiting new lessons and revelations. It is so wonderful to learn at the feet of Christ!
But stagnant water becomes foul. There is a danger of becoming stuck at this stage of faith through remaining a perpetual student, scrupulously analyzing every law and rule, and comparing all these discoveries with reality.
I risk becoming a Pharisee or a scribe. And that does not frighten me, for what could be better than learning the science of God? My entire life is devoted to this, and I take every kind of deviation from the right course very seriously. I am ready to defend my convictions to the end, and no one can persuade me otherwise, for I have built my faith upon the Rock, and here I stand!
And I do not care what others think. I am more concerned with how it is written, and no one will be able to convince me that I am wrong. I would so like to make a banner saying, “I am right, for I believe in God!” so that it might become the brightest testimony to the whole world and the entire church.
But God draws me farther, and He invites me to share all of this with others, and I move into the next stage.
Homework 209
Please read Mark 4:26–29; Deuteronomy 8:2–3; Isaiah 50:4; 2 Timothy 3:5–7; Matthew 10:24–25; and Proverbs 2:1–9. What new and useful things did you learn from this lesson? Why does knowing the path you must travel give you an advantage over not knowing it? Do the stages of the spiritual growth of faith also apply to unbelievers? What part does God play in my spiritual growth? Why am I not given an understanding of the process of spiritual growth within myself? Why does it remain a mystery? If it were revealed to me, I could then cultivate it in other people. What should I do if I see that I have become stuck at one stage and am not growing any further? Why does God not give me the advantages of the final stages immediately, but instead lead me along the difficult path of growth? If everything we are studying here is unfamiliar to me, does that mean that I am spiritually dead? How can spiritual growth be accelerated?