Bible Questions Answered:
“How do I grow in God?...”
Angelika/ Irschenberg, Bavaria Germany
Spiritual Birth:
Psalm 23:1-6 KJV (God's lamb.)
1 The Lord is
my Shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He maketh me
to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth
my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name's
sake.
4 Yea, though I
walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil:
for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5 Thou
preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou
anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6 Surely
goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I
will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
Luke 1:80
And The Child grew, and waxed strong
in Spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of His shewing unto
Israel.
Luke 2:40,52 KJV
40 And The Child grew, and waxed
strong in Spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon
Him.
52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and
stature, and in favor with God and man.
Romans 5:1-11 KJV
1 Therefore being justified by
faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
2 By whom also we have access by
faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the
glory of God.
3 And not only so, but we glory in
tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;
4 And patience, experience; and
experience, hope:
5 And hope maketh not ashamed;
because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by The Holy
Ghost which is given unto us.
6 For when we were yet without
strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
7 For scarcely for a righteous man
will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to
die.
8 But God commendeth His love toward
us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
9 Much more then, being now
justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.
10 For if, when we were enemies, we
were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, being
reconciled, we shall be saved by His Life.
11 And not only so, but we also joy
in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received
the atonement.
I Corinthians 3:1,2 NLT
1 Dear brothers and sisters, when I
was with you I couldn’t talk to you as I would to spiritual people.
I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you
were infants in Christ.
2 I had to feed you with milk, not
with solid food, because you weren’t ready for anything stronger.
And you still aren’t ready,
II Corinthians 5:17 KJV
Therefore if any man be in Christ,
he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things
are become new.
Hebrews 5:12-14 KJV
12 For when for the time ye ought to
be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first
principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of
milk, and not of strong meat.
13 For every one that useth milk is
unskilful in The Word Of Righteousness: for he is a babe.
14 But strong meat belongeth to them
that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their
senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
I Peter 2:2,3 KJV
2 As newborn babes, desire the
sincere milk of The Word, that ye may grow thereby:
3 If so be ye have tasted that The
Lord is gracious.
The Man:
Galatians 5:19-25 NKJV
19 Now the works of the flesh are
evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness,
20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred,
contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions,
dissensions, heresies,
21 envy, murders, drunkenness,
revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I
also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will
not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of The Spirit is
love, joy, peace, long suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness, self-control. Against
such there is no law.
24 And those who are Christ’s have
crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
25 If we live in The Spirit, let us
also walk in The Spirit.
Hebrews 6:1 KJV
Therefore leaving the principles of
the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying
again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith
toward God,
I Peter 1:3-8 KJV
3 Blessed be the God and Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to His abundant mercy hath
begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus
Christ from the dead,
4 To an inheritance incorruptible,
and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,
5 Who are kept by the power of God
through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
6 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though
now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold
temptations:
7 That the trial of your faith,
being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be
tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at
the appearing of Jesus Christ:
8 Whom having not seen, ye love; in
whom, though now ye see Him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy
unspeakable and full of glory:
II Peter 1:2-8 NLT
2 May God give you more and more
grace and peace as you grow in your knowledge of God and Jesus our
Lord.
3 By His divine power, God has given
us everything we need for living a Godly life. We have received all
of this by coming to know Him, the one who called us to Himself by
means of His marvelous glory and excellence.
4 And because of His glory and
excellence, He has given us great and precious promises. These are
the promises that enable you to share His divine nature and escape
the world’s corruption caused by human desires.
5 In view of all this, make every
effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a
generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with
knowledge,
6 and knowledge with self-control,
and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with
Godliness,
7 and Godliness with brotherly
affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone.
8 The more you grow like this, the
more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord
Jesus Christ.
II Peter 3:18 KJV
But grow in grace, and in the
knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both
now and for ever. Amen.
The cycle of life,
the baby, the child, the adult. Since creation, all remains the same,
and it is no different for mankind, spiritually. The baby, the child,
the adult. We are born into the kingdom of God when we accept God's
Son as our Savior, but we must not stay there. We are to mature as in
the physical, the baby must grow into the child, the child into the
adult.
Scriptures
Concerning Spiritual Growth:
SPIRITUAL
GROWTH:
I Corinthians
10:1-4 NLT
1 I don’t
want you to forget, dear brothers and sisters, about our ancestors in
the wilderness long ago. All of them were guided by a cloud that
moved ahead of them, and all of them walked through the sea on dry
ground.
2 In the cloud
and in the sea, all of them were baptized as followers of Moses.
3 All of
them ate the same spiritual food,
4 and all of
them drank the same spiritual water. For they drank from
The
Spiritual Rock that traveled with them, and that Rock was Christ.
II Corinthians
9:10 KJV
Now He that
ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and
multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your
righteousness;)
Ephesians 4:15
NLT
"...we
will speak The Truth in love, growing in every way more and
more like Christ, who is The Head of His body, the church.
Colossians 1:10
KJV
That ye might
walk worthy of The Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in
every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;
I Thessalonians
3:12 KJV
And The Lord
make you to increase and abound in love one toward
another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you:
I Thessalonians
4:9,10 NLT
9 But we don’t
need to write to you about the importance of loving each other, for
God Himself has taught you to love one another.
10 Indeed, you
already show your love for all the believers throughout Macedonia.
Even so, dear brothers and sisters, we urge you to love them even
more.
II Thessalonians
1:3 NLT
Dear brothers
and sisters, we can’t help but thank God for you, because your
faith is flourishing and your love for one another is growing.
II Timothy
3:16,17 KJV
16 All
scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for
doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness:
17 That the man
of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good
works.
Growing
Spiritually:
1.) We grow spiritually when we read The Word Of God.
Romans 10:17
KJV
So then faith
cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
2.) We grow spiritually when we take time to pray.
Psalm 141:2 KJV
Let my prayer
be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands
as the evening sacrifice.
3.) We grow spiritually when we witness of our faith.
Matthew 10:32
KJV
Whosoever
therefore shall confess Me before men, him will I confess also before
my Father which is in heaven.
I Peter 3:15 KJV
But sanctify
The Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to
every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with
meekness and fear:
4.) We grow spiritually when we encourage others in the faith.
Hebrews 10:25
KJV
Not forsaking
the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but
exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day
approaching.
5.) We grow spiritually when we are faithful to our Christian
responsibilities.
Malachi 3:10
KJV
Bring ye all
the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in Mine house,
and prove Me now herewith, saith The Lord Of Hosts, if I will not
open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that
there shall not be room enough to receive it.
Matthew 23:23
KJV (Jesus)
“What sorrow
awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites!
For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb
gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the
law—justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not
neglect the more important things.
6.) We grow spiritually, when we prayerfully use our God given gifts
in the church.
Ephesians
4:7,11,12 KJV
7 But unto
every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift
of Christ.
11 And He gave
some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some,
pastors and teachers;
12 For the
perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the
edifying of the body of Christ:
I Corinthians
12:12-31 NLT
27 All of you
together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.
28 Here are
some of the parts God has appointed for the church:
first are
apostles,
second are
prophets,
third are
teachers,
then those who
do miracles,
those who have
the gift of healing,
those who can
help others,
those who have
the gift of leadership,
those who speak
in unknown languages.
29 Are we all
apostles? Are we all prophets? Are we all teachers? Do we all have
the power to do miracles?
30 Do we all
have the gift of healing? Do we all have the ability to speak in
unknown languages? Do we all have the ability to interpret unknown
languages?
Of course not!
31 So you
should earnestly desire the most helpful gifts.
But now let me
show you a way of life that is best of all.
I Corinthians 13:1 (Read 1-13) KJV
If I could
speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love
others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
7.) We grow spiritually, when we warn others that the coming of The
Lord is near:
Matthew 24:44-51
KJV
44 Therefore be
ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man
cometh.
45 Who then is
a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his
household, to give them meat in due season?
46 Blessed is
that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
47 Verily I say
unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.
48 But and if
that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his
coming;
49 And shall
begin to smite his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the
drunken;
50 The lord of
that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in
an hour that he is not aware of,
51 And shall
cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites:
there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Matthew 25s:6
KJV
And at midnight
there was a cry made, Behold, The Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to
meet Him.
Luke 21:28 KJV
And when these
things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads;
for your redemption draweth nigh.
Salvation
Prayer
Jesus, be merciful to me a sinner. I
confess and forsake my sins, and ask you to forgive me, and make me a
child of God, for you have said, “...whosoever shall call on the
name of The Lord shall be saved.” Acts 2:21 KJV
Thank you for dying for me, taking my
place in judgment, that I might be pardoned. I take you as the
Savior, and Lord (Master) of my life. Help me to read your word,
confess you, and live for you.
Amen
John 1:12 KJV
“But as many as received Him, to
them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that
believe on His name: “
