Mature in Christ: Hear, Grow, Depend on Him

Paul writes to Christians in Colossae who were being told that Jesus was only the beginning, that fully mature faith required some secret plan, extra knowledge, or something beyond him. Paul answers that lie by revealing the mystery hidden for ages: “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Christ is not the starting point that believers graduate beyond. Christ is the fullness of God’s Word, the center of everything, and the one his people need to hear about again and again.

Paul’s suffering does not mean that Christ’s cross lacked anything. Christ said, “It is finished,” and salvation is complete because his death has forgiven every sin. Christ’s body, the church, still faces affliction in this world because the world persecuted the Head and will persecute his body. Paul serves that body by proclaiming the Christ who has already accomplished salvation.

Christian maturity is not church attendance, a cross necklace, knowing the right traditions, or looking like somebody wearing a fake muscle shirt. Christian maturity can look impressive from a distance while hiding a heart that has drifted from Jesus. The false promise of “Jesus plus” can attach itself to Bible knowledge, good behavior, religious activity, spiritual experiences, or a life that appears put together. Christ alone remains the source and center of maturity.

Paul says Christ is proclaimed, then Christ’s people are admonished and taught with all wisdom. Christ’s forgiveness does not give permission to keep living in sin. Christ tells the forgiven sinner, “Neither do I condemn you. Now go and sin no more.” Grace reaches the head and heart, then comes out in the hands through a life that fights sexual immorality, greed, rage, lying, bitterness, and slander while putting on compassion, kindness, self-control, and love.

Justification gives believers their status before God: forgiven and dearly loved through faith in Jesus. Sanctification grows out of that forgiveness, not toward it. Christ’s people do not work for forgiveness by becoming holy. Christ’s people live holy lives because Christ has already forgiven them and is making them more like himself.

Paul works hard, but Christ supplies the energy working powerfully in him. Christ, the Lord who created all things, reconciled sinners by his blood, rose from the dead, and rules the universe, lives in believers by faith. Christian maturity therefore looks less like independence and more like dependence. Christ’s people ask him for patience, gentleness, kindness, and self-control, then live each day trusting that he is faithful to work those things in them.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Jesus is never the elementary part. Christ is not a foundation to leave behind once somebody becomes more advanced. Christ crucified and risen remains the deepest comfort, the clearest truth, and the center of mature faith. Christian maturity keeps returning to the forgiveness of sins with greater hunger, not less. [41:13]
• 2. Forgiveness produces a different kind of life. Grace does not make sin harmless or acceptable. Christ’s pardon frees believers from condemnation so that sin no longer gets to define their direction. The forgiven heart learns to say, “Jesus, you forgave me, so I do not want to keep living in this.” [44:05]
• 3. Sanctification grows out of justification. Justification declares believers forgiven and dearly loved because of Jesus alone. Sanctification is the ongoing work of becoming more Christlike in response to that gift. Holy living becomes a thank-you to Christ, not a way to make God accept somebody. [46:43]
• 4. Maturity means deeper dependence on Christ. Christ does not call believers to grit their teeth and manufacture holiness by themselves. Christ powerfully works in his people, giving the patience, gentleness, and self-control that they lack. Mature faith admits its need and depends on the Lord who lives within.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [27:55] - Why Growth Can Feel Uncomfortable
• [29:58] - The Question of Christian Maturity
• [30:23] - Colossians and the Jesus Plus Heresy
• [32:16] - Paul’s Goal: Fully Mature in Christ
• [32:35] - Christ’s Finished Work and Paul’s Suffering
• [34:25] - False Signs of Maturity
• [36:20] - Keep Hearing About Christ
• [37:47] - The Danger of Adding to Jesus
• [42:20] - Keep Growing in Christ
• [43:36] - Grace and “Go and Sin No More”
• [46:26] - Justification and Sanctification
• [48:27] - Christ Powerfully Works Within
• [50:18] - Depending on Jesus Every Day
• [51:53] - The Secret of Christian Maturity

Bible Reading

Colossians 1:24-29
“Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness— the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me.” [32:24]

John 8:10-11
“Jesus straightened up and asked her, ‘Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’ ‘No one, sir,’ she said. ‘Then neither do I condemn you,’ Jesus declared. ‘Go now and leave your life of sin.’” [44:05]

2 Peter 1:5-9
“For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.” [40:39]

Observation questions

1. In Colossians 1:24-29, what does Paul say is the “mystery” once hidden but now revealed, and what is his goal for the people he serves? [34:03]
2. What two actions does Paul connect with proclaiming Christ in verse 28, and how do those actions fit together?
3. In John 8:10-11, what does Jesus say to the woman before he tells her to leave her life of sin? Why does the order of his words matter? [44:05]
4. In 2 Peter 1:5-9, what warning does Peter give about a person who does not show growing godly qualities?

Interpretation questions

1. Paul says that he is “filling up” what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions. How can Christians understand this without thinking that Jesus’ death on the cross was incomplete? [32:52]
2. Paul’s answer to the promise of a secret, advanced spirituality is “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Why would this truth challenge the idea that mature Christians need Jesus plus extra knowledge, experiences, achievements, or religious activity? [37:20]
3. Jesus tells the woman both, “Neither do I condemn you,” and, “Go now and leave your life of sin.” What would be lost if someone held onto only one part of Jesus’ response and ignored the other? [44:20]
4. Peter calls believers to make every effort to grow, while Paul says that Christ’s energy works powerfully in him. How can Christians work seriously against sin without believing that they are earning God’s forgiveness? [46:43]

Application questions

1. What is most likely to become “Jesus plus” in your own heart: Bible knowledge, good behavior, church involvement, having life together, spiritual experiences, or something else? How does that temptation pull your attention away from Christ? [37:52]
2. When you hear again that Jesus died and rose for you, do you tend to think, “I already know that,” or do you receive it as needed comfort? What might help you keep returning to the forgiveness of sins with fresh gratitude? [41:13]
3. Is there a particular sin pattern—anger, bitterness, gossip, greed, sexual temptation, dishonesty, or lack of self-control—that you need to bring honestly into the light? How does knowing that you are forgiven change the way you fight that sin? [45:25]
4. Think about a relationship where you are tempted to be short-tempered, passive-aggressive, or harsh. What would it look like this week to ask Christ for his patience, gentleness, and kindness before entering that situation? [50:18]
5. Where are you most tempted to treat holy living as a way to prove yourself to God or to others? How can you remind yourself that you are already forgiven and dearly loved through faith in Jesus? [46:49]
6. What is one area of your thoughts, words, or actions where you need greater self-control? What specific prayer could you begin praying each morning as you depend on Christ to work in you? [51:00]
7. Christian maturity is not greater independence from Jesus but deeper dependence on him. What would deeper dependence on Christ look like in one ordinary part of your week—at home, at work, online, or in a difficult conversation? [52:08]