“What is spiritual growth?”……Spiritual growth is the process of becoming more and more like Jesus Christ. When we place our faith in Jesus, the Holy Spirit begins the process of making us more like Him, conforming us to His image. Spiritual growth is perhaps best described in2 Peter 1:3-8, which tells us that by God’s power we have "everything we need" to live lives of godliness, which is the goal of spiritual growth. Notice that what we need comes "through our knowledge of Him," which is the key to obtaining everything we need. Our knowledge of Him comes from the Word, given to us for our edification and growth.……There are two lists inGalatians 5:19-23. Verses 19-21 list the "acts of the flesh." These are the things that identified our lives before we came to Christ for salvation. The acts of the flesh are the activities we are to confess, repent of, and, with God's help, overcome. As we experience spiritual growth, fewer and fewer of the "acts of the flesh" will be evident in our lives. The second list is the "fruit of the Spirit" (verses 22-23). These are what should characterize our lives now that we have experienced salvation in Jesus Christ. Spiritual growth is identified by the fruit of the Spirit becoming increasingly evident in a believer's life.……When the transformation of salvation takes place, spiritual growth begins. The Holy Spirit indwells us (John 14:16-17). We are new creatures in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). The old, sinful nature begins to give way to the new, Christlike nature (Romans 6-7). Spiritual growth is a lifelong process that depends on our study and application of God’s Word (2 Timothy 3:16-17) and our walk in the Spirit (Galatians 5:16-26). As we seek spiritual growth, we should pray to God and ask for wisdom concerning the areas He desires us to grow in. We can ask God to increase our faith and knowledge of Him. God desires for us to grow spiritually, and He has given us all we need to experience spiritual growth. With the Holy Spirit's help, we can overcome sin and steadily become more like our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.……How important is spiritual growth in Christian life?

Spiritual growth is the process of becoming more mature in one’s relationship with Jesus Christ. Someone who is growing spiritually will become more and more like Christ. The spiritually mature will be able to “distinguish good from evil” (Hebrews 5:14). Spiritual growth begins the moment a person comes to faith in Christ and should continue until a person enters Christ’s presence after this life.……Spiritual growth is expected of the believer. The author of Hebrews reprimands his readers for “no longer try[ing] to understand” (Hebrews 5:11 NIV) and “being still an infant” (verse 13). The criticism leads to exhortation: “Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity” (Hebrews 6:1).The apostle Peter says, “Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18).……Scripture offers valuable insights into how a Christian can grow spiritually. It is Christ’s power in the believer that gives us the ability to grow spiritually (2 Peter 1:3Ephesians 3:20). As we rely on His power and follow His teachings, we can develop greater maturity.……Peter provides a peek at the process: “make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:5-8).……Involvement in a local church and the exercise of our spiritual gifts are invaluable to the development of maturity (Ephesians 4:11-16). Rather than be swayed by every errant doctrine that comes along, we can speak “the truth in love,” with the result that “we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ” (verse 15).……To evaluate spiritual growth, we can measure our improvement in the “fruit of the Spirit.” The Spirit desires to produce these qualities in us: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23). Are we increasing in love? in joy? in patience? If so, we are growing spiritually.……We should be aware that growth often comes through trials. Just as physical strength is built through exertion and straining against resistance, spiritual strength is developed in the hard times of life. “No pain, no gain,” as they say. James gives encouragement: “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1:2-4).……Because growth comes through trials, Scripture also teaches we are not to grow weary in the process. Much spiritual development is the result of persistence. “As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good” (2 Thessalonians 3:13). “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9).……It is God’s will that we grow to be more like Jesus. We also have the promise that the Lord Himself will oversee our growth and bring us to maturity. “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6 NIV).……“Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you” (2 Corinthians 13:11).………“What is spiritual maturity? How can I become more spiritually mature?”……Spiritual maturity is achieved through becoming more like Jesus Christ. After salvation, every Christian begins the process of spiritual growth, with the intent being to become spiritually mature. According to the Apostle Paul, it's an ongoing process that will never end in this life. InPhilippians 3:12-14, speaking of full knowledge of Christ, he tells his readers that he himself has not “already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus”. Like Paul, we have to press continually toward deeper knowledge of God in Christ.……Christian maturity requires a radical reordering of one's priorities, changing over from pleasing self to pleasing God and learning to obey God. The key to maturity is consistency, perseverance in doing those things we know will bring us closer to God. These practices are referred to as the spiritual disciplines, and include things such as Bible reading/study, prayer, fellowship, service, and stewardship. No matter how hard we might work on those things, however, none of this is possible without the enabling of the Holy Spirit within us.Galatians 5:16tell us that we're to "walk by the Spirit." The Greek word used here for "walk" actually means to "walk with a purpose in view." Further down in the same chapter, Paul tells us again that we're to "walk by the Spirit." Here, the word translated "walk" means "step by step, one step at a time." It is learning to walk under the instruction of another-the Holy Spirit. Since believers are filled with the Spirit, we should also walk under His control. As we submit more and more to the Spirit's control, we will also see an increase in the fruit of the Spirit in our lives (Galatians 5:22-23). This is characteristic of spiritual maturity.……When we become Christians, we are given all we need for spiritual maturity. Peter tells us that "His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory and excellence" (2 Peter 1:3). God alone is our resource, and all growth comes by grace through Him, but we are responsible to make the choice to do those things that will place us in position to receive that grace. Peter again helps us in this area: "For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 1:5-8). Being effective and fruitful in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus is the essence of spiritual maturity.………