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There are three primary ways to think about how we’re to be growing as disciples of Christ. First, we want to grow in knowledge of God, in terms of our minds. Second, we want to grow in our love of God, in terms of our hearts. Third, we want to grow in our obedience to God, in terms of our will.
Often when someone becomes a Christian (especially if he or she didn’t grow up in a Christian home), their knowledge of who Christ is, of what the Bible says, and of theological truths are limited. They may have a rudimentary understanding of subjects like sin, Christ, the Trinity, and so forth, but there’s much more to learn. Yet even if you’ve grown up in the church or attended a Christian school or seminary, there’s always more to learn about the riches of the person and work of Christ as revealed in Scripture.
Throughout the New Testament believers are encouraged to grow in their knowledge and understanding of God. For example, the apostle Paul prays for Christians in Ephesians 1:17-19, asking that God might “give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might”. Paul prays in a similar way in Colossians 1:9-10 saying, “…we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.”
One of the reasons Paul wishes for believers to grow in their knowledge of Christ is so they wouldn’t be deceived by false teaching. Paul says God’s purpose in giving various pastors and teachers to the church is so we might “…attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God… so that we may no longer be children, tossed back and forth by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes” (Eph. 4:12-14).
The apostle Peter also instructs his readers to strive to grow in their knowledge of God so they might be effective and fruitful disciples. He tells them to “…make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self control… 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 1:5-6). Then a couple of chapters later he adds, “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18).
So it is clear that God wants us to grow in our understanding of him and what he has done for us in Christ.
In addition to growing in our intellectual knowledge of God, Scripture calls us to love God. This is perhaps mostly clearly seen when Jesus sums up the demands of the Law and Prophets in Matthew 22:37, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” The affections of our heart should grow in love for God as we come to understand more of his character and his works done for us in Christ.
Jesus described the manner in which our hearts should love and treasure him by comparing it to a man who discovered a treasure buried in a field in Matthew 13:44. After discovering it, the man joyfully sold all that he had in order to purchase the field and possess the treasure. God should be our heart’s strongest desire and deepest love, so that there would be nothing in our lives we’d be unwilling to give up for his sake.
Knowing that our love is never perfect and our hearts are still sometimes swayed by the things of this world, Paul prayed for the believers in Philippi saying, “And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment…” (Phil. 1:9). Our love, informed by knowledge of God through the Word of God, is to grow deeper with each passing year we follow him.
One of the ways our love for God is demonstrated is by how we love others. The apostle John writes in 1 John 4:11-12, “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.” We know that we are growing deeper in our love for God if we at the same time see a growing love for others in our hearts.
If our knowledge of God is the fuel that feeds the engine of our hearts to love God, then the forward motion of that combination of knowledge and love should result in obedience. When the desires of our hearts have been so transformed by the knowledge of the greatness of God and His atoning work for us through the death of Christ, our wills in turn are eager to respond in joyful obedience.
When Paul reflects upon God’s saving grace given to us in Christ in Ephesians 2, he concludes by reminding the Ephesians that “…we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:10). One of the reasons God has saved us is so that we might obey his Word and produce fruit (good works) consistent with what God has called us to in Christ. Paul further reminds the believers in 2 Thessalonians 3:13 to “not grow weary in doing good.”
As followers of Christ, we should have a consistent lifestyle of obeying God through good works. At no point should we “check out” or imagine that we’ve done our duty and now we can retire to other pursuits. To be a growing disciple of Christ, we must diligently pursue a life of godliness through obedience to the Word of God.
In light of this, we must personally strive to continually grow in knowledge, love, and obedience to Christ. One such way of doing this is through the practice of spiritual disciplines.
Scripture mentions various spiritual disciplines we should engage in so that we grow into more mature disciples of Christ. While these are things we must do, in that we need to discipline the use of our time, talents, and treasures in order to put these into practice, it should always be remembered that these are not works that obligate God to us, but rather are a means which open us up to God’s grace.
Richard Foster, in his excellent work on spiritual disciplines entitled Celebration of Discipline, says this,
“God has given us the Disciplines of the spiritual life as a means of receiving his grace. The Disciplines allow us to place ourselves before God so that he can transform us… By themselves the Spiritual Disciplines can do nothing; they can only get us to the place where something can be done… God has ordained the Disciplines of the spiritual life as the means by which we place ourselves where he can bless us.”
There is no precise list of spiritual disciplines. If you pick up two different books on spiritual disciplines, you’ll likely encounter many similarities while also coming across a few differences. The following are a short list of a few of the more common disciplines for us all to regularly practice:
Every Christian should have a regular time of reading Scripture. Try to find a time each day when you are alert and unhurried and spend time immersing yourself in God’s Word. Since “all Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Tim. 3:16) disciplined time in the study of Scripture is essential to your growth in Christ.
We live in a time where numerous study tools are available to help us dig deeper into God’s Word. Many excellent study Bibles are available which provide maps, charts, a concordance, cross-references, background information, and study notes – all of which will greatly aid your understanding of Scripture. There are also many devotional books and commentaries available for believers of all levels to help supplement your study of Scripture.
For resources for personal study see our Resources page.
For information on our group Bible Studies, see our Small Groups page.
Spending time daily with the Lord in prayer is another essential discipline for spiritual growth. In Bible study we allow God to speak to us through his Word and in prayer we speak to God through our words. We’re called to prayer throughout Scripture (Matt. 6:9; 1 Thess. 5:17; 1 Tim. 2:8; James 5:3,16 just to name a few!). So Christians must cultivate regular practice of prayer for their own needs, for the needs of others, and for the church and the church leadership.
The discipline of fasting was assumed by Jesus. In Matthew 6:17 Jesus began his instructions for fasting with the words, “But when you fast…” demonstrating that fasting was a discipline Jesus expected his disciples to practice. While fasting is most commonly done with regards to food, it can also be done for other areas of your life such as watching television, surfing the internet, playing video games, etc. The goal of fasting is to free you from those things which control you in order for you to devote yourself more to God. The time that is available to you by virtue of not eating (or whatever it is you’re fasting from) is instead devoted to prayer and the study of God’s Word. Christians can utilize the discipline of fasting to help them break the power of addictive behaviors in their lives and allow them a greater focus upon Christ and His kingdom.
We have available to us a wealth of great books written by Christians to help you grow in your faith. God as given us shepherds and teachers to help equip us for the work of ministry and to build up the Body of Christ (Eph. 4:11-12), and that is also accomplished
through writing books. Also, the discipline of journaling has been a help for believers in recording their thoughts, struggles, prayer requests, and answers to prayer.
See our Reading Program for an opportunity to get into reading good Christian books.
Giving a percentage of one’s income was a common practice of God’s covenant people throughout the Old Testament (Deut. 14:22-28; 2 Chron. 31:5, Neh. 13:12). While the New Testament does not demand that we tithe, it does call for us to give generously and cheerfully (2 Cor. 9:6-14). In spite of the fact that we’re not demanded to give a particular percentage of our income, throughout the ages believers have viewed tithing as a useful baseline when determining how to give.
Christians out of worship to Him, make it their practice to commit to the regular, faithful, and generous giving of a percentage of their income to support the work of the church.
At Liberty Community Church we give our finances to support the ministries of the church. For more on giving see our Giving page.
Living in an age of individualism and in a culture that has grown increasingly distrustful of authority, the discipline of submission can be one of the most challenging of all spiritual disciplines for us to practice. Nevertheless, Scripture is clear in its call for believers to submit to one another: wives are to submit to their husbands (Eph. 5:22-24), children are to submit to their parents (Eph 6:1-3), employees are to submit to their employers (this is analogous to the relationship between slaves and masters referred to Eph. 6:5-8; 1 Peter 2:18), citizens are to submit to the governing authorities (1 Peter 2:13-15), and members of the church are to submit to church leadership (Hebrews 13:17; 1 Peter 5:5).
It’s a discipline to practice submission since in our sinful pride we do not naturally submit to anyone, preferring instead to do as we please according to our own desires. A growing disciple will strive to live in obedience to God’s Word by developing a heart that can willingly and joyfully submit to others in every situation where it’s called for.
God has blessed his people with numerous spiritual gifts that have been given for the benefit of the whole church (1 Cor. 12; 1 Peter 4:10). We’re called to use those gifts in service to others. A mature disciple looks for way to serve others, following the example of the Lord who, after serving the Twelve by washing their feet said, “If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you” (John 13:14-15).
We grow in our Christian life by serving the ministry of the church by discovering our talents and gifts, by being equipped to serve, and by developing a servants heart. (I Peter 4:10; Philippians 2:3,4,7)
For opportunities to serve see our service page. At Liberty Community Church, ministry service in the ongoing ministries of the church are conducted by our church members.
Explore some of the ways Liberty can help you grow in your Christian walk.
