The growth of a Christian is complex and involves many change agents like God’s Word, fellowship with other believers, personal prayer, and worship. These things are all very important, but they only serve to set up fertile soil in a Christians heart. The growth comes from God and his exclusive work in our lives. Like the part a farmer plays in growing a crop, he tills the soil, he plants the seed, he waters the seed, but God is the one who causes the growth. When we do what we can do to create an environment for growth, then God’s work in our lives can take root.

It is not my responsibility to grow myself, that’s God’s job. I am responsible to cultivate a heart and life that is conducive for growth.

My life can change, and I can grow. No matter what my situation is, with the right conditions, God’s work can be effective.

I must cultivate the soil in my heart. Evaluate the environment I find myself in. If something needs to change so that God can grow me then I need to make a conscious choice to change it. Ask God to grow you and give you the courage to embrace the growth as it comes.

1 Corinthians 3:5-9—Who is Apollos? Who is Paul? We are only God’s servants through whom you believed the Good News. Each of us did the work the Lord gave us. 6 I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow. 7 It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow. 8 The one who plants and the one who waters work together with the same purpose. And both will be rewarded for their own hard work. 9 For we are both God’s workers. And you are God’s field. You are God’s building.

Ephesians 3:17-19—Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. 18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. 19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

Colossians 3:15-17—Let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body, you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful. 16 Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. 17 And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.

Colossians 2:6-7—Just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. 7 Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.

1 Peter 2:1-3—Get rid of all evil behavior. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech. 2 Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment, 3 now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness.

Ephesians 4:15-16—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. 16 He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.

It’s important to remember today that it is God who makes things grow. The seed matters, the soil matters, the water matters, the sunlight matters but ultimately the Master Architect of growth directs the agents of growth.

#1—Spiritual Growth is not Growth by Human Hands

1 Corinthians 3:5-6—Who is Apollos? Who is Paul? We are only God’s servants through whom you believed the Good News. Each of us did the work the Lord gave us. 6 I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow.

Throughout 1 Corinthians we see the early church fighting and quarreling about many different aspects of faith. In fact, it was such a problem that the Apostle Paul addressed it throughout the 1st and 2nd letter to the Corinthians.

One of the specific arguments was over which leaders they were to follow. They must have felt that one was greater or more productive than another. Paul clearly states that these men are simply servants of God and that the fighting needed to stop because spiritual growth was not a result of human’s work. It is God who makes things grow.

This commentary in Paul’s letter was intended to free the readers from unnecessary comparison and to focus on God’s work in their lives. Unfortunately, we continue to argue today about what is the best path for growth, which Christian speaker is best, which church is most impactful, on and on it goes. According to Paul, these things all have a place but ultimately the growth is up to God.

#2—We Are God’s Field

1 Corinthians 3:7-9—It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow. 8 The one who plants and the one who waters work together with the same purpose. And both will be rewarded for their own hard work. 9 For we are both God’s workers. And you are God’s field. You are God’s building.

It is good to know that God is interested in our growth. He sees each human heart as a field ready to bear fruit. Verse 9 states that we are God’s co-workers in growth. How can we practically aid God in his work?

We must act with wisdom and immerse ourselves in community with others who love Jesus and are growing themselves. We must dedicate ourselves to reading God’s Word and spending time with him in prayer. We must regularly worship Jesus with our lives. We must constantly evaluate our lives and repent of our sin. We must evaluate ourselves based upon the commandments and instructions of Christ found in the Gospels.

#3—In God’s Field, Growth is not an Option

1 Corinthians 3:1-2—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…

The expectation is that we would grow and mature in the faith. To be stagnant is not an option. Paul makes a comparison in 1 Corinthians 3:1-2 between milk, which is for infants, and solid food, which is for the mature.

In this passage Paul clearly communicates that each person starts as an infant in the faith but is expected to become a mature follower of God. Some Christians are comfortable with their current relationship with God, even if it reveals immaturity and sin. This should not be so. It is our responsibility to take the necessary steps in our lives and others’ lives to be the agents of change God intends us to be.

#4—Growth Needs the Right Environment

Colossians 2:6-7— Just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. 7 Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.

It almost goes without saying that spiritual growth, like natural growth, needs the right environment. It would be ludicrous to think that an apple tree could grow in the middle of the Sahara Desert where the proper agents weren’t present to help encourage growth.

Similarly, it is equally as ludicrous for believers to think that they can have robust and fruitful lives as disciples if they are constantly immersed in environments of sin, evil, and unhealth where the divine agents of change are not present.

Paul is essentially saying, “do the things that you were doing when the gospel seed was first planted in you.” Continue living IN HIM. Root yourself in Christ by being devoted to the Word, to the fellowship of believers, and to prayer + worship.

Continue to be strengthened by your commitments. Overflow with gratitude and thankfulness. It’s hard to remain in a stagnant place when you’re overflowing with thankfulness for all that God has done in your life.

Let us be willing to evaluate and scrutinize the environments in which we are trying to grow. Be honest today about the things in your life that are not conducive to healthy growth.

#5—Recognize Adversity as an Opportunity for Growth

James 1:2-4— Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. 4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.

Admittedly it can be hard to differentiate unhealthy times and situations from seasons of adversity that God may be using to grow us.
We’ll talk more about this next week, but considering today’s teaching on growth, it’s important to recognize that seasons of adversity can promote healthy growth.

It’s important to be prayerful through adversity. Seek counsel from more mature believers in discerning adversity from unhealth. And maybe most importantly, be humble enough to ask for help when you need it.

We all have seasons of adversity, and we all need a little help from time to time. That doesn’t make you weak, it makes you human. You will come through trials and adversity, a stronger and more mature believer, and that is positive kingdom growth.

You might not be where you want to be right now, but by the grace of God you aren’t where you used to be either.

Trust the process of growth. You are God’s field, and it is God who will work through the agents of transformation to bring about growth in you.

Philippians 1:6— I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.

Let God work in you. Embrace opportunities to be a healthy part of another’s growth process. Keep on meeting with other believers, keep singing, keep praying, and keep pressing on. The journey is a long one, but the eternal destination is worth it.