Spiritual Growth BasicsPrimjer

### The Necessity of Spiritual Growth Getting a handle on spiritual growth is crucial for at least two reasons. First, it is God’s command and, therefore, His will for us. And second, the alternative to growth is stagnation and eventual deformity. There’s a good reason you won’t find a hymn called “Backwards Christian Soldiers” being sung in any church. Failing to grow is not an option for believers—at least not if we want to please God. It may help to begin with a definition of spiritual growth. Spiritual growth can be defined as that transformational process by which we allow the indwelling Christ to increasingly express Himself in and through us, resulting in a greater capacity on our part to bring God greater glory, be a blessing to others, and advance His kingdom on earth. Spiritual growth involves more of Christ being expressed in your life and less of you. John the Baptist said it best. As Jesus’ ministry and popularity grew and John began to step into the background, John’s disciples came to him and said, “Do you realize what’s going on here?” (John 3:22–26). John responded, “He [Jesus] must increase, but I must decrease” (v. 30). We are growing spiritually when more of Jesus is being expressed through us than we ourselves.