Maturity in Christ: If You Know, You Know
May 2, 2026
Most of us want to grow spiritually. We read the Bible when we remember, pray when we’re desperate, go to church, help others when we can and do our best to be decent people. But often times, maturity can feel illusive, like being blindfolded and swinging at a pinata. We can become suspicious that someone is moving maturity around so we miss it. I would be mature by now if it weren’t for other people…
Paul wants to take the blindfolds off so we know what maturity in Christ looks like and we can know what we are aiming at. Writing from prison in his letter to the Colossians, he describes his goal plainly: to present everyone in the church as “mature in Christ.” Not just saved. Not just showing up. Mature. And then he adds something that stops you cold: he works toward that goal with all the energy that Jesus powerfully works in him.
Notice what Paul doesn’t say. He’s not grinding through in his own willpower. He’s not trying to impress anyone. The fuel for his work is Jesus himself. Even in prison, he’s not checking out. That distinction matters more than it first appears.
Becoming a Christian Is Not the Same as Growing Up
Spiritual maturity doesn’t happen automatically once you become a follower of Jesus. That may sound obvious, but most of us live as if it does. We assume that time in the faith equals growth in the faith. It doesn’t.
In Colossians 1:9–10, Paul prays specifically and repeatedly for the church: “We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord.” The word “continually” is a signal. This is not a one-time prayer.
Paul treats spiritual maturity as something that requires continuous, intentional attention in the presence and power of Jesus. It takes humility to recognize where you’re still immature. It takes intentionality to keep moving.
It also requires asking. The rule of God’s kingdom is simple: if you don’t ask, you don’t receive. (James 1 & 4) Self-reliance blocks what God wants to give. That old saying, “God helps those who help themselves,” is not in Scripture. It is actually the opposite of what Scripture teaches.
Why Knowing About God Is Not Enough
Here is where Paul’s letter gets interesting, and most modern readers miss it entirely.
When Paul prays for the Colossians to be filled with “knowledge,” he’s writing to a city steeped in Greek culture. Colossae was a place where Gnosticism thrived. People literally worshiped Gnosis (knowledge) and Sophia (wisdom) as divine forces. Paul uses those exact words on purpose. His point: the only true knowledge and wisdom come from the one true God.
But Paul goes further. He doesn’t use the standard Greek word for knowledge. He uses epignósis. In English we simply read “knowledge” but in Greek, we see something deeper.
When I first met my wife, I learned facts about her: her name, where she grew up, how old she was. That’s gnosis. Data you could fill out on a form. After months of dating, long conversations, and an unexpectedly large family wedding in Chicago I was not prepared for, I had epignósis knowledge of her.
Epignósis is experiential, relational, and transforming knowledge. It cannot come from a book or a sermon. It comes from time, from relationship, from showing up consistently and getting to know someone through experiences.
Some Christians carry enormous amounts of gnosis about God. They can quote scripture and explain doctrine. And yet they remain spiritually stagnant, because mere information about God has never transformed anyone. Only a real relationship with Jesus does that. The two most consistent places to grow into that kind of knowledge are your daily personal time with Jesus, and consistent life together in a local church community. Maturity in Christ is not private, it is a group event.
What “Worthy of the Lord” Actually Means
Paul offers a one-sentence definition of spiritual maturity: “so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way.”
It sounds heavy, but the word “worthy” doesn’t mean what most people assume.
It carries the idea of being in balance with something, like a scale that has reached equilibrium. A life worthy of the Lord is not a perfect life. It’s a life that is coming into alignment with Jesus. Your priorities begin to look more like his priorities. The way you treat people starts to reflect the way he treats people.
This is not about earning God’s approval. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus, you are already forgiven and declared a child of the King. The call to live a worthy life is not the condition for being loved. It’s the right response to what God has already done and knowing who you are in him.
Live Like Who You Actually Are
Before Jesus, you were a slave to sin. You lived for yourself, held grudges, chased temporary pleasures, and were easily knocked over by whatever the world demanded. That was your identity, and you lived accordingly.
But Paul writes that the Father “has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” You are no longer a slave. You are royalty. The King is your Father.
The problem is that many of us keep living like slaves after we have been set free. Old habits die hard.
This week, ask God this question: where am I still living like a slave, out of the old self? Listen for Jesus’ voice speaking to your heart. Then take one concrete step toward living worthy, in balance with who he says you are.
That’s what spiritual maturity looks like. Not perfection. Just a life that keeps coming into balance with Jesus, each day.