Page 43 - EMCAPP-Journal No. 9

Colossians 1:28 freedom into love). A person’s own functional
Him we proclaim, warning everyone and tea- identity and autonomy are a necessary conditi-
ching everyone with all wisdom, that we may on to a growing maturity on this level.
present everyone mature in Christ. Without it succession of Christ might i.e. come
Here the author has in view the pedagogical aim out of a feeling of guilt (shame) and therefore
of admonishing and teaching. could be perverted by a lack of voluntariness.

Colossians 4:12 Thesis 3:
1Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Spiritual Maturity is the constant process of de-
Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on veloping the “fruits of the spirit” (Gal.5,22ff):
your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
mature and fully assured in all the will of God. faithfulness,
Maturity is the stable state of faith which is cha- gentleness, self-control”. These spiritually sti-
racterized by congruence to the will of god. mulated and formed issues of human persona-
lity (rational, emotional and physical expres-
Hebrews 5:14 sivity) are not externally conditioned but are
But solid food is for the mature, for those who acquired by individuals in an existential and
have their powers of discernment trained by multiversal process of growth.
constant practice to distinguish good from evil. It would mean to totally misunderstand the es-
Maturity is the ability to discern / distinguish sence of Spiritual Maturity if it was thought of
good from evil. An ability of taking one’s own de- as a direct goal in a process of human learning
cisions. or practicing (though practice is very important
for development!). Spiritual Maturity cannot be
applied or induced in any way for it is an unique
7 Theses on Spiritual Maturity existential process of the individual which is in-
itiated by gods spirit can on ly be accompanied by
Thesis 1: other individuals. Spiritual Maturity comes “ex
Spiritual Maturity basically is a personal set of eventu” (not “per intentionem”!).
spiritual competences (i.e. living by faith, kee-
ping in accordance to the will of god, walking in Thesis 4:
discernment of the spirits, simplicity...: “be like Spiritual Maturity is a complex (synergetic /
Jesus”) within a person who is no longer stuck dissipative / dynamic) structure emerging from
with basics like being justified and saved in the non linear process of a growing (even if ex-
Christ (and so on) and have their steady foun- perienced as decreasing > John 3:30) personal
dation in the person’s free and willing decision self in regard to mans relationship to god, him-
for succession of Christ on his way to the cross self and the others (including the world). It ne-
(according to His personal calling). ver is a possible opposite of
Spiritual Maturity is an experience of freedom in anything that could motivate people to look for
which man feels and realizes the possibility of ta- human support i.e. in psychotherapy – thus it is
king existential decisions in his own responsibili- never just thelogical solution or “fill in” for any
ty. It is in a way the “conditio sine qua non” of any of mans problems with himself, with others,
succession and at the same time it is the very aim with god.
of the process of following Christ until the very Spiritual Maturity does not come out of certain
last day on this earth. predictable reasons and causes. It eventually is
an attractor (parameter of order) in a complex
Thesis 2: energetic system of perpetually organizing and
Spiritual Maturity is starting to take shape in reforming ones personality affected by a multi-
human existence when an individual comes to tude of impacts (parameters of control).
offer / to sacrifice his very autonomy, his free-
dom as a person for his love for Christ (trading

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