Dimensions and Stages of Spiritual Development

DIMENSIONS AND STAGES OF

SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT

DIMENSIONS AND STAGES OF

SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT

Professor P. V. Ntintili

Ph.D.; Th.D.

Copyright © 2018 Professor P. V. Ntintili

Published by Professor P. V. Ntintili Publishing at Smashwords

First edition 2018

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Table of Contents

Dedication

Acknowledgements

Preface

Introduction

Part One

1. What Development Means

2. Impediments to Spiritual Development

3. Prerequisites of Spiritual Development

4. Dimensions of Spiritual Development

5. Balanced Spiritual Development

6. Holistic Spiritual Development

Part Two

7. Stages of Spiritual Development

8. Spirituality Development and the Holy Spirit

9. Spiritual Development and the Word of God

10. Spiritual Development and the Flesh

11. Things to do in Spiritual Development

12. What are we Developing in Spiritual Development

Bibliography

Dedication

This book is affectionately and gratefully dedicated to the Holy Spirit, the often-forgotten Third Person of the Holy Trinity. Without Him, nobody could ever be saved and adopted into God’s family. Without Him, there is no possibility at all of Christian and Biblical spirituality. It is my desire to cultivate a vibrant, personal and intimate relationship with Him. The Christian Benediction says, May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us now and forever more, amen. It is this fellowship or communion with the Holy Spirit that I crave to experience all the time. I wish to follow His guidance, so that I can attain the spiritual development which is possible through Him and which God expects of me. May the Holy Spirit of God be glorified forever!

Acknowledgements

It is common in acknowledgements to mention persons and institutions that are recognised in the book for their contribution either to the author, or to the contents of the book, or its publication. But in this acknowledgement, I want to pay tribute to the concept of discipleship and its contribution to my own life. Throughout the Bible, all those who positively impacted their generations were people who had gone through discipleship. This is true from Moses, the author of the first five books of the Bible, who was discipled by Jethro, to the Apostle John, the author of the last book of the Bible, revelation, who was discipled by our Lord Jesus Christ. There are many, in between these two, whose contribution to the advancement of the purposes of God on earth were vital, who were groomed through the programme of discipleship. We could mention Joshua who was discipled by Moses, Elisha who was discipled by Elijah, Samuel who was discipled by Eli, Esther who was discipled by Mordecai, the Apostles who were discipled by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, Timothy and many others who were discipled by Paul. It is no overstatement to say that anyone who became something in the hand of God and who impacted his or her community or nation, is someone who was groomed and discipled by someone else. It is for this reason that Jesus Christ, during His earthly ministry, focused all His time on discipleship. That was the primary thing that He focused on in His ministry.

This matter of discipleship got lost in the Church for many centuries. At certain times, spurious forms of discipleship were introduced which did not help the Church. We introduced some notions that were akin to but not identical to discipleship; concepts such as spiritual oversight or spiritual fathering, mentorship and other concepts that were helpful, but not as effective as discipleship itself. Even those who attempted to introduce discipleship itself, their brand of discipleship was not quite biblical discipleship. But the Lord has reintroduced to the Body of Christ biblical discipleship and the Living Seed Team focuses squarely on this. I was fortunate to come into contact with the discipleship work that they are doing. If there is anything that is of value in my life, it can be attributed to the discipleship programme I received from this team. What has helped me, above all other help which I have received from the sermons others have preached and books I have read, is discipleship. Am I discounting the assistance from others that God, in His mercy, arranged for me? The answer is an emphatic no. I thank God for other useful and helpful exposures that I have had - the schools I attended, the Baptist Church that has groomed me, the Para-church organisations that I was part of, etc. However, the role played by discipleship in my life is comparable to no other influence. I can truly say that discipleship formed me. Christ, in recruiting those He would disciple, said, Come and I will make you . . . Indeed discipleship makes a person; it conforms one to the image and likeness of Christ (Rom. 8:29). I highly recommend discipleship to all those who may not have found it. If you wish to know more about discipleship, I would urge you to consult us and the contact details are at the back of this book. This acknowledgement is solely to discipleship. May it spread and engulf the whole world! May the Body of Christ discover it!

Preface

When it comes to books, there are many situations that contribute to an emergence of a book. It could be a master’s or doctoral dissertation which results in a book that explores or investigates a certain topic. Another situation that commonly results in books being published is opportunities to read papers in scholarly colloquia or forums, or opportunities to speak or preach at conferences. This book is the result of the opportunity I had to speak at the Apostolic Faith Mission, Mogoditshane Assembly, in Gaborone Botswana. I am particularly grateful to Pastor Mmoloki Mogokgwane, the senior pastor and gatekeeper of this assembly, for opening the doors of his church to a team that I led there for revival labours. It was there that God led me to speak on this topic of spiritual development. Again, when I was in Mozambique, where I was invited by the pastors of Maputo, the Lord visited this topic once more. Pastor Alfa Moambi of the Saints Church International located in Mahotas, Maputo in Mozambique, graciously coordinated this gathering of pastors and church leaders. It was after a series of sermons was given on this topic that I sensed that God was urging me to write a small book on this important topic.

It is wonderful to work together with the Body of Christ in Southern Africa and beyond. It is through this collaborative effort to push the purposes of God forward in the continent of Africa that revival will be realised on this beautiful continent. I am persuaded that Africa has a central role to play in the upcoming move of God, which I perceive to be the last one before Christ returns. I can boldly say that it is Africa’s turn to take the Gospel to other continents. But they must be Africans who are fully matured. This book discusses dimensions of spiritual development and the stages which genuine spiritual maturity must go through. I do hope that this book will be a worthwhile contribution to the Church in Southern Africa.

Professor Vuyani P. Ntintili

Mthatha, July 2018

Introduction

The problems and challenges that baffle and beset the Church can be attributed to, among other things, a lack of spiritual growth. The scandalous misdemeanours and crippling factionalism that plagued the Corinthian Church were due to lack of spiritual development. Paul calls Christians in this church ‘infants’ or ‘babes.’ Yet, they were loud-mouthed and arrogant babies, who gave Paul a hard time. In 1 Cor. 3:1-4 Paul says, about their carnality, And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal? The carnality and strife that buffeted this Church are ascribed to the fact that they were babes in Christ. This lack of proper growth has always been the bane of the Church throughout its existence. This situation has varied from generation to generation, but things seem to be worse in our days. TV stations and newspapers seem to have a field day in reporting on scandal after scandal carried out by people who claim to be leaders of the Church of God. Some of these scandals leave us flabbergasted and speechless. The answer to this embarrassing state of affairs is proper spiritual growth.

The Bible, in many places, urges us to grow. In 1 Pet. 2:2 it says, As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby. What is highlighted here is the means of growth, which is the Word of God. It is obvious that spiritual growth is imperative. The injunction of 2 Pet. 3:18 is, Grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. The concern of Peter is that the recipients of this letter will not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position. People who are not grown-up spiritually are easily blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Hence, there is such proliferation of spurious churches and ministers who are nothing else but charlatans and scoundrels, who abuse God’s people because of their immaturity. In Heb. 6:1, we are urged to leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity. The issue of spiritual growth is urgent and the discipleship which I have talked about in the preceding pages has a critical role to play in it.

The argument of this book is that proper spiritual development must go through all the stages of growth prescribed by the Word of God. Just as physical development has some stages that it must go through, so also has spiritual maturity. When one has skipped one stage, it will show in later life; there will be a gap that will show in later life. So we want to delineate the stages that proper spiritual growth must follow. We also want to deal with the issue of a multi-dimensional spiritual development, one that is holistic and not lopsided.

It is my hope that readers will seriously reflect on the issues raised in this book. If there are some stages in their growth that were omitted, that they will go back to them and ensure that they go through them. That would not be regression. Conversely, to omit them would lead to perpetual regression and spiritual stunting. May the good Lord help you to grow properly in your spiritual life and to follow all the stages that the Word of God prescribes! You need to develop in every area of your life - physically, mentally, socially and spiritually, even as Christ did.

Part One

This book is divided into two parts. The focus of the book is spiritual development. God is concerned that we do not stagnate (stand in one place) in our spiritual growth. We become effective in our walk with God and in serving Him and our fellow human beings. In this first part, we are dealing with spiritual growth in general. It is not our intention to discuss everything that has to do with spiritual growth.

While there are many important matters that could be discussed in this first part, the Lord has impressed only six areas of focus. The first chapter discusses what spiritual development actually means. The second chapter talks about impediments to spiritual development. The third chapter deals with the prerequisites of spiritual development. Chapter four deals with something that is very important, namely dimensions of spiritual development and it is based on Col. 2:7. This is one of the most important chapters in this book. Chapter five addresses the matter of balanced spiritual development. It is important that our development spiritually is not lopsided, but balanced. This is a serious problem that we need to think about very soberly. Chapter six addresses the issue of a holistic spiritual development. The topics of the chapters seem to be closely related to one another, but each chapter deals with an important aspect of spiritual development. Please pay special attention as you go through each chapter.

It is our prayer that this part will begin to lay a necessary foundation to understanding what spiritual development means. But what is of paramount importance is the urgent need for each one of us to make progress in our walk with God. In Phil. 1:21-25, Paul says that the reason for him to live is to help others to progress in their spiritual lives. In verse 25 he writes, Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith. It is my prayer that this book will contribute to the spiritual development of those who read it. Not everything in it may speak to you, but whatever does, please prayerfully put it into practice and may your spiritual growth be discernible. Paul wanted the spiritual progress of Timothy, his disciple, to be evident to those who observed his life. He says these words in the letter he wrote to him, in 1 Tim. 4:15, Practice and cultivate and meditate upon these duties; throw yourself wholly into them [as your ministry], so that your progress may be evident to everybody. If you, too, practise the things you read from the Word of God and from good Christian books, your spiritual progress will be evident to all those who observe your life. May this be your portion, in the name of Jesus!

Chapter One

What Development Means

Describing Development

It is not our intention to elaborately discuss the meaning of the word development. If we succumb to the temptation to do that, it will take us on a tangential route that will not help us in understanding spiritual development. Having said this, it is necessary to note a few salient points associated with development. First, every development involves change. This is true of all development, whether physical, social, psychological or intellectual. This is true of spiritual development as well. It has to be borne in mind that while changes that come from development bring some helpful dividends, the changes themselves are not necessarily painless. Even in spiritual development, there are painful changes that one has to undergo in order to reach maturity. Second, development requires adaptation. This is true of all changes. For example, an infant learning to walk has to adapt to his or her environment. Adults, too, have to adapt to changes brought about by aging and the degeneration of many systems as one grows old. Third, all development requires compensation. Adaptation by nature calls for compensation for certain challenges that development brings about. Finally, development, in most cases, though not all, leads to competence. It is for this reason that Keogh and Sugden (1985) define development as adaptive change toward competence (p. 6). This definition, terse as it is, covers the four characteristics of development to which I have alluded.

Finally, it is important for us to know that development is a process. That is why all kinds of development has stages that one has to go through in that development. Stages imply process. Gallahue and Ozmun (1998) explain that the concept of development is a lifelong process. The study of development investigates what happens in the various stages of development. It investigates what happens and how it happens. This process of development leads to, inter alia, maturation and experience. Maturation refers to qualitative changes that enable one to progress to higher levels of functioning. Experience, on the other hand, refers to lessons learned during all the phases of development.

Defining Development

There is a fine line of distinction between description and definition. We want to look at a few definitions that the various authors give of development. We must bear in mind that they are all forms of development. For example, we can speak of physical, psychological, mental, social, economic, political, spiritual, etc. Each field of study will define the concept of development differently, even though there may be areas of overlap. The word ‘develop’ has many nuances. For example, according to Collins Paperback Dictionary (1995), the word means: To grow or to bring to a later, more elaborate, or more advanced stage. This is the sense in which the word development is used in this book. In photography, it means: To treat a photographic plate or film to produce a visible image. This definition is also germane to our discussion in the book. In this book, we are talking about the treatment that one receives that makes God visible in the life of a person who has undergone all six stages of development. We will see this clearly when we discuss the six stages of spiritual development. The New Webster Encyclopedic Dictionary of the English Language (No date of publication) gives an elaborate definition of the word development. It defines development as: The act or process of developing; unfolding; the unravelling of a plot; a gradual growth or advancement through progressive changes; the organic changes which take place in animal and vegetable bodies, from their embryo state until they arrive at maturity; (in photography), the process following exposure, by which the image on the plate is rendered visible. There are several features of these definitions that are extremely important and worth commenting on.

First, development is a process. It is important to note this in this age of instantness. Development does not take place overnight; it takes some time of being exposed to agents of development. In this case, discipleship is an important means of spiritual development. Second, the dictionary uses the word unfolding, which gives an impression of something which was folded and now it is being unfolded, or allowed to develop to its logical finality. Third, it also uses the word unravelling, which means: disentanglement, untying, separating, extrication and sorting out. These are extremely important terms in spiritual development. Before someone can really develop well spiritually, he or she must be disentangled from many vices that entangle a person; they must be untied from sins. They must not only be disentangled, but they must also be separated from them. Fourth, this dictionary speaks of gradual growth. Development actually means growth and this growing is gradual, even though there are times when one grows in spurts. Fifth, development means advancement. When you develop properly spiritually, you will make significant and discernible advances in your walk with the Lord. The Webster Encyclopedic Dictionary of the English Language speaks of advancement through progressive changes. We have already alluded to the fact that development involves changes. We have said that some of those changes are painless, while others are quite painful. Watchman Nee speaks of the difficult and painful changes as the dealings of the Lord. If you will experience spiritual development, you must go through some of those divine dealings, which are meant to take you to higher realms of your spirituality. Then, this dictionary speaks of something that is taken from its embryo state to maturity. Even in spiritual development, one is taken from the state of being a new-born babe in Christ to that of being a mature man or woman of God. Finally, this dictionary speaks of being rendered visible, in the case of photographic development. In spiritual growth something is