The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
Message Eight
The Process of Maturity
THE EXTRACT OF THE OUTLINES
Scripture reading:
Heb. 6:1 Therefore leaving the word of the beginning of Christ, let us be brought on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith in God,
I. Genesis 37 through 45 is a record of the process of Jacob’s maturity: (Monday)
A. In chapter 27 we see a supplanter, in chapter 37 we see a transformed person, and at the end of chapter 45 we see a mature person; transformation is a metabolic change, whereas maturity is being filled with the divine life that changes us—Heb. 6:1.
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B. Jacob’s life reveals that everything we encounter is under God’s sovereignty for us to be transformed and mature, and nothing is accidental—Gen. 47:7, 10. (Tuesday)
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II. In Song of Songs 6:13, through the various stages of transformation, the loving seeker of Christ becomes the Shulammite in the maturity of Christ’s life, that is, the reproduction and duplication of Christ to match Him for their marriage—Song 6:13. (Wednesday)
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III. The divine seed has been sown into us, and we need to experience the development of the divine life and nature within this divine seed so that a rich entrance will be supplied to us into the eternal kingdom—2 Pet. 1:1, 4-11: (Thursday)
A. We must be diligent to develop these riches, from the seed of faith, through the root of virtue and knowledge, the trunk of self-control, and the branches of endurance and godliness, to the blossom and fruit of brotherly love and love—2 Pet. 1:5-7.
B. The ultimate development of the divine nature within us is love, agape; by partaking of the divine nature to grow and reach maturity, we become persons of love and even love itself—1 John 4:8, 16; Eph. 3:19.
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IV. Paul’s burden in the book of Hebrews is to bring the believers out of the initial stage of salvation and bring them on to maturity—Heb. 5:11-6:5: (Friday)
A. To be brought on to maturity is to be brought on to the word of righteousness, which is the word concerning Christ’s heavenly ministry and the rules of God’s economy, which is the word of solid food—Heb. 5:12-14; 6:1.
B. We need to be diligent to enter into the remaining Sabbath rest, come to the throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace, and eat the solid food, enjoying Christ as our High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek—Heb. 4:9, 11, 16; 5:14.
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V. The goal of Paul’s ministry is to present every man mature in Christ in order to have a new one—Col. 1:28-29; 3:10-11: (Saturday)
A. Paul’s ministry was to dispense Christ into people so that they may grow and mature; for the new one, we need to minister Christ as life to the believers so that they may live by Him and grow with Him unto maturity—Col. 1:28-29; 3:4.
B. For us to become a new one, we need to grow up into Christ in all things; when we become full-grown men, we are all one in Christ, which is a universal new one to accomplish God’s eternal purpose—Col. 3:10-11; Eph. 4:13-14.
