Spiritual growth happens through God's sovereign power working in us, yet requires our active participation. Learn to build Spirit-filled communities that avoid both passive waiting and exhausting self-reliance.
The Paradox: Spiritual growth happens through God's sovereign power working in us, yet requires our active, wholehearted participation.
As disciples of Jesus, we sometimes experience an uneasy ambiguity: do I need to do more to grow as a Christian, or should I be waiting for God to do something to change me? The Bible teaches that it is God who creates new life within us, transforms our hearts, and empowers us by his Spirit. Yet Jesus also called his disciples to follow him, chastised them for opposing his will, and commissioned them to make disciples after his departure. To develop a vital, flourishing faith, we need to build Spirit-filled communities that avoid both passive waiting and exhausting self-reliance.
To experience the dynamic partnership between God's initiative and our responsibility, learning to abide in Christ while actively participating in our spiritual growth.
When I was a senior in college, I lived in a freshman dorm to lead a small group Bible study for the incoming students. My shoes were permanently stained with the sticky residue from the cheap beer that coated the floors, and I'll never forget the variety of scents that emerged from baskets of dirty laundry, overflowing trash bins, and poor hygiene!
In one of our Bible studies, God awakened one student to the reality of his love and grace. The student returned to his dorm room to spend the night in prayer, reading the Bible, and surrendering himself to God. Immediately, God transformed his life—no smoking, no mistreating women, and an intense hunger for Scripture. The dramatic transformation of his life stunned me. All he'd done was show up to a Bible study, but when God intervened, he wholeheartedly dedicated himself to living as a disciple of Jesus.
At the other extreme, many years later, when I spoke to a college Christian fellowship, I remember a student making a beeline to talk to me afterwards. He seemed extremely passionate about his faith, regularly read books about Christianity, and actively led many initiatives for the group. Yet despite all of his religious activity, I sensed that his primary goal was to tell me that I was wrong, and he was right, about a niche theological point. As he dominated the conversation for nearly an hour, the line of students who had wanted to talk with me slowly faded away.
I left the meeting saddened that his religious zeal hadn't given him a spirit of gentle kindness. It reminded me that God's timeline for changing each of us into Christlikeness is very different, a mystery beyond my understanding.
If God is the one who changes us, it's reasonable to ask: what's taking him so long? But we also believe that God will hold us responsible for our lives; shouldn't we try a little harder?
The Scriptures are clear that spiritual growth is fundamentally God's work in us. God gave Ezekiel a vision of a valley filled with dry bones. God asks him, "Can these bones live?" The prophet humbly acknowledges: "Lord God, only you know." God commands Ezekiel to prophesy, and the bones regain tendons, flesh, and skin, yet they remain inanimate. So again God commands Ezekiel to prophesy, and the bodies come to life, rising into "a vast army." The Lord promises, "I will put my Spirit in you, and you will live" (Ezekiel 37:1-14).
The message is clear: how can dead bones bring themselves to life? Unless God awakens us by the work of the Holy Spirit, we will stay stuck in the valley of spiritual death.
Yet, even though God's sovereign action is necessary, the recognition of this truth can lead us to justify spiritual laziness. If God brings us from death to life, then why read the Bible, pray, fast, or worship? We should wait for God to zap us!
Yet, God has revealed that we are responsible for exerting ourselves to follow Jesus! The Apostle Paul commands us to "present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God" (Romans 12:1). The Apostle Peter instructed, "make every effort to supplement your faith with goodness, goodness with knowledge, knowledge with self-control" (2 Peter 1:5). James taught, "faith without works is dead" (James 2:26).
But when we take on all the responsibility, we break down. We get so busy doing ministry that we have no time to be with God. Instead of vulnerability, we pretend everything is fine. It's suffocating, exhausting, and lonely.
The secret to resolving this paradox is experiencing, together, the loving presence of the Holy Spirit. It's when we're disconnected from God and other Christians that we struggle with these challenges.
Consider the metaphors that fill the New Testament:
**The vine and the branch (John 15:1-8).** Jesus says, "I am the vine; you are the branches." When we're all connected to Jesus and one another, we naturally bear fruit that glorifies God.
**The Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12).** "A manifestation of the Spirit is given to each person for the common good." God's intention, in filling us with the Holy Spirit, is that we might serve one another in love.
**Living Stones (1 Peter 2:1-10).** We are "living stones, a spiritual house" being built to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God.
**The fire of God.** As my youth pastor said many times, if a coal is in the fireplace, it stays hot; but when you put a coal by itself on the cold ground, it soon grows cold, too.
Consider Philippians 2:12-18 with the Southern vernacular "y'all":
Therefore, my dear friends, just as y'all have always obeyed, work out y'all's salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God who is working in y'all both to will and to work according to his good purpose.
As the Biblical scholar F.F. Bruce comments, "In their community life they must recognize that God is present." It's almost foreign to Paul's way of thinking to imagine an individual Christian attempting to follow Jesus by themselves!
So, practically, what does this look like?
**Identify as God's beloved.** Remind yourself of who you are—a branch connected to the vine, a living stone, a son or daughter beloved by your Heavenly Father, a disciple of Jesus.
**Abide in Christ.** Jesus doesn't say "Try harder"; he says, "Be with me." The foundation is direct engagement with him through prayer, Scripture, and worship.
**Prioritize your Christian friends.** Start small and build. Send that text message. Share your struggles. Be there for others. The more you are authentically connected to sincere followers of Jesus, the more natural it will be for you to live as a disciple of Jesus.
In Psalm 127, we hear: "Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain." May we remember that God is with us, find our identity in Christ, and encourage each other to live by the Spirit's power.
In the words of the African-American spiritual Guide My Feet:
Guide my feet while I run this race, > for I don't want to run this race in vain! > > Hold my hand while I run this race, > for I don't want to run this race in vain! > > I'm your child while I run this race, > for I don't want to run this race in vain!
Therefore, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed, so now, not only in my presence but even more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God who is working in you both to will and to work according to his good purpose. Do everything without grumbling and arguing, so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God who are faultless in a crooked and perverted generation, among whom you shine like stars in the world, by holding firm to the word of life. Then I can boast in the day of Christ that I didn't run or labor for nothing. But even if I am poured out as a drink offering on the sacrificial service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. In the same way you should also be glad and rejoice with me.
What is God doing?
How does God stand by us while we run the race?
What is our identity?
Describe how Paul sets a faithful example.
What are we to do?
How do we shine like stars together?
Father, I need to know that you are proud of me, that you love me, that you are with me.
Jesus, you are the one I want to imitate. As I abide in you, show me how to bear fruit that honors God.
Holy Spirit, I want you to empower us, so that we might work out our salvation with reverence and humility.
We will discuss Philippians 2:12-18 together.
Do you tend towards passivity or over-responsibility?
How does spiritual isolation make this paradox worse?
How do you abide in Christ?
Which relationships is God calling you to invest in?
Do you tend towards passivity or over-responsibility?
How does spiritual isolation make this paradox worse?
How do you abide in Christ?
Which relationships is God calling you to invest in?
God, would your people help me, and would I help them, to be like Christ?
Start or update your "rule of life." Review your notes from Lessons 5 and 11 to integrate what you learned in these related paradoxes with this week's lesson.
Reach out and plan to spend time with a good Christian friend.
Ask God to reveal a mentor who could help you grow in your faith.
What's one specific practice you'll engage in this week to experience God's love?
What's one way you can show up to support a friend in their walk with God?
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