What Stage Are You In?
In Friday’s post, I spoke of leaders in past revivals and awakenings sometimes being released into ministry prematurely. The following teaching helps identify the various stages of spiritual growth and development.
There are several Greek words for a child or children. Though each can be translated as “child,” they typically indicate a specific age range or stage of a child’s development. And these different words of physical growth and development are sometimes used to describe our spiritual stages of growth and maturity. First, I’ll list them, then make comments.
Nepios(1) means “no speech” and refers to an infant or baby. (1 Corinthians 3:1: “And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ.” Hebrews 5:13: “For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant.”)
Paidion(2) often refers to a toddler or young child. (Matthew 18:4: “Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” Ephesians 5:1: “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.”)
Pais(3) is a word for child that can include a broad age range; it is sometimes even translated as “boy” or “girl.” (Matthew 2:16; 8:6-13; Luke 8:54)
A teknon(4) is a child, up to and including a teenager or young adult. (Galatians 4:19: “My children, with whom I am again in labor until Christ is formed in you.” 1 John 5:21: “Little children, guard yourselves from idols.)
These stages of growth obviously require different approaches in parenting. Nepioses or babies can’t be fed the same food as adolescents and teenagers. Likewise, Paul told the Corinthians that he couldn’t speak to (feed) them as spiritual men, but as babes or infants in Christ (1 Corinthians 3:1). And just as one obviously cannot give a baby authority or responsibility, one should not do so with a spiritual newborn. We love babies, feed them, burp them, change their diapers, let them rest, and repeat the process.
Where toddlers and young children (paidion) are concerned, we begin to expect more from them, even giving them responsibilities such as putting away their toys, taking out the trash, etc. We teach them to begin doing things for themselves—eating, dressing, etc.—and send them to school. We might give them an allowance and begin teaching them to earn and manage small amounts of money. And in this stage, we begin disciplining them. It is a tremendous stage of growth and learning, but we don’t yet give them authority. The same should be true spiritually.
When children become teenagers (teknons), we give them increased responsibility, supervised authority, and more freedom: we hand them the car keys, but tell them when to be home; we allow them to hang out with their friends, but we want to know who those friends are and where they’ll be. Their gifts are being realized and blossoming, and we love seeing this manifest. But we should not give them unsupervised authority and freedom, even though this is a stage of life when such liberties begin to be strongly desired. Dreaming begins, and should be encouraged, but chasing the dream must be carefully supervised. It is a stage of life when the desire for freedom to spread one’s wings greatly outpaces wisdom and knowledge. This is a very dangerous phase.
The same is true spiritually. Spiritual gifts are often recognized at this point, dreams and visions are forming, and consequently, authority is often delegated prematurely. There are many teknons serving as senior pastors or leading their own ministries who should actually still be under the authority of an older, wiser leader.
After these phases comes a significant and poorly understood phase of development mentioned in Scripture. A huios(5) is a fully matured “son.” Spiritually speaking, huios is not gender-based; just as a male can be part of Christ’s “bride,” females can be a fully mature “son.” And this is not the same as adulthood in general.
In Christ’s day, sonship was a term connected to authority. When a child matured and had been adequately trained, a public ceremony called a huiothesia(6) was held. This word literally means “placed as a son.” It was different from a bar mitzvah ceremony. The father of the child would invite members of the community to this event, as it was a public announcement that the “child” was now a fully mature “son,” and therefore, entrusted with full authority to represent the family name, business, etc. During the ceremony, the father would announce, “This is my beloved son (huios), in whom I am well pleased.” (Sometimes they would add something along the lines of, “I bestow upon him all my riches, power, and authority so that he might act on my behalf.”) This is why Father God spoke these words at Christ’s baptism (Mark 1:11); He was declaring that Jesus was fully authorized to speak for Him and conduct His business. It was Christ’s huiothesia.
Huiothesia is usually translated “adoption as sons” in the New Testament. However, when used, it isn’t speaking of us being adopted into God’s family. It refers to the above process, meaning that “children,” already in God’s family, are being positioned or placed into “sonship,” just as occurred with the Jews. God’s plan is to mature us from spiritual babies to mature sons and daughters, qualified to fully represent Him.
This knowledge is critical to understanding Romans 8. The chapter tells us that as God’s “children,” regardless of our maturity level, we have all the rights, blessings, and privileges of being in His family. “The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children (teknon) of God, and if children (teknon), heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him” (Romans 8:16-17 NASB).
However, the passage makes an important distinction between children and sons: “For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons (huios) of God” (Romans 8:14 NASB). Many of God’s children are not yet led by Holy Spirit. Though they have access to His blessings, they are not mature enough to recognize His voice and know His ways. Some actually never grow to this point. So, all of God’s “children” have rights and benefits; His “sons” possess representational authority. The passage in Romans chapter 8 goes on to say that creation is groaning and travailing, waiting –NOT for God’s children–but for the revealing of His “sons” (verse 19). “Children” of God cannot bring healing to the earth; only mature “sons and daughters,” those led by Holy Spirit, can do so.
(This healing of the earth is not speaking of God’s ultimate restoration of the planet. Obviously, a time of complete healing and restoration will one day come to earth [Revelation 21], just as a full manifestation of our sonship will one day occur. But as Christ’s Ekklesia, we are to manifest a level of this sonship now, representing His spiritual authority and releasing His healing to a groaning earth.)
I am confident that God has matured a company of believers throughout the earth into their “sonship” stage. They have grown in wisdom and knowledge. No longer spiritual babies or children, these believers have matured to a point where they can be trusted with a high level of Christ’s authority. As mature sons and daughters, they will bring salvation, healing, and restoration to impoverished nations, enabling them to prosper. They’ll help transform governments, education systems, economies, medicine, farming, and more. They will be healers of decimated cities and nations (Isaiah 58:12), deliverers of the oppressed and downtrodden (Luke 4:18-19). This is all part of the discipling of nations we were commissioned to in Matthew 28:18-20, and will manifest in the emerging revival.
Pray with me:
Father, we are a people called for such a time as this. You intend for and have prepared the Ekklesia to accomplish Your purposes on earth. Keep us reminded that we are equipped for this, not through our own strengths and gifts, but because of the Greater One in us, and Christ’s authority upon us.
We ask that a higher level of revelation be released in Your people, awakening us to our calling and equipping. Make this revelation as powerful for us as it was for Peter, who, only weeks after denying Christ, stepped into his apostleship and authority. Bring revelation to the church of Holy Spirit’s transforming power, of the incredible reality that He resides within us. Through His holy presence in us, we truly ARE more than conquerors, and CAN do all things through Christ.
Pour out Your Spirit. Awaken Your spiritual army. Cause us, Your sons and daughters, to realize our full authority and position in Christ. Infuse us with new levels of humility, love, faith, boldness, wisdom, and discernment. Do these things with such strength that we, like the early Ekklesia, turn our world upside down, which is actually “right side up.”
Our decree:
We decree that mature sons and daughters of the Most High God will arise in this hour and be used by God to heal individuals and nations.
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James Strong, The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990), ref. no. 3516.
Ibid. Ref. no. 3813.
Ibid. Ref. no. 3816.
Ibid. Ref. no. 5043.
Ibid. Ref. no. 5207.
Ibid. Ref. no. 5206.