On Toward Maturity: Growing Deeper in Faith, Unity, and Friendship with God
- KOBICC Media
- Nov 7
- 4 min read
Introduction: The Call to Grow Spiritually
If you find yourself in the same spiritual place a year from now, that’s a red flag. God didn’t design us to stay still but to grow, mature, and reflect His character. Part of God’s nature is unity within Himself, within His people, and within His church. He calls us to move beyond the basics of belief and into a deeper, more disciplined walk of faith.
Becoming a Christian is not the end of the journey but the beginning. It is a spiritual “factory reset,” where our old life is washed away and we begin anew in step with God’s Spirit. But spiritual birth is just that, a birth. Growth must follow. God calls His people not to remain in the shallow waters of faith but to press on toward perfection, as the writer of Hebrews urges.
The End Is Better Than the Beginning
Ecclesiastes 7:8 reminds us, “The end of a matter is better than the beginning.” Many of us have stumbled early in our walk with God, but the Bible is full of examples showing that how you finish matters more than how you start.
Peter denied Jesus three times yet ended his life preaching the gospel and dying as a martyr. Paul persecuted Christians but became one of the greatest preachers and church planters in history. Their stories remind us that even if your walk began shaky, it can end in victory if you continue to grow in faith.
Growing or Dying: The Only Two Options
Anything alive either grows or dies. The same is true for your faith. Spiritual stagnation is not neutral, it is decline. Hebrews 6 warns of the danger of remaining spiritually immature and challenges us to develop key qualities like patience, humility, diligence, and discipline.
Growth requires humility, the willingness to learn from others and from Scripture. Pride, the belief that we already know enough, stops us from maturing. We must be ready to imitate those who, through faith and patience, inherit what has been promised.
From Knowledge to Conviction
There is a difference between knowing God’s Word and living it out. When we read, study, and memorize Scripture but fail to act on it, we become spiritually unhealthy. We feed ourselves with knowledge but never exercise it through obedience.
True maturity means living in unity between what we believe and how we live. “Obedience without unity is deception.” Our words and actions must align. Otherwise, we become like the Pharisees Jesus rebuked, outwardly obedient but inwardly distant from God.
The Divine Unity of God
One of the central truths of this message is God’s divine unity, the Trinity. In Genesis 1, God says, “Let us make mankind in our image.” The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit existed before creation in perfect harmony.
Jesus is described in Hebrews 1:3 as the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being. He is the perfect image of God, the visible expression of the invisible Creator. Through Him, we understand God’s character, love, humility, power, and grace.
As humans made in His image, we are designed to live in unity, mind, body, and spirit working together. When we allow sin or pride to separate these parts, disunity results. When we submit all of ourselves to God, we reflect His divine nature more fully.
Unity in the Body of Christ
Just as God is unified within Himself, His people are called to be unified with one another. In John 17, Jesus prayed that His followers may be brought to complete unity, so that the world will know that the Father sent Him.
Our relationships within the church are not just social connections, they are evidence to the world that Jesus is real. Forgiveness, humility, and peace within the church reveal the love and truth of Christ. When the body of Christ is divided, it stops being a church and becomes a social club. When it is united in spirit and purpose, it becomes a living extension of God’s love on earth.
God Fights for Relationship
From Genesis to Revelation, God reveals His desire to walk with His people. He walked with Enoch and Moses, called David a man after His own heart, and through Jesus, He calls us not servants but friends.
In Philippians 2, we see that though Jesus was fully God, He humbled Himself and became human, even to the point of death on a cross. He did not do this out of obligation but out of love. Unlike the distant god of religion, our God desires intimacy. He takes our burdens and calls us into friendship with Him.
Romans 5:8–11 says:“God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners... For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of His Son, we will certainly be saved through His life.”
Pressing On Toward Maturity
Spiritual maturity is not about perfection but progress. It is about honesty, humility, and the willingness to grow. God calls us not to religious routine but to a real relationship with Him, one that transforms our hearts and aligns our actions with His Word.
Spend time in Scripture. Pray daily. Be real with God. Let Him speak to you, correct you, and strengthen you. Deny the flesh and walk by the Spirit.
God does not just want your obedience, He wants you.
Call to Action
Watch the full message on YouTube or listen to the sermon on Spotify to go deeper into this teaching. Join us at our Friday service at The K Hotel, Juffair, 6 PM, to experience this community of faith in person.
Watch the full YouTube video here https://youtu.be/3kuL3nemkNU to experience the full story of a missionary serving in the Middle East. Join us for worship every Friday at 6 PM on the 3rd floor of the K Hotel in Bahrain and experience authentic community, powerful teaching, and the joy of walking with Christ.
Connect with ICC Bahrain
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/iccbahrain
Youtube: https://youtu.be/3kuL3nemkNU
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