Spiritual Maturity

In 1 John 2:12-14, John lists the different parts of the audience for which his letter is intended. It is also a definition of different levels of spiritual maturity.

Spiritual Children
- Their sins are forgiven
- They know God as Father

Spiritual Young Men (or Young Women)
- All the above
- They have strength of spirit and character
- They have overcome the evil one in their lives
- They have God's Word "living" in their souls

Spiritual Fathers (or Spiritual parent)
- All the above
- Being a father or parent implies that they have reproduced spiritual children
- They have an intimate knowledge of Christ, the living Word, who was from the beginning (1 John 1)

May God work in each of our lives and give us grace to grow into higher levels of spiritual maturity. May He also give us grace to encourage growth in those under our care.