How To Grow Into Spiritual Maturity

In Hebrews 5, we will explore how God calls Christians to transition from spiritual infancy to maturity. We grow in that direction through obedience and deeper fellowship with God.

You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food. Hebrews 5:12

In this chapter, the writer of Hebrews painted a clear picture of Jesus. Not only as our eternal High Priest but also as the perfect model of obedience.

While Jesus was here on earth, he offered prayers and pleadings, with a loud cry and tears, to the one who could rescue him from death. And God heard his prayers because of his deep reverence for God. Hebrews 5:7

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Jesus didn’t walk through life untouched by hardship. He cried out, He pleaded, and He submitted. His prayer life demonstrated intensity and dependence on His Father.

He did not suffer in silence, instead, He approached the Father with honesty and urgency. Many Christians struggle when trials press in. They don’t yield to Christ’s example of going to God.

Their natural temptation leans toward self-reliance, withdrawal, or despair. Yet Jesus showed a better way. He engaged the Father by laying His anguish before God through prayer.

Jesus Trusted His Father’s Will

Jesus trusted His Father’s will even when it meant the pain and suffering He endured on the cross. Moving on to verse 8, the writer reminded us of the following.

Even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered. Hebrews 5:8

The divine identity of Jesus did not exempt Him from struggles. Instead, His suffering became a classroom for obedience through our human experiences when developing our spiritual maturity.

Through His obedience, Jesus reached the goal of completing our salvation. And for all who follow Him, He became their source of eternal life.

In this way, God qualified him as a perfect High Priest, and he became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him. Hebrews 5:9

For us, trials can sharpen faith. Obedience grows our spiritual life toward maturity. Especially when we choose trust over complaint, surrender over resistance, and prayer over silence.

Jesus’ suffering teaches that submission to God’s will, even in pain, opens the way for our greater spiritual maturity. In fact, the writer gave a stark warning against immaturity.

There is much more we would like to say about this, but it is difficult to explain, especially since you are spiritually dull and don’t seem to listen. Hebrews 5:11

Spiritual dullness arises not from lack of intelligence but from neglect. These Hebrew believers had heard the truth repeatedly, yet their spiritual growth and maturity lacked to say the least.

God Calls for Spiritual Growth and Maturity

When they received this letter, they should have become teachers capable of guiding others in the gospel. Instead, they still needed someone to spoon-feed them the basics of spiritual life.

The picture resembles a grown adult surviving only on milk. Milk nourishes infants, but mature people require solid food. Imagine a thirty-year-old who refuses anything but a bottle.

The absurdity highlighted the author’s frustration. Christians cannot cling forever to spiritual infancy because the kingdom calls for growth and maturity.

We face the same danger today. Churches brim with resources: sermons, podcasts, books, and Bible studies. Yet without practice and obedience, knowledge remains surface-level.

Head knowledge without a heart transformation breeds immaturity. God wants us to know about Him, but spiritual maturity requires that we get to know Him.

Growth requires more than passive listening. It calls for engagement, application, and consistent obedience. Just as muscles weaken without use, faith grows dull when we neglect it.

For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right. Hebrews 5:13

Immaturity blinds us to discernment. Infants lack the wisdom to distinguish good from evil. They respond to impulse and desire rather than principle and discipline. By contrast, verse 14 says;

Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong. Hebrews 5:14

Spiritual maturity flows from consistent practice. Just as an athlete sharpens their skills through training, believers sharpen discernment through obedience and application.

Developing discernment does not happen overnight. It develops as we apply God’s Word daily. Each of our choices, responses, and acts of obedience strengthens our spiritual reflexes.

Spiritual Maturity Assists in Overcoming Temptations

When temptations arise, believers developing in spiritual maturity can discern dangers more quickly. When they recognize them and celebrate those God-given moments by glorifying Him.

Maturity involves more than avoiding sin. It involves pursuing righteousness with wisdom and clarity. A mature believer not only resists temptation but also embraces what pleases God.

Pleasing God requires a steady diet of scripture, prayer, fellowship, and obedience. This passage in Hebrews encourages us to grow in maturity by challenging us to examine our spiritual diet.

So, do you still require the milk of the gospel? Are you content with surface-level faith? Or have you pressed on toward spiritual maturity by seeking solid food through disciplined growth?

Let’s examine some practical ways to respond to the encouraging words from the writer of Hebrews.

Practical Tips for Living this Passage Today

Pray with honesty and dependence. Jesus prayed with loud cries and tears. Don’t mask your struggles before God. Lay them out honestly, but with reverence. Dependence on Him will deepen your intimacy.
Embrace suffering as a classroom. Trials can either harden your heart or refine your obedience. Choose to see hardship as an opportunity to learn trust, patience, and surrender.
Move from a consumer to a contributor. Don’t remain content by only receiving teaching. Look for ways to teach, mentor, or encourage others. Sharing your faith will accelerate your growth.
Train discernment daily. Apply scripture to your everyday decisions. Ask: Does this honor God? Does it reflect Christ? With each step of obedience, discernment sharpens and spiritual maturity grows.
Pursue deeper fellowship. Surround yourself with believers who will challenge you in your spiritual maturity. Isolation feeds immaturity, but accountability strengthens growth.

Let’s commit ourselves to spiritual growth, obedience, and discernment, so our maturity will reflect the character of Christ daily.

Lord, we all began our spiritual walk in immaturity, but with your guidance, our maturity will continually develop. Help us to fulfill the commitment we just made for spiritual growth.

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