Eph 3:14-19  For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. 
	There is much taking place in this age that requires a greater knowledge of God. It would seem that we have been receiving more and more admonitions to go on in Christ, to not settle simply for the basic elements of our Christian walk. Please be clear that we are in nowise belittling anything of our wonderful Heavenly Father in His divine plan and purpose of loving us unto Himself in Christ. Heaven forbid that anyone would think less of what Christ has done! 
	Rather, there is a continued depth in everything about Christ that should be evidenced as we grow together in Him. That should be the normal course of our walk in Him, as directed by the Holy Spirit. 
	This continuing growth in Christ is the consideration before us, as we ponder the fact that we should be enabled, by the Holy Spirit, to comprehend the deeper truths of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. As Paul puts it, …that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;… 
	Initially, we must ask ourselves, and the Lord, if there is a lack of comprehension within us when it comes to the depths of Christ. Are we growing in Him, as should be the normal reality of our lives, or have we become stagnant and less than desirous of an onward, spiritual progression into the fullness of God? There is a certain elemental leveling off that takes place in everyone, as we proceed from having heard a truth, unto that truth becoming life within us. Those times of acclimation to the authenticity of God’s Living Word, are to be relished in the knowledge that God is active in our lives and hearts. The words we hear are becoming life within us. There is a sense of God dealing with us, in His loving kindness and tender mercies, to bring about that which He desires to accomplish in raising us up in Christ. 
	Even in our physical growth, if we can remember back that far, we had times where our physical bodies were undergoing tremendous growth spurts. Then, there were periods, where our growth was seemingly halted for a time, while we developed the combined coordination and effective responses to our forming muscular and skeletal bodies. There were periods where some of us tripped and stumbled over our own feet, just because we were not used to how large they were becoming. For some of us, it was a new challenge to get out of bed each day, because we needed to learn to walk, run, and jump all over again. Those were the challenges of just our physical growth and development. 
	Such is also true of our basic spiritual growth. Initially, we experience the joy of our salvation in all its splendor. We begin the journey into Christ with every stumbling walk. There are errors that we encounter, there are miss-judgments that we make, as we try to walk forward in Christ. But, we find ourselves moving forward, making fewer errors and relying more and more on the forgiveness and the grace of God to get through each day. This is the equation that keeps us growing throughout our Christian adolescence.
	There is another aspect that should be considered in this growth process. It is the fact that physical maturity should be accompanied with cognitive growth. There were things that we simply did not have the capacity to understand when we were children. Our minds could not comprehend, nor could they consider the wealth of the information that was daily bombarding us as children. Think of all the information that this age pumps into our environment, and the fact that our children tend to be aware of some, but not all that is going on around them. They try to reason through it in simple, digestible ways in an effort to bring it into their naive realm of awareness. Complex concepts and ideologies are beyond their grasp at this time. 
	As children grow and mature, the concepts and ideas, that once were so difficult, become easier and more accessible. They become enabled to deal with issues and truths and philosophies that require higher levels of operational cognition. The ability to sort information and to use that which is appropriate and disregard that which is extraneous, becomes more and more honed with the capacity to understand and to appreciate new learning. As this higher thinking level is developed, the one-dimensional ways of childhood thinking are set aside and left behind.
	This is one key of the passage of our consideration. The Apostle Paul is referring to the growth of believers into the stage of maturity in Christ that enables them to comprehend, to understand, to appreciate more and more of the fullness of what God has accomplished in Christ. There should be a Spirit-led growth into the depths of all that the Father has for us in His Beloved. Is that the desire of our hearts? That is the question before us. Do we want to come into a greater, and ever-increasing knowledge of God, to feast on the meat of spiritual maturity? Or, are we satisfied with that which has been our spiritual diet of milk since the day of our salvation? I, in nowise, ask this flippantly, neither it is accusatory. Rather, it is something that has been emergent in many discussions in my life and in the lives of those around me. 
	We have been blessed with a feast from the table of the Lord, and yet some of us are, seemingly, not able to partake of it because our spiritual, digestive abilities are lacking. It is of no fault of the Lord. He has given everything in Christ to bring all of His children into the full stature of growth as the Beloved of God. There is no lack of anything that should serve to bring about the maturity that is our inheritance in Christ. Lack of growth cannot be put at the feet of Christ. It is centered in the lack of our yearning hearts before God. If we want to grow spiritually, God has made every provision in that line. If we are not satisfied unless we come into the fullness of God, He will not hesitate to do all that will meet that desire in our life. 
	In the same manner of consideration, if we decide that we are spiritually adequate, that our spiritual growth is sufficient to serve our needs, our hunger, and our thirst, we will no longer find our lives being spiritually enlarged. To grow, we must desire to partake of the spiritual sustenance He provides. Of that sustenance, the Lord has lavished us greatly. It is not enough to have the living food and water available to us, we must choose to consume it in order to have Him work His spiritual life in us. 
	It may be of value to spend a few moments on some of the aspects of those elements that mark spiritual immaturity, if for no other reason, than to take on an awareness of what we need to guard against in our own lives. Understand, this is no elevation, neither it is a judgment upon anyone, but myself in this line. I make no claim to having attained anything beyond that which God has worked in my life to this point. There is so much more ahead for each of us, in Christ Jesus. We are each responsible to God for the lives we live before Him and before man. Where we may find ourselves lacking is not my business, nor your business, but the Lord’s to reveal and to cultivate unto a desire after spiritual maturity. I simply serve to point out some of the areas highlighted in the Word of God pertaining to this topic.
	1 Cor 3:1+2 And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. If we are not able to handle the meat of the Word, God does not let us starve. He makes every provision for us, even though it may be milk for the rest of our lives. He is a kind and loving, Heavenly Father, who cares for us all, no matter what our current lack of desire after Him. He does not turn His back on us. He loves us and He knows what is necessary in our lives. If we are satiated with milk and desire nothing more, He will supply that milk in overwhelming abundance. The fact of that stunted growth, however, is that we will never be able to enjoy the meat of the spiritual life that could be ours in Christ. We will be lacking in the full substance of the deepest truths of the life that is ours in Christ Jesus our Lord. We will continually be treated as babes and receiving only that which befits the arrested growth of a spiritual child. 
	It is infinitely better than not being a child of God, make no error along those lines. Being a Christian, receiving the salvation of Christ, is a glorious miracle in this whole of creation, but it is far short of the whole intention of God in Christ Jesus. There is a feast of the Living Word of God that is beckoning those who desire after it. It takes the mighty work of the Holy Spirit to bring forth the life of God’s Word into our beings. If we settle for less than the full sustenance that is ours in Christ, we are the ones who suffer the lack of growth. 
	1 Cor 14:20 Brethren, be not children in understanding: howbeit in malice be ye children, but in understanding be men. It is only as there is spiritually maturity, that we receive more understanding of the ways and purposes of God. Please note that I said more understanding. We will never know the complete fullness of God in Christ. All the eternal ages upon ages, yet to come, will not be sufficient to show all that God has accomplished in the wondrous working of His so Great Love in the giving of his Son. There are, however, spiritual truths that become more evident, as we study the Word, as we feed upon the spiritual meat set before us unto spiritual growth in our Lord. We begin to realize that there is no such thing as happenstance and luck, but that everything is ordered unto the glory of God throughout all of creation. 
	Our lives should be reflective of the understanding of God’s dealings and His guidance in our daily walk. They should show forth the reality that our life is no longer ours to live, but Christ’s to live forth as He pleases. That understanding is reflective only after the dealings of God unto maturity have been worked into our hearts. If we do not learn to see the face of God in every situation, in every circumstance, in every dilemma, we will not be enabled to grow in the understanding of the great Love that is Our Lord Jesus Christ glorified.
	Gal 4:1-3 Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all; But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father. Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world:  As children, there are things in this world which attract our attention, which distract from our desire to progress onward in Christ. We become enamored of  the shiny facades and cheapness of the present age, much like a young child at a traveling carnival or circus. The emptiness of this world eludes our awareness and we strive after those things which this age purports as of value and substance.
	This is a bondage that can only be shattered as the Holy Spirit takes us through times of severe testing and training. He works mightily, yet lovingly and comfortingly, to bring forth the truth of the barrenness of the pleasures of this age, in comparison to the riches of the wealth of Christ. He is our Tutor through all the lessons required to bring an end to our self-lives and a desirous submission to the life of Christ, Who now indwells us. That can never be accomplished through any effort of our own. It can only become, effectively, our new life as the Holy Spirit guides, directs, teaches, admonishes, and opens the eyes of our understanding through the trials and tribulations of our spiritual growth.
	Then, as we become more and more attuned to the leading and the joyous relationship we share by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, we find that our earthly bondage is lessened and our spiritual desires are heightened. The things of this realm, which once held us in bondage, are no longer the desires of our hearts. They have been rooted out, broken and set aside for the glory of God which now becomes our every hope and thought. 
	This, in nowise, means that we become less dependent upon the Holy Spirit in our lives. Rather, there is a growth beyond that of tutor and student, to fellow sojourners, sharing the joys of each day with one another. We should find it incomprehensible to even be able to survive in this world, without the desired and necessary guidance of our most beloved Holy Spirit. When there are those times of miss-steps, we greatly sense and are very concerned about the grieving of the Holy Spirit within us, and we share that grief. Our focus no longer is centered upon us and our place in the universe, but upon the Glory of God being made manifest throughout all of creation. 
	Eph 4:14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;… A child is an easy target of all manner of misinformation because there is no discernment yet in place. If a child reads a book, everything in that book must be true because a child believes that it wouldn’t be printed if it weren’t so. One of the greatest challenges of the current information age is to teach learners that everything on the internet is not true. Just because there is a website, does not mean that it is valid or safe information that is being disseminated. The same holds true in our spiritual growth. After our salvation birth into Christ, there seems to be no lacking of doctrinal and theological causes that incessantly bombard us. It would seem that the whole of this world is on the prowl for new Christians, in order to lead them astray, before they can grow in Christ.
	There are endless myriads of books, magazines, radio shows, newspapers, churches, websites and self-professed ministers, who vie for an opportunity to get to a new Christian. It is well known that there are good and valid instruments of the Lord working in all areas to bring forth the True Word of God. I am not making a blanket statement that all these sources are off-base. Unfortunately, many of them are not valid and are deceptive. They are preying on the unsuspecting young ones of the church. They are grasping at every opportunity to lead astray any who would be susceptible to the silver-tongued propaganda that is being spouted. 
	There is so much that is being issued as Christian, and so many who simply follow the label, rather than investigate the heart of the issue. At the basis of all solid teaching and preaching, there can be no other message than the Glory of God in Jesus Christ. If Christ is not the focal point, if He is not the foundation, if He is not the message, then the doctrine, no matter what means of media is being used, must be discarded. All truth will always be in line with the Word of God and subject to the unerring discernment of the Holy Spirit.
	We have all gone through, and are going through, this adolescent period of finding the truth. The only truth that is worth knowing is Jesus Christ crucified, Jesus Christ resurrected, and Jesus Christ glorified. Apart from Him, all else is vanity, disinformation, and of no consequence. 
	As an aside to this point, it is vital, utterly vital, to keep our young ones, all of our young ones covered in prayer. We must lay down our lives for the sake of these cherished ones who are facing the greatest onslaught of this despicable age. Away from Christ, there is no place of refuge from the seemingly tireless tirades of this age. Our very homes, yes, even our loving Christ-centered homes, are beset with the fiery blasts of the rantings and raving of this corrupted society through every media of this age. Apart from the covering grace of God, we all would be lost and entangled in the snares of this realm. Only in Christ, by the wonderful covering of the Holy Spirit, is there any respite from the forces that seek to devour our young ones. Hold them constantly before the throne of God for His loving kindness and His tender mercy to envelop and to develop in all our lives, but especially those lives of the ones coming after us. 
	Heb 5:12 For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. There should be a natural, spiritual growth into the Lord whereby all the first principles, as glorious as they are, and not to be belittled, but all those initial principles, that we learned as children, are now blooming into the fruition of Christ. There should be a time where we become strong in the Lord, men and women of God. There should be a cultivation within us of the depth of the Word in His fullness. We should no longer be satisfied with the milk, but should be craving after the substance of the meat, in which to sink our teeth and to chew on the spiritual food that, alone, can satisfy our every desire after God. As we delve into the Word, it should serve to bring forth greater and greater understanding of the unending wealth of God that is in the Lord Jesus Christ. 
	If we are satisfied to just listen to the Word of God, week in and week out, but have no desire to dwell on it, to chew on it, as it were, then we are possibly, still young ones to whom spiritual meat is indigestible. This is a challenge to me, and I am dragging the rest of us on with it. How satisfied am I where I stand with the Lord now? Is there any appreciable growth in Him, or is everything just the status quo? What does it mean to set aside the milk and to strive after the strong meat of Christ?
	Lord willing, next week, we will look at some of the aspects of what is entailed in this spiritual growth, in this feasting on the strong meat of God in our Lord Jesus Christ.
	For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.