SPIRITUAL GROWTH: Darkness, Childhood, Youth & Maturity

Moved by the Holy Spirit, John referred to four stages of spiritual growth in this passage:

9Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness. 10Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble. 11But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them.

12I am writing to you, dear children,

because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name.

13I am writing to you, fathers,

because you know him who is from the beginning.

I am writing to you, young men,

because you have overcome the evil one.

14I write to you, dear children,

because you know the Father.

I write to you, fathers,

because you know him who is from the beginning.

I write to you, young men,

because you are strong,

and the word of God lives in you,

and you have overcome the evil one.

1 John 2:9-14

The phrase “in the darkness” in verses 9-11 refers to the condition of spiritual death where people are dead to God and therefore “in the darkness.” This is a reference to STAGE ONE of spiritual growth.

Verses 12-14 refer to the three stages a person goes through once they’re “made alive with Christ” (Ephesians 2:5 & Colossians 2:13):

“Children” refers to STAGE TWO
“young men” to STAGE THREE
“fathers” to STAGE FOUR.

Since there’s neither male nor female in Christ (Galatians 3:28) we can broaden these terms as such: children, young people and parents or, better yet, childhood, youth and maturity:

(click image to enlarge)

Now let’s consider John’s distinctions of each of the Four Stages of Spiritual Growth:

STAGE ONE: “In the Darkness”

Notice again how the Holy Spirit through John describes being in STAGE ONE:

9Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness. 10Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble. 11But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them.

1 John 2:9-11

We can derive four things from this description. Those in STAGE ONE:

are in the darkness.
are inclined toward hatred to some degree (which doesn’t necessarily mean all people in STAGE ONE are inclined to hatred).
do not know where they’re going beyond temporal ambitions.
are blinded in a spiritual sense.

People in STAGE ONE are in the darkness whether they know it or not. While those at the higher levels of STAGE ONE can be very moral due to substitutionary forms of STAGE TWO (covered here) they’re still in the darkness because they’re separate from God due to the condition of spiritual death. This doesn’t mean that they don’t have a spirit but rather that their spirit is dead to God and therefore having a relationship with the Creator is impossible. No human effort—no religion—can change this condition, which is why Jesus answered his disciples’ inquiry about obtaining salvation thusly: “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God” (Mark 10:26-27). It is impossible for human religion to save people from eternal death and reconcile them to God. People can only be saved through the LORD’s prescribed method of salvation—spiritual regeneration via the gospel (John 3:3,6 & Titus 3:5).

Until this happens they are “in the darkness,” spiritually speaking. Why? Because we can only “see light” by being “in” God’s light, as this passage shows:

For with you [God] is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.

Psalm 36:9

For you are the fountain of life, the light by which we see.

Psalm 36:9 (NLT)

God is the Fountain of Life from which all life flows so it’s necessary to hook up with Jehovah in order to receive spiritual life. Why do you think Christ said “I have come so that [you] may have life and have it to the full” (John 10:10)? So if you want God’s abundant life flowing in your life it’s through Christ and his New Covenant message, not Mohammad, Confucius, Buddha or Sciencefictionology.

This isn’t to say, by the way, that every person who says they’re a Christian is in the light. Any deviation from biblical truth is darkness even if the person or group says they’re Christian, like Mormons. In fact, John is addressing believers in 1 John 2:9-11 and plainly says to believers that if any of them hates their brother or sister in the Lord they’re still in the darkness. So someone can be a part of a church fellowship, say they’re a Christian and even be in a position of authority, like a pastor or worship leader, and actually be in the darkness, which is STAGE ONE.

The fact that those in STAGE ONE are “in the darkness” explains why we see intelligent and otherwise moral people supporting so-called gay marriage and the mass-murder of unborn children. It’s why they support the free speech of every group, even Muslims, but not biblical Christians. It explains why good is now considered bad and evil is now good (Isaiah 5:20). It’s why the president of the USA will call a practicing homosexual and congratulate him for an openly sinful lifestyle, but puts genuine Christians on terror-watch lists.

This is why the passage refers to people in STAGE ONE as figuratively blind and therefore not knowing where they’re going. Because they’re separate from their Creator they don’t comprehend the meaning of life, at least not in a spiritual sense or eternal scope. Generally speaking, life to them is limited to this temporal world. Their basic attitude is “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die” and so their lives reflect this limited mindset one way or another (1 Corinthians 15:32 & Isaiah 22:13).

Hating Others—Carnal Hostility

Lastly, hatred is a characteristic of those in STAGE ONE, which—again—isn’t to suggest that everyone in this stage actively hates others. John simply says, by the Holy Spirit, that Christians who actively hate their brothers and sisters in Christ are “in the darkness,” that is, still stuck in STAGE ONE to some degree. This includes those who constantly badmouth believers through gossip, slander, mocking and negative spinning. Why do you think Proverbs 26:28 says “A lying tongue hates those it hurts”? Because it’s true! Those who utilize their tongues as weapons against others—usually behind their backs—do so because they are hostile, envious or rivalrous of the people they’re attacking. In short, they hate them.

I should point out that I know people who are in STAGE ONE (because they’re not in Christ and are therefore spiritually un-regenerated), but they genuinely don’t walk in hatred, at least as far as I can tell. They’re even tolerant and accepting of believers and the Christian message to a degree. Such people could be considered high level STAGE ONE with a foothold in the other stages in a substitutionary sense, as detailed in this article.

Too often, however, I observe libertines give lip service to tolerance, but refuse to tolerate the biblical perspective because it’s offensive to them and therefore they regard believers as “bigots,” which seems to be their favorite word (rolling my eyes). This reveals their hatred—their hostility or enmity—toward Jesus Christ and genuine believers. It’s ironic that “bigot” is their favorite word because they’re bigots! Whether they know it or not, they’re “in the darkness.”

You’ll notice that I qualified hatred in this section as “carnal hostility.” Let me explain. There is such a thing as righteous enmity. For instance, Hebrews 10:13 references Christ’s “enemies” who will eventually be made his “footstool.” ‘Enemies’ in the Greek is echthros (ech-THROS), which is where we get the feminine echthra (EKH-thrah) translated as “hatred” in Paul’s list of works of the flesh in Galatians 5:19-21. So there’s such a thing as righteous hostility or righteous enmity; and this explains passages that say point blank that the LORD hates the arrogant, the violent, etc. (e.g. Psalm 5:5 & 11:5).

The wages of sin is death, which God must ultimately execute on those who reject his gracious offer of reconciliation and eternal life through the gospel; that is, those who refuse to repent (Acts 20:21). This is the “second death” that the unrepentant will face where “raging fire will consume the enemies of God” (Revelation 20:13-15 & Hebrews 10:26-27). Notice that those who refuse to repent are called the “enemies of God.” They’re God’s enemies by their own choice (James 4:4). The LORD must carry out this “second death” because He’s perfectly just; and divine justice demands the execution of the penalty of sin. However, God is also love, which is why He’s offering a way out for sinners; i.e. redemption. He doesn’t “want anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

The reason I’m going into a little detail on this is because most believers are ignorant of these biblical truths and don’t realize that enmity can be righteous and justified. For instance, did you know that the LORD loves justice and hates crime (Isaiah 61:8)? This explains why God ordains human governments to punish wrongdoers; that is, criminals (Romans 13:1-4). Believers are called to imitate God (Ephesians 5:1) and therefore we are to love justice and hate crime as well, which involves seeing to it that criminals are apprehended and punished according to the God-ordained governing authorities.

However, carnal hostility (hatred) is different. It’s rooted in enmity based on arrogance, envy, jealousy and rivalry, which are all works of the flesh. People who regularly and unrepentantly walk in carnal hostility are “in the darkness”—STAGE ONE—even those who say they’re believers. That’s what John was getting across in 1 John 2:9-11.

STAGE TWO: Childhood

The Holy Spirit via John refers to STAGE TWO as the childhood stage of spirituality. This has nothing to do with the physical age of the person. Someone could be 90 years-old and be a child spiritually. My dad, for instance, didn’t get saved until his late 60s when I took him to several evangelistic meetings. He received Christ and was spiritually reborn—transferred from death to life—and his actions confirmed it. He just wept and wailed at every service throughout the worship and, again, during the closing altar call. The LORD ministered to his heart with His potent healing touch. It’s was incredible. While Dad was in his late 60s he was merely a child spiritually.

“Infants in Christ”

Infancy is the earliest level of STAGE TWO. Notice how Paul describes the believers in Corinth:

1Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. 2I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. 3You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans? 4For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere human beings?

1 Corinthians 3:1-4

This was a soft rebuke to the Corinthian Christians because they had not yet even learned to live by the spirit and therefore weren’t producing the fruits of the spirit, at least not on a consistent basis (Galatians 5:22-23). Instead, they were walking in jealousy and the corresponding quarreling. They were flesh-ruled, not spirit-controlled. Moreover, they were developing a spirit of rigid sectarianism—faction-ism—where different believers favored different teachers and refused to receive from anyone else. This is a tell-tale sign of people in STAGE TWO. Do you see people who are extremely sectarian about their church/sect/ministry and who refuse to receive from genuine ministers outside their camp? Sometimes they won’t even acknowledge them as legitimate fellow believers (!). Make no mistake, such people are mere infants in Christ.

Infants in Christ would appear on the Four Stages diagram like so:

(click image to enlarge)

Notice what Paul said about infants in this passage:

11So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

14Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.

Ephesians 4:11-14

The fivefold ministry gifts are apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher. The purpose of these anointings or callings is 1. to “equip” God’s people for “works of service,” meaning to prepare them for works of ministry, 2. to “build up” believers, and 3. to help Christians “become mature.” With this understanding, consider ministers who do the precise opposite: (1) they don’t prepare believers for works of ministry, (2) they tear them down rather than build them up and (3) they encourage spiritual immaturity, including dependency on the pastoral staff, rather than maturity indicated by independence from the pastoral staff. “Ministers” who do this aren’t fulfilling their commission and are therefore ignorant or, at worst, counterfeit.

Verse 14 shows what results when fivefold ministers perform their calling properly: Believers will no longer be infants, but instead become mature and, as such, will no longer be “tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching.” What’s this indicate? Physical infants in the natural are completely dependent on their parents or guardians and have no wise parameters except those provided by their caregivers.

In my local area an infant wandered off and disappeared from the yard; they found his body nearby in an old uncovered well. Infant believers are like this. The ministers of their fellowship act as spiritual parents, which is why Paul referred to himself as the Corinthians’ “father” (1 Corinthians 4:15). Spiritual parents nurture those in STAGE TWO through the milk of God’s Word and, as they grow, solid food. Those who are at the infancy level can only handle milk, which is why Paul called the Corinthians “infants” and said: “I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it” (1 Corinthians 3:1-2). It’s through the milk of the Word and, eventually, the meat of the Word that a spiritual foundation is established in believers’ lives. You can read more about the differences of “milk” and “solid foods” here.

Because those at the early levels of STAGE TWO lack a spiritual foundation it’s easy for them to be “tossed back and forth… and blown here and there by every wind of teaching.” Paul wrote the epistle of Ephesians a mere three decades after Christ’s resurrection and at that early juncture of the Church there were already all kinds of contradicting teachings spread by immature or misguided Christians and quasi-Christians, just like there are today.

Those who go on to spiritual maturity, however, aren’t blown here and there by every wind of teaching. This doesn’t mean they put God in a box and are unopen to revelation from the Word; it just means they won’t allow contradicting teachings to make them spiritually unstable. If they come across something they haven’t heard before they’ll investigate it in detail, like the Bereans in Acts 17:10-12. They’ll only receive that which they discern is thoroughly and clearly supported by the Scriptures. By doing this they protect themselves from false doctrine and also keep their spiritual walk from stagnating due to the lack of fresh revelation, which simply means more accurate data from God’s Word and the understanding thereof.

The biblical way to establish a surefire spiritual foundation is to master The Six Basic Doctrines of Christianity.

“Children” Only Relate to God in a Daddy Sense

Let’s now go back and reread John’s brief description of those in the childhood stage:

12I am writing to you, dear children,

because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name…

14I write to you, dear children,

because you know the Father.

1 John 2:12,14a

These verses describe those in the childhood stage in two simple ways: 1. Their sins have been forgiven, and 2. they know God as their Father. Concerning the first, the sins of those in STAGE TWO are forgiven because they embraced the message of Christ and received the forgiveness of sins through spiritual regeneration:

For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Colossians 1:13-14

Being “rescued from the dominion of darkness” refers to leaving STAGE ONE; and being “brought into the kingdom of the Son” refers to finding sanctuary in STAGE TWO as a child of God, obtaining “redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

Concerning knowing God as their Father: Those in the childhood stage only know God as their father; that is, in the sense of a parent. Why? Because, spiritually speaking, they are children and, as such, it’s only natural that they relate to God strictly in a parental sense. This will change, of course, as they grow and come to know the LORD in many other ways.

We can relate this to our physical childhood: When we were infants we only knew our parents as parents—Mommy & Daddy. As we grew, however, we started to know them in other ways—as rulers of the household, friends, comforters, teachers, payers of allowance when we fulfilled our responsibilities, guides into adulthood, etc. As our relationships grew it didn’t negate the fact that they were still our parents, it just opened the door for us to know them in other, deeper ways.

It’s the same with our relationship with the Almighty. As infants and young children we only know God as a parent. How do immature children regard their parents? As providers. In other words, they think of them in terms of what the parent can give them. It’s an immature “gimme, gimme” mentality that God wants believers to eventually grow out of but, unfortunately, too many never do.

This immature mindset is why so many people automatically think of asking for things—petition—when they think of prayer. In reality petition is a miniscule aspect of prayer. Yes, it’s a type of prayer, but prayer—communion with God—is so much more than just petition! As we develop spiritually we come to know the LORD in so many other ways than merely Daddy who gives us things. We come to know God as our friend (John 15:14-15), our guide (John 16:13), our Comforter/Helper (John 15:26), our faithful deliverer (Psalm 144:2), the King of kings (Revelation 19:16), the Supreme Judge (James 4:12), the awe-inspiring Creator of all things (Revelation 10:6) and so on.

The fact that John refers to believers in STAGE TWO as “children” reveals why I decided to primarily refer to the stages in terms of “STAGE ONE,” “STAGE TWO,” and so forth in this article and its precursor. After all, no one wants to be referred to as a child, particularly men; so utilizing the ‘stages’ terminology eliminates this issue.

STAGE THREE: Youth

Let’s now consider how the Holy Spirit through John refers to those in STAGE THREE, the youth stage of spiritual growth:

I write to you, young men,

because you are strong,

and the word of God lives in you,

and you have overcome the evil one.

1 John 2:14b

John describes those in the youth stage as 1. being strong, 2. the Word of God lives in them, and 3. they have overcome the evil one (which is also stated in verse 13). Let’s consider all three.

“You Are Strong and the Word of God Lives in You”

Those in STAGE THREE are strong because they’ve successfully gone through the “Christian boot camp” of STAGE TWO. A spiritual foundation has been established and they therefore have stability in their Christian walk, at least as far as not being blown this way and that way by every wind of doctrine, as is typical of STAGE TWO.

The Word of God lives in them not only through the living Word (1 Peter 1:23), but the written Word now dwells in their hearts through the feeding they received in STAGE TWO from quality pastors and teachers, not to mention their own studies with the help of the Holy Spirit. For amazing insights on both, see this video.

The latter, by the way, is a characteristic of STAGE THREE, which shows that a STAGE TWO believer who regularly studies God’s Word is simultaneously growing in STAGE THREE. This is the way it’s supposed to be: No matter where we’re at in the Four Stages we shouldn’t be stagnant. We should always be progressing to the next stage or the next level of the stage we’re in. This creates momentum and an unstoppable spirit.

“You Have Overcome the Evil One”

Those in STAGE THREE “have overcome the evil one” in more ways than just spiritual rebirth and salvation from eternal damnation, which are applicable in STAGE TWO. Through the Word they’ve learned and the discipline they’ve acquired with the supervision of their spiritual mentors they’ve overcome the flesh. Remember the flesh is the sinful nature and could also be called the satanic nature because anyone who practices the desires of the flesh is not only living for the devil, but living like the devil.

They’ve also “overcome the evil one” because they’ve escaped another one of his favorite traps—legalism. What exactly is legalism? It’s the belief and practice that eternal salvation can be attained through obedience to religious law or good works. That’s the common definition. Its broader definition has to do with its root word legal, which of course refers to law or rules. Legal-ism could hence be called law-ism or rule-ism. It’s the obsession with moral or religious laws and therefore legalists primarily judge others based on strict adherence to the rules they deem important, many of them being unbiblical. Furthermore, legal-ism emphasizes the letter of the law rather than its spirit.

You could say that legalism is the mentality that godliness is an outward job. Hence, legalists focus on the outer at the expense of the inner. To them a person’s outward façade is more important than the inward reality. For instance, as long as an individual goes to every church service throughout the week, and all that goes with it—wearing the “right” dress clothes, carrying the Bible, saying “Amen” at the appropriate moment, putting something in the offering, seeking the favor of the pastor, etc.—it’s okay to be a malicious, lying, envious, arrogant, blustering, abusive, sexually immoral, gossiping, slanderous, drunken, chattering fool the rest of the time (not that any one person would likely be all these things). Simply put, legalism is religious hypocrisy. It’s putting on an act. It’s fake Christianity.

It’s easy to fall into the rut of legalism in STAGE TWO if you’re not progressing forward with a finger or hand in the next two stages. This is especially so if you go to a fellowship where the pastoral staff foolishly encourages ongoing dependency. Believers who genuinely advance to STAGE THREE have escaped this huge satanic pitfall. For anyone who argues that legalism isn’t satanic, remember what Christ said to the Pharisees, the quintessential example of legalism in the Bible: The Pharisees claimed that God was their Father, but Jesus plainly told them they were children of the devil, the father of lies (John 8:41-44). In other words, they were counterfeits.

For more info on legalism see this article.

STAGE THREE “Boot Camp”

We’ve talked about the “boot camp” of STAGE TWO, but STAGE THREE has its own boot camp. It’s not like the boot camp in STAGE TWO, which is experienced with others within the institution and under the supervision of pastors. STAGE THREE boot camp is where you are sent to the “desert” and it’s just you and God. Some good biblical examples include Joseph, Moses, Job, Naomi, Ruth, David, Daniel, Jeremiah, Jesus Christ and Paul. They all went through such a wilderness “boot camp.”

Take Moses, for instance, he was exiled to the desert for forty years where he prepared to be used of God to deliver the Israelites from Egypt, which was his figurative “promised land.” The Hebrews whom Moses delivered went through their own wilderness experience before they entered their literal promised land and many didn’t make it due to unbelief and a spirit of fear. The ones who made it, Joshua and Caleb, did so because they had a “different spirit,” a spirit of bold faith (Numbers 14:24,30). Every believer who successfully “graduates” to STAGE THREE will have their own wilderness experience. As long as you have a spirit of faith and endurance, like Joshua and Caleb, you’ll eventually enter your “promised land.”*

* By the way, “The promised land” is not figurative of the believer’s eternal state (or “heaven”), as some erroneously suggest. After all, there were hostile nations and giants in the promised land and there will be no such conflict in the new heavens and new earth (2 Peter 3:13). The “promised land” is figurative of walking in the blessings of your covenant and fulfilling the dreams/courses/ assignments the Holy Spirit puts on your heart as you seek the LORD. See this article or this video for details on how to discern and attain your promised land.

This is why the Holy Spirit encourages us in the Word to “imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised” (Hebrews 6:12). It’s not just faith, but faith and patience, which is perseverance or endurance. For details see this article.

Things to keep in mind about your wilderness experience:

If you want the mountaintop you’ll have to go through the valley.
If you want the oasis, you’ll have to go through the desert.
If you want spiritual power, you’ll need to flex your spiritual muscles in the wilderness.
If you want to walk in the realm of the impossible, you must be willing to walk in faith with the LORD in impossible situations.

The fact that 1 John 2:14 describes those in STAGE THREE as “strong” believers in whom “the word of God lives in” them and they “have overcome the evil one” shows that those who use STAGE THREE as an excuse to regress to STAGE ONE never truly entered STAGE THREE. They really just fell back to STAGE ONE, which is “backsliding.” There could be a number of reasons for this: 1. Their own folly, 2. they unwisely left STAGE TWO prematurely or 3. they failed to establish a quality spiritual foundation in STAGE TWO due to ineffective or counterfeit “ministry.”

While STAGE THREE can be an exhilarating phase in your spiritual journey due to the increased independence, freedoms and responsibilities, it can also be difficult, just like the teenage years and early 20s are sometimes tough. This is due to its inherent growth pangs and awkwardness.

One thing that’s great about STAGE THREE—even exciting—is that you get to inspect the foundation that was laid in STAGE TWO in view of God’s Word and the counsel of the Holy Spirit. It’s where you “eat the meat and spit out the bones” in regards to what you learned in STAGE TWO (1 Thessalonians 5:21). While this process is challenging as well, it’s also thrilling and inspiring as you adjust your foundation and make repairs in light of more accurate and biblically-balanced information. Believers who fail to do this never truly graduate from STAGE TWO because they’re locked in a faction-ist mode. Of course, this doesn’t mean they can’t have a foot or hand in STAGE THREE or FOUR while stuck in STAGE TWO, but this will be the limit of their spiritual growth due to the infection of rigid sectarianism, i.e. faction-ism.

STAGE FOUR: Maturity (Parenthood)

Let’s now look at how the Holy Spirit via John describes believers in STAGE FOUR:

13 I am writing to you, fathers,

because you know him who is from the beginning…

14 …I am writing to you, fathers,

because you know him who is from the

beginning

1 John 2:13,14

John refers to believers in STAGE FOUR twice in 1 John 2 and, as you can see, the same way both times. Those in STAGE FOUR are “fathers” because 1. it’s the spiritual stage of adulthood or maturity, and 2. it’s the stage where believers are able to reproduce and properly rear other believers, that is, disciple them. Those in STAGE THREE are also able to reproduce, of course, but they’re not mature enough to effectively disciple converts, which is why new believers need to hook up with a ministry where they’ll be exposed to mature believers—believers in STAGE FOUR—who can function as spiritual fathers or mothers, like Paul was with the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 4:15). These mature believers can properly disciple them, which includes establishing a sound foundation for them through the “ministry of the Word” (Acts 6:1-4).

I should add that believers at any stage or level can theoretically help less mature believers get to where they are spiritually. For instance, someone at high-level STAGE TWO can help someone at low-level STAGE TWO and someone at mid-level STAGE THREE can assist someone at high-level STAGE TWO. This corresponds to the axiom: You can only give what you’ve got. If you don’t have it, you can’t give it. If you’re not in STAGE FOUR you can’t help someone get there. This works in the natural as well as the spiritual.

I’m of course talking about helping people get to a higher spiritual level and not assisting them in some other way, like giving money or food, or performing a good deed, like fixing an appliance. Anyone can do these types of things for anyone regardless of their stage/level, as long as they have the physical means or skills to do so.

Knowing God Beyond Just Daddy

Now observe how John describes mature believers as “knowing Him who is from the beginning.” This is different than those in STAGE TWO—the childhood stage—who only know God as their Father, their Daddy. Those in STAGE FOUR, by contrast, know the LORD as the One who “is from the beginning.” In other words, they know the Creator in a deeper fashion, in a more eternal sense.

Think about it in terms of how you knew your natural father as a child and contrast that with how you know (or knew) him as an adult. As a child you just knew him as Dad, the one who works, makes money and gives you things. As an adult you know him in a much deeper way: You know the details of what he does (or did) for a living, you know his history and his dreams, you know him as a friend. It’s the same thing with the LORD. When you transfer into STAGE THREE and, especially, STAGE FOUR you come to know God in such a deeper way than when you simply knew Him as your dad in STAGE TWO. The same goes for the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ. All three are one, but separate (Matthew 28:19 & 2 Corinthians 13:14), which you can read details about here.

The differences between the believer’s perception of God in STAGE TWO and STAGE FOUR can be observed in his/her attitude toward prayer. Believers in STAGE TWO are children, spiritually speaking, and therefore perceive the LORD in a parental sense, as their Daddy. There’s nothing wrong with this as it simply reflects where they’re at spiritually. However, because their perception of God is limited to a parental role they regard prayer accordingly.

Hence, prayer to them is mainly asking for things that they need or desire. This is petition, which is certainly a form of prayer (Matthew 7:7-11), but it’s only one of several types of prayer, and one of the minor ones at that, at least as you mature. Christ said that believers who learn to seek God first—not only, but first—will automatically have their needs met, which frees up their prayer time for more important things (Matthew 6:25-33).

Believers in STAGE FOUR view prayer as what it is—communion with the Creator—an occasion to hook up with the very Fountain of Life and receive the life, light and empowerment thereof (Psalm 36:9), not to mention help others through intercession.

The Different Types of Prayer

Prayer simply means communion with God—it’s talking with your Creator. Jesus’ disciples asked him how to pray and this was his response:

“This then is how you should pray:

Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come,

your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen”

Matthew 6:9-13

This is typically referred to as “the Lord’s prayer” and people sometimes pray it word-for-word, particularly when the occasion calls for a ritualistic or brief prayer to open or close ceremonies. This is fine for such occasions, but it’s really not a prayer to be spoken by rote. “The Lord’s prayer” is actually an outline of different types of prayer. In other words, it’s a prayer skeleton that needs to be filled in with the “flesh” of our spontaneous prayers according to our unique expressions, communion, needs or desires and the specific people and situations touching us. The outline can be broken down as such:

“Our Father in heaven” = Communion or fellowship with God.
“Hallowed be your name” = Praise & worship.
“Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” = Binding & loosing or intercession, that is, releasing God’s will and kingdom into people’s lives and situations on earth, including your own.
“Give us today our daily bread” = Petition, that is, praying for your needs and righteous desires.
“Forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors” = Repentance, venting, and forgiveness where applicable.
“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one” = Armoring up, protection, watchfulness, speaking in faith, and deliverance.
“For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen” = Return to praise and close.

As you can see, each part of “the Lord’s Prayer” refers to a specific type of prayer. Let’s look at four of them a little closer:

“Our Father in heaven” refers to communion with God since the believer is addressing God as his or her “Father.” ‘Father’ indicates familial relation and relationship requires communication, hence fellowship. Christianity at its core is a relationship with the Creator of the Universe, which is why the gospel is referred to as the message of reconciliation in 2 Corinthians 5:18-20. I encourage all believers to cultivate an intimate relationship with their heavenly Father where you’re in constant communion throughout the day, even when you’re in bed (Psalm 63:6). Paul referred to this as “praying without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17 KJV) and the “fellowship of the Holy Spirit” (2 Corinthians 13:14).

“Hallowed be your name” refers to praise & worship. To ‘hallow’ means to honor as holy and venerate, that is, treat with respect and reverence. God’s name—YaHWeH—represents the Creator Himself so we are to hallow the Great “I Am” (Exodus 3:13-14). The only way you can accomplish this in prayer is by telling the LORD. Praise is celebration and includes thanksgiving, raving and boasting, whereas worship is adoration. Praise naturally attracts God’s presence and is in accordance with the law of respect: What you respect moves toward you while what you don’t respect moves away from you. Worship, on the other hand, is adoration or awe, and is the response to being in His presence. See Psalm 95:1-7 and Psalm 100 for verification.

We could further differentiate praise & worship as such: Praise celebrates God whereas worship humbly reveres Him; praise lifts God up while worship bows when He is lifted; praise dances before God whereas worship pulls off His shoes; praise extols God for what He’s done while worship adores Him for who He is; praise says “Praise the Lord” whereas worship demonstrates that He is Lord; praise is thanksgiving for being a co-heir in Christ while worship lays the crown at His feet.

Every believer is called to deeper praise & worship. It will literally revolutionize your life, as it has mine and continues to do so. For more details on praise & worship see the section Offering Your Body as a Living Sacrifice in this article.

“Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” This is not talking about praying for Christ’s return and the set-up of his kingdom on earth, whether in the Millennium or eternally, it’s talking about the principle of binding & loosing in this “present evil age” (Galatians 1:4). This means now. Do you want God’s kingdom to reign in your life and the lives of others? You have to release it through prayer. Do you want God’s will to be done in your life and the lives of others? You have to loose it via prayer.

In other words, God’s kingdom will not come and reign on this earth unless a believer releases it through prayer and action; and God’s will is not done on earth unless the church looses His will via prayer and action. Simply put, believers have the power to bind the kingdom of darkness and loose the kingdom of light. See Matthew 16:19 & 18:18-19.

The principle of binding & loosing is covered in detail in here.

“Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” When in prayer believers need to be honest and transparent with their Creator. God knows everything anyway so you might as well be transparent. Only a fool would attempt to hide something from the all-knowing Almighty. Cultivate and maintain a humble, pliable heart that’s open to correction. We need to always be willing to search our hearts—our attitudes, motives and actions—and make adjustments where necessary. Never put off repentance; make it a priority (1 John 1:8-9). This keeps our spiritual arteries clear and life flowing, whereas unconfessed sin will clog them up and block God’s power. Humility attracts God’s favor and He forgives the repentant (James 4:6, 1 Peter 5:5 & Proverbs 3:34).

Similarly, we need to extend grace to those who sin against us and humbly repent. That’s what this type of prayer refers to: forgiving those we should forgive. It shouldn’t be misinterpreted to mean we are obligated to forgive everyone for everything all the time, no conditions whatsoever, because Jesus didn’t teach this and the Bible doesn’t support it. Take, for instance, the unrepentant brother in Christ’s illustration from Matthew 18:15-17. Since the man refused to repent Jesus instructed that his sin should be held against him: He was to be dis-fellowshipped and regarded as a non-believer until he repents. Paul dealt with a real-life situation like this and instructed the Corinthians to do the same (1 Corinthians 5:1-5). Thankfully, the man later repented and so Paul encouraged the believers to warmly welcome him back into their fellowship (2 Corinthians 2:6-11). Luke 17:3-4 is another example.*

* For details see this article.

The other types of prayer from the Messiah’s outline are self-explanatory and I encourage you to practice and develop in each area.

Communing With God

Let’s focus on the first two types of prayer: Communion with God and praise & worship. It’s no accident that these are the first two kinds of prayer Jesus mentions in his outline (Matthew 6:9-13). They’re simply the most important. After all, what does the average father or mother want to hear from their children, particularly as the children grow and develop? Not, “Gimme, gimme,” but rather simple communion: “Hi Dad! How are you doing today? You’re awesome!” “Do you have time? I’d like to just hang out with you.” “Mother, I have something I’ve been thinking a lot about and I’d like to share it with you to see what you think.” “Mom, you’re so beautiful!” “Dad, tell me more about that project you’re working on in the yard; it’s lookin’ great so far.” Etcetera. If this is the kind of communion our earthly parents prefer why would we think it’s any different with our heavenly Father?

You can have these types of conversations with God throughout the day, every day—when you wake up in bed, when you’re in the shower, when you’re driving, when you’re walking down the hall, in the evening, etc. As noted earlier, Paul referred to this as “praying without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17 KJV) and the “fellowship of the Holy Spirit” (2 Corinthians 13:14). We have to get away from this religious idea that we only encounter God when we go to church gatherings once or twice a week. This is an old covenant mentality.

Although the Holy Spirit was active among the Israelites in Old Testament times, it was much different than the way it is with believers in the New Testament. The Holy Spirit’s work in that earlier era was limited and selective because the Israelites were spiritually un-regenerated. However, they did have a covenant with God and there are glimmerings of what the Spirit’s function would be in the new covenant. David, for instance, was a type of the New Testament believer. Yet there was no spiritual rebirth, no indwelling and no baptism of the Spirit, at least not in the thorough scale we enjoy today.

Simply put, the Israelites were not temples of the Holy Spirit as believers are in the new covenant because they weren’t spiritually regenerated. The temple of God was a literal temple—a building—and before that, a tent tabernacle. Both the Tabernacle of Moses and the Temple of Solomon housed God’s presence via the Ark of the Covenant (Exodus 25:22). These structures were literally God’s house (although His presence was hidden in the Holy of Holies where the Ark was located, and the High Priest would only enter once a year). Unless they had an altar experience, for the Israelites to encounter God they literally had to go to the Tabernacle or Temple, but—Praise God—this isn’t the way it is in the New Testament period because believers are literally the temples of God through spiritual rebirth (1 Corinthians 3:16)!

So attending church gatherings at a church facility is not the primary way to connect with God in the New Testament era, although it is a way due to the corporate anointing, which Jesus spoke of in Matthew 18:20, not to mention the anointing of fivefold ministry gifts, detailed in Ephesians 4:11-13. Experiencing this “corporate anointing,” however, doesn’t require going to a specific building. It can take place wherever believers meet—a park, a street corner, the mall, someone’s house, a vehicle, the workplace, etc. Even better: Since every believer is the temple of God in this New Covenant period we can encounter the LORD every day. If you’re not doing it already, I encourage you to get in the habit of fellowshipping with the LORD on a continual basis, 24/7. It’ll revolutionize your walk.

Communing With God in Solitary Places

There’s a difference between the 24/7 fellowship noted above and personal prayer sessions. Regarding the latter, Christ said “when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you” (Matthew 6:6). Yeshua was simply talking about finding a solitary place for prayer sessions, known only to you and the LORD. This is in contrast to religious hypocrites who love to pray in front of others, which really isn’t communion with God, but rather putting on a show to impress people, which is fakeness, (Matthew 6:5). ‘Hypocrite’ literally means “actor.” This isn’t to say, by the way, that it’s wrong to pray with other believers, as is shown in the Bible (Acts 12:12), just that’ it’s wrong for believers to pray in front of others for the purpose of impressing them and proving how supposedly godly they are.

When Christ said to “go into your room, close the door and pray” he was simply talking about finding a solitary place where it’s just you and the LORD. It’s interesting that Jesus “as was his habit” often went to solitary places in the wilderness to pray, as shown in Mark 1:35, Matthew 14:23 and Luke 22:39-41. How come? Because there’s something about nature that’s conducive to encountering the Creator.

I think this is why men in particular are attracted to outdoor activities—like hunting, hiking, kayaking, fishing, etc.—because on some primal level they encounter God who is revealed in creation (Psalm 19:1-4, 97:6 & Romans 1:20).

Let me bring something up that all hard-working ministers can relate to: Recently someone insinuated that it must be great to be a full-time minister because of all the supposed time off. I just smiled and allowed him to continue in his arrogant ignorance (although my wife humbly spoke of the constant work and devotion necessary for serving in full-time ministry). The guy simply wasn’t aware of what it takes to run a world outreach ministry, including the determination and focus it takes to write books, many of which are over 250 pages.

Later that night the Holy Spirit ministered to me and said that the man was ignorant of what it took to even start a world-reaching ministry let alone run one. Images flashed through my mind of literal years going out to pray in wilderness areas North, South, East and West of my home, seeking the LORD and interceding, etc. This was well before I had any intention of starting a ministry. Often I would drive an hour to get to a good spot, sometimes 90 minutes or more. Images of these prayer locations and the sweet communion I had with the Lord flashed through my mind.

Of course, this man was completely unaware of all this because I never informed him. Messiah said to keep your prayer sessions to yourself and God. I’m only sharing it here as 1. an example to believers (1 Peter 5:1-4) and 2. to illustrate that those who seek the LORD will find Him (Jeremiah 29:13). As you make the LORD first priority—not your only priority, but the first priority (Matthew 6:33)—God will “direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Do you want an easy-to-understand scriptural way to discern God’s will and fulfill it in any stage or level of spiritual growth? See this article and the corresponding 15-min video.

This article was edited from Chapter Four of…