The Bible clearly points out that the church is a spiritual institution (Col. 1:13,18,24; John 4:21-24) and its members are to be spiritual people (Rom. 8:6-9). The men who are to serve as leaders in the church are men who have placed God first in their lives and are manifesting those spiritual qualities that Christ desires. (Matt. 6:33; 2 Peter 1:4-9; 2 Tim 2:24-26).
The leaders in a local church are to manifest spiritual maturity, which is “having the ability to understand and discern God’s will,” (1 Cor. 2:13-14) and ‘developing the capacity to care for other Christians’ (Heb 5:12-14).
The one who is spiritually mature is growing in Christ and seeking to ALWAYS GLORIFY GOD (John 15:1-8; 1 Cor. 10:31).
Two ways in which each Christian Glorify God are: (1) By being stable – Ephesians 4:13-14 and (2) by being capable- Matthew 22:29.
Being spiritual requires three things as identified by the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 2:11- 3:2. The apostle teaches that being spiritual requires: (1) Having the Holy Spirit, v. 12; (2) It requires having the ability to perceive and properly judge in accordance with the teaching of the Holy Spirit vv. 14 & 15; and (3) It requires having the basic attitude or nature of the spirit as opposed to that of the flesh, 3:1,2.
When you hear quotes like the following, from the congregation regarding her leaders, then men are not spiritual in the handling of the Lord’s affairs: “They try to run the church like they run their businesses”; he thinks he is giving orders to one of his managers”, or “he treats others like they are in the military.”
Remember brethren that our leaders are men who, though redeemed are still fighting the flesh (cf. Gal. 5:7 Rom. 7:14 25), and they must control the urge to run the affairs of the church in the way of the world. “SPIRITUALITY IS WHAT PERSON IS, NOT WHAT HE DOES!” Spirituality is not optional for any Christian and it is a marked requirement for the leaders.
Therefore let us each strive to reach the image of the risen Christ (Rom. 8:29) and pray for leaders to be SPIRITUAL MEN.
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