My oldest recently turned 30. While I’m proud of the man he is becoming, I can’t help but think about the night he entered this world. Needless to say, he’s done a lot of growing over the last three decades.
As Christ followers, we are called to grow in him as well. The Bible is filled with spiritual growth Scriptures that encourage us to increase our faith and become more like Jesus. Just as my son has gone from being an infant to a man—a husband and father in his own right—Scriptures for spiritual growth challenge us toward biblical maturity.
It’s a challenge we need to take seriously.
Verses About Spiritual Growth
The day you accepted Jesus’s offer of salvation serves as a milestone for your life as a Christ follower. It represents the beginning of the most important journey you’ll ever take, an adventure like no other. Yet, it was just the starting point. God has so much more for His people as they move toward spiritual maturity.
That’s where spiritual growth Scriptures come in. Through His Word, God encourages us to avoid standing still in the Christian life. He doesn’t want us to go through the motions or get stuck in a rut. He urges us to grow to be more like Him for His glory (2 Peter 3:16). As we meditate on verses about spiritual growth, we learn more about His expectations for us and how we can fulfill His plans and purposes for our lives.
Below are ten spiritual growth Scriptures. These Bible passages encourage us to grow in our faith and to stand strong in the commitment we’ve made to Christ. They challenge us to become more like Him. They help us know who we are as men of God and what it means to mature in the most important relationship we have.
John 15:5
“I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without me”.
Among all the spiritual growth Scriptures in the Bible, this one should be near the top of your list. If we’re going to remember one principle about growing in our faith, it needs to be that spiritual maturity is all about Jesus. It starts with a personal relationship with Him, where we embrace His sacrifice on the cross as the payment for our sins. And it continues with our complete dependence on Him each step of the way. He is the vine. We are the branches. Without Him, we are helpless and can never experience spiritual growth.
1 Peter 2:2
“Like newborn infants, desire the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow up into your salvation”.
The Christian life is a journey. When most of us start out, we don’t know a lot about God or His plan for our lives. Like a child learning to walk, we grow and mature. The key to that growth is studying God’s Word. Like milk for a newborn, the Bible provides strength and nourishment. We can’t experience spiritual growth without it.
Hebrews 10:24-25
“And let us consider one another in order to provoke love and good works, not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching”.
This spiritual growth Scripture reminds us of another important element for maturing in our faith: fellowship. The Christian life is not an individual sport. We need the encouragement, support, and accountability other believers provide. If we’re going to grow spiritually, we need to be connected to a solid, Bible-preaching local congregation.
Psalm 92:12-13
“The righteous thrive like a palm tree and grow like a cedar tree in Lebanon. Planted in the house of the Lord, they thrive in the courts of our God”.
Every spiritual growth Scripture has one thing in common: growth. Living things grow. Dead things don’t. So, if we’re going to reflect a vibrant and living relationship with Jesus—a maturing relationship with Him—we’ve got to grow. Otherwise, we’re just going through the motions, living a mediocre existence that doesn’t benefit us or make an impact on the world around us.
Ephesians 2:8-10
“For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift—not from works, so that no one can boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do”.
The Bible is clear that we are saved by our faith in Jesus, not by any good works we can perform. Throughout the Bible, spiritual growth Scriptures emphasize that we could never be good enough to earn God’s favor. Yet, these verses do challenge us to grow in our faith by demonstrating good works. When we act like Jesus, we point others toward Jesus. So, even though we can’t gain a relationship with Jesus through good deeds, we can show the world what a relationship with Jesus looks like by doing what’s right every chance we get.
Colossians 2:6-7
“So then, just as you have received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to walk in him, being rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, and overflowing with gratitude”.
We received Christ by faith. We also grow toward spiritual maturity by faith. At its essence, such faith requires us to embrace what we don’t always understand. But, as we grow closer to Jesus, we can stand strong in Him—even when we don’t understand it all. Spiritual growth means being rooted in Christ and standing firm in Him. It also means demonstrating gratitude regardless of the situation.
1 Timothy 4:14
“Don’t neglect the gift that is in you; it was given to you through prophecy, with the laying on of hands by the council of elders”.
Another sign of spiritual maturity is our ability to use the spiritual gifts God has given us for His glory. At the moment we accept Jesus as Savior, God’s Spirit gives us at least one spiritual gift. Several passages in the Bible (like Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12)describe these gifts in more detail, but each of us can be sure that we have a gift and that God wants us to use it to build up His body, the church. Paul urged Timothy to avoid diminishing the gift he had received. God wants us to identify and use our gifts as well so we can grow in our faith.
Proverbs 24:16
“Though a righteous person falls seven times, he will get up, but the wicked will stumble into ruin”.
On the surface, this might not sound like a spiritual growth Scripture, but it offers a lot of wisdom about maturing as a believer. While we have given our lives to Jesus and really want to serve Him well, we are still human. We are still hindered by our sinful nature that pulls us away from the things of God. In other words, we’re going to fall. We’re going to make mistakes. We’re going to need forgiveness and restoration. Thankfully, God gets that—and He will help us get up every time we fall.
Deuteronomy 6:6-7
“These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart. Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up”.
Men who are growing in their faith share their faith. In particular, they pass their faith on to future generations. If you’re a dad, you have a responsibility to live out your faith and to encourage your sons and daughters to establish their own relationship with God. This was a hallmark of the ancient Israelites’ culture, and it’s something God still expects from His people today. Tell your kids what God has done—and continues to do—in your life. And challenge them to nurture their own growing walk with Him.
Philippians 1:6
“I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus”.
No matter how old you are or how long you’ve been in a relationship with Jesus, you are still a work in progress. We are all masterpieces in the making. As men of God, we need to remember that spiritual growth is an ongoing process that will take the rest of our lives to complete. In eternity, we will experience the fullness of all these spiritual growth Scriptures. In the meantime, we have to be sensitive to God’s ongoing work in our lives and respond with obedience.
Following in His steps
Another spiritual growth Scripture describes the learning experience Jesus had on earth. Luke 2:52 tells us that Jesus “increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and with people.” In some sense, our Savior grew in a variety of areas in His life.
Now, I’m sure His ongoing relationship with His heavenly Father was built on trust. Luke didn’t provide the details, but he did say that Jesus “grew.” The Greek word used there means to make progress or to advance—kind of like a pioneer blazing a trail through the forest.
That encourages me. I don’t have to understand it all. I simply can rest in the truth that Jesus has been through this “progression” already. He has been where I am walking, and He can give me the wisdom and strength I need to become more like Him. He can help me live out the spiritual growth Scriptures.
It’s always a comfort when we don’t have to travel through uncharted territory alone. With Jesus, we not only have a companion who walks with us, we have a Guide who’s been there and done that. We just need to trust Him . . . and follow Him.
