Is Spiritual Growth Individual or Corporate?

Last summer we enjoyed Olympic sports, my favorite being gymnastics. As I watched the trials earlier, I began to think about both team and independent competition in the Olympics. Both were opportunities to excel and represent their countries. Olympic competitors want to do well for themselves individually, and for their teams, all under the flag of their represented countries.

I see a correlation of this line of thought to our spiritual growth as you can see by the title of this post. And, the answer is yes and yes! We must grow spiritual individually, time alone with the Lord is one way we will hear from Him as we study His Word and seek His face in prayer.

But at the same time, we also grow spiritually with the Body of Christ as we meet together corporately in and through our local church. We spur each other on and share with each other what God is teaching us. We are trained in serving Christ in and through our church as well. Serving is a huge way to grow spiritually as we see God use us for His Kingdom. We allow God to work through us in His power in ways we couldn’t possibly do on our own. That encourages our own faith to grow even bigger as we obey His call to obey and follow Him as we represent Him on earth.

And like Olympic competitors represent their countries as they compete, we run our race to lift His name above our own.

Preparing for our own life race on earth, Jesus is continually sanctifying us, showing us how to be conformed to His image as we follow. On a personal, individual level, we are to set spiritual discipline goals that include setting time aside daily to sit in solitude before our Holy God. We open the Word searching for who He is and how that is to shape our own lives. This is essential to a growing disciple of Christ.

Psalm 63:1-2

God, you are my God; I eagerly seek you.
I thirst for you;
my body faints for you
in a land that is dry, desolate, and without water.
So I gaze on you in the sanctuary
to see your strength and your glory.

But we cannot stop there, saying we don’t need the church…the church Christ died for. The local church is our spiritual family, helping us know Christ more deeply as we seek Him in worship and godly teaching opportunities. We learn from those who have gone before us as they help us navigate the challenges of life. Then we ask God how can He use us to serve Him in our church and communities and we find multiple opportunities. Just like the church born in Acts 4, together we become stronger together and can accomplish so much more than we can alone.

Hebrews 10:24-25

And let us watch out for one another 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.

Both individually and corporately, we exist so that we can be the hands and feet of Jesus on earth as we shine His light through our lives. We represent the one Who died for us. This is the catalyst for allowing Him to continue to sanctify our hearts as long as we have breath.

Please don’t use the cop out, “I don’t need the church.” Ask the Lord where He wants you to serve Him in a local body of believers as together you compete for the glory of His name in a world that desperately needs Jesus!

Also, don’t claim “I go to church weekly, what more do I need to do to grow?” Your one on one time with Jesus will become the sweetest part of you day, helping you live out what you are learning at church!

We need both individual and corporate opportunities for a well rounded spiritual life. Pray and ask the Lord to show you how to continue growing spiritually, both individually and corporately as He shapes you into His image.

Banner photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash