Spiritual Maturity

Paul said, "We speak words of wisdom to those who are [spiritually] mature," and "the foolishness of God is greater than the wisdom of men."

God works from within to make us spiritually mature and wise according to His own nature, and not according to the wisdom of the world.  We cannot force wisdom but must allow it to gradually unfold within us --the Spirit teaches us all things as we are able to grasp them.  And we ourselves can neither program nor plan how the Spirit will work in ourselves or in others.  We must only allow Him free access and free reign to do whatever He wills in us.  To that end, we remain in prayer in order to know the mind of Christ and the direction of the Spirit within us.

"Let me teach you," says the Lord; "let me guide you with Mine eye....be not senseless like the horse or the mule; with bit and bridle their temper is curbed, else they will not come to you."

A child guided by the parent's eye does not need "bit and bridle" to be controlled; one look is sufficient because the child loves and wants to please the parent.  It is only the headstrong and self-willed child who wants to do what he wants to do, without regard for the parent's wisdom. 

So, too, if we walk with God and let Him guide us with His eye, we have wisdom and spiritual maturity.  Isaiah 30:20 says this:

No longer will your Teacher hide himself,

but with your own eyes you shall see your Teacher,

While from behind, a voice shall sound in your ears:

"This is the way; walk in it,"

when you would turn to the right or to the left.

In Jer. 31:33, God describes a new covenant that He will make with the house of Israel, where "no longer every man will teach his neighbor how to know the Lord," but "they will all know me, from the greatest to the least," because He Himself will write His law (instruction, in the Hebrew) in their hearts.

So spiritual maturity means moving along the continuum from external observance of the law from fear to listening to the deep, still voice of the Lord teaching us from within our hearts, being guided by His "eye."