Growing together

How do we grow — spiritually?

I don’t know about you, but for most of my Christian life, I pictured spiritual growth as an individual thing. Like trees in a forest. I’m growing over here, Bob is growing over there, and Lucy is growing somewhere else. Separate, isolated, doing our own thing.

But that’s not the way the Bible pictures it.

According to Colossians, we’re not like isolated trees, we’re in fact a body. As the Apostle Paul writes, we are organically connected by ‘ligaments and sinews’ to each other and to the life-giving head of Jesus (Colossians 2:19, 3:15). So, we grow spiritually as we grow together in Christ. It’s not a solo activity. It’s a communal way of life.

And as Paul goes onto write, one of the chief ways we grow together is by letting the word of Christ dwell in us:

"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.” - Colossians 3:16

That ‘word’ is the gospel, the good news we have in the Bible, that brings us God’s grace in Jesus. As Paul says back in chapter 1, this word has been planted in our hearts. It has given us new spiritual birth. But more than that, it’s a word that continues to give us life together. It grows in us and bears fruit among us as God’s people (Colossians 1:6).

A few years ago, an Australian survey, aptly called The Milk to Meat survey, found that the more deeply Christians engaged with the Bible, the more they tended to:

• Pray together
• Care for others
• Serve in the church
• And share their faith

In other words, there’s a direct connection between the word in us and the spiritual life flowing out of us.

So, we’re to let the word dwell in us as we gather together. Not as an occasional visitor, like Aunt Mavis who pops by for a quick chat and a cup of tea, but as a permanent resident. And it’s to dwell in us richly — abundantly, lavishly, deeply. It should get under our skin, into our bones, and become the very lifeblood of our church, saturating everything we do. To paraphrase Charles Spurgeon: if someone pricked our skin, we would bleed the Bible.

But who makes this happen?

Paul is clear, it’s you ... plural. Youse! All of 'youse' are to teach and admonish one another. It’s not just the job of the preacher or service leader. Everyone is called to speak to everyone. Teaching what is right, warning against what is wrong, with all the wisdom the Spirit gives, and all the songs we can muster.

This of course happens in our Sunday gatherings and in our mid-week LIFE Groups. But here’s a really simple way to make it part of our everyday life:

The One Minute Bible Study.¹

We introduced this at my old church, especially to encourage men to share the Bible with each other, rather than just talking about the weather or sport. So, when you bump into someone from church at the shops, or you meet up with someone for a coffee, or you're speaking to someone after the service, ask each other three simple questions:

• What have you read recently in the Bible?
• What did you learn about God or yourself?
• How has that helped you live for Jesus?

It usually lasts more than a minute. But the basic idea is to keep it simple and make it natural. Just getting into the habit of speaking God’s word into each other’s lives. Letting the word of Christ — dwell in us — richly.

Yours in Christ,
Mark Barry

Assistant Minister
Outreach & Community Connections

28 July 2025

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[1] www.thebriefing.com.au/2001/06/the-one-minute-bible-study/