The Marks Of Spirituality

Gal. 6:1-3

The Marks of Spirituality

As I was reading through the book of Galatians a few months ago or so, I once again came to Galatians ch. 6, and as I began to read it, I was struck with some thoughts which became the seeds of the lessonI’m going to bring you on today’s podcast... 

And so, what we’re going to look at in the Bible today isà The Marks of Spirituality...

I have not endeavored to make this an exhaustive treatise on the subject, but we will look at a number of things that emerge from the Scriptures as marks & characteristics of someone who is spiritual.

To be very clear, these marks are desirable characteristics, and are pleasing in God’s sight.  These marks are the manifestations of some-one that is in tune with the Holy Spirit of God.

There are people that are in tune with demonic spirits, and possess certain characteristics, but that is not what this message is about.

This message is about those who are spiritual in the best Scriptural sense of the term, as when our text here in Galatians makes reference to→ ye which are spiritual...

And just before we begin to look at these marks of spirituality, let me point out something else...  Two books after Galatians we come to thebook of Philippians.  And in Phil. 3:17 Paul says→

Phil. 3:17  Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample.

There is no question that the apostle Paul was a spiritual man.

Here he charges Christians to mark those that walk like he does, and follow his and their examples.  So it is important to note these marks of spirituality when we see them in others.

And in this message we are going to do that.  We will see the marks of such spiritual folks in the Scriptures, so as we can look to them andothers like them, and follow their examples...

And we should also be doing some self-examination to see if we ourselves exhibit any of the marks of spirituality, as well as if we lackany that need to become a part of our lives.

So back in Galatians, in Gal. 6, v. 1, we immediately see that spirituality...

1.​Seeks to Restore the Fallen

Gal. 6:1a

Apparently the Lord thinks that this is an important element of spiritu-ality...  Thus the verse...

And as I have observed Biblical Christianity for over 40 years now, I can say that this is something that is often lacking in Christians...

Yea, I have further observed that this is something that is often lacking in the practice of Christians who are deemed to be spiritual.

Unfortunately sometimes in our Christian circles not all that glitter are golden in their spiritual practices.

If we were to quote Gal. 6:1 the way that a lot of Christians actually live, it would read something like this→

Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, kick him while he is down, and run him into the ground with your mouth,and treat him with disdain, lest anyone think that you might be associated with him.

Pastor Jack Hyles used to say, We’re the only army that shoots our wounded.

Now to be sure, there are some who fall and refuse restoration...  

There are some who fall and are reprobate...à

But there are other Christians who fall and are never offered a hand by a brother or sister in Christ offering them restoration.  

They are treated more like the lepers of the OT, put outside the camp, only with everyone else looking at them and crying out unclean!

It is, however, the job of one who is spiritual to reach out and offer a hand to lift up a fallen brother or sister in the Lord...  It is then up to the fallen to accept...  They may accept or they may refuse.

But the approach of those that are spiritual will be that ofà

A.  Offering restoration...

B.  Hoping they will receive it...

By these standards of measuring spirituality, not all those that would seem to be spiritual actually are as spiritual as we might initially think them to be...

By these standards of measuring spirituality, maybe we ourselves arenot actually as spiritual as we’d like to think we are...

By these standards of measuring spirituality there is a prophet in the Bible, who was not as spiritual as he should have been.

While he had some things going for him, he fell short ofà

A.  Offering restoration to a fallen people... 

And then after the Lord put him between a rock and a hard place, and he finally went and preached to those people...  And when he didà

B.  He was hoping they would not repent & be reconciled to God.

The prophet of whom I speak, is Jonah...

When God called Jonah to go preach to Nineveh, Jonah high-tailed it in the opposite direction.

Jonah wanted no part in offering the wicked Assyrians of Nineveh any restoration with God...

But after being swallowed by the whale and given a second chance to fulfill his calling, Jonah went reluctantly to Nineveh to preach God’s message to them.

Jonah arrives in the city and preaches→ Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.

That is Jonah’s message to the Ninevites...  Noticeà

*He does not open the message with the word “Repent...”

*He does not close the message with a plea for them to repent...

*He gives no invitation for them to repent...

*But the people of Nineveh repent anyway!

Jonah is no sooner finished preaching, then the people respond.→

Jonah 3:5  So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.

Even the king of Ninieveh resopnds with repentance.  Moreover, the king proclaims a fast among both man & beast, commanding both to be clothed in sackcloth, and says→

Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?  

That was in Jonah 3:9, and then in Jon. 3:10 it says this...→

And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.

That is the end of ch. 3, and when we begin ch. 4, this is what we see→

Jon. 4:1-3  But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry.

{2} And he prayed unto the LORD, and said, I pray thee, O LORD, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.

{3} Therefore now, O LORD, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live.

I am sure that Jonah had some measure of spirituality about him, as a prophet of the Lord...  But in this incident, and at this time, Jonah does not display the marks of spirituality.

He has no desire to see the Ninevites reconciled to God...  And when the Ninevites do repent, and are spared the judgment of God, Jonah is so angry about it, he asks the Lord to just kill him.

Jonah’s anger & bitterness, and malice toward all of the men, women, and children of Nineveh are the marks of a carnal and backsliddenprophet...  Not a spiritual one.

And what about you?  Are you a “kick them when their down”Christian, or a “reach down to offer them a hand up Christian”?

That’s the first mark of spirituality that we see in Gal. 6:1à

Spirituality seeks to restore the fallen...  

There is a second mark of spirituality that we also find in this verse,and that is...

2.​Meekness

Gal. 6:1  Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.

Meekness is the opposite of pride... the opposite of arrogance...

It is rather humility & lowliness...

Those who are proud are ready to crush the fallen because they cannot imagine that they themselves would ever fall like that...

But meekness understands that, But for the grace of God, there go I!

Meekness realizes that any Christian who strays from the Lord can commit gross wickedness, and realizes that if he proudly seeks to crush those who do, he might some day fall into the same condemna-tion himself.

Meekness knows that if he himself were to fall, he would at least want an opportunity for repentance & restoration...  

And so meekness loves his neighbour as himself...

Meekness follows Jesus’ command in Matt. 7:12→  Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.

Speaking of Jesus, one of the characteristics of our spiritual Saviour is that He was meek.→

Matt. 11:29  Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I ammeek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

Jesus was not arrogant...

Jesus was not filled with pride...

His very presence on the earth in a human body shows that...

He left the highest heaven to come down to the lowly earth, and be born as a helpless little baby...

And why did He humble Himself to come down to this earth?  He did it to restore lost sinners in the spirit of meekness.→

Luke 19:10  For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.

And in so doing, He lived on this earth for some 33 ½ years, and then→ ...being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

Jesus left the highest heaven to go down to the lowest hell, to deliver our sins, and suffer our damnation...

He was meek and lowly...   Interesting word, that...à  lowly...

You see, meekness, and humility, and abasement, all of those indicate that one gets down low...  Jesus did that for us!→

Zech. 9:9  Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.

That is Jesus, humbling Himself for us...

Meekness, humility, lowliness... is one of the marks of spirituality.

We have two NT commands regarding lowliness.→

Eph. 4:1-2  I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,

{2} With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;

Phil. 2:3  Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.

And with those standards of measurement, how far... many of God’s people are... from being spiritual!

Meekness is a mark of spirituality... Notice Paul is still dealing with meekness as a mark of spirituality in v. 3→

Gal. 6:3 For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.

Don’t deceive yourself into thinking you are meek, when your’re actually proud...  Thinking you are spiritual when you are not...  

You must possess the internal traits of one who is spiritual, to bear the genuine marks of spirituality outwardly.

And along with the marks of spirituality in Gal. 6:1, we find another mark of spirituality in Gal. 6:2...→

Gal. 6:2  Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.

Hear we see that one who is spiritual...

3.​Bears the Burdens of Others

I think the spirit of this age has people living with such tunnel visionabout themselves & their own lives, that they have a hard time seeingthat anybody else is having a hard time!

And when perchance they do notice... They can’t be bothered, because they are too preoccupied with their own burdens.

People wander through life like the priest & Levite in the story of the good Samaritanà  They see someone in need, and pass by on the other side...

Those who are spiritual, are willing to take some time, and listen to others, and help them out, and bear their burdens...

Paul said→ I will very gladly spend and be spent for you...

That is exactly what the Samaritan did in that story which has come to be called after him...  The story of the Good Samaritan in Lk. ch. 10.

*He spent his time...

*He spent his energy...

*And he spent his money...

To bear one another’s burdens will always cost us, at least our time... 

And sometimes also our energy, and sometimes also some money...

But this is what a spiritual person will find himself doing as he jour-neys through lifeà  Helping to bear the burdens of others...

*Do you ever spend yourself like that, just to help out someone else?

Now we’ll look at a some additional marks of spirituality from other places in the Bible...

I Cor. 3:1  And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.

At the risk of stating the obvious, # 4...

4.​One Who is Spiritual is Not Carnal

By virtue of the very nature of these terms, one who is spiritual, and one who is carnal are opposites...

Carnal is fleshly, and the flesh & the spirit are opposites, and oppose one another.

So this mark of spirituality is not something that is there, it is something that is not there.

This mark of spirituality is a lack of carnal, fleshly behavior.  

I suppose the marks of carnality could be a message in itself, but right here in the context we can see some of those marks, so let’s look at them.

Let’s look at them remembering that if you are spiritual, these things are not being manifested in your life.→

I Cor. 3:1, 3→ And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. 

{3} For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?

The marks of carnality here areà  envy, strife, and division.

The manifestation of these marks, indicates an absence of spirituality.

Gal. 5:25-26  If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.{26} Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.

Rom. 13:13-14  Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.

{14} But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.

I Cor. 1:10  Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

Rom. 16:17  Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.

Interesting! Remember Phil. 3:17?→  Brethren, be followers to-gether of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample.

Two verse 17’s... One telling us to mark spiritual folks like Paul and follow them...

And the other telling us to mark carnal folks that cause divisions, and avoid them.

Those who are spiritual are not carnal...

They do not behave carnally, but spiritually...

They do not indulge themselves in the sinful carnal indulgence of the sins of the flesh...  One who thinks himself spiritual, but indulges in sinful carnal practices is only deceiving himself.

Next, look back one chapter to I Cor. 2, v. 15→

I Cor. 2:15  But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.

5.​Spirituality Judges All Things

The verse here is talking about all things, not all people.

One who is spiritual judges all things in order to determine if those things are right or wrong...

The spiritual person judges all things in order to discern betweenà

*Good and evil... 

*Proper behavior & improper behavior...  

*Acceptable practices & unacceptable practices...

This judgment is discernment...  It is discretion...

Ps. 112:5 tells us→ A good man... will guide his affairs with discretion.

Webster’s 1828 dictionary defines discretion asà

1. Prudence, or knowledge and prudence; that discernment which enables a person to judge critically of what is correct and proper, united with caution; nice discernment and judgment, directed by circumspection, and primarily regarding ones own conduct.

A good man... will guide his affairs with discretion. Psalm 112:5

This is the type of judgment a spiritual person does...

He does this first, in order to guide himself, and then also, so that he might properly guide others.

If you do not judge today between right and wrong, you will accept certain behavior & practices as acceptable, when they are, in fact, an abomination in the sight of God.

So the spiritual man works hard to understand the difference, in order to be right with God, and instruct others to do the same.

Spiritual people→ have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.   And→ he that is spiritual judgeth all things...

Now, the verse that tells us that spiritual people→ have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil... is Heb. 5:14.

And the whole verse says this→  But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

Back in I Cor. ch. 3, I skipped over v. 2 earlier, saving it for now.→  

I Cor 3:1-2  And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. 

{2} I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.

That is how we know that the person in Heb. 5:14 is spiritual, because a carnal person cannot handle strong meat, but a spiritual person can.

And we get that from I Cor. 3:1-2.  So let me add here, that #6...

6.​A Spiritual Person Can Handle Spiritual Meat

A carnal Christian will choke on the meat of the word of God, but a spiritual person will welcome it.

I have seen carnal Christians choke on the meat of the word.

I remember gathering with a number of young men in my dorm at one of the Bible schools I attended, and opening up the Bible with them and showing them something exciting I had learned from the Bible...

Most of them enjoyed it, and stood in awe of the Lord and His word...

But suddenly, one of the young men got indignant & upset...  And said that we should leave such things to the Pastor & Bible school leaders.

It’s not just young people that choke on the meat of God’s word...  

Sometimes adults do too.

You know, when you first get saved, it’s ok to be a baby Christian for awhile, but there comes a time, when you need to grow up in the Lord!

Paul’s “beef” with the Corinthians & the Hebrews (pun intended),was because they had long since passed that time when it was ok for them to be spiritual babies!→

Heb. 5:12-14  For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.

{13} For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.

{14} But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

As you grow spiritually, strong meat will be precious to you, because it helps you to understand the Lord, and the truth.

And this leads us nicely to another brief but important point, which we will discern from I Cor. ch. 14→

I Cor. 14:36-37 What? came the word of God out from you? or came it unto you only? 

{37} If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.

7.​One Who is Spiritual Believes All of the Bible

Paul’s writings were inspired Scripture, and anyone who was spiritual would acknowledge that.  The spiritual man believes all of the Bible...

A.​Not just the OT, but also the NT

B.​And they don’t cut any verses out like the modern translations do.

C.​The context of Paul’s statement further implies that as they ​acknowledge that it is the word of God, they will also obey it.

Thus one who is spiritual believes the word of God to the point of putting it into practice...  He is not just a hearer of the word, but a doer.

Next, another important mark of spirituality is found in Rom. ch. 8→

Rom. 8:6  For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

In this verse, those who are spiritual are characterized by... 

8.​Life and Peace of Mind

True spirituality brings true peace of mind.

The opposite of life & peace is death & misery of mind & spirit.→

...but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

The spiritual life is an abundant life!  Yea, it is the abundant life that Jesus came to give us, as He stated in John 10:10→

I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

Those Christians who walk in worry, fret, fear, misery, depression, discouragement & despair are not spiritual...

Mark them and do not follow their example.  

Instead, mark those who emanate that spirit of life & peace & faith & hope & trust in the Lord, and joy & praise to the Lord, and follow in their footsteps...  Follow their example!

Those who have this life & peace will also manifest the last marks of spirituality we are going to talk about in today’s message...  

They come from Eph. ch. 5...

Eph. 5:18-20→

{18} And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; 

{19} Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; 

{20} Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;

Notice first that there in v. 20...

9.​The Spiritual Person is Filled With Thanksgiving to God

I think that the opposite of thanksgiving is complaining...

It would do you well to take personal inventory and find whether you do more complaining, or more thanksgiving.

Or maybe just ask one of your family members or friends...

Spiritual people have a heart that is filled with gratefulness to God,and those people regularly give thanks to God for His goodness.à

*For God’s goodness in general...

*For God’s goodness to them...

*For God’s goodness to their loved ones & others...

The spiritual person’s heart is overwhelmed with thanksgiving to God, and that is a good overwhelming!

When you hang around with such a person, you regularly hear them genuinely giving thanksgiving & praise to God.

They do not do it for show...  And they thank God even more in privatethan they do in public...

Much more could be said about this, but we will move on to the lastone that we are going to look at in our message today...

We will find this final mark of spirituality that we are going to consider today in Eph. 5:19.  I’ll read it along with v. 18.→

Eph. 5:18-19  And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; 

{19} Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;

This final mark of spirituality is that...

10.​Spiritual People Have a Song in Their Heart

This is part of their abundant life in Christ.

Prov. 15:15 says→ All the days of the afflicted are evil: but he that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast.

There you have the difference between a carnal Christian and a spiritual one...à

The carnal Christian is miserable in life, miserable in his affliction, and discouraged...

The spiritual Christian, is joyful, merry, encouraged & hopeful in life, even when he is in affliction.

People sing because of joy, and the spiritual Christian has the joy, joy, joy down in his heart...  

And the joy in his heart produces songs of joy, & praise & thanks-giving, and glory to the Lord... No matter what the circumstances.

*And all of those spiritual songs make up the soundtrack of his life.

The song in the hearts of the spiritual, go with them wherever they go, and they walk through life rejoicing in the Lord alway, and again I say rejoicing...  Rejoicing evermore.

Now if this is not you...  The good news is, it can be you!

*And it is a wonderful way to live!!

To enjoy this life, you just need to become spiritual... 

You do this by

*Seeking the Lord in prayer... 

*Seeking out of the book of the Lord, and reading...  

*And then applying God’s word to your life...

*And living by faith & trusting in the Lord, & loving Him with all of 

 your heart...

If you do that...  the marks of spirituality will follow...

They might even sneak up on you... and you might catch yourself behaving like a spiritual person, manifesting these spiritual traits.

Welcome to the abundant life, Christian...  It is there for the taking!

1.​Seeks to Restore the Fallen

2.​Meekness

3.​Bears the Burdens of Others

4.​One Who is Spiritual is Not Carnal

5.​Spirituality Judges All Things

6.​A Spiritual Person Can Handle Spiritual Meat

7.​One Who is Spiritual Believes All of the Bible

8.​Life and Peace of Mind

9.​The Spiritual Person is Filled With Thanksgiving to God

10.​Spiritual People Have a Song in Their Heart