MANOR PARK CHRISTIAN CENTRE

CARE CELL GROUP BIBLE DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

“Are You Satisfied With Your Spiritual Growth & Service?”
SCRIPTURE: Philippians 3:15-16

Philippians 3:15-16 challenges us to ask ourselves: “Are we satisfied with our spiritual growth
in Christ and with our spiritual service for Christ?
The Apostle Paul had attained to a certain level of spiritual maturity (see Philippians 3:15a).
And one sign of this level of spiritual growth was that he was not satisfied with where he was at
spiritually (see Philippians 3:12). Paul had a hunger for God—to know Him better and to
continue to grow more like Jesus Christ in attitude and action (character) and to grow in his
service for Him.

1. How, or in what way, can we think that we are worse off spiritually than we really are?
How does the lack of understanding about God’s love, acceptance, and forgiveness lead us
to believe that we are worse off spiritually than we really are? How can believing that we
are worse off spiritually than we really are hinder our spiritual growth in Christ and our need
to “live up to what we have already attained”?

Notes: For example, what if a new Christian thinks that as a believer in Jesus Christ they
will no longer be tempted to sin? Or what if we are deceived as believers into
thinking that when we sin, we are no longer children of God because we have lost
our salvation?

2. How, or in what way, can we think that we are better off spiritually than we really are?
How can this be a hindrance in regards to our spiritual growth in Christ? How can
comparing ourselves to others rather than to Jesus Christ lead us to believe that we are better
off spiritually than we really are?

Notes: For example, the believers in Corinth had become satisfied with where they were at
spiritually, and they thought that they had somehow “arrived” because of their
having certain spiritual gifts, particularly the gift of tongues. But the Apostle Paul
had to write to them (see 1 Corinthians 3:1-3) in order to clarify that the evidence of
growing spiritual maturity is that we are becoming more like Jesus Christ in attitude
and action (character) (see 1 Corinthians 13:1-8).
For example, if there were 100 different areas of spiritual growth to which we must
attain as believers, one believer may have grown in 50 of these areas, whereas
another believer may have grown in the other 50 areas. Both believers may be at a
similar overall level of spiritual maturity in God’s eyes, but in totally different areas
of their Christian life. This explains some of the meaning of why the Apostle Paul
said: “And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to
you.”
For example, the believers in the church at Sardis—who perhaps appeared as
something outwardly that they were not really inwardly—thought that they were
better off spiritually than they really were (see Revelation 3:1-2).

3. The Apostle Paul, even with his record of service for Christ—indicated that he was not
satisfied with his current level of spiritual service (see Philippians 3:10-11). He wanted to
 know more of what it meant to share in Christ’s sufferings in his service for Him and more
of Christ’s resurrection power—the power of His unconditional love in serving others.
How can believing that we are not good enough be a hindrance in our service for Christ—
in using our God-given gifts to “be Jesus” to others in our CARE cell group and to those to
whom the Lord sends us? What does the Biblical mandate to “live up to what we have
already attained” say to us in regards to our temptation to wait—in serving Christ by
serving others—until we reach a certain level of spiritual maturity? How can thinking that
we are not good enough become an excuse for believers’ lack of obedience in serving Christ
by getting involved in the lives of others?

Notes: For example, sometimes new believers either think that they are not yet good enough
to serve Christ, or other believers think this about new believers. But since every
new believer in Jesus Christ who has been born of His Spirit has been given at least
one spiritual gift in order to serve Christ, the only thing that is needed is a desire to
serve Christ in obedience to His command (see Matthew 22:37-39 & 28:19-20) with
a willingness to be equipped to use their spiritual gifts in order to serve others in
their cell group and those to whom the Lord sends them.

4. How, or in what way, can we think that we are too good to do certain things, and therefore
we fail to serve in the way that Christ served? In what way might we be tempted to think
that perhaps others should be serving us because we have attained to a certain spiritual
position? What can we learn from Jesus’ example of serving others in John 13:1-17?

5. If the Lord were to use the past seven days to judge you on your service for Him, would you
be satisfied? Do you think that He would be satisfied? Why is our willingness to
sacrificially get involved in the lives of people with “dirty feet”—even without having to be
asked—evidence that we are growing more like Jesus Christ both in spiritual maturity as
well as in our service for Him?