I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.
— 1 Corinthians 3:6

What does it mean to grow in Christ? We need to be clear about this if we desire to pursue Christ so we actually do grow in Him.

First of all, we should not think that to gain some Bible knowledge, or to be involved in some Christian work, or to behave in a better way, is to grow in Christ, although these things certainly may be related to our growth. (And, as we made clear in the previous Note in this series, if we do not exercise ourselves spiritually, we certainly will not grow in Christ; see “How Can We Grow In Christ?” • 2)

Rather, to grow in Christ means Christ is working Himself more and more into our being, so that we grow in His life and eventually are even transformed into His image.

In the book of Colossians, the apostle Paul tells us the entire mystery of the word of God can be summed up in the statement, “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (1:27; see “The Bible in One Verse”). He then goes on to say,

…Whom we proclaim, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man full-grown in Christ; for which also I labor, struggling according to His working, which works in me in power.
— Colossians 1:28-29

So, the apostle’s struggle was to present every believer “full-grown in Christ”; and that means, in the context of this passage, full-grown in the measure of the Christ who is within us as our “hope of glory.”

In brief, then, to grow in Christ is in reality to allow Christ to grow in us.

This is not merely to be “Christ-like,” which is what some Christians speak of as growth in Christ, by which they mean, we express some of the same virtues Christ did in His living, such as meekness, kindness, forbearance, etc. Rather, it means Christ Himself is being manifested from within us in our daily living.

This is to abide in Christ as the true vine, so that all the riches of this vine are imparted into us as the branches in this vine (John 15:4); only in this way, as the Lord goes on to tell us, can we bear spiritual fruit before Him (v. 5). This is to grow in Christ by allowing Christ to grow in us.

Lord, grant us to grow in You, and to allow You to grow in us, so we can present You Yourself to all those we contact in our daily living and so bear “much fruit” before You!

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—  23 April 2025 —