Is Spiritual Maturity Age Related?

“Wisdom is with the aged, and understanding in length of days.”

Job 12:12

This is a verse that exemplifies what can be expected from our elders. A long life often brings with it knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. Thus, it is good to honor our elders regardless of their maturity in their walk with Christ. This is something that I wish to stress prior to entering into this topic. That said, this topic needs to be addressed as it can cause problems in a church. 

Are age and spiritual maturity directly related? As in, can it be assumed that someone who is older than you is automatically more spiritually mature than you are? The short answer is no. There is, of course, a significant amount of nuance to this. For example, it can be assumed that wisdom, in general, is age related. Wisdom often comes with age. There are exceptions to this rule, but it is true for the most part. Likewise, age and spiritual maturity can go hand in hand; however, it’s not as cut and dry as general wisdom is.

The first thing that must be looked at is what spiritual maturity entails. What makes someone spiritually mature? Is it their age? Their good deeds? How long they have been a Christian? Spiritual maturity comes from a firm understanding of the knowledge of God. Thus, a relatively new believer could be more mature than someone who has been a believer for a long time if they are more firm in the foundation that is Christ. Let’s look at Ephesians 4:11-16 which is one of the major passages on spiritual maturity:

“And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds, and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.”

Ephesians 4:11-16

I really suggest reading the whole chapter, but for the sake of keeping this sort of short, I will stop there. This passage discusses what a mature believer looks like. They are those who are firmly rooted in Christ, and not tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine. They are those who are Christ-like. For sure, if an 80-year-old has pursued Christ their whole life then they will likely be very mature in their walk with Christ. Yet an 80-year-old who just became a Christian a year ago is likely still a baby in the faith. Thus, it is conceivable that a 20-year-old could be more spiritually mature than someone 60 years older than them. This same 20-year-old likely has significantly less wisdom, but spiritual maturity and wisdom, though similar, are not the same thing. Additionally, there is a difference between someone who has claimed to be a Christian their whole life, and someone who has actively pursued God. The former is likely still a child as far as spiritual maturity goes, while the latter is likely much further along. Therefore, age doesn’t really have anything to do with spiritual maturity.

Looking at the biblical requirements for overseers shows an interesting thing. Nowhere will you find an age requirement. In fact, there are quite large lists regarding the qualifications of elders/overseers yet not one single reference to age (see 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9 are the major passages dealing with elder qualifications). The closest thing is what is found in 1 Timothy 3:6 which says:

He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil.

1 Timothy 3:6

Notice that there isn’t any mention of age which surely would be a requirement if spiritual maturity was age related. Rather, elders are to be picked based on their actions and abilities regardless of age (though it is quite unlikely that many young adults actually fit the qualifications). But they must not be recent converts. Unfortunately, this isn’t how most elders are picked. Age tends to be the primary factor. But I digress, that is a topic for another time.

At this point, you might be asking, “Are there examples in Scripture of someone who is more spiritually mature than his elders?” This is actually an important question to look at. It’s all well and good to discuss this topic in theory, but without providing examples it can be hard to see what this might look like. Thus, let us look at a verse or two. Actually, I want to discuss three passages each looking at a different person who is young/er yet ought not to be discounted for their age. The first is in the very book we were just looking at. 1 Timothy 4:12 says:

Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.

1 Timothy 4:12

Timothy was a young pastor. He was the pastor of the church of Ephesus, to whom Paul was writing both to encourage Timothy in his pursuit of God and warn him of false teachers. Paul specifically brings up his youth and dismisses it. Paul tells him to set a good example of a Christ follower despite the pushback he has received due to his age.

The next person to look at is Jeremiah. Jeremiah is one of the “major” prophets (a reference to book length not importance). Let’s see what is said about him:

Now the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” Then I said, “Ah, Yahweh God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.” But Yahweh said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’; for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares Yahweh.”

Jeremiah 1:4-8

Again, we see a youth being told to disregard his youth. In this case, God Himself said that he chose Jeremiah as His instrument.

This last one is less affirming of a youth and more a warning to those who are older. The verse that I mentioned at the beginning of this blog (Job 12:12) is one of several in the book of Job that talk about wisdom being found among the aged, but things may not be as they seem. Let me give a bit of backstory leading into passage. Job has four friends come to him after he loses all he has. Three of these friends enter into what can only be described as a debate with Job. Job maintains his innocence while each friend takes turns basically telling him that he cannot be innocent because of the calamity that has befallen him. This back and forth happens for many chapters (like 29 chapters) until eventually the three friends fall silent because they found Job to be righteous in his own eyes. Enter Elihu:

So these three men ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes. Then Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, burned with anger. He burned with anger at Job because he justified himself rather than God. He burned with anger also at Job’s three friends because they had found no answer, although they had declared Job to be in the wrong. Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job because they were older than he. And when Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of these three men, he burned with anger. And Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite answered and said: “I am young in years, and you are aged; therefore I was timid and afraid to declare my opinion to you. I said, ‘Let days speak, and many years teach wisdom.’ But it is the spirit in man, the breath of the Almighty, that makes him understand. It is not the old who are wise, nor the aged who understand what is right. Therefore I say, ‘Listen to me; let me also declare my opinion.'”

Job 32:1-10

I would apologize for the length, but I actually suggest going and reading the rest of his rebuke if not the whole book of Job. Anyway, what is interesting in this is that after Job repents at the end of the book, God turns to Job’s three friends and rebukes them for they have not spoken of God what is right (Job 42:7). But he has no rebuke for Elihu. Thus, it follows that Elihu was truly more spiritually mature than the three older friends and potentially even Job despite his lack of years. Elihu said, “it is the spirit in man, the breath of the Almighty, that makes him understand,” and “It is not the old who are wise, nor the aged who understand what is right.” This is in contrast to Job 12:12, “Wisdom is with the aged, and understanding in length of days.” All of these things come together to say that age does not equal spiritual maturity. It is possible to be old and completely miss what it is to be a follower of God, and it is possible to be young and truly know God. Age really has nothing to do with it unless that age comes with a lifelong pursuit of Christ.

While age doesn’t necessarily mean someone is more spiritually mature, it is important to remember that our elders deserve honor and respect regardless. Following along from the passage above in 1 Timothy we see Paul telling Timothy how to treat those around him. He says,

Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity.

1 Timothy 1:1-2

This is not saying that a younger man cannot correct someone older than them, but rather it is saying that the manner in which that correction comes is very important. The word that Paul uses for “rebuke” is different than is typically used in Scripture for rebuke. He is saying not to “strike” with words. Basically, if rebuking an elder is necessary, do it in as loving and honoring of a way as you can.

Therefore, let us not judge one another by outward appearances. Rather, let us judge rightly by evaluating what is said and done and ascribe to each that which is deserved. Do not dismiss someone because of how young they are or assume that old age means knowledge of God. May we “attain the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.”

As always, feel free to contact me at ljandersonbooks@outlook.com with any questions.