3. Spiritual Training
"… train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come…" (1 Timothy 4:7-8). Those who undergo physical training – whether it is military "boot camp" or workouts at the gym – know that any kind of improvement involves consistent ongoing work. Spiritually, it's the same. The old physical exercise adage of "no pain, no gain" often applies to spiritual training, also. The author of Hebrews wrote that "No discipline [Greek paideia] seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it" (Hebrews 12:11). Although the word paideia is translated "discipline" here in the NIV and some other versions, it can equally mean positive training (as we see in Ephesians 6:4 and 2 Timothy 3:16 where it is translated "training" and "instruction" in righteousness).
But spiritual training isn't intended to just build "spiritual muscles" – to make us somehow spiritually bigger, better, or stronger for its own sake. Like military training, it's intended to enable us to do a job we have been given to do. In recent years, more and more churches have come to the understanding that it is a vital part of their responsibility to help their members use the spiritual opportunities and gifts they have been given to do the work of God.
This is exactly what the apostle Paul meant in writing that a key job of the ministry is: "to equip his people for works of service" (Ephesians 4:12, emphasis added). When Jesus said "anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done" (John 14:12) , there is no reason to think he was only talking about the apostles or elders of the Church. He said "anyone"– clearly meaning all of his followers.
Yet, as Dallas Willard wrote in his book The Spirit of the Disciplines, we are unlikely to be able to imitate the works of Jesus without imitating his lifestyle – and that is where spiritual training comes in.
So what is spiritual training? While preparation in theology or the history and languages of the Bible may certainly be helpful, they are not spiritual training. If we look at the Book of Acts, we see the qualities that allowed some individuals to serve to a greater extent than others were an abundance of faith and the Spirit of God (Acts 6:3, 5). These are gifts from God, but we increase and develop them by contact with God. As is often said, if we want to walk like Jesus we have to walk with Jesus. That requires the application of careful planning and self-discipline to ensure that our spiritual lives are not just "squeezed into" our physical lives – tucked into the small remaining spaces at the beginning or end of the day – but firmly set within our schedules to allow us to spend more time in "training." We have only to read the Gospels to see that's how Jesus himself stayed in training – by spending time with God (Matthew 14:23, etc.).
Spiritual training revolves around the spiritual "disciplines" (that word we saw in Hebrews 12:11) such as prayer and study of the Scriptures, and it is only as we work consistently and continually in these areas that we are effective in spiritual growth. But this is not just rote training in the way we might do fifty pushups or run a dozen laps. Spiritual training is a matter of the heart as well as the will.
Think for a minute about how Christ trained his disciples during his ministry. It was not by enforcing timed prayer sessions or by having them read a set amount of the Hebrew Scriptures each day – it was by having them spend time with him personally so they could see his attitude and his actions. It was training through "osmosis" more than through "Moses." It was by listening to Christ's teaching and by seeing how he applied the writings of the Bible in daily life that the disciples gained the training they needed.
It is only as we spend time training in the same manner – sitting and listening with the disciples, for example, as we read the Gospels and the letters of those who learned directly from him – that we grow further in understanding and ability.
Jesus stated clearly that he could do nothing without paying attention to the Father and closely following his lead (John 5:19). We undergo spiritual training in exactly the same way when we listen to Christ's teachings, "watch" him in the pages of the Bible, and discuss his way of life in prayer with the Teacher himself. It's a process that always leads to growth, strengthening, and transformation in our lives. The only difficulty is not letting the cares of this life crowd out our training sessions. Why not schedule some extra training starting today?