Spirit-Given Thirst for God
Spiritual formation is a term we hear a lot about these days. I define it as the conscious process by which we seek to heighten and to satisfy our Spirit-given thirst for God (Ps. 42:1–2) through divinely appointed means and with a view toward “working out our own salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil. 2:12) and becoming “mature in Christ.”
The term spiritual formation is not explicitly used in the Bible per se, but the concepts behind it are very much biblical. There’s lots of talk in Scripture about living in and by the Spirit. The spiritual life and the idea of formation are very biblical ideas. Paul talks in Galatians about wanting to see Christ formed in believers. It draws attention to a number of things that I think are really helpful when we think about the Christian life.
A Heart Aflame for God explores spiritual formation practices that are consistent with the 5 solas, presenting the riches of the Reformed tradition for 21st-century evangelicals.
Number one, that word formation communicates the idea of a slow, gradual process through which a thing takes the shape intended by the creator, the designer, the author, the artist. And in this case, it’s God’s work. It’s the Spirit of God working in us, ultimately, to conform us to the image of Christ. And that’s the work of a lifetime. That, of course, is happening all the time. With the term spiritual formation, we’re talking about the conscious process by which we are working toward that end. It’s ultimately the Spirit of God who forms us into the image of Christ, but Paul calls us to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. And so that means we invoke our conscious efforts and we use the God-appointed means to grow in grace.
It’s ultimately the Spirit of God who forms us into the image of Christ.
And that’s the second part of the definition. It’s a conscious process, and it involves God-appointed means. In the Bible we have tools that God gives us. We have things that we’re called to do and to take up and to draw upon through which he’s promised to work in our lives to help us bear fruit. Many approaches to spiritual formation that we see today draw rather widely on all manner of tools and means and processes and techniques, but a biblical approach to spiritual formation—a Reformation-rooted approach—really puts emphasis on using God’s appointed means and God’s appointed ways. These are things that we find in Scripture. Ultimately, it’s with a view toward becoming, as Paul puts it in Colossians, “mature in Christ.” We’re trying to grow in his likeness and bear fruit in keeping with repentance.
Matthew C. Bingham is the author of A Heart Aflame for God: A Reformed Approach to Spiritual Formation.
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