Spiritual taxonomy

Introduction

A friend and I were talking recently, and he presented me with something I want to call a "spiritual taxonomy." The word "taxonomy" means 

a system for naming and organizing things, especially plants and animals, into groups that share similar qualities

So a spiritual taxonomy would be the categorizing or parsing of spiritual observations into an organized structure, with the goal of making sense of the relationship between those observations, and developing from them a set of spiritual principles. 

My friend's taxonomy is an effort to describe certain aspects of interpersonal relationships, which he describes as follows:

• Mutually sick: both parties are in sin’s deception, are synergistically harming one another and participating within the plans of darkness by fighting against one another.

• Mutually helping: both parties are in the grip of grace, are synergistically standing with one another and warring against the plans of darkness by fighting together with one another.

• Mutually healthy: both parties are ruling and reigning within the life of kingdom righteousness by the power of God’s Spirit and preserving an inheritance of unity through peace, fighting for one another (i.e. serving others with our freedom).

He explains: 

"The narrative arc is getting slaves out of Egypt, getting Egypt out of slaves, and then ruling and reigning in the promised land, co-laboring with and in God’s ways. The identity of 'more than conqueror' is 'ruler with Christ.' 

"I lump the desert and driving giants from the land all together into stage two of 'getting Egypt of out of God’s people,' while one could see an intermediary fourth stage as ridding the land of giants."

Definitions

My friend's taxonomy could perhaps be distilled into a single word, sanctification. The Greek word for "sanctify" is hagiazó, "...to purify internally by reformation of soul."

1Th. 5:23 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The same word is used here:

He. 10:14 because by one sacrifice he has made perfect for ever those who are being made holy.

Another word, teleios, means 

mature (consummated) from going through the necessary stages to reach the end-goal, i.e. developed into a consummating completion by fulfilling the necessary process (spiritual journey)

It is found here:

Ja. 1:4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

One more word, paideia. It means "...instruction that trains someone to reach full development (maturity)." It is found here:

He. 12:11 No discipline 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.

This definition might surprise the reader, as it did us. We thought this was about corrective discipline, but actually it is pedagogic training.

Application

This background should establish for the reader that salvation is the beginning of a necessary process that brings the believer through a sometimes painful refining and training into fullness of faith. It is a construction of a Holy Spirit habitation, which might take years or decades.

This process must happen. Individuals and churches must pursue this.

In one sense it is a ministry of the Holy Spirit, but in another sense is the ministry of the Body. In the context of my friend's taxonomy, this inner transformation toward spiritual maturity has relationship implications. An individual does not obtain maturity in a vacuum, and his maturity likewise must come in the context of relationship. Crucially, this process of sanctification begins the cooperative work between sanctified persons to cultivate a harvest of righteousness.

The NT is full of one-anothers:

• Jn. 13:34 Love one another
• Ro. 12:10 Be devoted to one another
• Ro. 12:16 Live in harmony with one another
• Ro. 14:13 Stop passing judgment on one another
• Ro. 15:7 Accept one another
• 1Co. 1:10 Agree with one another
• Ga. 5:13 Serve one another
• Ep. 4:2 Bear with one another
• Ep. 4:32 Be kind and compassionate to one another
• Ep. 5:21 Submit to one another
• Col. 3:16 Teach and admonish one another
• 1Th. 5:11 Encourage one another
• Ja. 4:11 Do not slander one another
• 1Pe. 3:8 Live in harmony with one another
• 1Pe. 4:9 Offer hospitality to one another

This is not a by-product of spiritually healthy persons, it's a primary result.

A Tease

I teased my friend that maybe there's a fourth stage to add to the three he proposed. I was partly unserious when I did this. However, I believe there is a further necessary application, beyond the spiritually healthy interaction between two people. That would be the healthy ministry of the Body in toto, a healthy local church as a manifestation of the healthy (C)hurch. 

Such a church, comprised of learners and spiritually complete, maturing and matured, disciples and disciplers, would create a synergy greater than that of the individuals. This is known as discipleship, commonly manifesting in one-one-one relationships. 

Discipleship in the biblical sense is sorely lacking in the contemporary (C)hurch, which is one reason it is compromised, divided and powerless. How can there be unity of faith if no one is teaching holiness and no one is learning it? How can there be effective, empowered ministry, evangelism, or even prayer without discipleship? How can a church come together as one body if its members have no idea what that means?

The one-on-one between the young single man and the gray hair, the mother of toddlers with the mother of college students, and the newly saved man with man who has a fruitful 10+ year Christian walk must impact the greater body ministry. Discipleship is one of the cellular manifestations that combine into an organ or body part. 

This is Holy Spirit empowerment, where the body takes hold of the ministry to the lost, to the widow and to the orphan, and does so with unity, clarity, and unceasing effort. 

Conclusion

The church and the (C)hurch has done a lot of amazing things without the Holy Spirit. But now it's time to become the Living Stones and be the inhabited temple, a holy nation, a body without missing or despised parts. The sanctification of its members must manifest in harvest, healing, and restoration that touches communities and nations with the Kingdom.

That is, revival.