Christian spirituality - What is it?

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?

Christian spirituality is not about rituals, feelings, or mystical states. It is about walking with God in truth, love, and obedience. Though God’s people in the Old Testament followed the rituals of the Law, God emphasized the heart condition behind the ritual (Deuteronomy 6:5; 10:12-13; Micah 6:8). New Testament spirituality is based on the same principle: Loving the Lord with our hearts, minds, and soul (Matthew 22:36-38) and leading a life that manifests that. Believers are called to pursue spiritual maturity by abiding in Christ (John 15:4-5), walking by the Spirit (Galatians 5:16), and presenting their bodies as living sacrifices (Romans 12:1). This is not vague spirituality; it is rooted in God’s Word and empowered by the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-24). The believer’s spiritual growth is the result of God’s grace, not personal effort alone. True Christian spirituality always involves knowing and loving God more deeply and being transformed into Christ’s likeness (2 Corinthians 3:18). True spirituality is also always an internal, heart matter and not an external one, and it bears the fruit of love, humility, and obedience.

FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT

• Spirituality in the Old Testament centers on a right relationship with the LORD. In Deuteronomy 10:12-13, Moses asks, “And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of the LORD, which I am commanding you today for your good?” A person’s spiritual life is expressed through heart-felt worship and obedience.
• A truly spiritual person is one whose life centers on the word of God (Psalm 1:2). To “meditate” means to keep thinking about what God has taught, working to understand it and to apply it. That contrasts with worldly forms of meditation, which focus on emptying the mind.
• While God had given the Israelites a sacrificial system to atone for sin, David understood that true repentance had to come from the heart and not merely expressed in those religious rituals (Psalm 51:17).
• Israel had such a tendency to fall into ritualism that the prophets regularly had to call her back to sincere spiritual devotion. Micah 6:8 says, “what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” While God has instituted formalities to His relationship with Israel, the point was never the ritual, but a heart-felt obedience to Him. See also Isaiah 66:2 which says that God looks with favor on “the one who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.”

FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT

• Jesus described spiritual life as abiding in Him—remaining in fellowship through dependence, obedience, and prayer. He said, “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned” (John 15:4-5). By using the imagery of how a branch can only produce fruit when attached to the vine, Jesus was saying that Christians can only produce spiritual fruit when attached to Jesus.
• Paul indicates that spiritual maturity is not marked by experiences but by growing conformity to Christ through the work of the Holy Spirit. He said, “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22–23). Believers’ spiritual growth is caused by the indwelling Holy Spirit.
• Because of this indwelling Spirit, believers can put sin to death (Romans 8:14).
• Christian spirituality isn’t a kind of “let go and let God” type of spirituality. Though the Holy Spirit is required for spiritual growth, believers are to spiritually “walk” worthily of their calling by actively avoiding sin and pursuing righteousness (Ephesians 4:1–3).
• The spiritual person is also marked by discernment (1 Corinthians 2:14-16). Unbelievers (the “natural person”) are incapable of understanding spiritual things. But, in contrast, believers are expected to judge (understand) all things rightly. This discernment comes through by the Spirit working through Scripture.
• Paul warns against counterfeit spirituality—practices that seem spiritual but are rooted in self-made religion (Colossians 2:18-19). Some enjoy spiritual showiness, but they are not holding fast to “the Head,” i.e., Jesus. Those types of “spiritual” people are to be avoided because they are dead (see, also, Jude 8–13).

IMPLICATIONS FOR TODAY

Christian spirituality sounds vague in a culture that exalts personal experience, but, biblically, it is a clear and specific practice. It means living your life in communion with the God who made you and redeemed you. That relationship is nourished through prayer, the Word, fellowship, and obedience. It is not through intuition or mystical pursuit.

This means you should be cautious of spiritual-sounding practices that are not grounded in Scripture. If something doesn’t point you to Christ, it may not be spiritual at all—just emotional. Likewise, don’t judge your closeness to God by your feelings. Spiritual life often grows most in seasons of quiet faithfulness, not intense emotion.

At the same time, genuine Christian spirituality is deeply personal. You are not merely following a moral code; you are walking with a Person. God calls you to love Him with all your heart, to seek Him daily, and to rely on His Spirit for strength. That kind of spiritual life should define everything: how you speak, how you suffer, how you love others, and how you hope for eternity.

UNDERSTAND

• Christian spirituality is a relationship with God rooted in truth, love, and obedience—not based on feelings, rituals, or mystical experiences.
• True spiritual growth comes from abiding in Christ and walking by the Spirit.
• Authentic Christian spirituality is grounded in Scripture and empowered by grace.

REFLECT

• In what ways are you depending on God’s Spirit daily, rather than relying on your own effort or emotion for spiritual growth?
• How does your relationship with God shape the way you speak, love others, and face hardship?
• What spiritual practices help you abide in Christ, and how do they deepen your love and obedience to Him?

ENGAGE

• How can we tell the difference between true Christian spirituality and practices that only feel spiritual but are not?
• What does it look like for believers to pursue spiritual maturity together, and what challenges might hinder that growth?
• How do obedience, humility, and love serve as evidence of genuine spiritual life rather than emotional highs or religious routines?