Most believers want to grow spiritually. Yet the changes we hope to see in our thinking, habits and daily lives often come more slowly than we expect, and the distance between what we believe and how we live can feel hard to close. If that’s you, Scripture has good news. Spiritual growth is God’s work in us, and He doesn’t give up on it.
Here are Bible verses about spiritual growth and growing in faith: who makes us grow, what growth looks like, and how we take part.
God Is the One Who Gives the Growth
“And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.”
Philippians 1:6 NLT
God finishes what He starts in His people. Paul uses a similar picture for his ministry in Corinth: he planted, Apollos watered, but God made it grow (1 Corinthians 3:6). Paul is speaking of the church’s growth through ministry, but the same principle holds for each of us: growth depends on God.
The Spirit Himself is at work:
“But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”
2 Corinthians 3:18 NKJV
Notice are being transformed. It’s ongoing, and it’s His doing.
Growth Comes From Staying Connected to Jesus
“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.”
John 15:5 NLT
A branch doesn’t grow by straining. It grows by staying attached to the vine. Our first task in spiritual growth is to remain in Christ: in His Word, in prayer, and in obedience.
What Spiritual Growth Looks Like
Becoming more like Christ.
“Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.”
Ephesians 4:15 NLT
Notice where Paul places this: in the body of Christ. We grow together, not alone.
The fruit of the Spirit.
“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”
Galatians 5:22–23 NLT
Growth shows up less in what we know than in how we love, how we respond and how we treat people.
A changed way of thinking. Romans 12:2 describes growth as God transforming us “by changing the way you think” (NLT). (See What Does Romans 12:2 Mean? (opens in a new tab))
Bible Verses About Growing in Faith
“Rather, you must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
2 Peter 3:18 NLT
Growth happens in grace, not by earning God’s approval, and in knowledge of Jesus Himself.
“Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation.”
1 Peter 2:2 NLT
Just as a baby needs food to grow, we need God’s Word. A healthy appetite for it is one of the first signs of growth.
Paul pictures the same thing as roots growing deep into Christ, so that our faith grows strong and overflows with thankfulness (Colossians 2:7).
(For more on faith itself, see Bible Verses About Faith (opens in a new tab).)
Our Part in Growing
If God gives the growth, do we do anything? In my book, Renewing Your Mind: Living Life Intentionally, I use the picture of a garden. God provides the seed, the water and the sunlight, but a gardener’s care still makes a real difference to the harvest. In the same way, we tend what God has planted:
- Stay in His Word. It’s the food our growth depends on.
- Pray. Stay close to the One who makes you grow.
- Obey what you learn. Growth happens in the doing, not just the knowing.
- Walk with other believers. We grow “more and more like Christ” together.
- Be patient. Plants don’t grow overnight, and neither do we.
For years I tried to grow by willpower alone. Here’s how I’d put it now:
“Before, I was trying to change myself. Now I follow His lead with everything I’ve got, and He does the changing.”
(For a practical guide, see How to Grow Spiritually (opens in a new tab).)
Keep a Verse Close
Choose one verse from this page and keep it with you this week. Galatians 5:22–23 is one of the verses on our Scripture Cards (opens in a new tab), made to carry in your pocket, so God’s Word is with you through the day.
Go Deeper
My book, Renewing Your Mind: Living Life Intentionally, walks through nine areas where God renews us (mind, love, identity, purpose, hope, faith, gratitude, joy and peace, and living intentionally), each grounded in Scripture.
Growing Day by Day
Spiritual growth happens as God’s Word reshapes how we think and live, one ordinary day at a time. At Renewing Your Mind Discipleship Ministry, we teach a simple way to engage God’s Word so it changes how you live, in four parts. We call it The Process.
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
