Four Inhibitors to Biblical Church Growth

By Robb Brunansky

Published February 12, 2026

Throughout Christian circles, church growth is often discussed but rarely understood biblically. Scripture measures church growth with how many people are saved and grow consistently more like Christ. God’s will is for every church to be growing.

In 1 Corinthians 3, Paul transitions to this subject because the church in Corinth was not growing despite receiving God’s grace and gifts in the gospel. So here, Paul gives one requirement for church growth: A growing church is a church that is filled with growing Christians.

This chapter clearly shows that sometimes Christians run into periods of stagnant growth – but why? The passage gives four inhibitors disabling the Corinthian Christians from spiritual growth. Anyone of these inhibitors may very well be affecting our own abilities to grow spiritually, too.

First, an inhibitor of growth is a disposition toward selfishness.

Christians consumed with self will certainly be stunted in their spiritual growth. Yet, for how much we may desire to conquer this area of growth, we face the challenge of living in a culture and a society that constantly encourages selfish behavior.

We see this problem of selfishness so clearly among the Corinthians. The very root of the problem Paul is addressing is their consuming desire for self-promotion or boasting.

The biblical answer to this problem is a selfless humility.

Both the Philippian and Corinthian churches had similar problems of disunity, and Paul addresses this issue in the letter to the Philippians. The antidote Paul prescribes is a humility of mind that regards others as more important than ourselves (Philippians 2:3-4). For Paul, Christ was the perfect example of this humility because He was never motivated by selfishness. Paul tells the Philippians they would work out their salvation and grow spiritually with this selfless mindset!

The reality is that we cannot grow spiritually if we are consumed with ourselves. If we would be growing Christians, we must put all others in the church before us, which is easier said than done. In fact, given Paul’s illustration of Christ’s humility, the mindset that places others’ interests before our own is the mind of Christ. Jesus Christ can enable us to selfless living.

Some will object to putting other’s interests before their own, because of fears that the things they need or want to do will fall apart. The answer to this objection also comes in Philippians 2, where we see the outcome of Christ’s selfless humility when God highly exalted Him. Ultimately, there is no possibility of a bad outcome when we adopt the mind of Christ toward others, living humbly and looking out for their interests as more important than our own.

Second, an inhibitor of spiritual growth is a distorted self-assessment.

This inhibitor is where we think we are growing in Christ, when we really have some glaring blind spots that are inhibiting our growth.

We see this problem with the Corinthians, who thought they were wise. In fact, the Corinthians were so infatuated with their own wisdom that Paul later addressed the fact they were being self-deceived about their spiritual condition. Like the Corinthians, when we think we have arrived at some level of spirituality we have not yet attained, we will become unteachable; and when we become unteachable, we will not learn and grow.

This problem of selfishness was not unique to the Corinthians, as Paul had the same issue with the Romans (Romans 12:3). Paul reminded these Christians they were not to exalt themselves over others by thinking more of themselves than they ought.

We see this problem of distorted self-assessments all over the church. It is easy to have an inaccurate self-assessment because of the danger of comparing ourselves with the wrong standard (2 Corinthians 10:12). Because we often measure ourselves by the wrong standard and motives, we many times arrive at the wrong answer for our spiritual condition.

Yet, if we want to grow more like Christ, we must know where we are immature and where we need to grow. Proverbs 25:12 encourages us to have a listening ear to someone who comes with God’s wisdom from His word to reprove, correct, and instruct us. When we have this ear, we are spiritually fruitful. It’s not easy to correct someone – and it’s certainly not easy to hear the reproof – but when it’s true, we need to be receptive.

Third, an inhibitor of spiritual growth is a defective view of Scripture.

We are to desire the pure milk of the word like newborn babies to grow in respect to salvation (1 Peter 2:2). If we want to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, we must have a high view of the power of God’s Word. The Corinthians did not highly value God’s Word, being enamored with worldly wisdom, which is why Paul had to spend the previous chapter reminding them of the power of God’s wisdom in the cross.

We will never rise higher in our sanctification than how highly we view God’s Word. If we have a low view of Scripture, we will be stunted in our spiritual growth like the Corinthians, because we won’t rightly value the tool God uses to grow us. However, if we embrace the Bible’s truths about itself, we will surely grow spiritually. We must believe that the Bible contains the very words of the living God, that in it are the words of life, and that this Book is able to grow us in respect to salvation to conform us to the image of Christ.

Finally, an inhibitor of spiritual growth is a deficiency of application.

It is possible someone could have a high view of Scripture intellectually but not profit by it because of a failure to apply it to their lives. People can value the information of God’s Word, but not long for the transformation that information produces.

We again see this inhibitor in the Corinthians. They did not view the preachers of God’s Word as men from the Lord who called them to repentance, change, and holiness. They viewed these preachers more as entertainers and service providers. So, they listened to God’s Word without being transformed by it.

James 1:25 calls these people “forgetful hearers” of the Word. They hear what needs to change in their lives, but they don’t change anything. The truth goes in one ear and out the other, and the listener is no better for hearing because he does not apply what he has consumed.

Rather than being forgetful hearers, we are called to be effectual doers of the Word. We listen to the Word, not because we enjoy theology per se or because the preacher’s style is interesting, but because we want to become more like Christ. The only way to be transformed, then, is to listen with an intent to discover what areas of our lives require sanctification, transformation, and holiness.

When these four inhibitors mark a person or a church, spiritual growth will be stagnant. Although such believers should be able to walk by the Spirit and consume spiritual meat, they will still be spiritual infants. However, when we have a mindset of humility, when we view ourselves accurately in Scripture, when we have a high view of God’s Word, and when we seek to become effectual doers of the Bible – we can be certain that the Spirit will grow us individually and collectively more like Christ, and that the church will be used mightily of God to bring unbelievers to saving faith.