“Him we proclaim…that we may present everyone mature in Christ”
– Colossians 1:28
Welcome to Maturing Life in Christ, a site dedicated to producing resources that will assist Christians in beholding Christ and becoming more like Him!
It is in the beholding that the becoming is made a reality (2 Corinthians 3:18), and this is a gracious work done by the Lord in the hearts of His people!
Who We Are
We are Matt and Lindsey Cover, a husband and wife together in marriage for 13 years, and parents to four sweet boys. Although we were born and raised in Pennsylvania, we currently live in southern Delaware.
Matt has joyfully served Christ’s church as a pastor and is currently an ordained minister serving as a corporate chaplain. Matt received his Master of Divinity degree in Biblical Counseling from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and holds an advanced certification in biblical counseling from the Association of Biblical Counselors.
Lindsey holds a dual degree from Lancaster Bible College, and has served with Matt in small group leadership for seven years. She loves being a stay-at-home mom, cooking healthy (and inexpensive!) meals for her family and others, and encouraging young moms “in the trenches” with small children to apply Scripture to everyday life.
Together, we started this site with hopes of encouraging and inspiring other Christ followers to strive for a growing (maturing) relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, resulting in God-glorifying marriages, families, and communities.
What is This Site About?
In essence, our site is about the Trinitarian God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) and His gracious, redemptive work in His people to make them holy and blameless before Him. The message of the Gospel is about Jesus Christ and His perfect life, substitutionary death on behalf of sinners, and resurrection from the dead! Apart from Jesus Christ and His saving work, there would be no possibility of a maturing life in Christ. But praise be to God, Jesus has risen from the dead, provided salvation for His people, and has sent the Holy Spirit to change His people from the inside out. This site is about that change!
Related Article: Who is Jesus?
When a sinner is united to Jesus by faith, believing in Him alone for salvation, there will no longer be any condemnation (Romans 8:1). A sinner is justified, meaning that he is declared righteous (instead of guilty), made right with God forevermore! An adoption takes place in which the Lord is no longer our judge, but our Heavenly Father! This is all made possible by the working of our great God! This good news of reconciliation with God is just the beginning!
Immediately upon the conversion of an individual, a process—which the Bible calls sanctification—begins, in which that person becomes more and more like Jesus. The sinful tendencies begin to melt away, and a life of holiness is lived. Paul refers to a “putting off” of the old self and a “putting on” of the new self (Ephesians 4:22-24; Colossians 3:5,12). Similarly, Paul says that as a person beholds the glory of Jesus (for us, that means beholding Him in His Word, the Bible), he or she will be transformed into the likeness of Jesus (2 Corinthians 3:18).
Related Article: How Do We Change?
Another word for this process of sanctification is maturing. Therefore, those who are united to Jesus Christ by faith will experience a Maturing Life in Christ. A true, lasting, transformative life can only be experienced by our union with Christ. Apart from Jesus, we can do nothing.
Jesus said it like this:
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.
– John 15:4-5
Maturing Life “In” Christ
Apart from Christ, we will not experience a maturing life. Please don’t let that little two letter preposition, “in,” be viewed as unimportant. The first two words of this ministry (Maturing Life) are not possible without the last two (In Christ).
To be “in Christ” is to be united to Him once and for all, to share in His death (Galatians 2:20), resurrection (Romans 6:5), and heavenly session (Ephesians 2:6). It means that Jesus lives in us (Ephesians 3:17; 2 Corinthians 13:5) and we in Him (1 Corinthians 1:30). And this great truth will indeed lead us to exclaim with the Apostle Paul:
Oh, the depths of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways…For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.
– Romans 11:33-36
Amen indeed!
What We Believe
We are Protestant, Reformed, Evangelical, confessional Christians who subscribe to the Westminster Standards, believing them to rightly teach the Bible. Click to read the Westminster Confession of Faith for a detailed description of what we believe.
Purpose of This Site
Our hope is that Maturing Life in Christ will be a place that offers resources to assist you in beholding Christ, living a mature life that is filled with joyful worship of God and filled with love for Him and others, all to the glory of the Triune God! The intent of our blog, sermons, and other resources is to help you grow in your worship of the Lord, and that you will experience more and more joy in the Lord who has given us eternal, abundant life in Christ.
To Him be the glory forever and ever!