Spiritual formation is the ongoing process of being shaped by God’s Word and Spirit into Christlikeness. It involves daily habits—like prayer, Scripture, and obedience—that train the heart to love what God loves and live for His glory. So is it Biblical?
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Sanctification, wonderful doctrine.
J.
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Spiritual formation has come to mean different things in the church. It’s a big thing in my country. My last church was very much into what they called spiritual formation and it wasn’t about prayer, Scripture and obedience. I could write a book.
I see spiritual formation as an umbrella term with many different practices that fall under it. Many of the practices are not Biblical in that you won’t read about them in the Bible. The apostles never practiced it and the Bible doesn’t teach it. That doesn’t necessarily make them wrong or sinful.
After having participated in spiritual formation as a new Christian, I eventually put it behind me. It wasn’t about prayer and Scripture although that was included. I began to see that it was really about having a spiritual experience. Not so much about your relationship with God, but as experiencing something from God. Of course, Paul and the other apostles experienced something from God, but they didn’t go after it. It was God who initiated the experience for His purpose. In this church, they were going after it using various methods like labyrinths, contemplative prayer, etc. I could never settle on it as being ok.
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Since you’ve said that “spiritual formation is the ongoing process of being shaped by God’s Word and Spirit into Christlikeness.”
I agree, but I would say that we are changed by the knowledge of Christ, and that knowledge is not simply reading the words in the Bible, or Scriptures that is written on the pages. We must get an understanding of the mind of God which only the Spirit of God can reveal. Once it is revealed, it is to be believed. It is not enough to know what the Word of God says. The devil knows some of the Word but obviously without understanding. 
God has given us the Holy Spirit so that we can know and understand all that we have been freely given that is of Christ. Just as our life is found in Christ, it is to be that Christ lives through us. Our life is to reflect what we say we believe and honor the one we say is our Lord by being obedient because our trust is in him.
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Yup. Knowledge and wisdom.
He knows ALL the Word. He can quote it, usually twists it, but He was there when it was written. This is why we need to know the Truth. Have eyes to see, ears to hear, and a spirit to understand the Wisdom of God.
Peter
Spiritual formation = “Christos morpho”, Christ being formed in you.
The Apostle writes to those churches near and dear to his heart who reside in the region of Galatia. He labors as he writes, caring for them, encouraging their growth, inspiring their steadfast adherence to The Gospel, and boosting their ability to reject false teaching. His nurturing, yet pensive tone is evident as he writes of their “formation in Christ” (Gk: Christos morpho) in his eponymous letter.
My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you, I would like to be present with you now and to change my tone; for I have doubts about you. (Galatians 4:19-20)
KP
Just to clarify what I was meant by some of the Word, I meant “some” as in knowing on part. He knows what is written and yet he is not included to understand the wisdom of God, the things pertaining to God’s purpose and plans. Had he known, he would not have crucified our Saviour. Even in you last statement when you said, “Have eyes to see, ears to hear, and a spirit to understand the Wisdom of God.”, Satan has no spirit to understand the Wisdom of God.
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Correct you are.
Biblical evidence strongly indicates that Satan knows the Scriptures, at least well enough to quote them and twist them for his purposes.
The clearest example is in Matthew 4:1–11 and Luke 4:1–13, where Satan tempts Jesus in the wilderness. He quotes Scripture verbatim, for instance, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but he misapplies it, trying to manipulate the meaning for his own ends. This shows he knows not just the words but enough of the context to attempt a deceptive interpretation.
Similarly, in Revelation 12:9 and 20:2, Satan is called the deceiver of the whole world, which implies he understands God’s truth well enough to counterfeit it and exploit human misunderstanding. He is portrayed as intelligent and cunning, fully capable of recognizing God’s commands and promises even as he opposes them.
However, knowing Scripture does not imply moral insight or salvation. Satan knows the text but cannot obey or submit to it.
Knowledge without submission makes him dangerous because he can quote, argue, and deceive, but he remains in rebellion.
Satan knows the Scriptures, but he knows them to distort, not to obey, which is why Jesus repeatedly counters his quotations with full, faithful application rather than letting partial truth suffice.
J.
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If you have somthing and you know it’s true. And you have the means to test your own truth. would you not test it. And if you did not, how could you know it is 100% true. Enter the devil.
Care to elaborate @Hungry ?
J.
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Design this is his creation he runs it. his kingdom will come. So the prayer goes.how? and how does it stand forever? Trial and error. When you have a house maintenance must be done. Work. So he said I dont care about your sacrifices. Or your fasting. Show me some work. Beat the devil. His creation. Free the people. Let them not serve Satan but God. The story is in job.
Don’t think you and I are on the same page, but no worries.
J.
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Well, how do we get there?
How do we get there what @Hungry ?
J.
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You! funny that is clasic im all in. When you bind yourself to someone. Whether it be of now or of then. You create somthing. Whether it be this or that. Him or her? What is the truth we all fall short in this ? For none of us? On this planet can say I know all.
??? im lost again sorry im just catching up and then i was stumped by this.
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Much like the word “discipleship” the term “spiritual formation” has come to mean different things. So, fundamentally, the question is what do we mean when we say these things.
As the OP describes it, that is what I would consider good spiritual formation and discipleship; a life of good spiritual habits to train us and which motivate us to faithful obedience, reading and hearing the Scriptures, devoted time to prayer, etc. All of that is 100% good and biblical and has been part of normal Christian praxis for the last 2,000 years.
The trouble, as I see it, is when certain ideas, words, and terms can come to mean different things. In my own life experience I’ve seen the term “discipleship” thrown around in a lot of different ways (this is why I chose to mention it at the beginning of this post); and I’ve seen and heard of what looks like very bizarre ideas come out of what is called “discipleship”. I’ve seen some use the term “discipleship” to refer to a disciple-mentor relationship where people are grouped together and the mentor is given nearly carte blanche authority over the “disciple”–to tell them what to do, how to live, how to eat, what to wear. This is clearly a more extreme example; but the point is to illustrate how even a term like “discipleship” can be eroded away and turned into something that it doesn’t mean. Now, Christian history does have many examples of those who have developed mentor-student relationships; this has been most common in the monastic tradition. And it’s not always bad, it can be good–but this isn’t what regular, ordinary Christian discipleship looks like. This sort of monastic life where these things happen involved a more deliberate choice of lifestyle–and indeed, in the great history of monasticism there have also been myriad abuses and errors (as a Lutheran I can’t help but reminded of Luther’s scathing rebuke of what he called “monkery”, due to the many errors and abuses which had crept in by his time–even as he continued to hold dear to his heart the relationship he forged with his previous spiritual mentor, Johan Staupitz).
The point being: We should be sober-minded, cautious, and always promote what is good and true. Even that which has good intention can become a source and tool of abuse.
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The idea of being shaped by God’s Word and Spirit into Christlikeness is certainly biblical in its goal, because Scripture consistently calls believers to grow, mature, and be transformed. Passages like Romans 12:2 speak of being “transformed by the renewing of your mind,” and 2 Corinthians 3:18 describes believers being changed into the image of Christ by the Spirit. The New Testament never presents the Christian life as static; it is meant to be a life of ongoing growth in holiness and obedience.
Where discernment becomes important is with how the term “spiritual formation” is often used today. The Bible does not use that phrase, and in some modern contexts it has been shaped by practices borrowed from contemplative traditions that are not rooted in Scripture. When growth is grounded clearly in the Word of God, prayer, repentance, obedience, fellowship, and the work of the Holy Spirit—as the early church modeled in Acts 2:42—then the concept aligns well with biblical discipleship and sanctification.
So in that sense, the process of being shaped into Christlikeness by God through daily devotion and obedience is absolutely biblical. But believers should always measure the methods and philosophies being attached to the term against Scripture itself, making sure that Christ, the gospel, and the authority of God’s Word remain central rather than human techniques or mystical practices.
In short, transformation into Christ’s likeness is biblical. The label “spiritual formation” isn’t found in Scripture, but when it simply describes the biblical call to grow in grace through God’s Word and Spirit, it reflects a truth the Bible clearly teaches.
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