What Is Spiritual Formation?

Spirit-Given Thirst for God

Spiritual formation is a term we hear a lot about these days. I define it as the conscious process by which we seek to heighten and to satisfy our Spirit-given thirst for God (Ps. 42:1–2) through divinely appointed means and with a view toward “working out our own salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil. 2:12) and becoming “mature in Christ.”

The term spiritual formation is not explicitly used in the Bible per se, but the concepts behind it are very much biblical. There’s lots of talk in Scripture about living in and by the Spirit. The spiritual life and the idea of formation are very biblical ideas. Paul talks in Galatians about wanting to see Christ formed in believers. It draws attention to a number of things that I think are really helpful when we think about the Christian life.

Number one, that word formation communicates the idea of a slow, gradual process through which a thing takes the shape intended by the creator, the designer, the author, the artist. And in this case, it’s God’s work. It’s the Spirit of God working in us, ultimately, to conform us to the image of Christ. And that’s the work of a lifetime. That, of course, is happening all the time. With the term spiritual formation, we’re talking about the conscious process by which we are working toward that end. It’s ultimately the Spirit of God who forms us into the image of Christ, but Paul calls us to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. And so that means we invoke our conscious efforts and we use the God-appointed means to grow in grace.

It’s ultimately the Spirit of God who forms us into the image of Christ.

And that’s the second part of the definition. It’s a conscious process, and it involves God-appointed means. In the Bible we have tools that God gives us. We have things that we’re called to do and to take up and to draw upon through which he’s promised to work in our lives to help us bear fruit. Many approaches to spiritual formation that we see today draw rather widely on all manner of tools and means and processes and techniques, but a biblical approach to spiritual formation—a Reformation-rooted approach—really puts emphasis on using God’s appointed means and God’s appointed ways. These are things that we find in Scripture. Ultimately, it’s with a view toward becoming, as Paul puts it in Colossians, “mature in Christ.” We’re trying to grow in his likeness and bear fruit in keeping with repentance.

Matthew C. Bingham is the author of A Heart Aflame for God: A Reformed Approach to Spiritual Formation.

Related Articles

Church Community Is a Necessary Part of Your Spiritual Formation

Matthew C. Bingham

September 17, 2025

To know God in an intimate way is the greatest comfort that a person can have and is the ultimate answer to fear, anxiety, and loneliness.

The Irreplaceable Value of Prayer in Your Spiritual Formation

Matthew C. Bingham

April 25, 2025

If Christians confess that God is personal, both capable and desirous of real relationship with his creatures, then to talk to him should be as natural as it is necessary.

A Tool for Spiritual Formation You Might Be Underutilizing

Matthew C. Bingham

January 11, 2026

Whether at home or church, one of the primary ways that Christian relationships advance our spiritual formation is through honest, serious, God-honoring conversations.

Podcast: How (and How Not) to Think About Spiritual Habits in the New Year (Matthew Bingham)

December 29, 2025

Matthew Bingham discusses helpful and hurtful mindsets that Christians encounter when practicing spiritual disciplines, and how developing a Rule of Life fights against legalistic and shallow mentalities when working towards Spiritual growth.