What Does the Bible Say About Adulthood?

1 Corinthians 13:11-12 ESV / 52 helpful votes

When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

Ephesians 4:15 ESV / 20 helpful votes

Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,

Hebrews 6:1 ESV / 14 helpful votes

Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God,

1 Timothy 4:12 ESV / 13 helpful votes

Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.

Ephesians 4:13-15 ESV / 12 helpful votes

Until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,

Luke 2:40 ESV / 12 helpful votes

And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him.

Proverbs 19:26 ESV / 12 helpful votes

He who does violence to his father and chases away his mother is a son who brings shame and reproach.

1 Samuel 2:26 ESV / 11 helpful votes

Now the boy Samuel continued to grow both in stature and in favor with the Lord and also with man.

1 Peter 2:2 ESV / 9 helpful votes

Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—

2 Peter 3:18 ESV / 8 helpful votes

But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

Judges 2:10 ESV / 8 helpful votes

And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel.

Numbers 1:1-54 ESV / 8 helpful votes

The Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tent of meeting, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying, “Take a census of all the congregation of the people of Israel, by clans, by fathers' houses, according to the number of names, every male, head by head. From twenty years old and upward, all in Israel who are able to go to war, you and Aaron shall list them, company by company. And there shall be with you a man from each tribe, each man being the head of the house of his fathers. And these are the names of the men who shall assist you. From Reuben, Elizur the son of Shedeur; ...

Titus 2:1-6 ESV / 7 helpful votes

But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine. Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled. ...

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 ESV / 7 helpful votes

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

Romans 2:1-3:31 ESV / 7 helpful votes

Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed. ...

Luke 2:52 ESV / 7 helpful votes

And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.

Luke 1:80 ESV / 7 helpful votes

And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.

1 John 2:13-14 ESV / 6 helpful votes

I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, children, because you know the Father. I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.

1 Chronicles 16:11 ESV / 6 helpful votes

Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!

Deuteronomy 22:5 ESV / 6 helpful votes

“A woman shall not wear a man's garment, nor shall a man put on a woman's cloak, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord your God.

Deuteronomy 21:18-21 ESV / 6 helpful votes

“If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and, though they discipline him, will not listen to them, then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his city at the gate of the place where he lives, and they shall say to the elders of his city, ‘This our son is stubborn and rebellious; he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard.’ Then all the men of the city shall stone him to death with stones. So you shall purge the evil from your midst, and all Israel shall hear, and fear.

Ephesians 2:8 ESV / 5 helpful votes

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,

Galatians 2:20 ESV / 5 helpful votes

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Romans 8:28 ESV / 5 helpful votes

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Romans 8:15 ESV / 5 helpful votes

For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”

Jeremiah 29:11 ESV / 5 helpful votes

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Isaiah 40:30-31 ESV / 5 helpful votes

Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

Proverbs 22:6 ESV / 5 helpful votes

Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.

Psalm 25:2-3 ESV / 5 helpful votes

O my God, in you I trust; let me not be put to shame; let not my enemies exult over me. Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame; they shall be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.

Judges 13:24 ESV / 5 helpful votes

And the woman bore a son and called his name Samson. And the young man grew, and the Lord blessed him.

Genesis 3:10 ESV / 5 helpful votes

And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.”

1 Timothy 5:1-2 ESV / 4 helpful votes

Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity.

Micah 6:8 ESV / 4 helpful votes

He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

Numbers 14:29-33 ESV / 4 helpful votes

Your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness, and of all your number, listed in the census from twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against me, not one shall come into the land where I swore that I would make you dwell, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun. But your little ones, who you said would become a prey, I will bring in, and they shall know the land that you have rejected. But as for you, your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness. And your children shall be shepherds in the wilderness forty years and shall suffer for your faithlessness, until the last of your dead bodies lies in the wilderness.

Hebrews 13:5-6 ESV / 3 helpful votes

Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”

Ephesians 6:4 ESV / 3 helpful votes

Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

Ephesians 6:1-3 ESV / 3 helpful votes

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.”

Ephesians 2:10 ESV / 3 helpful votes

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

1 Corinthians 13:11 ESV / 3 helpful votes

When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.

Psalm 90:12 ESV / 3 helpful votes

So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.

2 Samuel 6:16 ESV / 3 helpful votes

As the ark of the Lord came into the city of David, Michal the daughter of Saul looked out of the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, and she despised him in her heart.

Ephesians 2:8-9 ESV / 2 helpful votes

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Ecclesiastes 8:1-17 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Who is like the wise? And who knows the interpretation of a thing? A man's wisdom makes his face shine, and the hardness of his face is changed. I say: Keep the king's command, because of God's oath to him. Be not hasty to go from his presence. Do not take your stand in an evil cause, for he does whatever he pleases. For the word of the king is supreme, and who may say to him, “What are you doing?” Whoever keeps a command will know no evil thing, and the wise heart will know the proper time and the just way. ...

Proverbs 23:22 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.

Proverbs 20:29 ESV / 2 helpful votes

The glory of young men is their strength, but the splendor of old men is their gray hair.

Psalm 119:105 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

Exodus 20:12 ESV / 2 helpful votes

“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

47 Bible Verses about Adulthood

1 Corinthians 13:11-12 ESV / 52 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Ephesians 4:15 ESV / 20 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Hebrews 6:1 ESV / 14 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

1 Timothy 4:12 ESV / 13 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Ephesians 4:13-15 ESV / 12 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Luke 2:40 ESV / 12 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Proverbs 19:26 ESV / 12 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

1 Samuel 2:26 ESV / 11 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

1 Peter 2:2 ESV / 9 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

2 Peter 3:18 ESV / 8 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Judges 2:10 ESV / 8 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Numbers 1:1-54 ESV / 8 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Titus 2:1-6 ESV / 7 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 ESV / 7 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Romans 2:1-3:31 ESV / 7 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Luke 2:52 ESV / 7 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Luke 1:80 ESV / 7 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

1 John 2:13-14 ESV / 6 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

1 Chronicles 16:11 ESV / 6 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Deuteronomy 22:5 ESV / 6 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Deuteronomy 21:18-21 ESV / 6 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Ephesians 2:8 ESV / 5 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Galatians 2:20 ESV / 5 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Romans 8:28 ESV / 5 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Romans 8:15 ESV / 5 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Jeremiah 29:11 ESV / 5 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Isaiah 40:30-31 ESV / 5 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Proverbs 22:6 ESV / 5 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Psalm 25:2-3 ESV / 5 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Judges 13:24 ESV / 5 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Genesis 3:10 ESV / 5 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

1 Timothy 5:1-2 ESV / 4 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Micah 6:8 ESV / 4 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Numbers 14:29-33 ESV / 4 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Hebrews 13:5-6 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Ephesians 6:4 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Ephesians 6:1-3 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Ephesians 2:10 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

1 Corinthians 13:11 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Psalm 90:12 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

2 Samuel 6:16 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Ephesians 2:8-9 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Ecclesiastes 8:1-17 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Proverbs 23:22 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Proverbs 20:29 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Psalm 119:105 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Exodus 20:12 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

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