2 Peter 1:3-8: 3According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: 4Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 5And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; 6And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; 7And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. 8For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Spiritual growth is the process of becoming more and more like Jesus Christ. When we place our faith in Jesus, the Holy Spirit begins the process of making us more like Him, conforming us to His image (Romans 8:29). But what does this look like? What is the process? What are the milestones? What are the results? The answer may be found as we look to:
- Historical Context: 2 Peter 1:1 specifically states that the apostle Peter was the author of 2 Peter. Peter’s authorship has been challenged more than that of any other book in the New Testament. However, the early church fathers found no good reason to reject it. The book of 2 Peter was written toward the end of Peter’s life. Since Peter was martyred in Rome during the reign of Nero, his death must have occurred prior to A.D. 68. He very likely wrote 2 Peter between A.D. 65 and 68. Knowing that his time was short (2 Peter 1:13-15), and these churches faced immediate danger (2 Peter 2:1-3), he called upon the readers to refresh their memories (2 Peter 1:13) and stimulate their thinking (2 Peter 3:1-2) so that they would remember his teaching (2 Peter 1:15). He challenged the believers to become more mature in their faith by adding to it specific Christians virtues, thereby becoming effective and productive in their knowledge of Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1:5-9). Peter was alarmed that false teachers were beginning to infiltrate the churches. He called on Christians to grow and become strong in their faith so that they could detect and combat the spreading apostasy. He strongly stressed the authenticity of the Word of God and the sure return of the Lord Jesus.
- Grammatical Usage: “Faith” in the Greek is “Pistis” or “a firm conviction”; “virtue” is “areten” meaning moral excellence; “knowledge” is “gnosin” or spiritual understanding; “temperance” is “enkrateian” translated as self-control; “patience” is “hupomone” and literally means staying under or abiding in the midst of; “Godliness” or “eusebian” is devoted to God…actions and reactions characterized with a Godward attitude; “brotherly kindness” or “Philadelphian” in the Greek refers attitude one to another of the faith; “love” or “agapen” is the highest good toward others.
- Literal Application: “3His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. 5For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
- Contextual Interpretation: Spiritual growth is perhaps best described in 2 Peter 1:3-8, which tells us that by God’s power we have “everything we need” to live lives of godliness, which is the goal of spiritual growth. Notice that what we need comes “through our knowledge of Him,” which is the key to obtaining everything we need. Our knowledge of Him comes from the Word, given to us for our edification and growth. Out of such knowledge comes the evidence of a strong faith which Peter takes the time to painstakingly list – a checklist as it were which is as valid today as it was in Peter’s: faith in Jesus Christ is what separates Christians from all other people – it is the foundation upon which the other elements are built. To his faith, each believer is called to add virtue or God’s “convictions” – absolutes as to what God indicates are “right” and “wrong” in relation to our conduct (as opposed to morals which shift with every ensuing generation). As a result of this, comes knowledge – specifically not from intellectual acumen or pursuits, but spiritual knowledge via the Holy Spirit who very specifically focuses the Word of God upon the person. Yet faith, goodness and spiritual knowledge are not enough for the Christian’s walk. Every believer must exercise self-control – to have passions in check. In short, reject the “anything goes” social concept for the commands of God detailed in Scripture from which we are in constant unity with God as individuals and a body. Added to these is perseverance, specifically referring to the constancy or steadfast endurance under adversity that ever believer will experience – not giving up in the face of great pressure to renounce one’s faith. Godliness is the ability to remain reverent toward God, circumstances not withstanding – they just don’t matter and are unable to alter our view and therefore devotion to God.
The first five virtues pertain to one’s inner life and his relationship to God. The last two relate to others: brotherly kindness is a fervent, practical caring for others. Whereas brotherly kindness is concern for other’s needs, love is desiring the highest good for others. This is the kind of love that God exhibits toward sinners (Jn 3:16; Rom. 5:8; 1 Jn 4: 9-11). These are the seven milestones of being conformed in God’s image.
- Scriptural
Comparison: There are two lists in Galatians 5:19-23. Verses 19-21 list the
“acts of the flesh.” These are the things that identified our lives before we
came to Christ for salvation. The acts of the flesh are the activities we are
to confess, repent of, and, with God’s help, overcome. As we experience
spiritual growth, fewer and fewer of the “acts of the flesh” will be evident in
our lives. The second list is the “fruit of the Spirit” (verses 22-23). These
are what should characterize our lives now that we have experienced salvation
in Jesus Christ. Spiritual growth is identified by the fruit of the Spirit
becoming increasingly evident in a believer’s life.
When the transformation of salvation takes place, spiritual growth begins. The Holy Spirit indwells us (John 14:16-17). We are new creatures in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). The old nature is replaced with a new one (Romans 6-7). Spiritual growth is a life-long process that depends on our study and application of God’s Word (2 Timothy 3:16-17) and our walk in the Spirit (Galatians 5:16-26). As we seek spiritual growth, we should pray to God and ask for wisdom concerning the areas He desires us to grow in. We can ask God to increase our faith and knowledge of Him. God desires for us to grow spiritually, and He has given us all we need to experience spiritual growth. With the Holy Spirit’s help, we can overcome sin and steadily become more like our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
When we are born
again, we receive the Holy Spirit who seals us for the day of redemption
(Ephesians 1:13; 4:30). Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would lead us “into
all truth” (John 16:13). Part of that truth is taking the things of God and
applying them to our lives. When that application is made, the believer then
makes a choice to allow the Holy Spirit to control him/her. True Christian
spirituality is based upon the extent to which a born again believer allows the
Holy Spirit to lead and control his or her life.
The apostle Paul tells believers to be filled with the Holy Spirit. “Do not get
drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit”
(Ephesians 5:18). The tense in this passage is continual and therefore means
“keep on being filled with the Spirit.” Being filled with the Spirit is simply
allowing the Holy Spirit to control us rather than yielding to the desires of
our own carnal nature. In this passage Paul is making a comparison. When
someone is controlled by wine, he is drunk and exhibits certain characteristics
such as slurred speech, unsteady walk, and impaired decision making. Just as
you can tell when a person is drunk because of the characteristics he displays,
so a born again believer who is controlled by the Holy Spirit will display His
characteristics. We find those characteristics in Galatians 5:22-23 where they
are called the “fruit of the Spirit.” This is true Christian spirituality,
produced by the Spirit working in and through the believer. This character is
not produced by self effort. A born again believer who is controlled by the
Holy Spirit will exhibit sound speech, a consistent spiritual walk, and
decision making based on the Word of God.
Therefore, Christian spirituality involves a choice we make to “know and grow”
in our daily relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ by submitting to the
ministry of the Holy Spirit in our lives. This means that, as believers, we
make a choice to keep our communication with the Spirit clear through
confession (1 John 1:9). When we grieve the Spirit by sin (Ephesians 4:30; 1
John 1:5-8), we erect a barrier between ourselves and God. When we submit to
the Spirit’s ministry, our relationship is not interrupted (1 Thessalonians
5:19). Christian spirituality is a consciousness of fellowship with the Spirit
of Christ, uninterrupted by carnality and sin. Christian spirituality develops
when a born-again believer makes a consistent and ongoing choice to surrender
to the ministry of the Holy Spirit who directs our words, actions and reactions
to reflect the very nature of God.
Conclusions: The same prescription for growth in faith
that Peter gave (2 Peter 1:5-11), when applied to our lives, will assure us
also a rich reward “into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ” (2 Peter 1:10-11). The foundation for our faith is and always will be
the same Word of God that Peter preached.