Moving forward in Spiritual Growth
With the arrival of the new year, we may have decided to commit to some ‘new year’s resolutions’... maybe some related to spiritual growth? Whether that be reading your Bible more consistently, having a more active prayer life, or entering a new stage in ministry; ideally, we would all want to achieve some sort of spiritual growth. This week we turn 2 Peter 1:1-11 to give us insights on just that.
For context, the book of 2 Peter was written by (surprise, surprise) Peter, whom, at the time would have been under the persecution of Roman Emperor Nero. Thus, he was at a point in his life where he knew he could die soon. This letter serves as almost a last will as well as a warning to believers of the doctrinal dangers of false teachings that could lead them astray in their faith. In looking through this week’s passage, we will discuss three keywords about Spiritual growth:
Power
“His 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.”
According to the passage, God gives us His Divine Power so that we may have everything we need for life. Note that what we think we need and what God knows we need may be completely separate things. The verse also tells us that this power can be accessed through the knowledge of God. The more we know God, the more we understand that we need Him. Meaning to say that this Divine Power - this free gift given to us through grace - is received in the understanding that we need more and more of Jesus. This is the same power we know so well from Acts:
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Power comes from the Greek word ‘dunamis’, roughly translating to strength and/or ability. When we receive God’s Divine Power, we never fall short of spiritual (and at times physical) strength.
Promises
““Through 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.”
Trusting in God’s promises is one of those habits that is easy to say but difficult to live out. Verse 4 uses an interesting word to describe these promises: ‘precious’. The word ‘precious’ in Peter’s writings has been used to describe two other things; faith and the blood of Jesus. And it would make sense taking into account that ‘precious’ roughly translates to something that is to be cherished. We cherish faith because it brings us closer to God. We cherish the blood of Jesus because it was the price paid for our sins, and we cherish God’s promises to escape from worldly or evil temptations.
Productivity
“For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.”
Although God provides us with power and promises, verse 5 tells us that we should also ‘make every effort’, which means we must play our part in our spiritual growth. We must strive for faith, goodness (or moral excellence), knowledge (practical insights), self-control, perseverance (James 1:3-4), godliness (fear of God), brotherly kindness (siblinghood or coming from the same womb/source i.e. Jesus) and love.
In the end, no community is perfect (except maybe in the one in heaven), but God calls us as His children to share in His love with others. We’re called to love God which is to love a brother and sister in Christ.
Dear Lord Jesus,
We thank You for the communities that You place us in. We thank You that we are given the opportunity to love our brothers and sisters in Christ. We are thankful that You have given us this new year and we pray that we can only move forward in our spiritual growth.
In Your mighty and powerful Name we pray,
Amen