Increasing

2 Peter 1:5-9

5 Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, 6 and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, 7 and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins.

Explain / Examine

In being partakers of divine nature we are also in a state of being where we can grow or increase our moral excellence because of our faith. Moral excellence can increase our knowledge. Knowledge can improve our self-control. Self-control can increase our perseverance. Perseverance can increase our godliness. Godliness can increase our brotherly love. Brotherly love leads to agape love. If we are making any progress with any of these qualities, we are not useless and fruitless. And those who claim to be believers who are not growing in these qualities have become blind, short-sighted, and forgotten who they belong to.

How do I apply this to my life?

Am I increasing in all these areas? They seem to build off of each other, so if I am lacking in loving other people, then what do my godliness, perseverance, self-control, and knowledge-seeking look like? Am I persevering well? Am I steadfast in my faith? What is in the way of any one of these areas increasing in my life? Pride is the most predominant! But we all face lust of the flesh, lust of the eye, and the boast pride of life. And if we increase in the areas in this passage, then we become more Christlike. To be more Christlike is to resist temptations. I see the enemy asking Eve and Jesus the same questions in context. And yet Jesus was the one who overcame because He has moral excellence, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, and love. So, am I looking more like Jesus or not? Is the overflow of my inner man, the heart, matching these qualities. What do I need to get out of the way?

What is my response?

Father, dare I say, point out where I’m failing. Show me where I am not increasing to look more like Jesus. Do I trust You enough to want to see where I’m lacking? Because, if I see it then I can’t ignore it anymore. If it is exposed to the light, then I must lay it down on the altar. I would have to die to myself in whatever you point out. Then, I would have to sacrifice my pride and my lust and kill my enjoyment of sin. Isn’t that the issue? In our rebellion, we are loving ourselves and our sins more than loving You. Help me choose You over myself. Help me choose others over myself. Help me trust You. Amen.