How Do You Actually Grow in Your Faith? What the Bible Says About Spiritual Growth
Most people who follow Jesus want to grow in their faith. But knowing how to grow is a different question entirely. Second Peter, chapter one offers one of the clearest and most practical roadmaps for spiritual growth found anywhere in the New Testament.
Having Access Is Not the Same as Using What You Have Been Given
Imagine someone handed you a lifetime membership to your favorite gym. Every piece of equipment you could ever need is available to you. But does having that membership make you fit? No. You have to use it.
That is exactly the picture Peter paints for us when it comes to faith. God has given us everything we need. The question is what we do with it.
What Has God Already Given Us?
Peter opens this section of Second Peter with a sweeping statement about what God has already provided:
“His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His glory and excellence. Through these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world because of lust.” – 2 Peter 1:3-4
Let’s break down what Peter is actually saying here.
God’s Power Is the Starting Point
By His unlimited, all-powerful power, God has given us everything we will ever need for abundant life and for growing in godliness. The word “life” Peter uses here is not simply referring to our existence. It is the same word Jesus used in John 10:10:
“I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” – John 10:10
This is eternal, abundant, overflowing life. And God has made everything pertaining to it available to us.
Knowledge of Christ Is the Channel
God’s power flows to us through the knowledge of Jesus Christ. This is not just facts about God. It is a living, transforming awareness of who He is and what He has done. God, by His power, has given us knowledge of Christ and His glory and excellence.
God’s Promises Are the Means
Through that knowledge and power, God has granted us what Peter calls “precious and magnificent promises.” Promises of eternal life, forgiveness, provision, and everything we will ever need in this life and the next.
The Goal Is to Become More Like Him
All of this, the power, the knowledge, the promises, exists so that we may become “partakers of the divine nature.” This does not mean we become God. It means we grow increasingly more like Him. That is the goal of the Christian life.
What Do We Add to What God Has Given?
Beginning in verse five, Peter shifts from what God has done to what we are responsible to do. And this is where many people get stuck.
Spiritual growth is never accidental. It is always intentional.
Peter says in verse five, “For this very reason, applying all diligence…” That phrase means buckle up. There is work to do. Hard work. Purposeful work.
This is not work to earn salvation. As Paul wrote:
“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” – Ephesians 2:8-9
We do not do this work to be saved. We do it because we have been saved. Faith is not merely something we possess. It is something we practice.
The Seven Virtues Peter Tells Us to Add to Our Faith
Peter gives us a list of seven virtues to add to our faith. These are not a checklist to complete and move on from. They are a continual, cyclical process throughout the entire journey of faith. We do not master spiritual disciplines. We practice them.
- Moral Excellence (Goodness): A life of good character. Making decisions consistent with your faith. Living in a way that reflects Christ.
- Knowledge: A growing and increasing understanding of God that changes how you live, not just what you know.
- Self-Control: Knowing what to do with your knowledge and what not to do. Managing your emotions, passions, and temptations.
- Perseverance: Not giving up. Not stopping short. Not becoming so frustrated that you quit the journey.
- Godliness: Becoming more and more like Him. Exemplifying the character and virtues of God in everyday life.
- Brotherly Kindness: Caring about people. Treating others well. Not becoming so focused on your own godliness that you become unkind about it.
- Love: The highest virtue. The unconditional, selfless love that reflects God’s own nature toward us. As Paul wrote, “But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.” – 1 Corinthians 13:13
Picture a lifetime of adding these things to your faith. You begin to look more and more like the One in whom you have placed your faith.
Why Does It Matter? Three Reasons to Take Spiritual Growth Seriously
Peter closes this section with three powerful motivations for doing the hard work of growing in faith.
1. You Will Be Fruitful, Not Useless
Peter says in verse eight that if these qualities are yours and are increasing, you will not be useless or unproductive in the knowledge of Christ. In other words, you will bear fruit. Your life will count for something. You will be useful to God and to others.
2. Without Them, You Become Spiritually Nearsighted
Verse nine is a warning. The person who lacks these virtues is described as blind or short-sighted, having forgotten what God did for them. It is possible to become so consumed with our own plans, priorities, and interests that we lose sight of the larger picture of what God wants to do in and through our lives. Peter says that is a vision problem, a spiritual one.
3. You Will Have Assurance and Will Not Stumble
In verses ten and eleven, Peter says that as long as you practice these things, you will not stumble. He is not promising perfection. He is saying that when you are actively focused on God and growing in these virtues, you are far less likely to fall. And there is something else. Heaven takes notice.
“For in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.” – 2 Peter 1:11
What you do with your faith in Jesus Christ matters, not just now, but eternally.
You Will Not Stumble Into Faithfulness
The second-century theologian Irenaeus said it well: Christ became everything that we are so that we might become everything He is.
God has done everything necessary. He has given us His power, the knowledge of Christ, and His magnificent promises. From there, the journey of becoming more like Him is one we take on purpose.
You will not stumble into faithfulness. It is a choice you make every day.
Life Application
This week, pick one of the seven virtues Peter lists and be intentional about practicing it. If self-control is a struggle, identify one specific area where you will exercise it. If kindness is lacking, look for one deliberate opportunity each day to show it. If your knowledge of God has grown stale, commit to reading Scripture daily, even just a few verses, with the goal of understanding, not just information.
Spiritual growth does not happen by accident. It happens because you decide to do the work.
Ask yourself these questions as you reflect this week:
- Am I actively adding to my faith, or am I simply assuming that having faith is enough?
- Which of the seven virtues is most lacking in my life right now, and what is one step I can take to grow in it?
- Have I become spiritually nearsighted, so focused on my own life that I have forgotten what God has done for me and what He wants to do through me?
- Is my faith something I possess, or something I practice?
God has given you everything you need. Now add to it.
