Lesson 22: Diligence to grow in Him

Read 2 Peter 1:1-21- https://www.bible.com/bible/59/2pe.1
 5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge,
6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness,
7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.
8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9 For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins.
10 Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.
11 For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.


Our verses today tell us the plan or pattern that growth in our trust in Jesus is to achieve in our life. It might be a bit like starting a class in college or a university – you want to know what you are hoping to learn. You do not join a chemistry class to learn how to write great letters. You do not join a literature class to learn how to heal people.

Each of the steps we will learn is important, and each must be taken in its order to achieve our goal. The goal is to learn to know Jesus better, to love as Jesus loves.

We begin with the grain of faith God gave us at the moment we were saved (see Ephesians 2:8-9). To this grain of faith, though it might be very small (Matthew 17:20), we are to add virtue. Faith might be very small in us (Matthew 17:20), but it is still big enough to begin to grow. Virtue here has the idea of moral excellence. Our goal is to be as morally pure as Jesus was.

To virtue we add knowledge or wisdom. Such verses as Psalm 111:10, Proverbs 1:7 and Proverbs 9:10 all tell us wisdom begins when we fear (greatly respect) God.

To knowledge we add self-control. This is the process of renewing our minds into thinking like Jesus thinks (Romans 12:1-2).

To self-control we add steadfastness or faithfulness (Luke 21:19). It means we stick to our purpose more faithfully.

To steadfastness we add Godliness. And to Godliness we add brotherly affection and brotherly love.

This does not mean that we have ALL virtue before we begin to add knowledge, or ALL knowledge before we begin to add self-control. These are circles of effort, and each circle brings us nearer to the person God wants us to be. God wants us to be diligent in cooperating with Him, to keep the circles going.

*Which of these steps in this circle of Godliness is the hardest for you?