“Grow in Christ” -- 2 Peter 3:18

Introduction

Of all the apostles, I have always thought Simon Peter got the short end of the respect he deserved. He’s almost always referred to as someone who was quick to speak and slow to think. I’m not sure I agree with that.

I believe that Peter was a passionate person, someone who was firm in his beliefs and strong in his loyalty. Sometimes it got him in trouble. However, Jesus understood Peter. That’s why, after He was resurrected, Jesus sought out Peter and told him to feed His sheep. Jesus anointed Peter as the leader of the 11 remaining disciples.

And Peter was the leader of the early church in Jerusalem. Funny enough, though, as God opened Peter’s eyes to see that God’s grace extended to Gentiles as well as Jews, Peter began to recede from the leadership of that church. In Acts 15, when the church was deciding what if any restrictions to put on the Gentile believers, Peter stood before the church and made an eloquent plea to place no restrictions on the Gentiles (cf. Acts 15:6-11). Shortly after this, we hear nothing more of Peter.

Tradition tells us he went to Rome and ministered to the church there. Tradition also tells us that Peter was crucified for his faith. Believing himself to be unworthy to die in the same way Christ did, we are told Peter requested to be crucified upside down. His wish was granted.

Yet, without Peter’s influence, there might not have been a Gospel according to Mark and we would not have the two short letters he wrote. These letters speak to a church in persecution and gives sound advice to believers facing difficult challenges to their faith.

Background

In 2 Peter, the apostle is giving sound advice to encourage the readers in their lives under persecution. His opening blessing is repeated in the final verse. He encourages the readers to grow in their faith and to understand the prophecy found in Scripture. He warns against false teachers and reminds them that judgment is coming from God. Knowing that judgment is coming, Peter encourages the readers to stand firm in their faith, follow Scripture and remain true to God through Christ.

And then he comes to his closing remark—the blessing conveyed on the readers. In it, we find this truth:

Central Truth: The blessing of God comes from His grace and our knowledge of Christ.

God’s blessing calls for:

1. Growing in grace

We looked at grace last week when we considered Paul’s blessing found in 2 Corinthians. Again, the gift of grace is exactly that: a gift given by God to those He saves. The grace is the forgiveness of our sins and the ability to live out our faith on a daily basis.

Growing in grace means that we become aware of God’s grace in our lives each day. We have a danger of seeing grace as the thing given to us when we first accepted Christ. To be sure, that is when we first experienced His grace.

But God’s grace through Christ is extended to us each day. Daily we sin; daily we find forgiveness. We also find through the ministry of the Holy Spirit we are given the grace to be what God wants us to be. That grace equips us to do the will of God. That grace enables us to hear His voice and follow His leadership.

The idea we are to grow in that grace lets us know that we are to expand our understanding of grace. A quick look at 2 Peter 1:3-10 shows us how we can grow in this grace. First, in vs. 3-4, realize that God gives us everything we need for godliness. They are given us by God’s glory and goodness. His glory and goodness gives us great and precious promises. And through these great and precious promises we are able to participate in God’s divine nature. So, the grace we grow in allows us to experience His nature in our lives each day.

Peter then writes that, since we are participants in God’s divine nature, we make a rational and intentional commitment to grow in faith, in goodness, in knowledge, self-control and perseverance. From there, we find godliness, brotherly kindness and Christ-like love. Peter tells us that as we grow in these measures, we remain productive in knowing Christ and we will never fail.

The first part of God’s blessing through Peter is to allow us to grow in His grace.

1. Growing in knowledge

The second part is that we are to grow in our knowledge of Jesus Christ.

When we come to salvation through grace, it begins a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. As is true with every relationship, there has to be growth in learning about each other. Otherwise, the relationship stagnates.

Think back to the first time you met your spouse. What did you know about him or her? Very little. So what did you do? You began spending time together. You talked, you shared, you listened. Sometimes, you disagreed and had to come to terms that the person you were falling in love with wasn’t perfect, after all. Still, the desire to continue to know them overrode that little spat, and the relationship continued to grow.

And the growth didn’t stop once you were married. That’s really when the relationship hit a growth spurt. Both of you brought family traditions and histories into the marriage. You had to sort out how to blend those traditions and histories and had to learn to make your own traditions and histories. And still there was talking and listening and spending time with each other. You watched each other deal with issues as they arose, and the love grew.

You have to do that. A healthy marriage takes time, effort, commitment.

The same is true of our relationship with Christ. We need to get to know Him. We do that by spending time with Him through daily prayer and devotions, meditation. We listen, we share, we learn, we grow. Each day brings new opportunities.

And the beauty of the relationship with Christ is that there is always something new to learn about Him. Just when we think we know it all, we discover a whole new layer, a new aspect and we find ourselves amazed all over again. Paul reminds us that we now see Him partially, but when we experience glory, we will know Him fully.

The idea of knowledge is found in Philippians 3:10-11. Paul writes, “I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.” Don’t read that as Paul having a martyr’s attitude. Paul didn’t want to suffer, but he wanted to have such a faith that, if it led to suffering, he would be prepared and strong enough in his faith to endure. To become like Christ in His death is to become so committed to God as to be willing to give up everything to remain obedient to Him. This is the knowledge of Christ that Paul desired, and it is the same attitude we must have.

The second element of God’s blessing through Peter is that we grow in our knowledge of Christ.

1. Glorify Christ

In John 17, Jesus began His priestly prayer by asking God to glorify Him. The glory Christ sought was a glory that would come through the giving of Himself on the cross. The glory would be His as He successfully fulfilled His earthly ministry. In His prayer, Jesus asks for the glory in order to glorify the Father.

To bring glory to Christ is to walk in obedience to Him. To glorify Christ is to do His will. The way we do that is by yielding ourselves to Him. In Paul’s letter to the Galatians, Paul wrote, “For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:19-20).

The truth of the matter is that living for Christ is first acknowledging that we can do nothing without Him (cf. John 15:4-5). When we come to realization, then we begin to rely on Him for direction and strength. We learn to the walk of faith is exactly that—living by faith in Christ. We consciously determine to let our faith overcome our feelings. We learn to give each moment to Christ so that He can minister through us. In so doing, we give glory to Him. It is the “Christ living in me” attitude that allows us to give glory to Christ.

The third element of God’s blessing through Peter is that we glorify Christ.

Conclusion

I enjoyed and still enjoy being a father. I enjoyed my children when they were infants, then became toddlers, then preschoolers and on through their current adult lives. Part of the enjoyment I had is in watching my children grow. God has blessed me with three children who are conscientious young adults. They get along well with each other and they are a joy to be around.

As we are grateful that our children have grown and continue to do so, why wouldn’t we expect God to find delight in our growth, too? And if we understand how important it is for our children to grow, doesn’t it stand to reason that we need to grow in Christ each day?

So the questions we need to ask ourselves is, “Am I growing in Christ?” and “Am I taking the best steps to know Him better and to know His grace better?”

Are we where God wants us?