If the foundation is weak, the whole structure will be weak. Where would today’s Christian be compared to the Christians the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews was addressing? In order to move on to maturity, they had to move past foundational teachings. This was a New Testament church, in the days of the early apostles. Certainly they would have had the correct foundational teachings. Today’s Church does not witness the same results that the New Testament Church experienced. They had a sustained outpouring of the Holy Spirit. We experience outpourings, but they are never sustained. I believe this has much to do with the foundational teachings that today’s Christians receive. There is an abundance of knowledge today, but is that what a spiritual foundation is comprised of? The Bible speaks of a latter day outpouring, similar to that of the New Testament Church. In preparation for this, we need to ensure that today’s Christians have a proper spiritual foundation. In this article, I want to discuss eight essential qualities for spiritual fruitfulness. Not only is it essential to have them, but there is a distinct order in which they are to be obtained.
We find these eight steps to maturity listed in 2 Peter Chapter 1. Note their order as you read the following passage:
“But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2Pe. 1:5-8 NKJV)
The first essential quality is faith and the last one is love. Is it possible to have love in its fullness without these other seven qualities? Surely you have realized that there is a vast difference between a desire and its fulfillment. Love, like faith, must grow in us; it must be perfected, as the Apostle John tells us in his first epistle, “No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us.” (1Jn. 4:12). Paul also exhorts us to “Let love be without hypocrisy” (Ro. 12:9). Our love must be sincere, genuine, without pretending. It must have substance. That only happens if it includes all the qualities that Peter lists. We must have all these qualities and we must have them in an increasing measure (i.e. they must abound).
We discover as we read the passage above that we must add these qualities in a particular order. We begin with faith, then comes moral excellence (virtue). Obedience to what we already know is necessary before we gain more knowledge, since faith without corresponding works is dead (unfruitful) (See Jas. 2:14-26). We must begin with faith because we need grace (the help of God) in us to enable us to obey. This grace is obtained by faith (see Rom. 5:2). Adding knowledge will increase faith which will in turn allow for more obedience. These qualities are added to each other in sequence, but the cycle repeats itself as we grow. Are you beginning to see the spiral pattern? The qualities that follow assist in acquiring more of the qualities that preceded them. The more we lay as a base, the more we can support above it.
Self-control is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. It is the ability to do what you know to be right. It is an essential characteristic for victory over sin. Children have very little self-control, but spiritual young men have overcome the evil one (see 1Jn. 2:15-17). Too many Christians struggle with sin in their lives, but to walk in victory is only the beginning of spiritual manhood. We must obtain this victory and then we must go on to maturity.
Patient endurance, or perseverance, is also required to reach maturity. We hear a promise from God and the devil tries to steal the word with lies. If that does not work, he tries to distract us with sin, and when that does not work, he tries to stop us with persecutions. As perseverance grows in us, we are better able to stay the course.
The next quality we require is godliness. This is not the same as virtue. Another word for godliness is piety, which is devotion to God. I am reminded of the night in the Garden of Gethsemane when the Lord asked His disciples to “Watch and pray lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”(Matt. 26:41) A strong devotional life helps us to be spiritually alert, as Peter said: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”(1Pe. 5:8) Jude also told us that prayer is essential for our growth: “But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.”(Ju. 20-21)
From the beginning of our Christian walk we have heard the commandment to love one another, so we try hard to love those around us. It is much easier to love those who love us than to love those who oppose us; but when we get close to people, we see not only their kindness, but also their imperfections. Grace is needed to consistently demonstrate brotherly kindness. We succeed in this if we have overcome the evil one, and if we keep our eyes on the Lord.
The highest quality is love. For love to be genuine, it must not fail under stress. There is such a need in us for self-control and perseverance. There is also a great need for purity of heart. The Lord told Jeremiah that the heart is deceitful above all things (Jer. 17:9). It takes humility to recognize that the motives of our heart may not always be pure, even when we believe we are acting in love. One of the greatest weapons of the enemy is deception (Rev. 12:9). To overcome him, we must allow the Holy Spirit to search us and give us discernment. Then, with the obedience of faith, self-control, perseverance and a strong devotional life, love will be perfected (matured) in us.
In future articles, I will expound on these eight qualities, focussing especially on the first four foundational ones. Having these qualities in abundance will ensure our spiritual success, which is walking consistently in a manner pleasing to God.
Highway in the Wilderness 