Quality Supplements

(From devotionals at work)

"...make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brother affection, and brotherly affection with love." -2 Peter 1: 5-7

In the previous devotionals, we've been looking at concepts that go under the heading "imputation," meaning the work that God has done for us in Christ outside our own inner spiritual experience. Peter begins his second letter with terms that come under that heading: "divine power," "knowledge," and "promises." But in the middle of verse 4, the Apostle states that the result of God's objective work on our behalf is that we "may become partakes of the divine nature." At this point Peter has moved from God's work "outside" us to his work "inside" us.

Peter lists eight virtues, or values, or character traits that grow out of the work of the Spirit in us, and which require our self-discipline and cooperation. They are ultimately proofs of our calling and election of God (see vs. 10). Without them we do not move into a deeper knowledge of Christ, and remain ineffective in His Kingdom (vs. 8). We'll be looking at these individually over the next few weeks.

It's important to analyze how we think about these virtues before we look at them, however. These are not monolithic blocks of Christian experience--we cannot break up our lives into a decade of faith, two years of steadfastness, and three months of brotherly love. We do not graduate from one and move into another without ever looking back. Instead of thinking in "blocks," I think a gardening analogy is better. These virtues are like plants that need to be watered and tended if they are to grow. Sometimes one will need more attention than another, depending on circumstances in our lives. At times our faith needs nurturing, or our steadfastness (patience) is wilting. It is best to check on them one at a time on a periodic basis.

Having said that, Peter does not put these virtues in an arbitrary order. One follows another in a logical sequence. The logic depends to some extent on how the main verb is translated. Some use "supplement" (ESV), others use "add" or "support," but however it is taken, Peter teaches a relationship among all of these, and no one can stand alone. Faith, for instance, has no power unless it produces virtue, and virtue will wilt if it does not grow out of the soil of faith. Likewise, virtue has no vision or sense of direction without knowledge, and knowledge without virtue falls into arrogance.

Next time: Faith. . .