Planted: The Nature of God’s Growth
Notes
Transcript
Intro
Intro
Foundation Youth — Vision for the year
Spiritual Maturity
-sometimes we focus on “acting maturity” on outward actions leading to inward development, while spiritual maturity is a clear measure of BEING mature and takes place from within first and leads to outward change
With the youth Wednesday I used the analogy of a plant to demonstrate God’s process of maturity & growth..
It’s got roots, a shoot, and then the fruit (the seeds, the ability to produce other plants)
Amazingly scientist still don’t fully understand how things grow from a seed to the plant.. they understand the factors around it, the things that aid in successful growth, the conditions, the elements, but many aspects of the inner working process still remain a mystery.
The secret of growth is in the seed, not in the soil nor in the weather nor in the cultivating. These all help, but the seed spontaneously works according to its own nature.
Archibald Thomas Robertson
Thankfully when we look at God’s growth we have some insight into this mystery because ultimately we have some insight into HIS NATURE
We know that God promised a seed in the Old Testament and His fruitful multiplication ultimately moves beyond the scope of physical life and into new spiritual life as this promise becomes manifested in Christ.
This new spiritual life begins with Christ, is cultivated by the conditions of our heart, and is grown by the very Nature and Power of God.
As we dive into the Word this morning we’ll be in 2 Peter chapter 1
And I would like to focus on 3 aspects of the nature of God’s growth
Foundation
Followup
Fruitfulness
Part 1 (Foundation of Faithful Growth)
Part 1 (Foundation of Faithful Growth)
Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ:
Peter opens the letter and identifies himself as a bondservant FIRST, apostle SECOND
this is servant leadership exemplified. Servanthood first, position second.
As Peter continues to share about growing & maturing in the rest of this passage.. this is a critical point.
Position doesn’t define maturity in faith.. practice does.
And in the second part of his greeting, to those who have recieved the same kind of faith. Faith is not ushered by HUMAN means, but by HIS righteousness
This is the common bond which we all ought to serve under.
He’s speaking to believer’s here and starts by assuring them that their faith is the same as his.
Literally “equal honor” to that of an apostles faith in this case.
We all share the same seed of faith in Christ. The same foundational position in which all others are derived.
He continues..
Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, for His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own 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 on account of lust.
Multiplied in the KNOWLEDGE of God. As we seek to glean insight from this passage, we can be sure that as we understand more about God’s nature and plan we will begin the process of growing in His grace. And there’s a peace.. a certainty.. an assuredness that comes along with discovering His nature in greater measure.
His DIVINE POWER has granted us everything THROUGH true knowledge of Him we were granted promises SO THAT we might become partakers of the DIVINE NATURE
His promised seed, Christ, is the foundation of our faith given to us SO THAT we may become participants, partakers, parishioners of His body, His church, His people, and finally HIS NATURE.
It’s important to recognize the language Peter is using here is very intentional. In Greek the allusion to godlikeness, virtue, nature, corruption, were all philosophical concepts in his day. The common wisdom of the age. Here is purposefully restructuring these concepts into the reality of the God’s Nature. Later in this letter he warns against the false teacher who will distort these things, so here we see he’s starting on these foundational and functional truths. Divine wisdom through His word.
This is an essential role of God’s Word, to divinely NURTURE
His Word gives us access to insight into the reality of growing as a believer, the reality that it’s the same truth we all must build upon, the rock, the cornerstone, faith in Jesus Christ. Any other starting point CANNOT bring about true spiritual growth or change since we know it’s God Himself who does the growing.
This is confirmed throughout scripture, for example in 1 Corinthians when it states that it’s not important who plants or who waters since it is God who causes the growth.
1 Corinthians 3:7 (NASB 2020)
So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth.
The foundation is faith in the saving grace of God and the core of spiritual growth is found squarely in His Power & Nature. Yet it’s important to note that we still have a vital role in partaking and participating IN His nature.. this is the followup.
Part 2 (Following in Faithful Steps)
Part 2 (Following in Faithful Steps)
Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.
Apply — the only time this word for Apply is used in Scripture is here = bear together, introduce simultaneously, to contribute alongside.
Apply all diligence = To zealously to contribute alongside.
We are to be CO-LABORERS in God’s service as our faith should be accompanied by an outworking of said faith.. signs of growth.
James doesn’t hold back on this point stating:
In the same way, faith also, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.
Faith without growth, without an outer-working, without zeal or urgency, it’s like a lifeless being. Taking the form but lacking the substance.
Is your faith alive, growing, producing, animated by the power of Christ working within you?
Therefore we ought to SUPPLY to our faith the following..
SUPPLY - root word for chorus, choreography
In Ancient Greece at this time, they had a role of the CHOREGOS (Chor - E - gus) .. it was a public and honored position similar to a director or producer in relation to a dramatic production, a chorus, and any other important production put on by the state
Their job was NOT to perform, it wasn’t to direct the show, they didn’t write the music or the play..
INSTEAD they simply were required to use what resources they had to come alongside that which was already under way. It was to support and supply whatever was needed for the production to continue, often paying for all the lodging, costumes, salaries, and so forth
It was a generous and costly participation.
In the same way, we ought to act as the Chor -E - gus in our faith.. coming alongside the work that is underway. Willing to sacrifice in order to participate with the fullness of our resources.
It’s stated well by the BK Commentary that:
A believer is to “furnish, supply, or support” his life with these virtues.
This passage provides us 7 virtues we should SUPPLY to our faith
1. Moral Excellence
-Not moral perfection. Raw Goodness. The desire to establish patterns and habits in your life that promote God-centered virtue and livelihood.
2. Knowledge
-Not simply intellectual pursuit, but practical knowledge and spiritual discernment that comes out of time invested with Christ and in the Word. Builds upon the habitual nature of Moral Excellence.
3. Self-Control
-As you establish Christ-minded routines and gain biblical wisdom it must be applied through self-control. Acting upon the knowledge you now have of what is driven by the flesh and what is promoted by God.
4. Perseverance
-Once we’ve begun surrendered our will to His, we must endure. lit. “staying under” — pressing forward regardless of circumstance, persevering through adversity by continually submitting to God, His promises, His faithfulness.
5. Godliness
-Our holy reverence and devotion before God. A posture of our heart, fully submitted and obedient to His will and leading.
6. Brotherly Kindness
-The first 5 are primarily inward and personal engagements — these final two relate to others.
-philedelphian — practically caring for others, giving preference to others over yourself. Being generous, kind, caring.
7. Love
-ultimately agape. The same love God had for this broken sinful world is the same love that had Him send His one and only Son to die so that we might have life everlasting, and it’s that same love that He desires that we share with others. An opportunity to walk according to His nature, by His power, through His Word. Transformative love. Sacrificial love. Laying down everything.
If you haven’t grasped this AGAPE love, perhaps you haven’t truly grown in the Truth.
Our faith & the outer-working of our faith through the pinnacle of agape love is demonstrates that these two aspects are developing in tandem with one another. Growing together as one. A celebrated and cherished convergence.
We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers and sisters, as is only fitting, because your faith is increasing abundantly, and the love of each and every one of you toward one another grows ever greater.
I’m so THANKFUL to be in a community here that values spiritual growth marked by faith & love. Not that we perfectly exemplify it all the time, but we strive to build communion around it. We ought to continue striving towards THIS type of steady maturity here at Life In Christ.
As a collective body let us not try to gain growth by our works only..
This will lead us to fall into the numbers trap. The hype game. The fake and temporal programming.
The manufactured “growth”.
The reality is, we cannot replicate the TRUE growth God provides. We must simply be diligent in the planting, the watering.. loving and faithfully obeying.. and have faith that He’s growing us exactly how we need to be grown.
As a collective body let us also not become stagnated by forgetting our role in the faith we’ve recieved..
We cannot show up to simply be receivers of faith & love, filled up and nurtured by the message or music, but instead we ought to be active PARTAKERS in what we are called to cultivate here.
Let us personally and corporately be MOVED BY FAITH to promote the actions and virtues that create an environment conducive to His work of spiritual growth and development, regardless of the personal cost or sacrifice.
The outworking of God’s natural growth process leads to evident and lasting FRUIT.
Part 3 (Fruitfulness In Faithful Living)
Part 3 (Fruitfulness In Faithful Living)
For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they do not make you useless nor unproductive in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For the one who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins.
IF AND statement: if they are yours AND are INCREASING then.. you won’t be unproductive, ineffective
Growing faith means being USEFUL & PRODUCTIVE in the TRUE knowledge of Christ you have recieved.
Knowledge alone isn’t enough. We must live out the Word.
Someone who has been planted in Christ’s foundation & cultivated by His virtue becomes useful & productive in many ways..
They serve to NURTURE
-we can selflessly use what has been grown within us to provide spiritual nourishment to others
They serve to PURIFY
-like trees and other organisms purify the atmosphere, we likewise can purify the environment around us and engage in the process of building His kingdom here on earth.
They serve to MULTIPLY
-as we become fruitful and diligent, God can utilize the seeds we produce to plant an even more bountiful harvest.
This is contrasted to the one who LACKS these qualities
Blind.. shortsighted (lit. the root for the word myopia)
Myopia is nearsightedness, a condition in which things that are far away appear blurry.. you’re trapped only seeing clearly what stands right in front of you. How many of us find ourselves trapped only able to see what stands in the way, instead of the Waymaker. How many of us find that our focus is on earthly things far more often than the heavenly? It’s spiritual myopia.
We can so quickly forget His saving work within our life. And if we allow it to progress, we can become blind to the working of His power and absent in the growing working of His nature. Instead of love, bitterness, contempt, and division become our viewpoint.
As I was researching myopia further, I found one resource that offered two solutions for overcoming this physical condition.
Likewise I believe there’s some application in those two pieces that can aid in overcoming the spiritual condition as well..
Reconstructive surgery. Recalling the purifying and powerful work of the cross and allowing it to permeate and soften our heart once again. Re-shaping our lives to be Kingdom sighted, looking ahead in eager anticipation to the works the Lord has in store as we faithfully live out the blueprint God has designed. This is the only way to definitively fix the condition and escape the corruption and decay of the flesh.
Habitual changes designed to keep our eyes sharp and focused.
-Increasing the time you spend outside
—increase the time you spend in His nature. Understanding the foundation of your faith, multiplying the grace and peace within you by growing in true knowledge and relationship with Christ.
-Protect your eyes from the sun
—Shield your eyes from things that will bring harm. Don’t become so fixated on the brightest or shiniest thing in the room and become blind to all else that surrounds you.
-Eat healthily
—Nurture your faith with His Word, His virtues, His Truth. Be careful what you intake. Let it be nourishing and edifying for your soul.
-Reduce Eyestrain
—Take the time to rest your eyes on Him. Establish those quiet moments where you can just be before God in stillness & prayer. Allow Him to rejuvenate and refresh your spiritual sight.
-Don’t smoke
—Don’t inhale and exhale the temptations, complaints, and false wisdom of this age, for they are not just detrimental to you, but also to those around you. Instead let your breathe be inhabited with praise and thanksgiving.
In order to see the Fruitfulness of Faithful Living, we must live faithfully steeped in the Truth of His Word. Supplying ourselves with the conditions and qualities needed in order that this Spiritual production may continue.
True Growth in spiritual maturity is transitioning knowledge to action. Moving understanding to application. Do a little more practicing, a little less “preaching”
Let us not allow ourselves to stagnate, to move backwards to the decaying nature of the flesh, but press onward in the Eternal nature of our God.
And Peter reminds of this Eternal reality in the next verses..
Therefore, brothers and sisters, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choice of you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.
Make certain (stand firm, be sure) about His calling (the work of His salvation) & His choice of you by HIS GRACE (not earned merit on your part). Understand the groundwork of these fundamental truths so that you might put into practice the very nature of God within your life. If this becomes your sole focus, your sole desire, how shall you be tripped up? Press forward then and as you diligently work to supply His virtue to your faith, He’s eagerly waiting to supply you a grand entrance on that final day, a rich and glorious welcome home, an everlasting kingdom, the word spoken over you that says well done my good and faithful servant.
Therefore, I will always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them and have been established in the truth which is present with you.
I know many here already know and are well established in this truth.. but my hope is that today you’d perhaps be reminded that it’s time to GROW in those truths.
These are not NEW truths, but Old promises now ready to spring forth into abundant life in Christ
..as we stand fixed upon the foundation of Christ’s power, Word, promises, and Nature.
..as we diligently follow His steps and supply to our faith all that is needed to grow deeper in Him.
..and as we provide glory and honor to God through the fruit of our faithful living.
So as we depart this morning, let us therefore be firmly PLANTED in the NATURE of God’s Growth and see His plan continue to unfold and flourish here at Life In Christ Church.