Growing in God[1]
Encounter Radio Outline #0341
Air date: 10/12/03
Growing in God
2 Peter 3:1-18
by Dr. Stephen F. Olford
Introduction: We cannot study the life of Peter without observing the growth of his Christian life. From a shifting man he became a solid man, one whom the Lord could count in the great task of building the church. Peter develops the doctrine of Christian Growth throughout his epistles. In the passage before us Peter uses the physiological approach to illustrate the growth of the Christian life.
I. The Dynamic of Christian Growth (v. 18)
Such growth presupposes spiritual life, and the question immediately arises as to how that life commences in order to develop and grow.
1) There must be the Communication of the Truth of the Word (1 Pet. 1:23, 25)
Before new birth can take place, there must be this communication of truth of the Word. Preaching is important, whether it be in the form of proclamation, conversation, or through the printed page. God has promised that the preaching of His word will not return void (Isa. 55:11).
2) There must be the Fertilization of the Seed of the Word (1 Pet. 1:23)
Throughout Scripture, the Word of God is linked with the Spirit of God. Only the Holy Spirit can make the seed of the Word become life. As the seed is sown in the human heart, faith lays hold of it, the Holy Spirit fertilizes that seed, and life in Christ is born. This is the miracle of the new birth.
3) There must be the Manifestation of the Life of the Word (1 Pet. 2:2)
Anyone who has been truly born again into the family of God manifests the possession of spiritual life by a God-given hunger to feed that life with the milk of the Word, and later by the meat of the Word.
II. The Direction of Christian Growth (v. 18)
Christian growth extends in two directions. There is the downward growth in the capacity to receive the fullness of Christ, and there is the upward growth in the capacity to perceive the fullness of Christ.
1) The Downward Growth in the Capacity to Receive (v. 18)
To be deepened in our experience of God’s unmerited favor is to be emptied of all that God has condemned and crucified in our lives. This prepares us to receive the unmeasured fullness in the Lord Jesus, so that growth in grace is really being filled more and more with Jesus.
2) The Upward Growth in the Capacity to Perceive (v. 18)
Here knowledge is not referring to the academic. To grow in knowledge is to grow in the perception and experience of a person, even our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This perception is the knowledge of His Lordship, His Saviorhood, His Leadership, and His Christhood.
III. The Demands of Christian Growth (v. 18)
Peter teaches that the demands of Christian growth are twofold:
1) We are to Protect Growth in Christ (v. 17)
Life is never static; we must go forward, or we will go backward. So Peter exhorts us to beware lest we fall from our own steadfastness. We must ever be watchful of anything or anyone who might lead us away from the life of healthy growth in Christ.
2) We are to Promote Growth in Christ (v. 18)
We must seek the essentials in the development of our Christian lives with all of our hearts. Our food is the Word of God; our air is a life of prayer; our exercise is the outward expression of the inward experience of life; our rest is the faith that counts upon Christ to live in and through us; and our shelter is the fellowship of a local church.
Conclusion: In light of the dynamic, direction, and demands of Christian growth we must ask ourselves whether we are growing in grace. If there is no evidence of growth, it is possible there was never a rebirth. If that is the case, then open yourself to the truth of the Word, the seed of the Word, and the life of the Word, and know what it is to grow in grace.
Stephen Olford Center for Biblical Preaching
P.O. Box 757800 Memphis, TN 38175-7800
Phone: (901) 757-7977 or (800) 843-2241 Fax: (901) 757-1372
Comments? Send mail to: OMI@Olford.org