Grow in Grace and Knowledge

by Edwin Crozier

Peter began his second letter saying God’s “divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence” (II Peter 1:3 ESV). Coming full circle, he ends the letter saying we must “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (II Peter 3:18 ESV).

He has granted us all things. While the Greek word in II Peter 1:3 differs from the word translated “grace” in II Peter 3:18, the concept is similar. God has bestowed favor. He has given gifts. He has graced us with all that is necessary for life and godliness.

Further, God granted all that was necessary through the knowledge of Jesus Christ. He then instructed us to add knowledge as one of the qualities of spiritual maturity (II Peter 1:5). No wonder he concludes by telling us to grow in knowledge.

When Peter tells us to grow in knowledge, he doesn’t mean general knowledge. Learning calculus and American history are good things, but Peter doesn’t have that kind of increased knowledge in mind. We must grow in our knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We must move from mere acquaintanceship to devoted followers. At no point can we be satisfied saying we know Christ well enough. Let us grow in that knowledge.
Growing in knowledge makes immediate sense to most of us. Growing in grace, however, puzzles many. Many equate grace with forgiveness. For those who do, “grow in the grace” sounds like increasingly relying on forgiveness as we continue following Christ. That, however, seems contradictory to the whole point of the letter, which claims we are to increase in holiness and godliness. As we add virtue, self-control, steadfastness, and godliness to our faith and as these increase in our lives, shouldn’t we be sinning less? Shouldn’t we need forgiveness less? All things being equal, that is precisely what we expect from the maturing Christian.

How then do we grow in grace? We do not do so by sinning more and more so God can forgive us more and more (for corroboration, see Romans 6:1-2). Rather, we recognize that while forgiveness is a gift of grace, it is not the sum total of grace. Grace not only forgives us when we have sinned, but it also trains us and strengthens us to overcome sin (see Titus 2:11-12). If God has granted us all things pertaining to life and godliness, we grow in grace by relying more and more on what God has given us.

The battle against sin never ends. Though we increase virtue, self-control, steadfastness, and godliness and, therefore, decrease sin, the enemy still attacks. The false teachers still make their appeals. The persecutors still persecute. The scoffers still scoff. The fleshly desires still lure. We must never believe we have so conquered sin that we no longer need the grace of God to conquer it. Rather, we continue to rely on all God has given us in the battle so we can increasingly overcome. In this way, we grow in grace.

But as we end the letter, we must remember the beginning. God has given us all we need. We can grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus and be found by Him without spot or blemish because of God’s power and promises. We will make every effort, but our efforts are only effective and fruitful because of God’s grace and gifts. Yet, we can take comfort that God has given grace; therefore, we will make every effort to grow in it. And grow we will. For as Peter said at the end of his first letter, God is the one who will restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish us.

Praise the Lord!