Day 136: What Do We “Add To” Our Faith?
Today, we considered the Seven Virtues that we can “add to” our faith in order to grow more like Christ. These Seven Virtues are qualities of Character that Jesus possesses and lives out in all that He is and does.
2 Peter 1:5
For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith excellence, to excellence, knowledge; 1:6 to knowledge, self-control; to self-control, perseverance; to perseverance, godliness; 1:7 to godliness, brotherly affection; to brotherly affection, unselfish love.
Peter lists seven virtues that we should “make every effort” to add to our faith. We call these virtues because they are all things that are shaped by truth, goodness and beauty. If you think about it, these are the virtues that define Jesus’ Way of life. These are all character qualities that our Lord Jesus exhibits. At the end of this letter, Peter encourages to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (3:18). The way we do this is by practicing the character qualities, virtues that Jesus Himself lived. By living with the same virtues that Jesus did, we get to know Him more deeply.
What Is Excellence?
The first virtue is excellence. If you look back to the end of verse 3 you see that God has called us by his own “glory and excellence.” This is a rare word in the New Testament, but it does show up in a couple of other places:
Philippians 4:8
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is worthy of respect, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if something is excellent or praiseworthy, think about these things.
1 Peter 2:9
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
The idea of “excellence” is large and draws in many things. You can simply think of it as all is true and good and worthy of honor and praise. In verse 3, the word is linked with God’s glory. We have spoken several times about the triad of Truth, Goodness/Justice, and Glory/Beauty. It seems that excellence displays these three things in all that we are and do. So in everything that we do, we should pursue excellence.
What Is Knowledge?
This word is different from the one that we have already seen which means “the deep, rich, personal knowledge” of someone. This is just general knowledge: learning more and more about The Lord, ourselves, and our place in the world. This is the same term that is used in the last verse of 2 Peter: “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” (3:18). As we are pursuing excellence, we need to grow in our knowledge of the Lord, His Word, and reality.
What Is Self-Control?
This same term shows up in Galatians 5:23 as one of the descriptions of the fruit of the Spirit. Now that we have access to the power of God’s Spirit, we have the ability to choose what is good, true and praise-worthy. We don’t have to let our corrupt passions and desires rule over us; we have the ability to use our bodies for the sake of God’s glory. This is self-control.
What Is Perseverance?
This term shows up quite a bit in the New Testament. It simply means to keep going, to keep moving forward, particularly in difficult circumstances:
2 Thessalonians 1:4
… we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and afflictions you are enduring.
Paul encourages us to think about the perseverance, the endurance of Jesus Himself:
2 Thessalonians 3:5
Now may the Lord direct your hearts toward the love of God and the endurance of Christ.
Jesus never gave up. He stuck to His mission even to the point of death. Remember the words of Jesus, the Servant in Isaiah:
Isiah 50:7
For the Lord GOD helps Me, Therefore, I am not disgraced;
Therefore, I have set My face like flint,
And I know that I shall not be ashamed.
The writer of Hebrews likewise instructs us: “For you need endurance in order to do God’s will and so receive what is promised” (Hebrews 10:36). That is almost an understatement. In this world, where nothing works as it should and the forces of evil and darkness lurk at every turn, we are called to endure, to persevere, to not give up because we know how all things will be summed up in Christ.
What Is Godliness?
Godliness is simply living your life in such a way that reflects the character of the God you worship. It is living the way God himself would live if He were you. What would this look like? Look at Jesus’ life. He lived as God in human skin. This word shows up several times in Paul’s writings as well, particularly in his letters to Timothy. At one point Paul tells him,
1 Timothy 4:7-8
…train yourself for godliness. For “physical exercise has some value, but godliness is valuable in every way. It holds promise for the present life and for the life to come.”
What Is Brotherly Affection?
This Greek word will sound familiar to you: philadelphia. Philadelphia in Boston—“the city of brotherly love”—draws its name from this term. In the New Testament, this word specifically refers to our love and affection for our other brothers and sisters in Christ. Paul sums this one up well:
1 Thessalonians 4:9
Now on the topic of brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another.
What Is Unselfish Love And Why Is It The Final Virtue?
We have one virtue left and that is “unselfish love.” This is the most used word in the whole list, showing up some 116 times in the New Testament. You may have heard people speak of agapé (AH-gop-ay) love before. This is the Greek word used here. This type of love uniquely characterizes a disciple, a life-apprentice of Jesus: “Everyone will know by this that you are my disciples—if you have love for one another” (John 13:35)
Jesus defines this type of love in this way:
John 15:12-13
My commandment is this—to love one another just as I have loved you. 13 No one has greater love than this—that one lays down his life for his friends.
This unselfish, self-sacrificial love is the love that Jesus displayed for us when we gave Himself up for us all. There is no greater expression of love than this. This is our last and highest virtue. This is the type of love that transforms those who give it and those who receive it.
As you have considered these virtues today, which ones do you see present and growing in your life? Which one could use a little work?
*You can find a complete list of all the MilktoMeat readings here.
