To grow in Christ does not mean we develop our own virtues to become “Christ like”; many believers seem to have this concept, but it is not what the Lord desires from us.

This does not mean, however, that as Christians we do not need to have a virtuous living. Rather, to grow in Christ means we allow Him to deal with us through His cross, so that, as the apostle Paul tells us, we give up on our own righteousness and allow Christ Himself and His divine virtues to be expressed through us in our daily living (Gal. 2:20; see “Struck Down by a Vision of Christ.”) Thus, we will live according to the highest standard, that of the divine life and nature.

The writings of another apostle show us this in a very practical way. In one of the most striking statements in the entire Bible, Peter tells us we are to be

…partakers of the divine nature.
— 2 Peter 1:4

This speaks of God in Christ working Himself into our very being in His life and nature; what a thought is this! Then Peter goes on to tell us in the next verses that “for this very reason also” we should go on to develop the divine virtues in our faith:

And for this very reason also, applying all diligence, supply bountifully in your faith, virtue; and in virtue, knowledge; and in knowledge, self-control; and in self-control, endurance; and in endurance, godliness; and in godliness, brotherly love; and in brotherly love, divine love. For if these things are in you and abounding, they will make you neither idle nor unfruitful unto the full knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
— 2 Peter 1:5-8

So, we surely are to develop these marvelous virtues within us, but it must be based upon, not our own righteousness, but upon “this very reason also,” namely, the fact that we are indeed, through our relationship with Christ, “partakers of the divine nature.” For only then can we develop these virtues in a way that is deep, genuine, and lasting, rather than merely as an outward performance.

The Lord Himself gave us a picture of this relationship, and its result, when He told the disciples, on the night He was betrayed,

I am the vine; you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me, you can do nothing.
— John 15:5

So, to bear the spiritual fruit of a virtuous living that expresses Christ we must be those who, in our experience, are abiding in Him as the true vine. For only then can we, the branches, as “partakers of the divine nature,” receive the supply of the divine life and nature from the vine that will cause the fruit of the divine virtues to come forth naturally from within us. Otherwise, as the Lord says here, we surely can “do nothing.”

Again, this is what it means to truly grow in Christ.

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—  3 May 2025 —