When we accept Christ as our Savior,
the Holy Spirit lives within us and begins the process of making us
more like Him. This is Spiritual growth.
2 Peter 1:3-8
His divine power has given us
everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who
called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given
us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may
participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in
the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, make every
effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and
to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to
perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to
mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in
increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and
unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
This verse is telling us that with
God's power we have everything we need to live lives of godliness,
which is the goal of spiritual growth. What we need comes through our
knowledge of Him. This
knowledge of Him comes from the Bible.
Acts of the
flesh that identified our lives before we came to Christ:
"The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality,
impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord,
jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and
envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before,
that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God."
We need to confess and repent these acts and God will help us
overcome them. As we experience spiritual growth, fewer and fewer of
these acts of the flesh will be evident in our lives.
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and
self-control. Against such things there is no law."As spiritual
growth occurs, the fruit of the Spirit becomes increasingly evident
in our lives. The Holy Spirit dwells within us as salvation takes
place. The old, sinful nature begins to give way to the new,
Christlike nature. Spiritual growth is a lifelong process that
depends on our study and application of God's Word.
We should pray for God to increase our
faith and knowledge of Him.
John 14:16-17
2 Corinthians 6-7
2 Timothy 3:16-17
Galatians 5: 16-26
