Weeks ago, I began this series knowing ‘grace’ as God’s unmerited favor that opens the door to a life in Christ by our assent, by our believing – that moment of justification. I also had some understanding of ‘grace’ as our source for growing in our faith.
But I must admit that trying to understand these lofty concepts of ‘grace’ has left me more than a bit perplexed. Hence, this series! I long for my curiosity about grace to lead me beyond a better understanding of it and into a more whole-life embrace of it.
As a starting place, it has helped me to map this out:
- Saying “yes” to Jesus opens the door by grace.
- Stepping across the threshold and into a fuller life with Jesus requires grace.
- Sticking with Jesus through all the ups and downs necessitates grace.
- Shaping our lives to become more and more like Jesus only happens with grace.
Seeing with our own eyes the many ways grace works in our lives helps us grasp the various aspects of it with more clarity. With these truths before us, we better understand that grace’s role goes well beyond our initial “yes” to Jesus; it takes us into a life of maturing spiritually. In fact, we could be so bold as to say we are unable to grow as believers without grace.
Friends, we’re not meant to stay where we are, justified yet hovering at the door of our adopted family’s home. We’re supposed to enter this holy space that has been prepared for us so that we can explore every nook and cranny with Jesus – to grow in wisdom and stature.
To grow in grace!
Growing in Wisdom and Stature
There was a day several years ago that a friend startled me with the idea that Jesus grew in wisdom. It was one of those moments where I realized I had harbored a belief about Jesus I’d never actually named, much less explored. I’d operated under the assumption that Jesus was born knowing everything.
Of course, after my friend’s comment I dove right into the Bible to see what I could learn, heading straight to the source of my friend’s assertion – a chapter-ending verse that abruptly encapsulates Jesus’ entire childhood:
“Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.”
Luke 2:52
And there it is in black and white – Jesus grew in wisdom. He didn’t just get taller; He advanced in “the wisdom which belongs to men; …the varied knowledge of things human and divine.”1 Jesus didn’t just get older, but He grew in stature; He matured.2 Jesus increased in all the ways we would expect a young boy to, even making progress with what He knew and understood.3
All that to say, Jesus was not, in fact, born knowing everything. Instead, He relied on the Holy Spirit to gain knowledge, understanding, and wisdom.3
Since my initial awakening to this nugget of truth about Jesus, I’ve kept my eyes open as I’ve read the Bible for other indications that Jesus didn’t know everything, especially during His three-year ministry. I suppose I have wanted to see where His human understanding intersected or bumped into His divine knowledge.
Several times in the Gospels we’re given a glimpse behind the proverbial curtain to see that Jesus gets away by Himself, frequently. And at least some of the time He does so to gain wisdom from God – about His next steps (Matthew 14:22-36), about who to appoint as the twelve apostles (Luke 6:12-13), about God’s plans for the people who were following Him (Matthew 14:13-21). When Jesus gets alone with God, He comes away with clarity, reinforcing the idea that human, Holy-Spirit-filled-Jesus didn’t know everything all the time.
And I marvel!
Then I look to God as another light bulb flickers to life in my mind. We are human, Holy-Spirit-filled children of God! If Jesus needed to grow in wisdom and stature, how much more should we!!
Growing in our Salvation
So, then, how do we grow and mature as followers of Christ? Paul gives us some clues throughout his letters as he encourages the churches he has planted.
In each letter, Paul addresses varying issues that the local churches deal with, and more often than not, it’s something that has crept into the church. Issues like not believing in the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15). Or being led astray by false teachers (Galatians, 2 Corinthians). Or arguing over which spiritual gifts are the greatest (1 Corinthians 12, 13, 14).
On one occasion, Paul challenges the highly persecuted church in Philippi to continue with their obedience to all that he taught them. Paul exhorts them “to have a genuine desire to obey God” not only as individuals but as a church.4 And he tells them the way to persevere in obedience is to “continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12).
Paul immediately follows that statement with the encouragement that God is the One working on each person’s will and desire (v.13 NIV).4 Deep within each of us, it’s “God himself willing and working” (v.13 MSG). In other words, Paul’s not telling us to work at saving ourselves – for he already taught that only grace saves a soul (Ephesians 2:8-10). What he’s telling us, however, is that effort is needed in our continuing walk with Jesus (Philippians 2:12-13).5
I keep coming back to Dallas Willard’s idea that grace isn’t opposed to effort but to earning.6 And the language of Paul’s point to the Philippians is similar. In fact, when we dig deeper into the original Greek, we start to see how similar. Paul’s word for ‘salvation’ speaks more broadly of “God’s rescue which delivers believers out of destruction and into His safety.”7 Note, this rescue from God is for those who already believe in Him.
Additionally, when Paul tells us to ‘work out’ our salvation, his original language would have held the idea of “an active process that brings something to its intended result”8 There’s a sense of continual activity. Not the big, initial “yes” but those little, everyday “yeses” we offer to Jesus.
The Greek word for ‘work out’ has a specific meaning and purpose in this particular Philippian context. It “describes the believer’s responsible cooperation with God’s grace.”8 As believers, we have a responsibility to keep working at our faith. What saved us in the beginning (ie: grace) will be our source of growing to be more like Jesus. So when we rely on grace to do its work in our hidden places as we do our work of pursuing Jesus, we move toward the desired result: growth.
To sum all this up – we grow in wisdom and stature by continuous effort that is sourced by grace, shaped by God, and aligned with His will.
Growing in Grace
I love how we can look to Scripture to clarify Scripture. Although Paul’s ideas on ‘grace’ in his letters to the Ephesians (2:8-10) and Philippians (2:12-13) may seem contradictory, they are not. Rather, Paul is leading us toward the both-and of life in Christ. ‘Grace’ is both the source of our justification and our sanctification. It’s both ‘saving, grace and ‘growing’ grace.
But if we’re still a little shaky on this both-and nature of God’s ‘grace’, we can flip a little further into the Bible to read Peter’s exhortation to the Church to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18). As we allow Scripture to interpret Scripture, we see further clarification that we, indeed, are called to grow as believers – in knowledge and grace.
The Greek word Peter uses for ‘grow’ means exactly what it sounds like: growth or increase. Interestingly, this word is used throughout the New Testament to describe many objects and concepts that grow – like, “lilies and mustard seeds, the maturing Christ and John the Baptist, congregations and the spread of the gospel, and personal sanctification.”9 In each one of these scenarios, “the increase is ultimately attributed to God’s gracious action, even when human means are involved.”9
Once again, we see that spiritual growth is firstly God-caused. And, secondly, such a spiritual increase requires human effort. The grace within us and poured out on us functions as a sort of “power for new life” that aids in our maturing process so that we come to know and be like Christ more fully.10
‘Growing in grace’ looks less like gathering more and more manna – because that would be striving in our own strength – but more like relying on “the power of the Holy Spirit at work within us to help us grow spiritually.” Such reliance is needed during our daily rhythms and in those dramatic moments when the Spirit blows in more powerfully than usual.10
We grow in grace by seeking the power source, Jesus Himself. And when we recognize that Jesus is both the Word and the Spirit, we find the two places on which to put our focus.
The imagery of bearing fruit for God’s kingdom shows up a lot in Scripture, so let’s just run with it here – because isn’t that what we want? Ultimately, we want to grow to the point that we’re fruitful for Him. That means we need to pay attention to what soil we’re planting ourselves in. We need to make sure that the sunlight we’re putting ourselves in front of is sourced by the Son. We must be sure we’re being fed by the Living Water, the Holy Spirit. Just as we water and feed the plants that grow by God’s mysterious power, we have work to do so we mature – even as grace that’s given by the Spirit actually sources our growth. Both-and.
And growth doesn’t happen all at once. First, the roots. Then the shoots and leaves. The fruit will come – because of the abiding. With all the wisdom. After the growth.
My friends, this is the way of stepping through the door of faith and into a life with and for Christ. In this journey of faith, we will return to the Son again and again, allowing His grace to shine upon us so that we grow in that grace. So that we grow in our knowledge and likeness of Jesus.
May we embrace the fact that we need to grow in wisdom and grace.
May we step through the threshold and into a life with Christ that continually grows.
May we live by the faith that says YES to Jesus every single day.
May we take hold of our responsibility to cooperate with God’s grace as we grow.
May we rely on the Spirit’s life-giving power to source our ever-growing likeness of Jesus.
Holy Spirit, we call on You to help us as we step into this believing life that requires grace to grow. We know that You are our source of grace, our source of life-giving power, so we look to You. Teach us how to enter into daily, abiding rhythms that keep us connected to You, our power source. Keep us near to Jesus and aligned with the Father’s will. Teach each of us what it looks like to grow in stature and wisdom in this season of our walk with Christ. Show us your way, and we will respond with obedience, hope, and joy. Teach us how to let go of our performance-based striving as we seek to grow in our faith. Show us your way toward growing in grace, and we will follow You. Lead us into lives that depend on You to feed us and nurture us so that we grow in our knowledge and likeness of Jesus a little more every day. Jesus, You are the Lord of our salvation, and we put our hope in you all day, every day. In your holy name we pray, amen.
(inspired by John 14:26; Philippians 2:12-13; 2 Peter 3:18; Psalm 25:4-5)
Resources: I love sharing with you the books, podcasts, articles, and anything else that has inspired, encouraged, or taught me. These are humble offerings with no expectations.
- 1 – The Greek definition for the word ‘wisdom’ in Luke 2:52 as cited on Biblehub.
- 2 – The Greek definition for the word ‘stature’ in Luke 2:52 as cited on Biblehub.
- 3 – The Greek definition for the word ‘grow’ in Luke 2:52 as cited on Biblehub. I love the expanded commentary on the word. In general, “The verb depicts forward motion or advancement and can describe either praiseworthy growth or the ominous progress of evil. Its usage embraces physical development, intellectual or religious advancement….” And specifically for this Luke verse, “The Spirit-led maturation of Jesus Christ.”
- 4 – As quoted (and paraphrased) from The Baker Illustrated Bible Commentary^ by Burge and Hill.
- 5 – This short article from Seedbed on August 9, 2019, by Rob Mehner, shows how Paul’s exhortation about justifying grace in Ephesians 2:8-10 is not contradictory to what he says in Philippians 2:12-13. Rather, Paul is pointing us to the fact that grace is also needed on this sanctifying, growing journey.
- 6 – I unpacked Dallas Willard’s idea more fully in my post, Embracing Grace: Obedience.
- 7 – The Greek understanding of the word for ‘salvation’ in Philippians 2:12 on Biblehub.
- 8 – The Greek connotative meaning of the word for ‘work out’ in 2 Peter 3:18 on Biblehub.
- 9 – The Greek expanded explanation for the for ‘grow’ in 2 Peter 3:18 on Biblehub.
- 10 – Seedbed article, September 1, 2017, by Andrew C. Thompson.
- It’s an interesting thing trying to find songs that reflect the truths of sanctifying grace. The vast majority of songs make claim to God’s justifying grace — and, yay! Without His amazing grace, we’d stay lost forever. But let’s not neglect or discount this journey of growth we’re on — nor the grace required for it. Matt Redman has a lovely song, “Your Grace Finds Me,” that helps us remember the everyday-ness of grace. It’s on our playlist, Embracing Grace:
- It’s there in the newborn cry
There in the light of every sunrise
There in the shadows of this light
Your great grace
It’s there on the mountaintop
There in the everyday and the mundane
There in the sorrow and the dancing
Your great grace, oh, such grace
From the creation to the cross
Then from the cross into eternity
Your grace finds me
Yes, Your grace finds me
- It’s there in the newborn cry
- Each Wednesday I upload a “Teacup” teaching video that carries on the topic here. You can find all the videos on my Facebook Author Page, Instagram, and YouTube.
- Many of you have found me on Substack. Thank you so much! And, if you’d like to listen to (rather than read) these weekly posts, you can do so on Substack, as well. It’s easy to see and use the audio bar across the top of each post. While you’re on Substack, check out the ministry I’m blessed to be part of, the Devoted Collective.
- My monthly newsletter, The Abiding Life, goes to email inboxes the first week of each month to those who have subscribed on my website. I also post them on Substack. My most recent edition can be found there, and you can subscribe for future newsletters on Substack, here.
Rhythms: As my newsletter’s title infers, we seek to develop an abiding life in this space — a place where we can get informed but also be transformed as we learn to abide in God’s presence throughout our days. I like to think that developing rhythms is one way to aid us in our desire to become more Christlike. There’s nowhere better to know Christ than in His Word, so throughout this series, we’ll grab hold of one passage each week and embrace the rhythm of starting our day with God and His Word every morning.
- This week our passage is 2 Peter 3:18. I love that Peter ends his final letter with this exhortation to grow in grace…. It’s as if he’s leaving us with the thought that’s meant to resonating in our minds — every single day. Keep growing. In grace. With grace. To be more like Jesus. We should memorize it!! And say it to ourselves every morning before we reach for our phones or put our feet on the ground!! It’s our forever reminder. XOXO
“Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” –2 Peter 3:18 - We’re all called to share the truths about the work of Jesus. One way you can do that is by sharing this site and telling others your own stories of faith experiences. Believe it or not, we worship God each time we share our stories of faith! We use our whole selves to tell about our holy God!!
Featured Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash. “All the Bits and Pieces” Photo by Arjun Kapoor on Unsplash.
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