How Do We Grow in the Grace and Knowledge of Christ?
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We’re going to discover what the apostle Peter meant when he wrote, “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen” (2 Peter 3:18). Christians know and love Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. The moment we surrender to Him, His Holy Spirit fills us and enables us to grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ (John 14:16, 15:26; 16:7).
Charles Spurgeon said, “When you grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, you will be sure to grow in humility. Growing Christians think themselves nothing, but, full-grown Christians think themselves less than nothing; and the nearer we get to Jesus, the smaller self will appear to be. Self and Christ can never come close together. When I stand near self, Christ is small; when I stand near Christ, self is small.”
What Is the Grace of Christ?
A broad definition of grace is receiving what we don’t deserve. Webster’s 1828 Dictionary shares the genuine and varied nuances of its meaning. For one, it describes grace as, “Appropriately, the free unmerited love and favor of God, the spring and source of all the benefits men receive from him” (Romans 11:6). And, “The application of Christ's righteousness to the sinner” (Romans 5:20). We deserve death, but praise God for His free and gracious gift.
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).
The Bible tells us, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8). At the very moment of conversion when we have surrendered to Jesus as Savior and Lord, the Holy Spirit indwells us (John 14:16-17; Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 6:19). From that instant, the Holy Spirit sanctifies us (1 Corinthians 6:11). He is the one who is doing His work in us, and it’s important to remember that truth as we move forward and look at the knowledge of Christ.
What Is the Knowledge of Christ?
Baker's Evangelical Dictionary tells us that in the Bible, “knowledge is not the possession of information, but rather its exercise or actualization” (Proverbs 9:10; 11:9). “Thus, biblically to know God is not to know about him in an abstract and impersonal manner, but rather to enter into his saving actions (Micah 6:5). To know God is not to struggle philosophically with his eternal essence, but rather to recognize and accept his claims. It is not some mystical contemplation, but dutiful obedience.” We obey as we are enabled because we love our lord Jesus and are thankful and joyful for what He has done for us.
The Bible tells us the Lord God is incomprehensible (Job 11:7-9; Isaiah 55:8-9; Romans 11:33), and we of finite minds must accept this. He is God. We are not. We will never have full knowledge of Him, i.e., know Him fully.
But is He unknowable at all? The resounding answer is, “no.” John 1:14 tells us, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). John 1:18 states, “No one has ever seen God; God the only Son, who is at the Father's side, He has made him known.” Because of Jesus, we who believe in and love Him have unfettered access to the Father and have knowledge of Him through Christ (John 14:8-14).
Every believer in Christ has been called to Him (John 14:6; Romans 8:29-30). The Lord God wants us to know Him, and we know He exists from His creation (Psalm 19:1-6; Romans 1:18-20). He has, however, given us Jesus Christ as the greatest revelation of Himself (John 1:14).
Once again, we will look at what the venerable Noah Webster has to say: “We can have no knowledge of that which does not exist. God has a perfect knowledge of all his works. Human knowledge is very limited, and is mostly gained by observation and experience.” It takes more than just observation to gain the knowledge of God that He reveals through His Word and the Lord Jesus Christ. Because we are finite, He has sent a Helper to give us understanding of which we would never be capable in and of ourselves — the Holy Spirit.
The Lord tells us so in His Word:
“For the LORD gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding” (Proverbs 2:6).
Psalm 19:7-14 give us insight into God’s law. And we would never understand it without His Spirit within us. We need to remember it’s the Holy Spirit who works in us. He opens our hearts to the grace of the Lord and it is He who brings us knowledge of the Holy One (Proverbs 9:10).
How Do We Therefore Grow in the Grace and Knowledge of Christ?
Knowing it’s the Holy Spirit’s work in us that allows us to comprehend what the Lord’s grace and knowledge is, we can grow in His grace and knowledge in the following ways:
Become a member of and regularly attend a gospel-preaching church which expounds on and extols the sufficiency of Christ.
Be a regular partaker of the ordinary means of grace (Bible reading and preaching, prayer, and the Lord’s Supper). Every Lord’s Day, we are served by Christ’s grace. We reflect on Him and what He has done, and when we come to the Lord’s Table, we do it in remembrance of Him (Luke 22:19). We focus on Christ and not on ourselves, and we know grace is not something we can grow, for it is from God and it is infinite in measure. God extends His grace to us in measureless flow. Receive it with joy.
Yield to the Holy Spirit in this age of grace (Romans 8:14-17; John 1:17; Romans 6:14). Our works will not save us. The Holy Spirit drew us to the Lord (John 6:44), and the Holy Spirit guides us (John 16:13), teaches us (John 14:26), and convicts us (John 16:8-11). He instructs us in the knowledge of Christ and He restores our wills. The Holy Spirit influences and empowers us to welcome Jesus Christ as the One freely offered.
Realize the gospel is more than one passage in Scripture. Jesus Christ is the gospel. Romans 1:16-17 states, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith.” We don’t have faith in our faith. We have faith in Christ and His perfect work for and in us.
Growth in the grace and knowledge of Christ is a part of our sanctification. We, as sinful humans, try to do things ourselves or our way. But that’s not how God has ordained our growth.
Every Sunday is an outpouring of Christ’s grace to us. So many churches conflate the law and the gospel and make it appear to their congregation that we must do works to either keep or prove our salvation. When Jesus told the rich young ruler to go and do likewise, He was speaking law to him. No one outside of Christ has ever kept the law. We have never loved the Lord our God with all our heart, minds, soul, or strength. That’s why we need His grace. We need the gospel proclaimed to us consistently for what Christ has done for us to sink in, and to rest in His perfect righteousness.
Go and Grow
To grow in His grace means to receive it week after week as we gather with our church. To grow in His grace means to reflect on Jesus and what He has done as we receive the Lord’s supper.
Why would we ever try to do all this on our own when we have God Himself filling us, sanctifying us, and growing us in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ (Ezra 36:26-27; John 6:44-45). His Word says “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6b). It’s God’s work in us, and He always accomplishes His purposes.
And so, go and grow by the power of the Lord’s Spirit working in you.
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