How Do You Grow in Grace?

At the end of his second epistle, Peter said, “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18, NET). How to grow in knowledge of Jesus Christ seems fairly straightforward. We read the Bible to study Jesus’s life and the word of God, thus increasing our knowledge about Him and about the things that He knows and chooses to share with us. But how do you grow in the grace of Jesus Christ?

The End of Peter’s Letter

Let’s start with some context for this verse. First, textual context. In other words, how does this fit into the rest of Peter’s letter?

Peter addressed this second letter to “those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ, have been granted a faith just as precious as ours” and prayed “May grace and peace be lavished on you as you grow in the rich knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord!” (2 Pet. 1:1-2, NET). His goal in writing was “to stir you up by way of a reminder” (2 Pet. 1:13, NET see also 2 Pet. 3:1-2). This “stirring up” included warnings, many focused on challenges within the church including false teachers. It is vital that we be on guard against such dangers, which is why Peter wrote to stir-up faith and remind his readers of the truth.

The stirring up also included encouragement. Peter emphasized our reasons for hope, pointed us to God’s promises, and reminded us that Jesus will indeed return just as He said. Having reminded his readers of Jesus’s return and the importance of holding fast to the scriptures, Peter ended with this exhortation:

Therefore, dear friends, since you are waiting for these things, strive to be found at peace, without spot or blemish, when you come into his presence. And regard the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as also our dear brother Paul wrote to you, according to the wisdom given to him, speaking of these things in all his letters. Some things in these letters are hard to understand, things the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they also do to the rest of the scriptures. Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard that you do not get led astray by the error of these unprincipled men and fall from your firm grasp on the truth. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the honor both now and on that eternal day.

2 Peter 3:14-18, NET

Instead of twisting scriptures or being ignorant and unstable as we wait for Jesus to return, we should “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” That’s the context for Peter’s admonition to grow in the grace of Jesus.

What is Grace?

Secondly, let’s consider the historical and linguistic context. Our modern understanding of grace as a free gift or unmerited favor doesn’t make it sound like something you can grow in. However, in the first century people had a different understanding of the Greek word charis. Several centuries before Christ’s first coming and until at least the 4th century after, charis was understood as something that involved obligation and reciprocity to the point that everyone knew “receiving charis implied entering into reciprocal covenantal relationships” (Brent J. Schmit, Relational Grace: The Reciprocal and Binding Covenant of Charis, 2015, p. 63). This fits in nicely with the Biblical teaching that Christian conversion is a process and that relationships with God require continued faithfulness.

When you receive God’s grace, you enter a covenant relationship with Him that includes things God promises to do for you and things you are expected to do as a recipient of His charis. You don’t earn the grace by what you do; you do these things because of grace.

Your faith and love have arisen from the hope laid up for you in heaven, which you have heard about in the message of truth, the gospel that has come to you. Just as in the entire world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, so it has also been bearing fruit and growing among you from the first day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth.

Colossians 1:5-6, NET

Hearing the gospel and understanding the grace of God makes us bear fruit and grow. Growth as a Christian and bearing the fruit that naturally results from being filled by God’s spirit (Gal. 5:22-23) are part of our obligations under the covenant of grace. Here is one possible explanation for what it means to “grow in the grace of Jesus Christ.” It may mean to grow as a Christian and so better uphold our part of the covenant of grace.

Abounding Grace

As I researched verses for this study, I was surprised to realize how often Paul talks in 2 Corinthians about God making grace abound and multiply.

For all these things are for your sake, so that the grace that is including more and more people may cause thanksgiving to increase to the glory of God.

2 Corinthians 4:15, NET

But as you abound in everything—in faith, utterance, knowledge, all earnestness, and in your love to us—see that you also abound in this grace.

2 Corinthians 8:7, WEB

And God is able to make all grace overflow to you so that because you have enough of everything in every way at all times, you will overflow in every good work.

2 Corinthians 9:8, NET

The picture Paul paints here is one of God giving grace to more and more people, and then of us abounding in grace related to giving and receiving gifts between church groups (2 Cor. 8-9). God has shown us “extraordinary grace” and we “know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that although he was rich, he became poor for your sakes, so that you by his poverty could become rich” (2 Cor. 9:14; 8:9, NET).

Because of the grace God has shown us and Jesus has modeled for us, we should learn to show grace to others by giving to them and building relationships within the church. Here is another possible explanation for what it means to “grow in the grace of Jesus Christ.” It may mean to learn how to show grace to others the way Jesus shows us grace–by giving to others in His body, building relationships, and generously loving people.

Like Peter’s original readers, we are also charged with staying faithful while awaiting Jesus’s return and trying to stay. We should also strive to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18, NET). As recipients of God’s covenantal grace, we should strive to grow as a Christians and be more like Jesus, including learning how to show grace to others the way Jesus shows grace to us.

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