How We Grow in God’s Word

A healthy tree grows; a living tree does not stay the same size year after year. Growth is a sign of life. The same is true of a believer: if we are spiritually alive, we will grow.

The apostle Peter ends his second letter with a short charge:

“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.”

2 Peter 3:18

Peter does not ask us to become perfect all at once, but to keep on growing. So what is real growth, and how does it happen?

Growth means knowing God, not just knowing about him

Peter did not say, “Grow in information”, but “in the knowledge of our Lord”. He means a personal knowledge of Christ himself, not simply correct ideas about him. Peter opened his letter with the same thought, linking grace and peace to the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord (see 2 Peter 1:2-3).

It is possible to know a great many details about God without knowing him. Scripture tells us that even the demons “believe, and shudder” (James 2:19): they know the truth about God, yet they neither love him nor trust him. Real growth is not about piling up information, but about a deepening relationship with Christ: trusting him more, loving him more and obeying him more.

The Word is our daily food

Just as the body needs food every day, our spirit needs God’s Word every day. Jesus said:

“It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of God’s mouth.’”

Matthew 4:4

Start with a small step: one chapter a day, perhaps from the Gospel of John. Don’t read simply to get through it, but to meet with the Lord. Before you read, pray: “Lord, speak to me through your Word.” Afterwards, ask yourself: What does this passage say about God? And what is it calling me to do today?

Growth is not a straight line

We might imagine that growth moves steadily upwards without a pause. In fact, it is more like climbing a mountain: you make progress, you stumble, you get up, and then you move forward again, yet overall you are climbing higher.

Don’t lose heart when you fall. Many men of God in the Bible stumbled, among them Abraham, Moses and David. The difference was not that they never fell, but that they turned back to God, received his mercy and rose again. Peter himself, who wrote this charge, denied Christ three times, and then the Lord restored him and brought him back into his ministry (John 21:15-17).

We grow by grace, not by our own effort alone

Notice that Peter mentions grace before knowledge. Religion that relies on effort alone becomes a heavy burden: we try to grow in our own strength and fail, then we despair, and then we try and fail all over again.

Real growth, though, is the fruit of God’s work in us:

“For it is God who works in you both to will and to work, for his good pleasure.”

Philippians 2:13

Paul also says, “So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase” (1 Corinthians 3:7). Our part is to stay close to him, in his Word, in prayer and in fellowship with our brothers and sisters, and it is he who makes us grow by his Holy Spirit.

Putting it into practice this week

• Set aside a regular time each day to read the Word, even if it is only ten minutes. Keeping it up matters more than how long you read.
• Learn one verse by heart each week. Write it down on your phone and repeat it to yourself through the day.
• Don’t try to grow on your own; growth happens in fellowship with other believers. Join us at our weekly meeting every Wednesday evening, or send us a message if you have questions about reading the Bible.
• Before you go to sleep, ask yourself: “What has God taught me today?” If you can’t find an answer, ask him to teach you tomorrow.

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A prayer

Heavenly Father, make me hungry for your Word and thirsty to know you. Remind me every morning that I do not grow by my own strength, but by your grace. When I fall, lift me up; when I am weary, strengthen me. And make every day of my life a step closer to the likeness of your Son, Jesus Christ. In his name we pray. Amen.

Verses for reflection

• Psalm 1:2-3: “But his delight is in the LORD’s law. On his law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree planted by the streams of water…”
• Joshua 1:8: “This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night…”
• 1 Peter 2:2: “As newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the Word, that with it you may grow”
• Hebrews 5:14: “But solid food is for those who are full grown, who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern good and evil.”
• Colossians 3:16: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly…”