VIRTUE

AND GOD'S SEVEN STEPS FOR SPIRITUAL GROWTH

The origin of this Bible study was my request to the Lord to show me the tools to use when we are determined to follow His ways and make the effort to prevent us from falling, because His Way is Christ, as stated in His Word.

If you want to remain close to Him for all your years of pilgrimage on earth, on this temporary life until the arrival of His Kingdom in resurrection for eternal life, you must study the 7 steps for spiritual growth, granted by God to those that make the effort, to keep us on His way and by His side.

We will also see, at the end of this study, a chart showing how each of these spiritual steps apply to the human being and in which part of our being they act on.

The key of the following text will allow the believer to let the Lord build the temple in our soul according to God’s spiritual design and architecture, so that – as quoted in the Bible in 2Peter, vs4– “that by these you might be partakers of the divine nature” and allow God to live inside us by His Spirit.  A nature, that although to us it feels that we are not worthy to see, nor to have, the Scripture shows us that instead, as well as God asks us to sanctify, it also says in some other part ...but we have the mind of Christ... 1Corinthians 2:16. It is therefore necessary to make the effort for holiness to arrive to the marriage of the Lamb in Yahshua's coming.

This key is in the meaning of the word “virtue” and by understanding its ample and wide meaning we can learn the order of spiritual growth in these seven steps or virtues which are given to us in the Bible.

BIBLE TEXT

2 PETER: CHAPTER 1

4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these you might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith

virtue; and to virtue,

knowledge; 6and to knowledge,

self-control; and to self-control,

patience; and to patience,

godliness; 7and to godliness,

brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness

love.

8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that you shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But he that lacks these things is blind, and cannot see far off, and has forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. 10 Therefore, brothers, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if you do these things, you shall never fall. 11 for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Let us know see the details of each of the 7 spiritual steps:

Faith: We do not count faith as one of the 7, since it is a gift from the Lord. Through faith, man has the capacity to change himself adding or building on the following:

1.- Virtue: Over many months, every person I asked about the meaning of virtue understood that it is a gift which you either have or you don’t have, an ability which some of us have for certain things. It is precisely our lack of knowledge of the meaning of our own language, and original tongs which sometimes does not allow us to understand God’s ways, but we thank Him for opening the Scriptures for our spiritual growth by the love of His Holy Spirit. Britannica dictionary’s description concludes in: Strength and power to act in excellence.

Therefore, once the person becomes a believer – that he has received the faith – Peter tells us to add virtue, in the meaning of acting in readiness, starting to walk along Christ’s path, so that together with our Lord we start making an effort in the building of the temple of God inside one’s self, and start working following these steps:

2.- Knowledge: Reading God’s Word to reach knowledge about Him. If we don’t feed from the Word, we will not grow and will die of spiritual starvation. Reading every day depends on you, consider that in ancient times men did not have Bibles, so take advantage of having them now. Virtue for knowledge.

3.- Self-Control: Prayer and fasting are weapons for the fight against the matters of the flesh and the world, against temptations. If we cannot dominate these things, we do not have self-control, and it is only possible to have it with God’s Spirit. Virtue for self-control.

4.- Patience: We all lack patience, and to become patient we also need to get down to work through prayer and through caring more for others, but above all by trusting God, since He will give us everything when the time is right. Virtue for patience.

5.- Godliness: Godliness as in piety, to dedicate to those who suffer, to those who need (physically and spiritually), serving the Lord with prayer and preaching. Virtue for godliness.

6.- Brotherly kindness: This is an essential step to fulfil the law of Christ, the love amongst those who are part of the body of Christ. If you do not love your brother whom you can see, how can you love God whom you cannot see. Virtue for brotherly kindness.

If you do not accept your brother with his defects (not meaning that you tolerate those who enjoy their sins), and you help him, welcome and accommodate him, where is God’s love inside you?. Christ also asks us to love our enemies, so ask yourself how are we going to be able to love those who loathe us because of the Word of God if we cannot even love our brothers and share a congregation with them.

7.- Love:  God’s great gift from His heart, from his Holy Spirit. We may share this love with others through intercession, by us asking God to love people as only He can love them, since man’s love has many limits. Read the qualities of God’s love in 1 John. Virtue to give God’s love.

And I say to you, dear brothers, quoting 2 Peter 1 : For this reason I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know and are established in the present truth.

Therefore, dear brothers in Christ, should you be missing any of the above qualities, pray to God to give them to you, since He provides for our needs if we make an effort to overcome them. Amen.

CHART

Once we add virtue to each of the three components of our being: Spirit, Soul and Body, we can start having full control over our selves, prepare our mind and let the Spirit take over our spirit for God’s love.