Grow in Grace
April 30, 2025
by Dr. J. Vernon McGee
In a final letter, written shortly before he is crucified, Peter the apostle warns the young church about a storm on the horizon. He wants to give their faith an anchor in Scripture, their only defense against the coming apostasy. “You will not be able to live for God in these days of apostasy unless you have a knowledge of the Word of God,” he says in essence. “You need to know not just about God but also about His Word. Then you’ll have a place to stand and a steady foundation to your Christian character.”
The Christian life is more than just being born again—it’s also about growing up in Christ. The last verse of the entire letter sums it up well: “But grow in the grace ….” We do not only need to stand fast in grace (his closing challenge from the first letter), but we also need to keep growing in it.
Peter, who identified himself as a bondservant and just one of the apostles (that’s his authority) wrote this second letter in 66 A.D., shortly after his first letter. The Lord Jesus had ascended back to heaven three decades before. In these 30 years, a sneaky heresy had slipped in the church called Gnosticism that said some had a secret about Jesus no one else had. Maybe it was a secret password or handshake, but you had to get on the inside in order to find out. Peter rebuffed all that and said real knowledge is to know Jesus Christ.
Peter writes to those who “have obtained like precious faith with us.” When he uses the word “faith,” he means the gospel, the body of truth. He is saying, “You have received it, now it’s up to you what you do with it.”
If you are not a believer today, don’t say it’s because you have mental reservations. The truth is, you have some sinful reservations. When your heart turns to the Lord, then He will lift the veil. Anytime you are ready, God is ready, and He will save you. God doesn’t want anyone to perish. Today it is “whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely” (Revelation 22:17) and “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). All He asks you to do is believe. He doesn’t even ask you to clean up before you come to Him. He’ll clean you up later if you really mean business with Him.
When Jesus Christ saves you, He not only subtracts your sin, He also adds His own righteousness to your account.
Peter blesses his readers with “grace and peace be multiplied.” Notice this is always the order: First, we know the grace of God—that God has saved us, not through our merit, our character, or anything in us, but He has saved us because of our faith in Christ. Because He loved us enough to die for us on the cross to pay the penalty of our sins, it is possible for Him to reach down and save us. Once we experience God’s grace, then we can experience God’s peace (see Romans 5:1). And notice one is not added to the other—it is multiplied!
How does this spiritual mathematics take place? Through “the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.” Christianity is a Person. We are not only to believe in Jesus Christ but we also want to know Him (see also Philippians 3:10). He is the living Savior who right at this moment is at God’s right hand. This knowledge of Jesus Christ comes through a knowledge of the Word of God, the sure Word of God. The Holy Spirit takes the things of Christ and makes them real to us. You can know Jesus Christ better than you can know your closest loved one. You can tell Him things you would not dare tell anyone. The important thing is that to know Him is eternal life (see John 17:3).
To know Him in this way, we first have to be born again (see 1 Peter 1:23). Then His divine power gives us everything we need to live life to the full. He makes every arrangement for you to live a godly life for Him. It’s only through the knowledge of Christ that you can really learn to live here and now and grow to be a more godly person. Only by knowing Jesus Christ in every way possible can we be “called … by glory,” meaning we are growing to be like Him in every way, with all excellence. The way you’ll have the courage to excel in life is through knowing more and more about Jesus Christ.
Peter loved the word “precious.” He’s talked about our precious faith, now he talks about the precious promises God has given to us (promises like John 6:37, Matthew 11:28, John 14:6, 1 John 5:12, and 1 Peter 1:23). Wonderful promises come wrapped in knowing and believing Jesus Christ and by faith in Him.
My Turn
Knowing Jesus is the foundation of the Christian life. What steps can you take to know Jesus more and better?
One of the keys to following Christ is to allow the Holy Spirit to change our hearts and our desires. What things will you think of as more precious as your heart changes?
Virtue and courage don’t just appear in our lives, but they must be cultivated. Who do you know who lives a life of virtue, and what can you learn from them?
This excerpt is from our 2 Peter Bible Companion. Get yours at TTB.org.