Own What God Gave You: Why Diligence Determines Growth 2 Peter 1:5-10
Spiritual maturity is not automatic. If you want to develop the divine nature and become a productive Jesus’ follower, you must apply all diligence to your spiritual growth. In this study of 2 Peter 1:5–10, we’re going to examine the believer’s responsibility to acknowledge and increase in excellence, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love. We’ll also discover why failing to develop these divine virtues can leave you useless, unproductive, spiritually blind, and short-sighted in the true knowledge of Jesus Christ. God has already supplied His part. The question is: Are you supplying yours? If you remember one thing from this study, remember this: ’Own what God gave you—increase what you own.’ That’s why we’re talking about Own What God Gave You: Why Diligence Determines Growth, all on this week’s Light on Life.
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This Week: Own what God gave you—increase what you own.
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Accept the Challenge
Own. Increase. Grow.
This week, ask the Holy Spirit to show you which one of the seven virtues in 2 Peter 1 He wants you to develop next. Then respond with all diligence.
Read God’s Word.
Meditate on His promises.
Pray.
Listen for His direction.
Most importantly, put into practice what He shows you.
Remember, these virtues already belong to you through the new birth. Your responsibility is not to chase them—but to acknowledge them, cultivate them, and increase them.
Remember: God has already supplied His part. Your part is to apply all diligence.
Own what God gave you—increase what you own.
2 Peter 1:8–9 (NASB 2020) —
8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they do not make you useless nor unproductive in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For the one who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins.
Join the Conversation
Each week's podcast also contains a question designed to encourage testimony. Testimony is vital to a believers life. We overcome by it (Rev. 12:11).
This week's question:
Question:
Which of the seven virtues in 2 Peter 1 is the Holy Spirit calling you to increase right now—excellence, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, or love?
Share:
How are you intentionally developing that virtue, and what practical steps are you taking to increase what God has already placed within you?
Remember:
Spiritual growth is never automatic. As you diligently respond to God’s Word and cooperate with the Holy Spirit, the divine nature already within you becomes increasingly visible in the way you live.
About Emery and Sharon
For nearly five decades, Emery has devoted his life to helping people grow in Christ through the power of the Word and the leading of the Holy Spirit.
Together with his wife, Sharon — his partner in life and ministry for 44 years — he equipped believers to live Spirit-filled, practical lives of faith.
At the heart of the mission is this: helping believers apply God's words so faith becomes active and unstoppable.
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Podcast Notes:
Well again, welcome.
Let’s pray.
Now Father God, thank you for Jesus. He is you wonderful — you are so wonderful. We love you with all our hearts. Teach us your way. Show us your path. Elevate our thinking so that we can operate more in line with you. Thank you for doing these things in Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Main Text Today
2 Peter 1:5–10 (NASB 2020) — 5 Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, 6 and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, 7 and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they do not make you useless nor unproductive in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For the one who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins. 10 Therefore, brothers and sisters, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choice of you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble;
The Ladder of Virtue: A Review
In our last study, we discovered that spiritual maturity is not automatic—nothing in God is automatic.
So in developing the divine nature, God has already granted us everything pertaining to life and godliness through His precious high-cost and mega-magnificent promises.
We saw that the Greek word for granted means gifts bestowed upon royalty or super high officials—that is—a gift that communicates honor and respect.
So now we come back to 2 Peter 1:5 where we come to the Bridge of All Diligence.
2 Peter 1:5—7 (NASB 2020) — 5 Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence…
We discovered that we had to pay the toll for crossing this bridge.
The word applying means to supply an additional exertion of effort.
This is your contribution to all diligence so that you can escape the corruption that is in the world.
What is all diligence?
It is a pressing forward with haste and eagerness.
This is how you cross the Bridge of All Diligence and move farther and farther away from corruption toward the divine nature.
So where the development of the divine nature is concerned in your life — there is God’s part and your part.
His part is the promises; your part is the eager effort to develop the divine nature through them.
Peter intensifies the picture with the next word—supply.
The word points to extravagant provision.
We are to contribute extravagantly to our own moral development because God has already provided extravagant resources through His promises.
Peter then introduced us to God’s Ladder of Virtue and challenged us to develop excellence or the capacity to be a ‘gold medal’ believer.
And to that add the knowledge of God, all so that we might develop His nature and display His nature.
There are five other virtues, which we could take up one at a time, and it certainly would be a blessing.
But, the Bridge of All Diligence demands our attention in 2 Peter 1.
It speaks so loudly that we must stop and listen.
To climb the Ladder of Virtue in the first place, you must cross the bridge.
Diligence is what propels you up the ladder.
You can understand every nuance of the divine nature, but unless diligence becomes the driving force of your life, you’ll slip off the ladder.
Why?
Because diligence supplies the momentum to overcome the downward pull of the flesh—the lusts that once dominated your old life.
That’s what Peter said—“escape the corruption that is in the world by lust.”
Think of a rocket trying to escape the gravitational pull of the earth as it lifts off the pad.
It will never escape Earth’s gravity unless it develops enough thrust to overcome its downward pull.
Just because you gave your life to Jesus and your spirit man was reborn doesn’t mean you don’t have the corrupting influences of the flesh trying to pull you down.
Diligence provides thrust.
Without it, you’re stuck on the launch pad.
With it, you rocket upward towards your divine destiny.
What is my divine destiny?
To walk like Jesus, talk like Jesus, and love people as Jesus loved them.
So you see, ‘diligence determines destiny.’
Now if all diligence is really the thrust that overcomes the pull of corruption, Peter doesn’t leave us wondering how important it is.
The word diligence appears three different times in this chapter.
That’s not an accident.
That’s not coincidence.
That’s emphasis.
Whenever you see a word or theme repeated, you should get a clue.
Repetition means importance.
It means slow down and pay attention to what’s repeated.
So, let’s practice this.
Let’s pay attention to Peter’s first two calls to diligence and discover why the Spirit of God emphasized this word.
As we said diligence appears three times in 2 Peter 1, in verses 5, 10, and fifteen.
We won’t have time to look at all three today.
Again, we will focus on the first two.
We’ll save Peter’s final call to diligence for another time.
The Three Calls to Diligence in 2 Peter 1
2 Peter 1:5 (NASB 2020) — 5 Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge,
The First Call to Diligence
In verse five, we must apply all diligence.
Apply means add an additional exertion of effort when it comes to being diligent.
In other words you need to ramp up, gear up, step up.
Maybe ‘eat your spinach’ if you like that colloquial phrase.
Whatever works for you.
There is a sense among some Jesus’ followers that all they have to do is go to church.
That’s incorrect — we are talking about developing the divine nature.
You cannot develop spiritually just by going to church.
Going to church is one part but you need other parts.
It’s just like your diet — your body can’t make it on one kind of food.
If all you eat is lettuce, you will end up in bad shape in a short period of time.
If you are struggling in this area, get back to doing what you know you ought to be doing.
Now, we come to the second occurrence of diligence in 2 Peter 1 and that’s in verse 10.
The Second Call to Diligence
2 Peter 1:10 (NASB 2020) — 10 Therefore, brothers and sisters, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choice of you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble;
Verse ten starts with the word ‘therefore.’
The word ‘therefore’ is critical—it means we need to look backwards in this chapter before we can move forward.
We need to go back to verse eight so we can understand why we must apply all diligence.
2 Peter 1:8–10 (NASB 2020) — 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they do not make you useless nor unproductive in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For the one who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins. 10 Therefore, brothers and sisters, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choice of you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble;
Two things about these seven attributes on the Ladder of Virtue mentioned by Peter.
They should be yours and they should be increasing.
It’s important to know that the word ‘if’ is not in the original Greek.
It is not ‘if these qualities are yours’—they are yours.
You are the owner of these qualities.
That’s conveyed not just by the fact that the word ‘if’ is not there but also by understanding the simple word ‘yours.’
For these qualities are yours and increasing.
The Greek word ‘yours’, means “the things that belong in you.”
These things, these seven virtues are outflows of the divine nature.
Have you been born again?
Then you are the proud owner of these traits that God has placed within you.
Own What God Has Given You
Knowing this, you have the responsibility of ownership.
You need to own up to what you own.
These virtues are part of your nature created by the new birth.
They are an inseparable part of who you are.
It’s like the blood in your veins—you don’t have any choice about it being in you.
It’s just there.
You own it—it’s part of you.
So think about ownership for a minute.
If you own your home, don’t you treat that possession differently than if you merely rent a home?
I believe in taking care of what God has given me.
That’s good stewardship.
God has given you these seven virtues listed by Peter.
Are you taking care of what God has given you to own?
So first acknowledge your responsibility of ownership and live your life like you own these virtues.
Trying to chase what God has already given you is ludicrous.
Are you trying to chase love? It’s already in you.
Self-control? Check that off you’ve got it.
Staying power—perseverance?—wow—you’ve got that also.
It’s unbelief, really to say otherwise.
Why would you chase a home when you have a home?
You’ve never heard anyone say: “I don’t have a home all the while sitting in the living room of their home.”
That’s silly—you’re sitting in the very place you say you don’t have—that makes no sense, right?
But there are Jesus’ followers engage in this activity all the time.
They’ll say something like this, ‘You know, I just can’t control myself when it comes to ‘fill-in-the-blank.’
Some kind of dessert, some kind of habit, being late, outbursts of anger and on and on and they say, ‘You know I just can’t control myself.’
What did you just do?
You just disowned one of the seven divine virtues—self-control.
It’s the third rung on the Ladder of Virtue.
Do you hear what that sounds like?
Here you are, a Jesus’ follower.
You’ve been given self-control [enkrateia] by the Spirit of God, a powerful virtue that allows you to become the master of your emotions, your impulses and your very nature.
And you’re just like the man in the living room of his home, saying ‘I don’t own a home.’
Now, once you acknowledge the good things God has put in you, you need to go work on what you own.
There is is again: Own what God gave you—increase what you own.
Increasing What You Own
For these qualities are yours and increasing.
Working on what we own means ‘increase.’
Peter doesn’t just say that these traits are yours.
He says that they are to increase.
If you haven’t realized it yet, treading water is not the Jesus life.
God is a God of increase and He expects you to grow.
The Greek word for increase [pleonazō] used in 2 Peter 1:8 means to have more than enough or to superabound[1.]
How do you come to the place of ’more than enough?’
On a side note: ‘more than enough’ actually has ties to one of God’s Names, El-Shaddai.
El-Shaddai reveals God as the All-Sufficient-One meaning He is ‘more than enough.’
So God by His own name reveals Himself as a God of superabundance.
Therefore, it’s no surprise that superabundance is your potential outcome.
Applying all diligence means pressing forward with haste and eagerness.
That really speaks of attitude, right?
What is your attitude about the development of the things God has put in you?
Since we are pressing forward with eagerness that means we’re not putting off developing these critical virtues.
So what are you doing today about what you have in you today?
For me, I’m working on my love walk.
I am reading and feeding on the Word of God in this area.
The things that strike me concerning the love walk, I write down in a journal.
That way I can keep those truths fresh inside of me.
You see I make that journal part of what I meditate on.
This is a daily activity in my world.
Of course none of this would help if I didn’t practice the Word of God.
Now, you’ve heard the phrase ‘practice makes perfect.’
It does and this activity helps me to remember my responsibility to do the Word.
So you may ask, ‘How did you decide on this divine trait since there are seven of them here in 2 Peter 1?’
Well, the Holy Spirit of God prompted me on several occasions about this.
He knows exactly where you are in these things and what you need to work on next.
I say next because you can’t work on everything at once.
You see it’s just like going through grade school.
You work through particular subjects in a given school year, then you graduate to the next grade and a new set of things to learn and grow in.
So, ask Him to show you where you are and what you need to work on.
When you find out, go at it with all diligence.
Why? Because it’s not enough to own it—you have to increase it.
Own what God gave you—increase what you own.
Four Consequences: Useless, Unproductive, Blind, or Short-Sighted
So, what happens if you totally ignore the Word here and go on not adding ‘all diligence’ to your spiritual development?
Plenty!
Listen to these words.
2 Peter 1:8–9 (NASB 2020) — 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they do not make you useless nor unproductive in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For the one who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins.
Four things can happen if you don’t acknowledge what’s yours and if you do acknowledge it but leave those virtues undeveloped.
And here they are: ignore what God has put in you and leave these virtues undeveloped, and you can become short-sighted, unproductive, blind, or useless.
The Tragedy of Being Useless
Oh my—useless?
I don’t want to be useless.
Do you?
I have always heard there are no unused members in the Body of Christ and that’s true and right.
Unless…
People choose to be that way.
The word ‘useless’ [argous] is translated in the New Testament as lazy, idle, or careless.
It comes from a root word meaning unemployed.
A useless person is an idle person.
Think of a car idling.
The driver is just sitting at the light and he’s going nowhere.
Traffic builds up behind him but the car’s not moving.
Horns blare and shouts of anger fill the air but still nothing.
No progress—no forward movement—that’s this term ‘useless.’
Is that what you want to see on your tombstone?
Putting this all together, ‘useless’ means unemployed, up to no good, useless, and incapable of good.[2.]
Living a ‘useless’ life is one of the downsides of not applying all diligence to develop what God has placed within you..
The Downside of Being Unproductive
Okay, let’s read the verse again.
2 Peter 1:8 (NASB 2020) — 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they do not make you useless nor unproductive in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
So the next downside of failing to apply all diligence is being ‘unproductive.’
Again, defining terms helps us with understanding.
An ‘unproductive’ [akarpous] soul is a person who fails to put out anything of value.
No results come from his life.
He adds value to no one.
Barren is one word that describes ‘unproductive.’
Sterile is another.
This individual just takes up oxygen on Planet Earth.
And with that thought, here is the Illustration of the Day.
The Genius Who Struggled to Finish
There was a gentleman named Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
He was an English poet who had a brilliant mind.
His mind was filled with ideas.
He dreamed of writing great poems, books, and all kinds of literary stuff.
Absolutely full of potential.
No doubt about it.
But Coleridge had a serious problem.
He had great difficulty finishing what he started.
He started great projects and abandoned them.
You have to focus to finish and he failed to finish.
Enormous mental ability.
Think about it.
The ideas? He had them.
Brain power? Totally on point.
Capacity? Off the charts.
But far too often, the finished product just wasn’t there.
Coleridge’s life reminds us that owning great ability is not the same as developing it.
It’s not the same as using it.
You need output.
What is your life producing that people will miss when you are gone?
Now, Peter isn’t talking about unfinished poems and books.
That’s not what Peter’s talking about when he uses the word ‘unproductive.’
He’s talking about your knowledge of Jesus producing something in your life.
But the principle is the same—you need output.
So don’t be the ‘unproductive’ person.
The Danger of Impaired Spiritual Vision
Okay, let’s go to verse nine and take a look at two more consequences in the life of the believer who won’t apply all diligence.
2 Peter 1:9 (NASB 2020) — 9 For the one who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins.
The person who fails to develop the attributes of the divine Jesus life is described as blind [typhlos] and short-sighted [myōpazō].
In other words, visually impaired from a spiritual perspective.
The two words used together in verse nine describe a range of visual problems from short-sighted to total blindness.
What makes a person spiritually blind or short-sighted?
Forgetting where you came from.
That’s what the Holy Spirit said through the Apostle Peter: “having forgotten his purification from his former sins.”
Look at this closely.
When you forget where Jesus brought you from, it’s easy to also forget where He is taking you to.
Remember the guy we mentioned earlier sitting in his car?
The light turned green, but he didn’t move.
He stayed stuck in the same place.
Forgetfulness can do the same thing to you spiritually.
Have you ever been stuck spiritually?
If you have, maybe it’s time to get back to the truths found here in 2 Peter 1.
Mark it down: the undeveloped traits of excellence, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love can leave you in the dark.
Take love as an example.
1 John 2:11 (NASB 2020) — 11 But the one who hates his brother or sister is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
And with that thought, here is the Question of the Day.
Here’s the question.
What are some things that spiritually blind fail to see?
They Don’t See Their True Spiritual State
Revelation 3:17 (NASB 2020) — 17 Because you say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have no need of anything,” and you do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked,
Believers at the church at Laodicea claimed to be “rich, and wealthy, without need of anything.”
Yet, what they believed was a lie.
They didn’t know that instead of being rich, they were poor.
They couldn’t see that while they had money in the bank, spiritually, they were just plain broke.
Wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked is a bad state.
Blindness is a bad state.
They Don’t See The Greatness of their Salvation
The totality of what Jesus accomplished through His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension evades these believers.
They have forgotten their purification from their former sins.
Hebrews 2:1–3 (NASB 2020) — 1 For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it. 2 For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every violation and act of disobedience received a just punishment, 3 how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? After it was at first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard,
This is one reason Communion—also known as the Lord’s Table—is so important.
Communion calls Jesus’ followers to remember.
Remember His body.
Call to memory His blood.
Don’t be forgetful of the tremendous price Jesus paid for us.
They Don’t See the Need To Act On The Word
Yet one more area of spiritual short-sightedness is failing to put the Word of God into action.
James 1:22–24 (NASB 2020) — 22 But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not just hearers who deceive themselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; 24 for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was.
Be doers of the Word—that’s what the Word of God says.
The hearer looks into the mirror of God’s Word.
He sees what he needs to adjust in his life from the Word but, instead, walks away without acting on what he saw.
What happens as he walks away?
Well, he forgets.
Once again, you can see that spiritual short-sightedness and forgetfulness go hand in hand.
So, what have we seen?
Spiritual blindness leaves you stuck in a state of suspended animation.
You’re blind—walking around thinking everything is okay when it isn’t.
You’re short-sighted—you don’t see the greatness of what Jesus did in providing salvation for your life.
You’re lack of visual acuity keeps you from acting on the Word of God—the lifeblood of any child of God.
Don’t live this way.
Apply all diligence.
Add your extravagant supply so you can develop the precious things God has placed inside your spirit.
One more time: Own what God gave you—increase what you own.
Now, let’s get down to brass tacks.
Putting All Diligence to Work
So which one of these seven virtues needs your attention right now?
I want to list them again for you: excellence, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love.
Ask the Spirit of God to put His finger on one area where you need to apply all diligence today.
It would help you to study this area in the Word.
Find out what the Word of God says about it.
Write those references down in a journal.
Meditate on these verses so that you can observe to do what they say.
And then start doing them.
Remember, there are two sides.
The Holy Spirit’s role and your role.
His role is to lead you and show you what needs your attention.
Your role is to apply all diligence.
Own what God gave you—increase what you own.
Call to Action:
If this podcast helped you, consider sharing it with someone else.
These and other podcasts are available at emeryhorvath.com.
Own What God Gave You: Why Diligence Determines Growth.
You guys have a great God week and we will see you next time for another edition of Light on Life.
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