SCIENTISTS in general, and bio chemists in particular, are learning much about growth and life in the physical realm, but in 2 Peter 3:18 we learn of another important aspect of growth: "Grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ."
Growth implies life. There is no real life without Christ. Genetically we are born with errors of spiritual metabolism. As an infant who lacks essential genes will stop growing mentally and physically (such as those having phenyl-ketonuria, a disease caused by a lack of genes to make an enzyme to oxidize phenylalanine), so any of our own at tempts to develop spiritual perfection result in failure.
Jeremiah 17:9 tells us, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" We are born without such spiritual genes as unselfishness, patience, honesty, love, meekness, peace, faith, joy, goodness, and temperance. But we are born with a desire or at least a need, for God. By par taking of Christ we are re-created with all the genes essential for full spiritual growth. There is no parallel in physical growth to this miracle of rebirth. One born with a lack of a certain gene can not have it applied.
The essential requirements for growth include sunshine, food, air or oxygen, and exercise.
Sunshine—The sun is the ultimate source of energy upon which all plants and animals are dependent for life. Plants take energy from the sun, convert water to hydrogen and oxygen, and store energy as food. We reverse these processes by eating the food, removing the hydrogen, giving the hydrogen back to the oxygen to form water, and using the energy for growth and activity. So it is in spiritual matters. By turning to the Sun of Righteousness we receive power for spiritual growth.
Food—Food is stored power, but to be effective it must be eaten. In Jeremiah 15:16 we read, "Thy words were found, and I did eat them." We must eat food, whether physical or spiritual, to receive power.
All essential nutrients must be present for healthy growth. One essential lacking in a diet makes all others ineffective.
Air or Oxygen—We may eat all the essential food nutrients for growth, but if there is no oxygen available, little effective energy is produced and death soon follows. We obtain twenty times more energy from carbohydrates if oxygen is present, and no energy from fat if oxygen is not present.
Prayer is beautifully represented as the breath of the soul. Spiritual power for growth from God's Word requires prayer. It is the life of the soul. We must pray always if we would have power to grow in faith and experience, even as we can live only a few minutes without oxygen.
Exercise—It's even possible that we may overeat of the nutrients of the Word. If we do not exercise and use the power available, excess growth results that is not genuine. Spiritual fat re places muscles. This can lead to spiritual atherosclerosis. Where active labor for others is lacking, love and faith grow dim. If we retain all available energy for selfish purposes, the result will be spiritual obesity. Balanced growth can only result when we combine spiritual diet with spiritual exercise.
Dynamics of Growth—The body is in a dynamic state. There is constant degeneration or dying of tissue and the replacing of it with new tissue. At birth the Christian acquires the wasting process of sin. He is no sooner born than he begins to die. At the time of the new birth, however, he acquires the capacity for spiritual growth. This necessitates continual feeding on the Word if he is to maintain spiritual life and develop Christian character.
We may have plenty of good food and oxygen, but unless there is hormonal control of body metabolism, the whole energy-producing system goes awry, and we shall not be able to utilize the food and effectively tap its energy when needed. So it is the controlling power of the Holy Spirit in our lives that makes the power in the Word available for healthy spiritual growth, by storing its energy in a useful form that can be effectively released when needed.
