Mike Focht 1/17/2025
The reality of spiritual life and growth is self-evident. The formula is very simple. We receive new life in Christ through the new birth. Then the Bible—through the inspiration of the very Spirit who has given us this life—speaks to us as if it is self-evident the new life we possess can grow and wants to grow. The Word of God assumes an inward desire to grow in grace and the knowledge of our Lord and then encourages it by fanning the flames of desire through various commands, exhortations, and instructions.
Peter encourages believers by saying: As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the Word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious. Peter assumes the believers he is writing to possess a desire to grow through the knowledge of the Word. He also speaks to them as if they understand the Christian life is not a one-time, easily attained experience. The formula is very simple. They received spiritual life. They experienced their spiritual life in a self-evident way. They desired to grow in the spiritual life they were currently experiencing.
When God gives life, He has designed for that life to grow. We can see this in natural life, such as in seeds, fish, dogs, and humans. All spiritual growth begins the moment that spiritual life begins. In the same way, a baby that is alive will naturally desire to do the things that will make it grow physically, such as eating, drinking, sleeping, etc.
Peter sees no conflict between the presence of spiritual life and the progress of spiritual life. The two truths are complementary. If someone were to possess physical life and not progress, it would clearly indicate something was wrong with their physical life. The same is true with our spiritual lives. Healthy life includes normal growth.
Paul would also pick up this complementary dynamic when he spoke to the Philippians. Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. Here again, we find the presence of spiritual life bound to the progress and maturing of that life. Unlike many commentators, Paul finds no need to couch this simple statement in pages and pages of scholarly explanations because the principle is straightforward: When God gives life, He expects it to grow into full maturity.
Everyone given true life through the Holy Spirit should have an inward desire to grow spiritually. You are likely reading this blog because the Holy Spirit already encourages you to mature in God’s image and likeness. The Word of God speaks to all believers as if they have a self-evident understanding of this simple principle because they do.