Develop the Virtues in Divine Life to Grow unto Maturity & Enter the Eternal Kingdom

We believers in Christ need to develop the spiritual virtues in the divine life and thus to advance in the growth of the divine life so that we make God’s calling and selection of us firm and so that we may have a rich entrance into the eternal kingdom. Amen!

This week we have been enjoying the matter of being partakers of the divine nature and having the development of the divine life and the divine nature for a rich entrance into the eternal kingdom.

Praise the Lord, we believers in Christ have received an equally precious faith, and now we should be partakers of the divine nature!

By believing in Christ, we receive the divine life, and in the divine life, there is the divine nature.

We are children of God, born of God with His life and nature, and we possess God’s life and nature.

Just as we human beings have the divine life and nature simply by being born of our human parents, so spiritually speaking, we have the divine life and nature by being born of God.

Now that we have God’s life and nature, we need to be partakers of the divine nature, that is, participate in the divine nature.

We enjoy the riches of the divine nature by means of God’s precious and exceedingly great promises.

On the negative side, we escape and flee the corruption which is in the world by lust.

On the positive side, we pursue Christ and partake of the divine nature. We escape to partake and we partake so that we may escape.

As we partake of what God is through His word and by exercising our spirit to contact Him, we are being constituted with what He is.

May we cooperate with the Lord today to experience the development of the divine life and the divine nature in the divine seed that has been sown into us so that we may have a rich entrance into the eternal kingdom!

All the riches of God’s being, all that He is in His nature, is in the divine seed we received; now we need to develop these virtues by adding all diligence to supply these virtues.

From the seed of faith, through the roots of virtue and knowledge, the trunk of self-control, and the branches of endurance and godliness, to the blossom of fruit of brotherly love and love, we need to develop the virtues of the divine life and nature.

Little by little, day by day, we need to grow in life unto maturity so that the Lord can increase in us and gain us, and so that He may be expressed through us as we live Christ in our human virtues.

Develop the Spiritual Virtues in the Divine Life, Advancing in the Growth of the Divine Life, to Make God’s Calling and Selection of us Firm

Thank the Lord that His divine power has granted to us all things which relate to life and godliness through the full knowledge of Him who has called us by His own glory and virtue (2 Pet. 1:3)!

All these things are in the divine seed we received at the time of our regeneration.

God granted to us precious and exceedingly great promises that through these we might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption which is in the world by lust (v. 4).

Since we are partakers of the divine nature, we need to add all diligence to supply bountifully in our faith (the seed) virtue (a root), and in virtue, knowledge (another root), and in knowledge, self control (the trunk), and in self-control, endurance (a branch), and in endurance, godliness (another branch) and in godliness, brotherly love (blossom), and in brotherly love, love (the fruit).

Our Christian life is an organic matter, something that grows in us – we grow in life to become the tree of life for others to eat Christ experienced and exhibited by us.

As we develop the spiritual virtues in the divine life, we thus advance in the growth in the divine life.

As we cooperate with the Lord day by day to enjoy Him, partake of His riches, and enjoy all that He is through the exercise of our spirit, we grow in life unto maturity.

In this way, when we allow these things to exist in us and abound, we are constituted neither idle nor unfruitful unto the full knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ (v. 8).

But if these things are not present in us, we are blind, shortsighted, and we may even forget the cleansing of our past sins (v. 9).

May we cooperate with the Lord day by day to develop the spiritual virtues in the divine life so that we may make God’s calling and selection firm, for in doing these things we shall by no means ever stumble (v. 10).

Sometimes we may be shaken in our faith, for many things may happen to us or around us, and we may go through trials, persecution, or just dry spells in our Christian life.

What we need to do is be diligent to develop the virtues mentioned by Peter in 2 Pet. 1:5-7 so that we may confirm and make our calling and selection sure.

Some believers in Christ may question whether God has chosen them; the reason they do this is because they lack these virtues.

If we daily cooperate with the Lord to develop the virtues in the divine life, we make our calling and selection firm, and we shall by no means ever stumble.

When we develop these virtues and are constituted with them, we will have the confirmation that we have been called and selected; this is to make our calling and selection firm.

God called us. He selected us. He has given us all things which relate to life and godliness.

Everything we need is in the divine seed of faith given to us at the time of our regeneration.

We simply need to exercise our spirit to develop the spiritual virtues in the divine life.

We simply need to grow in life unto maturity so that we may make God’s calling and selection of us firm.

When we grow in life day by day by developing the spiritual virtues in the divine life, we will not stumble, but rather, we are constituted with these virtues, and we make God’s calling and selection firm.

Lord Jesus, we exercise our spirit to develop the spiritual virtues in the divine life today. Grow in us. May we advance in the growth of the divine life. Amen, Lord, we want to be more diligent to make our calling and selection firm! Hallelujah, God’s divine power has granted to us all things which relate to life and godliness through the full knowledge of Him who has called is by His own glory and virtue! Amen, Lord, we exercise our spirit to partake of Your precious and exceedingly great promises. We exercise to add all diligence and supply bountifully in our faith, virtue, and in virtue, knowledge! Yes, Lord, we exercise our spirit to supply in knowledge, self-control, and in self-control, godliness. We want to supply in godliness, brotherly love, and in brotherly love, love. May these things exist in us and abound in us so that we may be constituted neither idle nor unfruitful unto the full knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ! Yes, Lord, in this way we want to make our calling and selection firm and by no means ever stumble!

Be Diligent to Pursue the Growth and Development of the Divine Life and the Divine Nature to Have a Rich Entrance into the Eternal Kingdom

As a conclusion to his word concerning developing the divine life and the divine nature in 2 Pet. 1:5-7, Peter said, For in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be richly and bountifully supplied to you (v. 11).

We should be diligent to pursue the growth and development of the divine life and divine nature for a rich entrance into the eternal kingdom.

This is our goal. The goal of our Christian life is, on one hand, to gain more Christ and to have Him formed and fully grown in us, and on the other hand, to enter into the coming kingdom of our Lord Jesus.

Even more, we don’t want to “sneak” into the kingdom or just enter in but rather, have a rich entrance into the kingdom.

We want the Lord to usher us into His joy so that we may rule and reign with Him for one thousand years and then for eternity.

For us to have a rich entrance into the eternal kingdom, we need to be diligent to pursue the growth and development of the divine life and the divine nature.

As we do this, as we grow in life unto maturity and exercise our spirit to develop the virtues in the divine nature, we enjoy a bountiful supply.

The bountiful supply that we enjoy in the development of the divine life and divine nature will bountifully supply us a rich entrance into the eternal kingdom of God. Amen!

This supply will enable and qualify us to enter into the coming kingdom by all the riches of the divine life and divine nature as our excellent virtues (energy) unto the splendid glory of God (1 Pet. 5:10).

The eternal kingdom of God in 2 Pet. 1:11 refers to the kingdom of God; this kingdom was given to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (Dan. 7:13-14) and will be manifested at His coming back (Luke 19:11-12).

This eternal kingdom will be a reward to the faithful believers in Christ who pursue the growth in His life unto maturity and the development of the virtues of His nature.

If we are the faithful believers today who are diligent to pursue the growth and development of the divine life and divine nature, we will participate in Christ’s kingship in God’s glory in the millennium (2 Tim. 2:12; Rev. 20:4, 6).

We aspire to be such ones. We want to grow in life unto maturity and develop the virtues in the divine life and nature.

To enter into the eternal kingdom of the Lord is related to entering into God’s eternal glory, to which God has called us in Christ (1 Pet. 5:10; 1 Thes. 2:12).

Many Christians, however, will not have such a rich entrance into the eternal kingdom of God because they have never built up this entrance by developing the divine seed unto maturity. Oh Lord.

Such believers are the defeated believers who do not cooperate with the Lord in this age to grow in life unto maturity and develop the divine life and nature.

If we are not constituted of the divine virtues, we will not have a rich entrance into the eternal kingdom.

But if we cooperate with the Lord and have the development of the divine life and are constituted with the divine nature, a rich and bountiful entrance into the coming kingdom will be supplied to us. May we be such ones today.

May we grow in life unto maturity today so that we may rule and reign with Christ as His co-kings in the millennium.

We cannot rule together with Christ as a king in the next age if we lack maturity in the divine life today.

How can the Lord enthrone us if we are not mature in His life?

How can we exercise His kingship if we are not growing in life unto maturity? How much we need to grow in life today!

How much we need to develop the virtues in the divine life and nature!

We already have all these virtues; they are all in the divine seed we received at the time of our regeneration, and now we need to develop them.

We need to pray over this matter and learn to cooperate with the Lord to grow in life and develop the virtues in the divine nature.

As we grow in life, we will eventually reach maturity; as a result, as Paul said in Eph. 4:13, we arrive at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.

In this way, we are equipped to be kings in the coming kingdom.

Apparently, it is we who enter into the eternal kingdom; actually, the entrance into the eternal kingdom is supplied to us richly through our growth in life and through the development of the divine life within us. Amen!

The Lord grants us this entrance, and at the same time, the entrance is granted to us by our growth in life unto maturity.

Lord Jesus, grow in us unto maturity! Cause us to grow in life a little more today. Give us the portion of grace we need today so that we may grow in life and reach maturity. We want to cooperate with You to grow in life and develop the virtues in the divine life and nature. Amen, Lord, may we be those who are diligent to pursue the growth and development of the divine life and divine nature for a rich entrance into the eternal kingdom! Keep us coming to You day by day, and keep us cooperating with You by adding all diligence to develop the virtues in the divine life and nature. May the bountiful supply we enjoy in the development of the divine life and nature bountifully supply us a rich entrance into the eternal kingdom of God! Amen, Lord, we aspire to enter into the coming kingdom to rule and reign with Christ for one thousand years. May we be those who are qualified to enter into Your kingdom at Your coming by all the riches of the divine life and nature as our excellent virtues unto the splendid glory of God!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Inspiration for this article/sharing comes from the Word of God, the enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by brother Ron Kangas in the message for this week, and portions from, Life-study of Peter, msg. 7, by Witness Lee, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Living a Christian Life and Church Life under the Government of God for the Economy of God (2024 Thanksgiving Blending Conference), week 6, Partakers of the Divine Nature and the Development of the Divine Life and the Divine Nature for a Rich Entrance into the Eternal Kingdom.
• Similar articles on this topic:
  – The secrets of life, a portion from, The Crucial Revelation of Life in the Scriptures, Chapter 16, by Witness Lee.
  – 2 Peter (Program #6) – The Divine Provision (6), via, Bible study radio.
  – The word of righteousness – the government of God and entrance into the kingdom, article via, Affirmation and Critique.
  – Diligence for a Rich Entrance to the Eternal Kingdom, via, New Jerusalem blog.
  – The divine provision (6) – developing the seed of faith, a portion from, Life-Study of 2 Peter, Chapter 6.
  – Growing in the Divine Life for a Rich Entrance into the Eternal Kingdom, via, Church in Honolulul.
  – Experiencing the Development of the Divine Life, via, The Church in Los Angeles.
  – The kingdom of God in the New Testament: a panoramic view, article by Ron Kangas in, Affirmation and Critique.
  – What is the kingdom of God? More via, Holding to Truth in love.
  – The Divine Provision (7) 2 Pet. 1:5-11 (Message 7), via, Church in Regina.
  – 01 – The Kingdom of God—the Realm of the Divine Life and of the Divine Species, via, Heavenly Foods.
  – Living the Christian life under the government of God to experience Christ and grow in life for God’s building, outline via, Church in Miami.
• Hymns on this topic:
  – Diligence day by day will this growth insure; / Diligence thus will make our election sure. / When indeed with this seed we cooperate, / We’re supplied the kingdom’s entrance, rich and great. / For this growth, for this growth, Lord, ourselves we give, / By the faith, promises, and the pow’r to live. / Nothing more, nothing less, will our basis be / By Thy grace we will cooperate with Thee. (Hymns #1211 stanzas 8-9)
  – Jesus Christ will get His kingdom / Just by growth—the normal way. / Not an instant transformation; / Growth goes on from day to day. / This life-seed is all-inclusive— / Everything we’ll ever need; / Yes, our God’s eternal purpose / Is within this precious seed. (Hymns #1299 stanza 5)
  – In Thee God is the life to us, / In Thee He is the light; / In Thee His nature we partake / And with Him we unite. / In Thee the grace of God subsists, / God we enjoy in Thee; / His truth in Thee is also found, / His full reality. / In Thee God’s fulness we receive, / Which fills from grace to grace; / In Thee with God we’re mingled here, / Till one in every phase. (Hymns #56 stanzas 4-6)