Eight Essential Qualities of Spiritual Growth

Our subject today is salvation and we are going to look at Romans 8:28-30. Salvation is discussed throughout the Bible. But I believe that when we look at specific statements that describe what salvation is, John 3:16 is perhaps the shortest description. It reads,

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 (NASB)

Another longer one is Romans 8:28-30, which is where we are going before we start our study. A third longer passage is 1 Corinthians 15:1-8, but the longest description of salvation is the book of Romans. Fifteen chapters deal with our salvation and then the last chapter is expressions of gratefulness and love expressed by the apostle Paul.

Romans 8:28-30 provides us with helpful background information. It is a familiar passage, but it also is not always well understood. Verse 28 says,

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren . . . Romans 8:28-29 (NASB)

Now most of us understand the initial part when it talks about the fact that we have been predestined. We need to understand that when Paul is talking about being predestined, he is stating that God chose some people for salvation. Ephesians 1:3-4 says,

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. Ephesians 1:3-4 (NASB)

Now, Ephesians tells us that we were chosen before the foundation of the world in Christ. Another passage that talks about God choosing us for salvation is 2 Peter 1 which states that God chose us for salvation. My comments have been preparation for our study. In Acts 13:48 we read,

When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed. Acts 13:48 (NASB)

This is a very important passage. I will repeat it, “and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.” The message is that God chose people for salvation. We can look at another important passage in 2 Thessalonians 2:13.

So, the message in Romans 8:28-29 is that God predestined us. God actually chose people for salvation. Verse 30 is a short summary of the next step in salvation. It says,

. . . and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified. Romans 8:30 (NASB)

Now, notice four simple statements. We are told God predestined, called, justified and glorified. The predestining is the result of God choosing. Those whom God chose, He predestined to become Christians. Then we are told that He called us. Now the question is what does it mean by ‘He called’? God decided somebody would become a Christian. He then starts to draw them. He continues drawing them and eventually they will become a Christian because God is the one who is doing the work. Remember in Romans 3, we are told that all of us have sinned and come short of the glory of God. It also tells us that no one seeks after God. So, if no one seeks after God, how does anyone come to God? The answer is that God must be involved.

The Holy Spirit convicts us of sin. When does that happen? John 6:65 tells us that,

And He was saying, “For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.” John 6:65 (NASB)

Jesus was talking here. He said that no one can come to Him unless the Father grants it. The idea is that the Father gives them permission to come.

If you were to also look at Matthew 15, we find another statement about our salvation. This is a very important passage because here Jesus said that every plant which the Father has not planted, He will uproot. So, if the Father did not plant it, He is going to uproot it. If you connect that thought with John 6:65 where no one can come to Christ unless the Father grants it, it is very clear that God is in the business of choosing or deciding who will become a Christian and then drawing those people to Christ.

God Chooses and We Must Believe

Now the classic problem that some people have with these verses is they remember, “When I accepted Christ, I did it. I had the emotion. I wanted to accept Jesus as I heard about what Jesus did for me. I was repentant of my sins. I was sorry for my sins. I wanted Jesus to be my Savior. I wanted to go to Heaven. I wanted to serve Jesus as my Lord. I made the decision! I wanted to become a Christian.” My response to those is, “Yes, that was the result of God working in your life. It was very real to you as God was drawing you, bringing you to faith in Jesus Christ.” So, how does this all work together? I do not have the answer. I just know what Scripture teaches – that God chose us before we were born. He drew us to Jesus and He gave us the gift of faith. But yet, I know that when I became a Christian, it was my decision from my perspective. I went through a real process of making that decision If you look at John 6:44, it says,

No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day. John 6:44 (NASB)

Jesus repeated His statement from verse 65, that no one can come to Him unless the Father grants them permission. The idea is that the Father must draw us to Jesus Christ.

Then verse 37 tells us that Jesus said,

All that the Father gives Me will come to Me. John 6:37 (NASB)

The Father grants permission and then the Father actively draws you by the Holy Spirit. Then verse 37 says, if the Father is drawing you, you are going to come to Jesus. Why are you going to come? Because in the process of calling and drawing God the Father gives you the faith. Or put another way, the synonym for being given permission to come to salvation is the fact that the Father is going to give you the faith. Ephesians 2:8-9 says,

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God . . . Ephesians 2:8 (NASB)

So the faith that you have is a gift to you from God. The message is that when the Father grants you permission, He draws you, and He gives you the faith. That is why Jesus said, “And all who the Father gives me will come to me.” So, to say the Father calls us means that the Father gives us the faith. The faith results in our justification. It is an interesting sequence of events that happens. Romans 8:30 says, “And those whom He called, He justified.”

Believers Are Justified

Now look at Romans 5:1. It says,

Therefore, having been justified by faith . . . Romans 5:1 (NASB)

So the message is that the synonym for calling is the fact that God gives us the faith and it is the result of the faith that we are justified. What is justification? Justification is a declaration that you are perfect, that you are sinless, that you are as righteous as Christ. Justification refers to being declared righteous. Justification is being declared righteous even though we are sinners and not righteous.

As a result, we are freed from sin. That would be Romans 6:17-18. Along with that comes adoption. When we say, “freed from sin,” we also say, “we are redeemed from sin.” We are no longer slaves to sin. We become slaves of righteousness. Why are we slaves of righteousness? Because the Holy Spirit is now indwelling us. We have been renewed. We are a new self, a new creature. A total transformation occurs and it is all the work of God.

Believers Are Glorified

Romans 8:30 then says,

. . . these whom He justified, He also glorified. Romans 8:30c (NASB)

What does it mean glorified? I do not feel glorified. If you notice it says “also glorified.” Past tense is what it sounds like. In reality glorified is in the aorist tense. The Greek aorist tense refers to something that has happened. You do not know when it happened. You just know that it has already happened. So the message is that believers have already been glorified. You might ask, “How can that be that I am glorified?” Glorification is synonymous with going to Heaven. How can that be? It refers to our security as a Christian that we are one day going to be in Heaven. As far as God is concerned, you are already sitting in Heaven. You are not physically there yet, but as far as God is concerned, you are there. That is your position in Christ.

The Believer’s Sanctification

Yet, I want you to see that you are in the middle between being justified and glorification. We are in the process of becoming more like Jesus. We would say we are in the process of becoming more holy as time goes by. At least, Lord willing, that is happening. We call that process, sanctification. We are being sanctified. The Holy Spirit is working in our lives to transform us. As a result, we sin less and less and less with time. Romans 8:13-14 makes the point that if the Holy Spirit is within you, you will be putting to death the deeds of the flesh. If the Holy Spirit is indwelling you because you are a believing Christian, you will be sinning less and less with time. That process is called sanctification.

One of the things that we often hear pastors and teachers say is that we need to study the Word. We are supposed to be in prayer. We are supposed to be confessing our sin. We are supposed to be walking in the Spirit. That is all part of the process called sanctification. That shows up again and again in the New Testament. I am sure after a while it gets a little bit old. You say, “I have heard that before.” Yes, because we tend to forget and need to be reminded. That is essential to our sanctification because God did not save and justify us just so we can live any way we want to. His goal for us is that we become like Christ. He wants us to participate in that transformation. He wants us to be active in becoming more like Christ.

Remember Philippians 1:6 says,

He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6 (NASB)

What does that mean? That means that at the moment you were justified, He began working in you. He will continue working in you until you die and go to Heaven.

Philippians 2:12-13 gives us the same message. Verse 12 commands us to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. That does not mean that we become a Christian by doing works. Why? Because it is all God’s work anyway. God gave us the faith. We were justified by God. We were redeemed from sin. We were adopted into the faith. You are a new creature. We did not do any of that. It was the work of the Spirit. Philippians 2:12 says,

. . . work out your salvation with fear and trembling . . . Philippians 2:12 (NASB)

Working out our salvation happens as we obediently do what God asks us to do. Then the next verse says that it is God who is at work in us. That is, even our obedience is being accomplished by the Holy Spirit working in us. Therefore, when you hear that we are to study the Bible, to pray and to confess our sins, it means that we are to be walking in the Spirit. Walking in the Spirit is how we have the power to have victory over sin in our life. It is the work of the Spirit in our life that causes our sanctification. The fruit of the Spirit grows in our life and if you have been a Christian for very long, those concepts are very familiar to you.

One of the passages I like to talk about is 1 John 2:12-14. It gives us another perspective on our sanctification. That passage helps us to measure, or determine where we are in our spiritual growth. It speaks of little children, young men, and fathers of the faith. So while we are studying the Bible, while we are praying, while we are confessing our sin, while we are walking in the Spirit, we can then see where we are. Am I like a little child? Have I become a young man? Am I more like a father of the faith? 1 John 2:12-14 helps us understand where we are and Hebrews 5:11-14 does the same thing. Are we spiritual mature, or are we spiritual babies? Those two passages help us know how spiritual we are.

Everything Pertaining to Life and Godliness

That leads us to our study about essential qualities that must be true of us as a Christian. 2 Peter 1:3 is where we were in our last study. In verse 3 the apostle Peter was explaining that God has given us everything that is necessary for life and godliness. What is that? Life and godliness are terms referring to our sanctification. God has given us everything to help us in every situation in life. He has given us everything to help us to grow spiritually and work through the difficulties we have in our lives. Let me read verses 3 and 4. Then we are going to talk about seven very important qualities that are needed in every Christian’s life. In fact, if they are not present, there is reason to wonder if you really are a Christian.

Verse 3 says,

Seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence . . . 2 Peter 1:3 (NASB)

So, God has given us everything pertaining to life and godliness. We learn about it from the knowledge of Christ. That would include salvation, and the process of sanctification.

Then Peter says, “who called us by His own glory and excellence.” What does this mean? Typically when I think of God and His glory, I think of His Shekinah glory. But God’s glory is more than just an aura or a light. God’s glory is who He is, His character. In John 1:14, the apostle John wrote and said,

We saw His glory, full of grace and truth . . . John 1:14 (NASB)

It’s an interesting definition of glory. John says if we saw Jesus, we saw His glory. He is full of grace and truth. It was His grace. He spoke truth. If you did a word study on grace in the New Testament, you would find out that glory is more than He is light. It is everything about God and His character or attributes. The Greek word for “excellence” is an interesting word. It has the idea of “full up” or completion. It is the idea that God’s glory is to the max. His glory cannot become any more glorious.

Precious and Magnificent Promises

In verse 4, Peter says, “by these.” He is talking about God’s glory and excellence. He says, “by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises.” So, what is he saying? Because of all that God is, He has granted to us precious and magnificent promises. Are you wondering what those promises are? He is talking about salvation and that we are going to become more like Christ. For 2 Corinthians 3:18 says,

But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit. 2 Corinthians 3:18 (NASB)

God is at work transforming us. 2 Peter 1:4 says,

For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature . . . 2 Peter 1:4 (NASB)

The message is that He saved you. He justified you and He is now in the process of sanctifying you. 2 Corinthians 3:18 says, “He is transforming us into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord.” God is making us glorious.

2 Corinthians 5:21 says,

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf . . 2 Corinthians 5:21 (NASB)

Now that is what Christ did on the cross. Christ was on the cross. He became sin. He took our sin on Him. But notice the last part of the verse: “so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” So when we were justified, we were declared to be as righteous as God. That says we are partaking of the divine nature in the sense that we have been declared to be as righteous as God. We are partakers of the divine nature and yet the Holy Spirit is in the process of making us like that. He is really, truly making us more and more like the divine nature. When we die, the total transformation will finally be complete. But it has not occurred right now.

Hebrews 12:10 says,

For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. Hebrews 12:10 (NASB)

Notice the reason God disciplines us is to make us holy like himself. That is His purpose. 1 John 3:2 adds,

Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. 1 John 3:2 (NASB)

It is describing the rapture. At the rapture, we are going to be transformed in an instant, in a twinkling of an eye, to become like him. That is a promise. So, 2 Peter 1:4 describes a promise that is the result of God’s glory and excellence. God is planning something excellent for us.

Essential Qualities of a True Believer

In 2 Peter 1:5, Peter says,

Now for this very reason … 2 Peter 1:5 (NASB)

You might ask, “For what reason?” Because of the promises that He has given us and for what He is doing in our lives. “For this very reason,” or we can say “therefore,

. . . applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. 2 Peter 1:5-7 (NASB)

He says, “Therefore apply all diligence.” The word for “apply” in verse 5 has the idea of “do it” with no “ifs ands or buts” about it. Just do it. That is the idea. The word for apply is an aorist participle. It has the idea that you are to do it and continue to do it. It is a very powerful statement. Peter is saying, “Come on, get your act together. Do it because of what God has done for us and do it with diligence.” The idea of diligence is haste. It has the idea of hurrying to do it. The idea is that we are to participate in our sanctification, just as Philippians 2:12 talked about. We are to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. Peter says the same thing in a different way. He just says to apply all diligence and be serious about it. Do it!

In Your Faith Supply Moral Excellence

Then he says do it in your faith. Faith is the starting point. He is talking about something that you already have. God has already given you the faith. Next, we are to add to our faith, because he says, “and in your faith supply moral excellence.” The word for “supply” means to add to it. That is simple. So, you have faith. That is something you already have. You are a Christian as a result of faith. You have been justified as a result of that faith. Now you are to add some things to it. The first thing we are to add is moral excellence. Now this phrase, “moral excellence,” we have already seen at the end of verse 3 when it talked about God and His excellence. I do not know why the Greek word is translated as “moral excellence” in verse 5 and in verse 3 it is just “excellence.” You could just as easily read verse 5 as, “excellence” as opposed to “moral excellence.” Then the reader would think that excellence in verse 5 connected to excellence at the end of verse 3. The idea is that in our faith, we are to apply excellence.

Now let me help you understand this word better. The meaning of the Greek word translated as excellence is perhaps difficult to understand. It was used to refer to something that was excellence in the fulfilling of a purpose. The word actually has the idea of virtue. So some of your Bibles may say virtue. Probably the best way to understand this word is that whatever we are talking about, you take it to its maximum excellence. Total completion! Total effort! You do it with excellence! It would be the difference between a carpenter who does a lousy job and a carpenter who does the job with excellence. He does a fantastic job building the house or making whatever it is he is making.

I am sure you have shopped for furniture and you have seen furniture that was made out of plywood with a veneer. Maybe it was a table. It worked. It had a drawer. It looked alright. Then someone built a table out of solid cherry wood and had dado corners. The second builder made that table with excellence. That is the idea of this word. That is the idea of excellence. This means the word excellence in verse 3 has the idea that the glory of God is at a maximum. It is the highest degree of excellence. It does not get any better than this.

So Peter is saying, “in your faith supply excellence.” You ask, what does that mean? Here is an example. In the chapter of faith, Hebrews 11:7, we are told,

By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith. Hebrews 11:7 (NASB)

God said, “Noah, it is going to rain. There is going to be a flood that is going to cover the world. I am going to kill everyone except you and whoever is in your boat.” The message is that Noah had never seen rain. He had never seen a full worldwide flood that would kill everything. What did Noah do? Did he say, “I do not believe You. I am not going to build a boat.” That is not what Noah did. What did Noah do? He believed what he did not understand and he built the boat. That, to me, is a tremendous example of faith. He did not understand why he was to do it but he did it.

Or how about Abraham?

By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going. Hebrews 11:8 (NASB)

Abraham believed and did what he was told to do, even though he was not sure what would happen.

Noah and Abraham are tremendous examples of excellence in faith. They believed God, not knowing or understanding how things were going to work out. They could not see the results. It did not make sense to obey the word of God. Sometimes if we are to obey God, all our instincts say that we should not do what we believe God has asked of us. Our friends may tell us not to do it. Perhaps your counselor says you should not be doing that. A newspaper or a book tells us that we should be doing something different. People may tell us the Bible does not really apply today. So we are tempted to do it our way because we think we know the right solution. Now, that is not excellence in faith. But Noah and Abraham are examples of excellent faith. Excellence in faith is to believe God no matter what we think. No matter what my worries are. I am moving out. How do you think Abraham felt when he left Heron and went down to the land of Palestine? He had no idea where God was going to tell him to spend the rest of his life. Most of us would say that was stupid. Why are you doing that? He did not have GPS. He may not have had a map. He did not know where he was going. He just moved out. He trusted God. That is excellence in faith!!

So Peter says, “in your faith have excellence.” That is, absolute, total excellence in your faith.

In Your Moral Excellence, Knowledge

The next quality is knowledge. Peter says, “in your moral excellence, knowledge.” Why do we need knowledge? Romans 10:2 answers the question. It says that we must have knowledge to guide our zeal.

For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge. Romans 10:2 (NASB)

It says they were doing whatever they thought was right, but it was zeal without knowledge. That is, you and I can have faith and do something with excellence or zeal but it may not be according to knowledge. So Peter says, “In your moral excellence, apply knowledge.” The idea is that you have direction in what you are doing. That knowledge and guidance comes from the word of God. We need to know the Word of God in order to have guidance and direction, rather than just following our emotions.

In Your Knowledge, Self-control

Verse 6 says, “in your knowledge, self-control.” For a while I was thinking, “Why does self-control follow knowledge?” The answer is that when we have knowledge, and we strive to obey, we need self-control. We call it obedience.

In my own personal life, I read the Word of God. It tells me to not become angry, but invariably I find that my emotions pull me to commit that sin anyway. James 1:13 is a good example of self-control with regards to knowledge. So you have faith. You have faith with excellence. You have knowledge. It provides guidance. But it is not enough that you have knowledge. You need to also have self-control. James 1:13-15 helps us understand. It says,

Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. James 1:13 (NASB)

Now listen,

But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. James 1:14-15 (NASB)

What happens when we are tempted? Our emotions motivate us to not be obedient. So Peter said, in your knowledge, self-control. You need to exercise self-control in your knowledge of what you are supposed to do.

In Your Self-Control, Perseverance

Then he said, “and in your self-control, perseverance.” This is a very interesting statement because it literally means in the Greek to “remain under.” The idea is that you are being tempted to disobey, so you respond by exercising self-control in order to remain obedient. At some point, if we are struggling with some sin issue, we tend to give in to it. We yield to it. So when he says, “and in your self-control you add perseverance,” the perseverance is the idea that you just continue hanging in there with self-control.

Peter said there must be excellence in our faith. As we exercise faith with knowledge, we must exercise self-control, resist the temptation so that we can be obedient to the Word of God.

In Your Perseverance, Godliness

Then he says, “and in your perseverance, godliness.” We can think of godliness very simply as becoming like God. So our goal is to obey the Word. That requires self-control and perseverance so that we continue becoming more godly, becoming more like God.

In Your Godliness, Brotherly Kindness

Next, we are told and “in your godliness, brotherly kindness.” It flows logically from being godly that we love other people. Brotherly kindness refers to an emotion towards someone. The Greek word is actually philadelphia and it just means brotherly love.

In Your Brotherly Kindness, Love

Then he says, “and in your brotherly kindness, love.” The word for love here is agape. That word refers to love that springs from intelligence and choice. So, the idea is that you are loving somebody emotionally and you love them with intelligence. I have often heard people say, “When God asks us to love with agape love, all that God is asking you to do is to love somebody intellectually.” You do not need to have good feelings about them. All you need to do is just do things for them. But what Peter is saying is that we need to have a fond affection that cares for and about people, loving people with intelligence in the way we treat them.

Summary

Peter has given us seven qualities that are essential for spiritual growth. If you are wondering why they are essential for spiritual growth, verse 8 gives us the answer. Peter says,

For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 1:8 (NASB)

Now this is an important statement because he is saying if these seven qualities are true of you, and these qualities are increasing in our lives, then you are useful and you will be fruitful. Now, do you not want to be useful and fruitful? If so, these qualities need to be true in your life.

There are many Christians who stumble at the starting point. They have faith in Jesus. They believe that Jesus did miracles, and that God created the universe. They believe God can heal. But when times come when they need to exercise faith in God, they start to worry. They start to fear. They become anxious. But these are not acts of faith, because faith trusts no matter what is happening! Faith trusts God. What is missing in their life is excellence in faith, just as exhibited by Abraham and Noah. Noah did not know what was going to happen because he had never experienced it. Abraham had no idea where he was going, but he trusted anyway. So when something challenging comes along, we are to continue in faith, with excellence. If that is true of you, Peter says you will become more useful and fruitful.

You also will need knowledge along the way. You need to have self-control and perseverance too! You must persevere because your goal is to become godly. Then your godliness needs brotherly kindness, and your brotherly kindness must include love, and as these are increasing, you will be useful and fruitful.

The next verse tells us what happens if these are not increasing. He says,

For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins. 2 Peter 1:9 (NASB)

Purification means that you have been forgiven. Purification can also mean you are cleansed. If you are a Christian, and these things are not growing in your life, that means you are near-sighted. You are only looking at things that are near. You do not see the bigger picture.

Conclusion

Verse 10 and verse 11 are the conclusion of this section. He says in verse 10,

Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you . . . 2 Peter 1:10a (NASB)

Now notice the words “calling” and “choosing.” There is a reason why I talked about calling and choosing in the introduction. It is because Peter talks about them here. If you remember in verse 1, he talked about the fact that we are given faith. Now he is talking about the fact that God the Father has called us and has chosen us. Now Peter says that if these seven qualities are increasing in your life, then we are going to be useful and fruitful. Verse 10 says that you are going to be certain, or have confidence, that you are going to heaven. He said, “And therefore brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about [your] calling and choosing.” That is, you are a Christian if these seven qualities are increasing in your life. Not only are we useful and fruitful, but we will have confidence that we really are a Christian. If you know somebody who claims to be a Christian, and these qualities are not increasing in their life, there are reasons to doubt.

The last part of verse 10 says,

. . . for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble. 2 Peter 1:10b (NASB)

You will never stumble if your confidence is in God. You will never stumble by worrying about whether or not you are a Christian. I have found that when people are worried about their salvation, it is because they are struggling with some sin that they committed. Invariably they have committed some sin and they think that because of that sin, they are going to hell.

Verse 11 says,

For in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you. 2 Peter 1:11 (NASB)

Some Bibles actually take the phrase “abundantly supplied to you,” and put it at the beginning. The Greek text actually has it at the beginning. The New American Standard puts it at the end. That could leave the message that if these are increasing, maybe these will be applied to you. But the message of verse 11 is that if these things are increasing, your entrance into the kingdom of heaven is supplied to you abundantly. It is guaranteed. It will be a blessing. This is a fabulous passage of Scripture. We have learned seven important qualities that will be true in your life if you are a Christian.