5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge.
The apostle Peter had just mentioned in the previous verse that God has granted to believers exceeding great and precious promises, that they may escape the corruption that is in the world through lust. In fact, through God’s promises given to the believers, they are empowered to attain many more spiritual advantages than being delivered from the lustful snares of this corrupt world. All the potential for greater spiritual attainments and excellence is provided for every Christian in God’s exceeding great and precious promises. The supply is abundant, but it needs to be appropriated by believers.
So, Peter exhorts us to show greater enthusiasm by “giving all diligence” in our spiritual pursuits. The apostle calls us to greater earnestness and activity. The responsibility of believers to pursue spiritual excellence is stressed in those words. Being thankful for His great promises is not enough. Spiritual heights and glories in a Christian life are to be pursued with utmost labour. Idleness, negligence, disengagement and suchlike are not for those who appreciate God’s great promises.
We ought to show diligence, first of all, in getting our own individual lives aligned with spiritual realities. Before we can make any real impact in others’ lives for God’s glory, we must make progress in our own personal lives. We need to pay attention and make every effort by trusting in His gracious promises to cultivate all the wonderful spiritual qualities and abilities that the Lord expects of us. In order to do that, we must trust in God’s gracious provisions that He has promised. We must not give in to lethargy, discouragement, disappointments or frustrations. Trusting in God’s wonderful promises, we must thrust forward to make spiritual progress in our own lives. Others may discourage us, circumstances may attempt to deter us, but we must give all diligence to progress in our quest for spiritual excellence. This is why God has graciously given us His “exceeding great and precious promises”.
Now, our faith in God’s promises must lead us to virtue. The word “virtue” refers to spiritual and moral excellence that would bring praise to our God. The more we strive to glorify God, the more we need to know His will to perform it. So, let us strive by faith unto virtue and knowledge.