“Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord. According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” – 2 Pet. 1:2-4 (KJV).

Another widespread misconception about Jesus and the life found in Christ is the belief that this life is received gradually, or that believers step into His fullness little by little. This misunderstanding often breeds unnecessary frustration and confusion about one’s spiritual state—where one is, versus where one thinks one ought to be in their walk with God. Contrary to this notion, Scripture teaches that we receive the fullness of Christ instantaneously at salvation. “For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him” (Colossians 2:9–10). This means that since all the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Christ, and Christ dwells in us, that same fullness now resides within us.

Ephesians 3:16–19 sheds further light on this truth, declaring that Christ dwells in our hearts through faith so that we may be “filled with all the fullness of God.” While spiritual growth unfolds progressively, the life imparted at salvation is immediate: full, complete, and perfected. John affirms this foundational reality in the opening of his Gospel: “From His fullness we have all received, grace upon grace” (John 1:16). I believe this statement is deliberate and precise—grace flows from fullness; fullness is not the result of accumulated grace.

Having received the life of Christ in its fullness, believers now bear the responsibility of growing in the knowledge of God. Within the same passage of Ephesians 3, Paul emphasises this growth, urging believers to be rooted and grounded in love so they may comprehend the breadth, length, depth, and height of Christ’s love and come to know Him more. Remove the knowledge of God from the Christian faith, and it is reduced to mere religion. Our advantage lies in the accurate knowledge of His Word, His kingdom, and His mysteries.

This was central to Jesus’ earthly ministry. Scripture records that “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil” (Acts 10:38). A parallel account in Matthew 9:35 reveals that Jesus went through cities and villages teaching, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing. While His miracles were abundant, His greatest good was His words and teachings. And He continues this ministry today through the Holy Spirit, for Jesus promised, “The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost… shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance” (John 14:26).

By implication, what we require in the face of life’s increasingly difficult challenges is not more of God or more of His Spirit; we already house Him in His fullness, but a deeper and more accurate knowledge of Him. We bear the responsibility to study and grow in understanding, as Scripture exhorts us to “study to show yourself approved unto God” (2 Timothy 2:15), thereby increasing in grace. For the redeemed, grace is never absent nor insufficient— “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). However, knowledge can be lacking or even absent. Indeed, every temptation comes to test our knowledge of God and the knowledge of who He says we are in Christ. Our victory, therefore, is established by growing and walking in the knowledge of the fullness of Christ already at work within us.

Continued…