Peter says God's divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through knowledge of him. Then he lists the progress: faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, love. It's a ladder where each rung builds on the previous one.
But there's something odd about it. Most lists in Scripture go backwards from love. Peter goes toward love. And he calls these things 'qualities.' Not achievements. Qualities that characterize a person who's escaping corruption and becoming like Christ.
He also says if you lack these things, you're blind and shortsighted, forgetting that you've been cleansed from your past sins. The person who's not growing isn't standing still. They're forgetting. They're losing perspective on what Christ did. The growth isn't legalistic self-improvement. It's remembrance and response.
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