Over the course of recent “Follow Me” columns, we have taken quite a journey through Scripture in coming to see what Christ meant when promising, “I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you” (John 14:18).

Through our journey together we have come to understand that the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38) isn’t merely a spiritual power tool, but is the very distilled nature of who and what God the Father and Jesus Christ are (Romans 8:9-11). God gives this Spirit “to those who obey Him” (Acts 5:32)—those who surrender their lives in obedience to Him.

It’s this divine essence that our Heavenly Father desires to impart that allows Paul to declare, “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16). God desires to take up residence inside us!

And what is the purpose of God giving His Spirit to us? Paul explains in Romans 8: “Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Sprit. So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.

“For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God. But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you . . . (Romans 8:5-9, New Living Translation 2013).

With all that said, the simple question is: So where do we go from here? In the previous column I left you with a thought: If Christ dwells in us and we are offered salvation by God’s grace and not by human merit (Ephesians 2:8), what’s left for us to accomplish?

Living God’s way as His priesthood

Do we just stand still and bathe in the light of God’s grace? No! William Barclay, in his commentary on 2 Peter, offers this insight: “The truth is that, as Christians see it, happiness depends both on God’s gift and on our effort. We do not earn salvation, but at the same time we have to bend every energy towards the Christian objective . . . Faith does not exempt us from works; the generosity of God does not absolve us from effort” (The New Daily Study Bible: The Letters of James and Peter, 2003, p. 346).

That is, faith (in God’s sustaining grace) without works (obedience and total surrender to God as our grateful response) is dead (James 2:17-18)!

Christ’s call of “Follow Me” is multidimensional. It’s not merely to be a disciple (student and follower) learning a way of life, but is additionally to be the fleshly temple of God on two feet on the move toward the Kingdom of God. We are also called to be “a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you might proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9).

Revelation 5:10 takes this one step further to outline God’s intent for Christ’s followers to become “kings and priests” under His future worldwide rule. The biblical reality is that we are now in training to become a realm of holy priests under the tutelage of the great heavenly High Priest, Jesus Christ (Hebrews 3:1). What do priests do? They teach and guide worship, they proclaim praises and act as intermediaries, including through offering sacrifices.

The daily call to be a living sacrifice

Perhaps there’s no more complete means of worshipping and praising God for granting us His Spirit of the divine nature than sacrificing ourselves on a daily basis.

Paul speaks to this in Romans 12:1: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (emphasis added throughout).

Our human response to God’s spiritual grace is to offer up ourselves to Him and to others on a daily basis. It’s an incredible thing to die for God in martyrdom, but in one sense it’s equally challenging to live for Him and live like Jesus Christ on a daily basis by having our minds and thinking transformed by “walk[ing] just as He walked (1 John 2:6) and by “dying daily” (1 Corinthians 15:31)—deed by deed, need by need, person by person.

How do we actively surrender every element of our human territory into holy and acceptable alignment to the righteousness imparted to us through His divine nature? Be advised: It’s not an event but a lifelong process. And remember, Jesus promised, “I will come to you.” We are not alone!

After the incredible pronouncement about being partakers of the divine nature in 2 Peter 1:4, Peter offers systematic qualities to guide us in the Spirit-led sacrificial life, wherein God rules the throne of our heart. The apostle presents our part in drawing on the righteousness of God to ultimately occupy every vestige of our life.

Diligence with zeal

He begins in verse 2 Peter 1:5 by exhorting us first to be “giving all diligence” in response to our Heavenly Father’s calling and gift of His Spirit. The original Greek word denotes a sense of zeal towards the mission granted. Dedication in such a manner requires focus and, yes, self-sacrifice.

It’s been said that many people aim at absolutely nothing all their lives and hit it every time. Remember Barclay’s comment that “we have to bend every energy towards the Christian objective”? While salvation is God’s gift, He wants to see our responsive desire to grab hold of it. And the opportunity for that will come minute by minute and person by person when we least expect it—but we need to be prepared.

I’m reminded of the words of pianist and composer Jan Paderewski when asked by a fellow pianist if he could be ready to play a recital on short notice. The famous musician responded: “I am always ready. I have practiced eight hours daily for forty years.” The other pianist remarked, “I wish I had been born with your determination.” Paderewski then replied: “We are all born with it. I just used mine.”

Let’s remember that those of us who’ve been spiritually converted have all been “blessed . . . with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3). The same determined Spirit of Christ that said, “Not My will, but Yours, be done” (Luke 22:42) resides in each of us to be drawn on!

But we have to draw on it! Being a Christian takes diligence that comes through a zeal that consumes us as it did Jesus (John 2:17) and continual practice. It takes total commitment to learning and living His Holy Word. Life will have its twists and turns and continuous interruptions. Be zealous and diligent as you allow God’s Spirit to occupy every facet of your life by putting first things first—praising God not merely by what you say, but by what you do.

Faith and virtue—and laying down our life

Continuing in 2 Peter 1:5, the apostle next tells us to build on diligence with faith. Faith is more than believing in what you hold in your hand. As Hebrews 11:1 expresses, “Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see” (NLT 2013).

Simply put, when faith goes to market, it takes a basket. The Christian faith is not institutionalized, but is personalized and echoed in the words of Paul in 2 Timothy 1:12: “For I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that day.”

Such faith reminds us and at times restores us on the journey, refreshing us about a promise, “I will come to you,” and—better still—“I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5).

Returning to 2 Peter 1:5, Peter next spotlights virtue as a reasoned response to the goodness of God that has been granted to us. The root Greek word, arete, denotes an intrinsic moral excellence visible to others. A picture is worth a thousand words. Is it any wonder that Christ says that we are to be a light to a darkened society and not remain hidden under a basket? (See Matthew 5:14-16.)

Of course this is not about promoting ourselves but humbling ourselves in self sacrifice—allowing Jesus Christ as the light of the world (John 8:12) to shine through us to others. This takes faith, courage and, yes, practice—not in the soft spots of life, but in moments in which our knees may be shaking yet our hearts remain firm beyond the moment.

Sacrifice does not come cheaply. It will cost us something—ourselves. Jesus Christ of course gave all. When people look at us, do they witness the bright light of Christ—seeing us emulating the sacrificial life of our Master? Or do they merely see the flickering flame of momentary devotion?

The Spirit-led sacrificial life isn’t perfected in a day or hour. It’s not an event frozen in time, but is a progressive adventure encompassing the remainder of our allotted days. It can’t be squeezed into a moment, and neither can the qualities it requires be squeezed into one column.

So let’s keep walking together towards the next column and beyond as we continue to explore the qualities of the Spirit-led sacrificial life, exemplifying our desire to remain on the path set before us as we respond to the call of “Follow Me."