Sabbath: “Please, Show Me Your Glory”
Daily Lesson for Sabbath 13th of September 2025
Image © Pacific Press
Read for This Week’s Study: Exodus 33:7-23; Exodus 34:1-35; Deuteronomy 18:15,18; John 17:3; Romans 2:4; John 3:16; 2 Corinthians 3:18.
Memory Text:
“And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, ‘The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation’ ” (Exodus 34:6-7, NKJV).
We all need to grow in our walk with God. Without growth, we are dead. The apostle Peter declares: “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen” (2 Peter 3:18, NIV). We need to be willing to grow. We are daily in God’s university, where there is no graduation but a constant learning process. In each stage of growth, you can be perfect if you allow God to mold you into the person that He calls you, in Christ, to be.
Think of a school. If first-graders learn how to read and count to 100, they receive a passing grade because their knowledge is perfect at that stage and scale of growth. However, if this same level of knowledge, and no more, was detected in a high schooler, it would indicate a colossal failure in his or her education. It is similar with our growth in the grace and knowledge of God. In each stage of our development, we can be as perfect in our sphere as Christ was in His.
This week we study how Moses, through knowing and following God’s instructions, was growing in his walk with the Lord.
*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, September 20.
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I am not a big fan of air travel. It is utilitarian. You get stuffed into an aluminium tube with barely enough space to breath, you get food that is barely palatable, If you talk, everyone glares at you. I thought that sitting near a window would be great, but planes fly so high that it is like you are in a sphere of sky. I like to travel in our little motorhome. If you see something interesting, you stop to look at it. If you feel hungry you stop and cook up a meal of your favourite food. If you feel sleepy, you lie down on the bed, If you need a shower, you have one. It is really fun to travel and you don’t feel the pressure of being on time to make connections.
And that is what is so good about the Christian journey. It’s not about the destination. It about the journey. And if you think that heaven is a destination, you have missed the point. It is just the beginning of a new journey. Christianity is not about reaching a goal, it’s all about living in partnership with God now. That is how others will see His Glory.
Jesus said:
In essence, what is spiritual growth? What does the Bible say about spiritual growth? What will happen if believers fail to grow spiritually? How does spiritual growth come about?
As believers, we are greatly encouraged to grow spiritually. Spiritual growth is the process of becoming more and more like Jesus Christ in character and in faith through the power of the Holy Spirit. It is far more than acquiring increased knowledge about Him. It is increasing in the attributes of Jesus Christ: love, kindness, compassion, mercy, humility, obedience, and faith. This is the progressive transformation in the likeness of Jesus Christ through the indwelling of the Third Person of the Godhead. God has purposed for believers to grow spiritually.
“For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son.” (Romans 8:29)
This spiritual growth will culminate in our salvation. “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation.” (1 Peter 2:2). Our Father in heaven desires that we may grow spiritually. “This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” (John 15:8). Through communing daily with our Father in heaven through prayer, reading His Word, obedience, and fellowship.
“Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth” - Ephesians 4:14, NLT
I agree that spiritual growth means becoming more like Jesus, but I'm not sure that spiritual growth will "culminate in our salvation." That makes it sound as though our salvation is dependent on our sanctification.
Rather, I believe that our salvation is dependent on Christ's death for us and our acceptance of His Gift of righteousness received by the new birth which also means a new heart. Spiritual growth continues after we accept that salvation. We are saved every step of the way by our acceptance of His Gift - not just at the "culmination" of our spiritual growth.
For that matter, I believe that becoming more like Jesus will continue throughout eternity.
The thief on the cross was saved before he could do much spiritual growing. The same is true for many others. I think the parable of the the master who hired people from the market place is relevant here. Everyone got the same wages.
You quote a translation of 1 Peter 2:2 which reads, “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation.”
I think that's a good translation. Note that it says "by it you may grow up in your salvation."
It doesn't say that "You will grow up so you will eventually be saved." The text implies that believers are already in a saving relationship and are growing in it.