Do you want to be a useful and fruitful person? Do you want to be an effective and productive person? I love these words – “useful,” “fruitful,” “effective,” and “productive.” Whether you believe in God or not, we all have an innate desire to be such an expedient person. Do you know any normal person who says, “My goal in life is to be useless, ineffective, unfruitful, and unproductive?” I think not. As Christians, this is even more relevant and practical. It’s because we can be expedient for the kingdom of God. The Bible has many things to say about it and shows that God desires us to be such a person.

“And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. And God blessed them; and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’” (Gen.1:27-28)

“But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night. And he will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers.” (Ps.1:2-3)

“I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing.” (Jn.15:5)

“By this is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.” (Jn.15:8)

“As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.” (Col.2:6-7)

So, why, you may ask, do I like these particular four words? Well, it’s because I can’t make up my mind. Let me explain. To me, 2 Peter 1:5-11 gives us insightful instruction on developing ourselves to be expedient for God and His kingdom. Below, I have used both NASB and NIV versions of the passage because I cannot seem to make up my mind as to which words I want to use. I like them all – “useful and “fruitful, or “effective and productive.” Which combination of words do you like?

“Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge; and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness; and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins. Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.” (NASB)

“For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (NIV)

Peter lists eight beneficial qualities for becoming an expedient Christian in these verses. It says that applying or supplying these qualities to our lives will render us neither “useless or ineffective” nor “unfruitful or unproductive.” Although they are stated in a negative way, they convey the same meaning. I have decided to state them positively — “useful and effective” and “fruitful and productive.” Which combination of words do you like? I like them all! So, here is my simple formula for becoming a useful, effective, fruitful, and productive person to God and growing a life of faith pleasing Him. The idea is to start with faith as a foundational element and then add additional ingredients to keep it growing. Let’s look at the keywords in the passage. I have also added Greek words for each of them for better understanding.

• Faith (pistis)
• Moral Excellence (arete)
• Knowledge (gnosis)
• Self-Control (egkrateia)
• Perseverance (hupomone)
• Godliness (eusebeia)
• Brotherly Kindness (philadelphia)
• Love (agape)

The above passage says that when we diligently possess these qualities and increase them, we will not be useless, ineffective, unfruitful, or unproductive in our journey to God’s eternal kingdom. On the other hand, those lacking in them are “blind” or “short-sighted” because they have forgotten about our salvation from sins. God also promises that if we “practice these things,” we will not stumble on earth and will enter heaven abundantly. In other words, these qualities are not abstract elements for theological discussion but things we can practice in life. We must understand their meaning and seek to put action behind them.

Eight Ingredients for Expedient Christian Life

Faith (pistis) – Obviously, faith is the central and foundation part of our Christian life. We are saved through faith, that is, saved from the penalty of sin, the power of sin, and, eventually, the presence of sin. We are given this quality at the very beginning of our Christian journey, and every believer possesses it. This passage assumes that the readers know we are all talking about biblical faith, that is, faith in Jesus Christ and his gospel as promised in the Scriptures. Every religion teaches about faith. Even atheists must have faith to believe their ideas are correct. Christian faith begins with the belief that Jesus is the Son of God, who died for our sins and rose again. We are to start here.

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Heb.11:1)

“And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” (Heb.11:6)

“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast.” (Eph.2:8-9)

“…the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” (1 Pet.1:7)

Moral Excellence (arete) – Supplying moral excellence on top of faith is about adding good works. The word “arete” can also be translated as “goodness, virtue, uprightness, or virtuous act.” Common sense tells us that a person cannot be a good person without acting or behaving well. You cannot automatically become a good person by simply saying you are one. One’s action determines one’s character. Therefore, supplying moral excellence to faith is about adding morally excellent works to our lives. We begin by meditating on the One who possesses it (1 Pet.2:9), considering things that hold such qualities (Phil.4:8), and seeking to act in such a way.

Knowledge (gnosis) – Supplying knowledge to the above qualities is about adding truth and wisdom. The word “gnosis” means “knowing” or “knowledge.” It is common sense that not all knowledge is truthful or wise. We must learn how to sift through data and distinguish between good and bad, right or wrong, upright and evil, things that please God or not. It is about adding truthful and wise knowledge.

Self-Control (egkrateia) – Adding self-control to the above qualities requires self-discipline. It is about mastering self-restraint and self-discipline to direct your mind and body to please God. The word “egkrateia” is a combination of two ideas—“in the sphere of” and “dominion or mastery.” It is about having the discipline to keep oneself in the sphere of certain mastery. It takes self-control to focus your time, money, and energy on valuable things rather than wasting them on non-valuable things.

Perseverance (hupomone) – Adding perseverance is about staying on the course no matter what. The words “hupomone” mean “endurance, steadfastness, patience, long-suffering.” It has an idea of “remaining under” something heavy and burdensome. It’s not easy to carry something heavy on your shoulders and try to walk or run. Having perseverance is about putting God’s teachings on your shoulders and doing your best to stay straight in your walk. In those circumstances, most people would cast off the burden and run around wherever they want. People with character tend to walk with God’s burden on their shoulders, and those with great character do it well.

Godliness (eusebeia) – Adding godliness is about ensuring that the burdens you carry are the right teachings of God. The word “eusebeia” is a combination of two ideas—“good” and “venerate or pay homage,” and naturally expresses itself in reverence for God, that is, what He calls sacred. In general, it implies having reverence, respect, or piety toward God and the things of God. Therefore, adding godliness to your life is about knowing who God is and showing reverence by imitating Him. 1 Peter 1:15 says, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” Jesus also taught, “You are to be perfect, as your Heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt.5:48).

Brotherly Kindness (philadelphia) – Supplying brotherly kindness is about demonstrating God’s love to brothers and sisters in the kingdom and letting it overflow to the world around us. The word “philadelphia” is a combination of two words—“love” and “brothers.” It speaks of loving one another in Christ as God in Christ has shown us. Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Loving one another in God’s way is done sacrificially and unconditionally. Jesus also said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (Jn.13:34-35). Apostle John goes as far as to say that if we cannot love our Christian brothers and sisters in the flesh, we cannot love God, whom we cannot see (1 Jn.4:20).

Love (agape) – Finally, supplying love is about covering all the bases with God’s love. It is about filling the air with the oxygen of love. It is about letting love motivate us in our actions, words, and ministries. The word “agape” is “love” and speaks of the unconditional love of God. It is about loving without any prerequisites. Love in a Christian setting is not some concept or idea. It is very practical. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 is known as the “Love Chapter,” and it defines love with actions. Look at the first two descriptions of it—“Love is patient, love is kind.” It shows movement, whether going forward, backward, inward, upward, or downward. The rest of the passage shows the same thing. Our desire to imitate God’s love must motivates these movements. All the actions described in the Love Chapter reveal the unseen motivating factor—the agape of God.

So, there you have it. God promises that these eight qualities will produce usefulness, effectiveness, fruitfulness, and productivity in your life. If we diligently supply or add these things to our faith, we will be expedient to God and His kingdom and make our entry into heaven a more abundant one. They will keep us from being blind or short-sighted, which amounts to ignorance. Think of your life as a pot you are cooking. In the pot are who you are, where you came from, what you are like, your personality, and your life experiences. Then, to add flavor to your food, you want to add good seasonings. Think of God recommending these qualities as your ingredients for life. Out of the pot will emerge an expedient Christian.