Kostenberger on Progressive Spirituality

From Excellence: The Character of God and the Pursuit of Scholarly Virtue by A. Kostenberger:

Along with this definitive, positional spirituality, the New Testament also enjoins all followers of Christ to pursue progressive spirituality. John, as mentioned, exhorts believers to abide in Christ
(John 15:4-7). Paul commands believers to be filled with the Spirit (Eph. 5:18); to walk, or keep in step with, the Spirit(Gal. 5:16, 25); and not to grieve (Eph. 4:30) or quench the Spirit (1 Thess. 5:19). This implies that it is possible for believers, who are spiritual because they belong to Christ and are indwelt by the Spirit, not to walk in the Spirit and thus to grieve the Spirit and to quench the Spirit's activity in their lives. What can we learn about the pursuit of progressive spirituality from these passages of Scripture?

As mentioned, John equates spiritual growth with obedience to God's command to believe in Jesus and to love others (John 15:10-17; 1 John 3:23-24) and closely connects spiritual growth with the bearing of spiritual fruit (John 15:5), that is, effective participation in Jesus' mission to the world. Spirituality is therefore not an individualistic experience of solitude, defined by the amount of time spent in protracted periods of communion alone with God, but an active obedience to God's commands that practically demonstrates love to others and is integrally involved in Jesus' mission to the world. Christian spirituality, properly understood, is a spirituality of engagement, not withdrawl ... (73).

Biblical spirituality

In his book on the pursuit of scholarly virtue, Excellence Andreas J. Kostenberger defines Biblical spirituality in what I view as a very helpful definition:

"Spirituality involves the presence, activity, and work of the Holy Spirit in a believer's life, beginning at conversion and regeneration, and continuing on throughout the entire process of sanctification." (71)

Kosetnberger goes on to write, "The New Testament connects spirituality closely with active obedience and with an engagement of the world as we embark on our mission for God. Spirituality is rarely, if ever, tied to a withdrawal or seclusion from the world as exemplified by the monastic tradition throughout the centuries." (71)

Pursuit of excellence

How has God's divine power "granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness" (2 Pet. 1:3)? We have been given all things that pertain to life and godliness "through the knowledge of him who called us to [or by] his own glory and excellence,: that is, God in and through Jesus Christ (2 Pet. 1:3; cf. 1:2). Let that sink in for a moment. It is not by reading self-help books, or by meditating on quotes by famous people-whether Confucius, or Buddha, or Mahatma Gandhi-that we are equipped for achieving excellence. God has supplied us with all that we need to attain excellence through our knowledge of God in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is God in Jesus Christ who called us by (or to) his own glory and excellence. Thus, not only is God characterized by excellence, but so is Jesus Christ. Our pursuit of excellence must, therefore, not only be theologically oriented and fueled by some vague belief in God; it must be christological in nature, that is, grounded in Christian discipleship, in active, committed followership of the Lord Jesus Christ in every aspect of our lives in this world.

(Köstenberger, Andreas J. Excellence: The Character of God and the Pursuit of Scholarly Virtue. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2011. Print. 51)

Excellence and the pursuit of virtue

Andreas J. Kostenberger on excellence through the pursuit of virtue:

(1) Who are we? We are a people of faith who have been given all that we need for living a godly life and have been called to (or by) God's own glory and excellence. In this way, we participate in what God is doing in the world (2 Peter 1:1-4). (2) What ought we to become? The persons we ought to become stand in direct continuity with who we already are . . . The goal is progressive transformation into Christlikeness. (3) How do we get there? We achieve God's purpose for our lives by making every effort to add to our faith the virtues that will make us more and more completely the people God has called us to be. (Köstenberger, Andreas J. Excellence: The Character of God and the Pursuit of Scholarly Virtue. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2011. Print. 47)