Strength 7 – Add to your Brotherly Kindness Charity (7 Divine Strenghts That Makes Us)

II Peter 1v7b “, and to brotherly kindness charity” Charity/Love: - Benevolent goodwill toward or love of humanity - Generosity and helpfulness especially toward the needy or suffering; - The willingness to judge people in a tolerant or favourable way. When used as an informal term of address (Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary) - Unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another: as (1): the fatherly concern of God for humankind (2): brotherly concern for others. The number seven is known as God’s perfect number, or the number of completeness, of cause in the God sense. I will talk about the number seven in the final chapter. In the final character-build the apostle Peter says add to your brotherly kindness charity/love, and straight away my mind was drawn to 1Corinthians 13, known as the Love chapter. In this chapter Paul gave the most informative insight and practice of charity in the entire Bible. But what made me more curios or inquisitive was the fact that he starts the chapter with a conjunction. This is of cause according to the King James Version. – “Though I speak with tongues of men and of angels…” Now a conjunction is defined as the joining together or combining of two or more things, in this instance the joining of two chapters, which of cause is the previous chapter. Now the last verse of the previous chapter gave made me more inquisitive. 1Corinthians 12v31 “But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way” In this chapter (chapter 12) he speaks about gifts, callings, the administrations of gifts and callings. He also speaks about the order of operations, the profitability of gifts, the unity of the body of Christ and the entire governance of the work of God and the work of the Spirit in all these. After he gave a full outline of the operations of gifts, callings and the administrations thereof, he also encourages to desire or to go for the best. But then he says go for it and yet I will show you a more excellent way! It just so happens that what he (Paul) is saying is what the apostle Peter talks about, which is about what we have learned in the “7 Divine Strengths That Makes Us”. So the adverb “though” can also be defined as “in spite of the fact that”, that what? That I might have faith as a base in my life and have added to my faith virtue, and knowledge to virtue, and temperance to knowledge and patience to temperance, and godliness to patience and brotherly kindness to godliness, and now I am a superb man? Hold it, not so fast. You are incomplete. That is pre-maturity. In most cases a child that is born premature functions at a much slower pace then a child that has been born maturely – a full nine months development. So is it with the development of the divine nature. You must have a full development to be mature in your complete spirit nature. The divine nature of a human being is the true self of a person. The outer appearance of a person is not the true self. I will discuss this in depth in our final chapter. Lets take a closer look at 1 Corinthians 13 and see how Paul deals with the 7 Divine Strengths and makes Charity/Love the seventh strength the most important and vital characteristic of them all. All though the Apostle Paul doesn’t speak about it in the same sequence that Peter deals with it and even as we have laid it out, however he does deal with each of the 7 strengths. In 1Corinthians 13v2, he speaks about faith as the base, knowledge as the trait and the results that the Strengths produce. In my interpretation of this verse what Paul says is, “in spite of the fact that I have the gift to make predictions and forecasts (prophecy) because I understand mysteries and have all information (knowledge) and have such faith to move mountains, (or to make huge acquisitions in life) and I don’t have charity/love – I am nothing.” 1) In the 3rd verse he speaks about how unprofitable brotherly kindness and virtue can be when one lacks charity. Verse 3 “in spite of the fact that I donate all my possessions to feed the poor, and give/present my body as a living sacrifice to be burned, and I lack charity I would have gained nothing.” In the fourth verse he speaks about patience, godliness and virtue. “Charity suffered long (patience), and is kind (godliness); envied not; charity vaunted (boasted) (the opposite of virtue) itself, is not puffed up,” 2) In 5th Verse he talks about godliness, brotherly kindness and temperance-self-control. “Doth not behave itself unseemly (improper, rude- the opposite of godliness), seeketh not her own (selfishness – the opposite of brotherly kindness), is not easily provoked (annoyed- the opposite of self control).” 3) In the 7th verse he talks about patience. “Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.” Now 4) in verse 8th of this chapter he brings out two very important facts to our attention as he shows us a) that it is not the gifts, callings and the administration of the gifts that makes us. b) He talks about the failure, the ceasing and the vanishing (declining, diminishing, weakening, disappearing) of these. Now not everyone of our reader base believes in the speaking of tongues or prophecy. And the reason for the non-believe is mostly be because of this verse. Let us look at it. 1Corinthians 13v8 [KJV] “Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; and whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away”. First of all it is important that we understand the context of this chapter. Having the understanding of the context of this chapter will proof that he does not speak of the total extinction of these gifts and administrations, but rather because of the weakness, lack and inappropriate development and use of the “7 Divine Strengths That Makes Us” will these gifts and administrations fail, cease and vanish within your life. As I said earlier it is not the gifts, callings and the practices of the gifts that makes us, but it is the presence of “7 Divine Strengths” in our lives that makes the gifts and practices of the gifts and callings effective in our life and those around us. So if you are gifted and practice any of the gifts or callings that Paul speaks about in 1 Corinthians 12 and you lack Charity/Love, which is proven to be the prime characteristic of the “7 Divine Strengths” he says you are nothing and it will profit you nothing (Verses 2&3). So when you lack charity or love your forecasts, predictions (prophecy) will fail (unsuccessful), tongues (dialect that you have with the Spirit) will cease and knowledge (information, facts. truths, principles, clear awareness) will vanish away. And sometimes we wonder if God has forsaken us because we are no longer so prosperous, and full of fire! What can I say? After you have done all, add Charity. It gives your faith Virtue (good value), and makes your virtue more (experienced, truthful, and principled) Knowledge. It will help you with your knowledge to practice Self-control/Temperance in the face of temptation, so that with your self-control you will know how to have Patience (the ability to endure waiting without becoming annoyed). And in that moment while you persevere calmly in your difficulty (patience), you will stay devoted and righteous with God (Godliness) as you practice or show Brotherly Kindness (sympathy and compassion). “When these things are in you they make you.” – II Peter 1v8. This is the Perfect Man. This is the man that was made in the Image and Likeness of God. It was not only in the physical, but it was also in character and personality. When Adam fell these 7 Divine Strengths was equally effected in the life and character of mankind. Jesus Christ - The Word was made Flesh and took on him the form of our sinful flesh so that He might destroy the works of the devil that has destroyed our character of Divine nature, so that we might be Born Again - through Jesus Christ - Romans 6v3-4; The Newness of Life. The Newness of Life in Christ is characterized by these 7 Divine Strenghts. Study them! Pursue Them, Live Them.

Strength 6 – Brotherly Kindness (7 Divine Strengths That Makes Us)

II Peter 1v7 “And to godliness brotherly kindness” Brotherly Kindness: - The practice of being or the capability to be sympathetic and mpassionate as to a brother. - An act that shows consideration and caring to a brother - Sympathy, helpfulness, humanity. As we have discovered that godliness is a nature or character that portrays holiness, righteousness, or godlikeness. This character if not well practiced through the Spirit of God can be counterfeited. When it is counterfeited it produces traces of snobbishness, self-righteousness, and superiority complexity. It is a character that can be manipulated by one self by being bias toward others and even their opinions. It is also a trait that one can use for selfish advancement. The Spirit of God cannot justify (approve or warrant) godliness of such nature because it has no elements of being sympathetic, caring, helpful etc. Since that godliness can be misused, manipulated or twisted in its use, it needs a base formula. For the lack of a better word, it needs a character stabilizer so that it might be approved or justified by the Spirit of God. The only characteristic trait that can counteract biasness, self-righteousness, superiority complexities, is a character that is sympathetic, caring and compassionate, and this is summed up in one word – brotherly kindness. In other words godliness must have the basis of brotherly kindness to complete its true functionality and receive justification from the Spirit of God. It calls that you add brotherly kindness to godliness. The character of brotherly kindness played a significant and most important role in the salvation of mankind. To strengthen the above statement let us look at some facts within the character of Jesus Christ in his human nature. As we look again at 1Timothy 3v16[KJV] “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh,” In Hebrews 2v11b[KJV] “…for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren” Then again in the same chapter of Hebrews 2 verse 17 it says “Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God,” Now the word that also caught my attention in the scripture is the word behoved. This word is also behoove, and it means: to be right and proper or appropriate for somebody. Now for Jesus to have forgiven and to forgive every sin even before people are born, the demand for his godliness and the pressure that was laid upon Him to take such a overwhelming decision, required that he should not be ashamed to be called the brother of a thieve, a murderer, a prostitute, a liar, a backsliding brother or sister, whatever condition any persons life might be in. Even whatever nationality he/she is, His high esteemed godliness required from him that he be unashamed, be sympathetic, caring, and compassionate to SAVE shamed stricken, mankind from the gutter most sludge, trodden and condemned, and bring us to the uttermost precinct of his grandeur and glory. That characteristic is called BROTHERLY KINDNESS my friend. Unbiased, if you are a holy roller. The standard of love that he did set for himself for the salvation of us all, coupled with brotherly kindness behoved him – (made him the right and appropriate) perfect deliverer. My interpretation of this verse would be like this, “In the total sum and purpose of his coming into this world to save us from sin and death, He found it right and proper or appropriate to be made like unto us (his brethren), so that he might show forth kindness (mercy) and truthfulness (faithfulness) as without any biasness to be the ultimate sacrifice and the high priest according to the sacrificial requirements set by God”. What about us? Have we become to holy and righteous to be called the brother or sister, cousin of someone that is laying on a dying bed strapped with a killer virus? Do we just turn our heads on a young girl or women that sells her body because she wants to make an ends meet. Have you become so obsessed with your achievements and non-desecrated self that you have forgotten that you yourself once in your life also never had, never knew, and never did a righteous work? Do the poor look like scum and the waste of gracious life in your eyes? Have we become to meticulous with our self prescribed righteous ways, that we’ll be ashamed should society know that we have family members, friends or loved ones that are found in these circumstances. I am not saying that we should let down our guard of honour and embrace these circumstances, what I want to say is that we should hate the circumstance so much that we will show love with brotherly kindness to the victims of these circumstances. Add to your godliness brotherly kindness, but also brotherly kindness can be practiced with partiality or seasonally (just for awhile) and only served to a particular group. So even still brotherly kindness needs a support structure and there can only be one, CHARITY or LOVE. Add to your brotherly kindness love It is impossible for brotherly kindness to function withouth charity.

Strength 5 – Add to your Patience Godliness (7 Divine Strengths That Makes Us)

II Peter 1v6c “…and to patience godliness” Godliness: - having Godlike qualities, - Devoted to or worshiping God, - Having a sense of God - Holiness, righteousness, devoutness, The only way to have a sustainable balance of patience is to have a strong support structure that works beyond human endeavour. The next level that is stronger then natural or human endeavours is the Spirit realm from God. Not forgetting that there is also an evil spiritual realm. The sole purpose of the evil realm is to destroy good nature (divine nature). Galatians 5v17 [KJV] speaks on one of our main weaknesses that cause us not to sustain a strong balance or composure of patience. “For the flesh (natural) lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would,” This also proves that the only way to sustain a good composure of patience is to submit to the Spirit and to add godliness to patience. In other words you will need godlike patience. Godlike patience was manifested through Christ. In 1Timothy 3v16 we read “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit,” In other words the secrecy (mystery) of godliness/godlikeness was proven (manifested) in the flesh (human nature) through Jesus Christ and justified (warranted or qualified) in the Spirit. What we also see within this portion of the verse is that the Spirit must approve or justify your godliness/godlike, so that your godliness is not self-righteous and weak. God himself took on the form of sinful flesh as Jesus Christ – Heb. 2v14&16, II Cor.5v19 to demonstrate for us the possibility. Hebrews 2v10-14. Verse 10 “For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory,” – Now who has brought all things into the existence? Genesis 1v1 “In the beginning GOD created…” Heb. 2v11a “For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all one:” which is a fulfilment from what God has spoken in Ezekiel 38v23 “Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the LORD” Please note that the subject of God in Christ is an entire subject on its own. When Jesus Christ died, He died to lay of the weakness of the flesh. When we physically die, we die because of the weakness of the flesh. Jesus was a healthy 33-year-old young dynamic Man when he died. When He died, He died unto sin – Romans 6v10 “For in that he died, he died unto sin…” When we die, we die because of sin. Romans 5v12 “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:” The sole purpose of God in Christ was to bring us unto a newness of life through salvation. Romans 6v4 “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” Godliness or godlike nature was demonstrated as God became like man so that man becomes like God, hence we have the nature of godly-ness or god-like-ness. Doesn’t the following statement sound familiar – “He/she’s trying my patience”, or “I’m getting tired of this now” “My patients is up” The fact is we can loose our patience, no doubt. But we don’t have to. Add Godliness to Patience and you will be an overcomer. Romans 15v5 “Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus:” Just be patient. God was and still is patient with many of us. You know what, as strange is at might be, godliness cannot be effective without Brotherly Kindness. You got to add Brotherly Kindness to Godliness.

Strength 4: Add to your Temperance, Patience. (7 Divine Strengths That Makes Us)

II Peter 1v6b – “…and to temperance patience,” PATIENCE: The ability to endure waiting without becoming annoyed or upset. - It is to persevere calmly when faced with difficulties. - Endurance, staying power (resistance), determination. If you have the ability to endure waiting without becoming annoyed or upset, then you are a person of patience. And if you can control your self while waiting without getting upset or annoyed then you have added patience to temperance self-co

ontrol. That is what the Bible is driving home in this passage. It is sometimes very difficult to exercise this duo. The only time when this nature is difficult to exercise is when you lack one or the other or even both. Faith without works is dead. Temperance without Patience is dead. In reality, truth and fact, normal reproduction can only take place between male & female. A true peaceful character can only be developed when temperance and patience meet. In the night of Jesus’ betrayal He had to control himself (self-control) by crying out “not my will” and then He endured waiting without becoming upset – patience, just so that you and I might receive the promise of eternal life. This quality of character made him earn the title, The Prince of Peace, which is greater then the Noble Peace Price. Hebrews 10v36 “For ye have need of patience, that, after he have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.” Do you know that what Job went through was the will of God, and not because of sin or as other would say, it was bad luck. Job knew what was happening that’s why he stayed intact. In James chapter 1v3-4 the apostle says be assured of this, that when the composure of your faith is under strain it will work or install patience in you, but for a great outcome, patience must have a full and complete installation so that you may be perfect (ideal, wonderful, flawless, just right) wanting nothing. You can read the original scripture yourself. Remember this that a delay is not a denial; you have to endure or proof staying power (show resistance) within the process. How many times have we heard or made ourselves this statement – “please be patient with me, God is not through with me yet”. Come on, Jesus paid the price already. He said it is finish! He destroyed every weak element in the flesh the day he died on the cross – Read Romans 6v4-6. That’s a lame excuse. You need to learn to implement and enforce temperance and patience in your life. Also read Romans 8v6-10. Let us not forget the reason while I bring these lessons to you is so that you can learn to develop your true self, which are the original characteristics that God has intended for us to have. If we read in II Peter 1v4 it says, “…that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature,” That is the newness of life that Christ brought. That is the Life that you live in Jesus, in this world, so that God might be glorified through you. Now the only way that this characteristic can be prominent in your daily living is when you add it to godliness. You can give a turtle Prozac and steroids it will still move as slow as it naturally does. The nature has to be change. What I’ am saying is that in order to have patience in full swing you must add Godliness to Patience. It works like a charm.

Strength # 3 – Temperance – Self Control. (7 Divine Strengths That Makes Us)

II Peter 1v6a “And to your knowledge temperance…” This is an amazing thing, to add temperance to your knowledge. Temperance means: self-restraint / self control in the face of temptation or desire. If there is one man that I can attribute that possessed the “7 Divine Strengths That Makes us” to, then it is Job. Yes, Job. When trauma took its full course in Mrs Job’s life and devastation stood with its chest out before this wonderful family, she said, “…dost thou still retain thine integrity? Curse God, and die.” Job2v9. She mentions a truthful characteristic of her husband, - integrity. That means he was a man of Virtue (good and righteous moral, truth and principle) and that he was a man that possessed Knowledge of God and His ways, he also understood the functions (clear awareness) of daily living. Take time to read the book of Job, it is after all the oldest script in the Bible. He also possessed the qualities of comprehension, skill and experience. She sums this up in one word, - Integrity. So back to our incident, Job took control of himself that moment. He held his composure. He would not let anything or anybody hinder or divert his focus of the gift of life that lies ahead. Temperance shows up in Job’s defence. If there is one personality trait that God has placed in all of us, then it is Temperance – (self control, self restraint), it is just that sometimes we don’t know when and how to use it. Others, things, matters, take the position of self, and we are under control instead of we our self’s taking control. If Job would have allowed anybody or anything to take control of that moment in his life, he would have lost his life and he would have brought a curse upon himself. Oh! How many of us walk around with a volume of bitterness regret and a curse, because we didn’t take control of “that” moment in our life. You can be how righteous and good, you might know and be able to interpret things better then others, but if you cannot control yourself then you are like a sounding brass and a waterless cloud. Flee from someone that says; “you haven’t seen the other side of me yet!” That means that person is not true to him/her-self. Within that statement it would mean that that person succumb to another force to take control. Within Adam and Eve’s life we see that God took them away from where they were created (the dust), and placed them into a place, which was the Garden of Eden, from whence they could rule and dominate. You can only practice full self-control when God is in control of your-self. So when they where put out of the Garden they were open to any control. When low self-esteem and ignorance took control of Cain’s life, murder and envy sprang up and took control of him and he killed his own brother. In Genesis 4v6 God saw this control on Cain’s face, and in verses 7 God warns him of the control of sin. In the same chapter in verse 16 it says, Cain left the presence of God. Sin controlled him. He couldn’t control himself. Time will fail me If I should tell you about Peter when he drew his sword the night when Christ was betrayed. What about Judas that sold his own Master for thirty pieces of silver. They all lacked self-control at “that” moment. The list goes on. My dear friend you don’t want to be the villain to others and to yourself we all want to be the hero. Do the wise thing add Temperance, Self-Control to your Knowledge. And when you have done that, add to your temperance, Patience.

Strength # 2 - Knowledge (7 Divine Strengths That Makes US)

II Peter 2v5 “…add to your faith virtue; and to your virtue knowledge” With our brief explanation on virtue added to our faith we have learned that in order to obtain our need, (which I prefer to call a gift instead) weak faith will produce weak results, but faith with good and righteous moral, truth and principle will glorify God and we will have a perfect need or gift supplied. Now the next step once you have added to your faith virtue is to add to your Virtue Knowledge. Step 2 is KNOWLEDGE So having virtue is not good enough we also need knowledge. What does the apostle Peter mean with knowledge? – Knowledge in the (Merriam Webster Collegiate Dictionary) defines it as; a) information, truths, principle b) clear awareness or explicit information or fact c) comprehension, skill, experience. So that means you must have information about what you want to be or need. In other words God will not give you the management promotion if you will not have information or skill, or principle, or clear awareness of what is going on. He has to protect His interest and His Name. His Name is above every other name. Let me make an example. The centurion in Matt. 8v9 shared with Jesus his knowledge concerning the power of spoken word, and this my friend, I call information or knowledge. This man knew what he wanted and he knew that it had to work. In other words he said, “It works for me every time”. That is experience. Now the Bible also teaches us, we ask and receive not because we ask amiss. Now why amiss or incorrectly, inappropriately, that’s because our requests lacks information. As a father, when my children ask me for money or things without reason, I always ask them –“what for?” So is it with our heavenly Father. The lady whose daughter was possessed said to Jesus “truth Lord, but the dogs eat of the crumbs that fall from their masters tables” – information. So what ever your need is get information about it. You might pray for someone who is sick and rebuke the devil because you might think that that person is possessed, but it could just be a side effect. Sometimes certain sicknesses have side effects. The side effects could even be the medication that the sick might be taking. God spoke through Hosea and said, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…” In a simpler interpretation it might sound like this, “My people are ruin, put out of existence, because of poor or no information”. Now for a clearer understanding, let us look at the Israel’s pursue to possess the Promised Land. Moses through God asked Joshua and Caleb to spy the land first. They first had to get information / knowledge about the land that they will possess. David asked, “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine?” – I Samuel 17v26 He needed information. But he also had experience and skill in destroying something greater then him. He said, “I killed a bear and a lion” – I Samuel 17v34. So we saw his victory. Need I to say more? Great reward comes with great responsibility. Great power comes with great responsibility and if you lack knowledge you will perish. Virtuous faith with acquired knowledge will produce a strong testimony. “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony” which is information. So now that your have added to your faith Virtue and you have Knowledge / explicit information on your need or gift the next step is to add Temperance (self restraint in the face of temptation or desire)

Seven Divine Strengths That Makes Us

According to the Word of God there are 7 Divine strengths that will make you. They are sometimes interpreted as eight but the first one (faith) is a bases so that the other seven could work. Number 1 - is suppose to be Faith, but without faith it is impossible to please God and to have the other 7 characters functional in the perspective according to the Word and Will of God. So I will not make faith number one but a base factor. Our reading comes from II Peter 1v2-9 [KJV] 2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, 3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: 4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; 6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; 7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. 8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. The divine power of God (Jesus) will give us all things that pertain unto this life, through knowledge of him. Now if these (Seven Devine Strengths are in you) they will make you so strong you will not suffer lack, neither will you be blind, but you will see the future of all life and you will enjoy the exceeding great and precious promises that God has in store for those that love and fear Him. - Think About It. Read the above scriptures. Now in order to obtain the exceeding great and precious promises of God for you there is something that you have to do; that is STEP 1 - Verse 5 says: You have to give All Diligence. DILIGENCE means - Persistence and hardworking effort in doing something; b) take care or attention, c) assiduousness, thoroughness. Now if your are ready to be diligent to see God manifesting in your life then you will take your FAITH and add to your faith - that's why I said faith is the bases. So you will add to your faith - VIRTUE. Virtue is our first strength. Now virtue means: Good Value, High Merit, and desirable quality - the quality of being morally good or righteous. Virtue also means the power that something contains to do something. So in other words you need to pump-up your faith in God with Power of good moral. - You should not have greed, or enviousness within you to obtain the thing or gift that you want. You must have a righteous need. You must be morally right for it. God cannot give you a Mercedes Benz AMG 63 if won’t have petrol money for it and while you live in a 2 room house. God will not do things that will spoil or mess-up His Glory! - When God supplies your need people should not wonder what you did or what you are doing - they must know that GOD has met your need. They will know that it is God because God is working in your life. What I mean to say is that there won’t be questions. The glory of God shows when God does things! The secret to have great possessions is not to just trust God for the physicality of the need but see the divine nature matured in us so that the natural will follow us. What I am saying is trust God for the maturity and character that goes with the Mercedes Benz, and not for the Mercedes Benz. We are blessed because God is a Blessed God. - This is true prosperity. The Bible (Matt.23v17) says it is the temple that sanctifies the gold and not the gold the temple. If you are the temple of God, that is if God lives in you the temple, then you will make a smart dress/suit looks good and not it you. God do not want us to brag about what we have, He wants us to Glorify Him! So our lesson is add "high merit, desirable quality" to your faith. And be morally good or righteous for that blessing. Virtue also means "the power that something contains to do something" That means your faith must be charged up for you to see results. Weak faith produces weak results. The disciples cried out "Lord increase our faith" Our next Strenght is # 2 - Knowledge.