2 Peter 1:7

"Brotherly kindness" (Gr. philadelphia) is thoughtful consideration of fellow believers (cf. 1 Peter 1:22; 1 Peter 3:8; Romans 12:10; 1 Corinthians 12:25-26; 1 Thessalonians 4:9; Hebrews 13:1). Overt acts of kindness manifest this characteristic (Galatians 6:10).

"Love" (Gr. agape) is the highest form of love, God’s kind, that seeks the welfare of the person loved above its own welfare (John 3:16; John 13:35; Galatians 5:22; 1 Peter 4:8; et al.). It reaches out to all people, not just fellow believers.

This list of qualities begins with those inside the believer and progresses to those he or she demonstrates outwardly. It moves from private to public qualities. This list begins with faith (2 Peter 1:5) and ends with love. Another shorter virtue list that begins with faith and ends with love is in 2 Corinthians 8:7.

"Christian faith is the root from which all these virtues must grow, and Christian love is the crowning virtue to which all the others must contribute. In a list of this kind, the last item has a unique significance. It is not just the most important virtue, but also the virtue which encompasses all the others. Love is the overriding ethical principle from which the other virtues gain their meaning and validity." [Note: Bauckham, p. 193.]

This is a good checklist that helps us evaluate whether we are all that God wants us to be. These are the traits of a maturing Christian whose faith is vital, not dead. [Note: See Frederic R. Howe, "The Christian Life in Peter’s Theology," Bibliotheca Sacra 157:627 (July-September 2000):309-13.]

"Their presentation here seems to observe an order from the more elemental to the more advanced, but they are all of them facets of the Spirit’s work in the life of a believer, aspects of the glory of the indwelling Christ, his character shown in the Christian’s character." [Note: Stephen W. Paine, "The Second Epistle of Peter," in The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, p. 1458.]

Each child in a family bears some resemblance to his or her parents while at the same time remaining distinctive. So each growing Christian normally manifests similarities to Christ and yet remains different from every other Christians.