Growing Into Salvation-Is Like Growing Into a New Pair of Pants?

1 Peter 2:2-3

“Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow into salvation— if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.”

            In continuation with the childhood theme, growing into salvation…toddlers for Jesus or something.  How does one interpret this?  Salvation comes to us by the sacrifice of Jesus upon the cross, a “once for all” event for the people that God loves-everybody.  It is generally viewed like a light switch, salvation is on or off, you are saved or not.  This switch, in general Christian thought, does not have a dimmer switch to it.  The light does not slowly become brighter.  Or does it?

            What does any of that mean?  It comes down to the question of how someone becomes a Christian.  Most churches define it along the lines of confessing Jesus as Lord and Savior, and accepting him into your heart.  That is kind of hinky when it comes to the theology of the Trinity, as it is the Holy Spirit that indwells us, not Jesus exactly, but that is quibbling.

            By its structure, this phrase seems to develop from the last, we are supposed to seek the pure spiritual milk so that we may grow into salvation.  Metaphorically, a good diet is how we grow in salvation.  But that takes me back to the previous question, can we ‘grow’ in salvation?  We can certainly grow in our knowledge and understanding of the Lord.  We can grow in faith as we turn more and more of our lives over to Jesus, but salvation…

            There is, in classical theology, the concept of the ‘ordo salutis’, the order of salvation.  What this theology does is collect together a lot of theological techno-babble words and try to work out a logical sequence for them in our faith journey.  These include words like sanctification, justification, election, predestination, and more. 

            Paul is a lot more into the theological jargon than Peter, but it is seen in operation here.  Is growing in salvation passing through the various levels of the ordo salutis?  Or is this all just a lot of smoke and mirrors? 

            Could it simply mean, growing in salvation, that we come to understand more and more of just how completely life changing salvation is?  Could it mean that, as we welcome Jesus in, we come to know and understand just how completely he will change things in us for the better?  Could it mean that, as we experience more of Jesus within, we share more of Jesus outside of ourselves?

            I must admit, I kind of like that one.  Our journey of faith can last a lifetime and the marvel of that journey is that there is always something more that our Lord Jesus can teach us.  I think that is our growth in salvation.