In this sermon we’re going to discuss virtue. Virtue is strength. It is that quality of physical bodies, by which they produce effects on other bodies. In a literal sense you can speak of the virtue of plants in medicine.
So, in Lk 6:19, Jesus said virtue had gone out of him. He had the strength to heal and when they touched him the strength went out of him and into them and healed them all.
In Lk 8:43-48, the woman with the issue of blood touched him and was healed. Now notice that she had faith to go to him and then touch him. This is important in our understanding of Jesus’s virtue to us. You come to hum by faith and then he gives you his strength.
Now look in 2 Pet 1:3-5. You see the word virtue twice. He hath called us to virtue.
So, you come to Jesus by faith. When you get to him, the first virtue you receive is eternal life. This life is in Jesus. 1 Jn 5:11 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 1 Jn 5:12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.
Then, after we are saved, the first ingredient we are to add to our faith is virtue. The virtue comes from Jesus in 2 Pet 1:3-4. When we come to him again and again he imparts to us his divine nature. If you are receiving what he has for you today, virtue is going out of him and into you right now. You can tell this is happening just like the woman with the issue of blood could tell that her blood was stanched. The old man is crucified and dies and the new man lives and grows. You have to come to Jesus to get his virtue. You add it to your faith.
And after this you add to virtue knowledge. In other words, if you add knowledge without first adding virtue, you get puffed up. Your knowledge is of no value, 1 Cor 13:2, without virtue. You can’t get to temperance, patience, godliness, etc, 2 Pet 2:6-7, without first adding virtue. You don’t have these qualities in you apart from Jesus. They are in his divine nature. This is why some Christians don’t look like their saved.
As we add this virtue, we are to think only on certain things, Phil 4:8. As he thinketh in his heart so is he. The battle for your actions is won in your mind. If you’re adding virtue and limiting your thoughts to these six things, then you’re going to do the right things, Phil 4:9.
And then here’s the beauty. When you have his virtue in you, you can impart it to others, as well, 2 Pet 1:6-8. You can’t bear fruit apart from his divine nature. Remember what Jn 15:7 says, “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you…”. Your life will be fruitful and you will be able to minister to others with what God has ministered to you.