With this phrase Peter is referring back to what he has said in 2 Peter 1:1–4. Because of what God has done in the past (given Christians faith, righteousness, and escape from corruption), because of what Christ is busy doing in them by his Spirit in the present (participation in the divine nature), and because of what will be done in the future (promises yet to be fulfilled), they are to respond with growth in virtue.1 The grace of Christ and the hope of life in his eternal kingdom (2 Peter 1:11) should encourage moral progress in the here and now.2
5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge,