"So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom." - Psalm 90:12

Welcome to Spiritual Mathematics 101. What is Spiritual Mathematics? Simply put, Spiritual Mathematics is the concept of utilizing the basic math principles of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division that we learned during our early school days, and applying those principles to our spiritual growth process. 

First, let us consider the basic principle of subtraction. Even small children are taught early in their education to understand basic mathematical equations such as two take away two equals zero. Just as this basic principle is learned early in life, the principle of Christ’s forgiveness should also be learned early in life. Christ “takes away” the sins of those who repent and believe on Him. We could represent this with the simple mathematical equation: Repentance - Sin = Forgiveness. In 1 John 3:5 we read these words, “And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.”

Let us next consider the basic principle of division. In Isaiah 53:12 we read, “Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.” Christ is our perfect exemplar. He gave Himself for us, dividing a portion with the great. As His disciples we are to follow His example. In 1 John 2:6 we read, “He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.” We should be willing to divide our time, talents, and treasure to do the work our Heavenly Father has given us to do. 

Next, let us consider the basic principle of addition. We would all agree that the way to increase the amount of that which we have is to add to that which we have. For example, if a child has an apple and his friend gives him another apple, he now has one more apple than he originally started with or two apples. We are to grow in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ by adding to, or increasing  in, the fruits and virtues of the Spirit. In 2 Peter 1:5-7 we are taught, “And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.”  We begin with faith and we end with love. Expressed as a simple mathematical equation we have: Faith + Virtue + Knowledge + Temperance + Patience + Godliness + Brotherly Kindness + Charity = Growth in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Adding these fruits of the Spirit to our lives will help to settle, establish, and strengthen us as Christians.

Finally, let us consider the basic principle of multiplication. Some people seem to have great difficulty in understanding multiplication tables, but in reality, multiplication is nothing more than repeated addition. It is fascinating to observe the great increase that multiplication brings. For example, if you have some good news to share with a lot of people, start out by telling a couple of your closest friends. It is almost guaranteed  that each of those friends will tell a couple of their close friends, and so on and so forth until the news is spread over a large area. Christ wants the number of His disciples to be increased. This is done through our missionary efforts of sharing the Gospel and bringing others unto Him. As we do, we will receive multiplied blessings (see Jude 2).

This concludes our class on Spiritual Mathematics 101. May the Lord “teach [each of] us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom” (Psalm 90:12).