This article explains the reflections of the Knowledge of God through the Bible Verses. Author. It also explains the grace, peace, and precious faith obtained by believers in Christ. Peter now adds another special gift from God, which is “everything that pertains to life and godliness”(2 Peter1:3), Galatian 5:16-18; 22-26
Divine Enablement for Growth: 2 Peter 1:3-4
Life, in this context, refers to the believer’s new life in Christ and his well-being. Godliness refers to pious conduct that is developed in believers out of their devotion to God. Godliness comes from “well” and “worship.” It denotes daily living that is acceptable to God.
The enabling power to receive the life of Jesus Christ and live God’s kind of life, pleasing unto God through Christ, comes as a gift to those who know God.
Knowledge is pivotal to grace and peace.
Peter prays for knowledge in verse two (2 Peter 1:2) and divine enablement in verse three (2 Peter 1:3). The knowledge in question, “epignosis.” has the connotation of experiential knowledge. This is not theoretical knowledge; it is not head knowledge or book knowledge but knowledge borne out of a personal relationship with Jesus. It includes submission to Christ’s Lordship in total obedience to His Word and His Spirit.
This explains why John writes, “The man who says, “I know him but does not do what He commands is a liar, and respond by faith. They receive grace upon grace to become more like the corrupt world (Ephesians 3:20-21;4:1, Philippians 2:13; 4:13).
Participating In Divine Nature -2 Peter 1:4
Everything about man’s relationship with God has been at God’s instance. It has been at God’s initiative and expense from salvation to divine enablement and participation in divine nature. Through Christ’s glory and goodness, promises to participate in the divine nature have been given to the saved.
Equally, God makes available everything that believers need for a life of godliness. God made it possible for us to partake of His very nature. As believers grow in God, they have access to precious and great promises, which assure them that they will have victory over the controlling power of a corrupt and evil world. Believers will overcome this corrupt world as they operate in the strength of God.
The Precious Promises of God
- The Holy Spirit-Galatians 3:14, Ephesians 1:13-14.
- Hope of eternal life -Titus 1:2, 1 John 2:25; John 17:3.
- Adoption as God’s children- Romans 8:14-17.
- Forgiveness of sin- Isaiah 43:25, Ephesians 1:7.
These great and precious promises are given to Christians so that they can participate in the divine nature of sonship (John 1:12, 1 John 3:2, Romans 8: 9, Galatians 2:20, 1 John 3:9, 2 Peter 1:4).
Those who experience His sufferings (1 Peter 4:13) will participate in His glory to come (Colossians 3:4, 1 Peter 5:1,10) and share in the divine nature of Christ (Romans 8:9; Galatians 2:20; 1 John 3:9)10. Thus, believers can manifest and represent Christ in this degenerate world.
Grow in Christian Virtues-2 Peter 1:5-19
Receiving the life of Christ, that is, the salvation that comes through His death, is wonderful. But this is not enough. Those who are saved must grow in their salvation as they distance themselves from the corruption of this world.
Peter sees salvation as the beginning of a believer’s journey with God. Because of God’s investments in believers (2 Peter 1:1-4), they must make intentional efforts to grow up in their salvation. All Christians started with Jesus as babies. They are liabilities to the kingdom of God if they remain stagnant as babies or become carnal Christians.
Peter identifies seven virtues that must be added to faith for it to be productive. These are Christian characters that are assets; they would make a believer, not a liability to the body of Christ.
Virtues and Christian living.
In his charge to his audience to cultivate Christian virtues, Peter said, “Do your best to add”(2 Peter 1:5, TEV); “giving all diligence, add to your faith”(2 Peter 1:5, NKJV). He was asking his audience that they must bring diligence to bear in their effort to grow spiritually.
God has provided us with salvation. Believers must grow in it with all diligence. This is the mystery of the gospel. It is a gift (John 4:10, Romans 3:24, Romans 6:23, Ephesians 2:8), but it is also a blessing with privileges and responsibilities.
These Seven Virtues of Faith
Goodness
It is the quality that makes a person friendly, courageous, and skilful in the act of living.
Knowledge
This refers to the ability to decide rightly and act effectively, which teachers were canvassing for. Holy Spirit-inspired knowledge. Knowledge is good for our conduct. It saves from error
Self-control
It is more than the ability to put emotions under control. It depicts the life that has come under the control of the Holy Spirit working the Holy Spirit continually and being ever willing to follow His instructions. Self-controlled people separate personality from issues; they do not react to personality. They respond to issues.
Perseverance
Here is patience coupled with courage and hope. It is the ability to hold on without giving up under severe pressure, looking forward to a better future(Hebrew 12:2). When Job said, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust him”, (Job 13:15) he was exhibiting the virtue of perseverance.
The writer of the book of Hebrews encourages Christians not to become lazy but to imitate those who, through faith and patience, inherit what has been promised (Hebrews 6:12). Perseverance energises faith.
Godliness
This is the consciousness of living in the presence of God. A godly person will always ask, “If God were to be here, what would I do differently?” It means to live right before God and show practical love for fellow human beings, primarily the less privileged (James 1:27). It depicts the heart that is in fellowship with God. This virtue will strengthen Christians’ testimonies in the marketplace.
Brotherly Kindness
It means love of the brethren. It is the kind of love expected to take care of, and there is concern and support for one another (John kindness more. There is no basis for a few individual members of the church to live in affluence while many members of the same local assembly are wallowing in poverty.
Love
This is God’s unconditional love for all. This love is the nature of God, which we inherited when we received Jesus into our lives. Jesus Christ exemplified agape love when He died in our place. It desires the highest good of the one that is loved, and it results in sacrificial action for the good of that person.12
Virtue
These virtues are of God and proceed from Him. We cultivate them through our union with Jesus Christ as we grow in the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). When these virtues are added to our faith, the result will be an increase in knowledge of Christ, and it will translate into an effective and productive life.
The spiritual growth that will occur when the virtues are added to our faith will impact our lives and services. Jesus Christ will become more visible in our lives.
Danger in Christian Virtues-2 Peter 1:9
The kind of person referred to in 2 Peter 1:9, though being converted and purified from his sins, but not living the Christian life, is not different from the people of the world. Growing faith is a fruitful faith. The way to grow in our faith and be productive is to add to our faith all the virtues identified by the Apostle Peter. Carelessness and failure to grow in faith may result in spiritual short-sightedness or total blindness with the end products of spiritual barrenness and unfruitfulness (2 Peter 1:9).
To be spiritually blind means to lack insight into the things of God.
He who is short-sighted can only see the things that concern the present. He is cut off from the things of God. A myopic person is blind and is concerned about the earthly things alone and would not be concerned about the things of eternity. Jesus once reprimanded Peter because of his blindness to the move of God. Jesus turned around and looked at His disciples, then rebuked Peter. Jesus said, “Get away from me, Satan!”.
It is dangerous if you are not adding to your faith.
One can become so complacent that he would forget the purifying work of the Holy Spirit through the blood and the Word of God. In the work of salvation, God has a part to play, and we have a part. God gives everything they need to live a productive Christian life, but we must receive it and grow in it. God calls us, but we must live a life worthy of His calling (Ephesians 4:1, Philippians 2:12-13).
The Authenticity of God’s Word -2 Peter 1:12-21
The Word of God is enough for a believer’s faith, salvation, and spiritual growth. Contrary to the false teachers who believe that Christians need additional or special knowledge to experience salvation. God’s Word is all-sufficient to live the kind of life that God requires of His children.
The need for a reminder -2 Peter 1:12-15
Man forgets so soon. Thus, they need to be reminded constantly of the truth and the teachings of the Bible so that they will not stray. The phrase “I will always remind you” means that Peter is fully devoted to reminding his readers of the right way to live as Christians.
Though they know the right way and are rooted and firmly fixed in the truth, he will continue to remind them as long as stresses the truth of what his readers already know. Their salvation is entirely free, not earned, and is based on the finished work of Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1:1).
They are partakers of the very nature of God because of their union with Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1:4). They have been endowed with divine power to live a godly life (2 Peter 1:3).
He reminds them that he was an eyewitness of Christ’s transfiguration and points to the kind of glory (God’s glory) that Jesus’ companions would see before death. This is very significant because many will want to see the transfiguration as an event that foreshadows the resurrection.
In all the three Gospels where the account of the transfiguration was recorded, it was followed by the prophecy of Jesus and His second coming (Matthew 17:28, Mark9:1-8, Luke 9:27-36,
Matthew 16:28-17:1-8, Mark 9:1-8, Luke 9:27-36).
This verifies the fact that the second coming and the transfiguration were in some way connected.13 The historical transfiguration, witnessed by Peter and his colleagues, attests to the certainty of the second coming of Jesus.
Peter was able to achieve two objectives with his argument for the second coming of Jesus Christ. He was able to denounce the false teachers who denied the second coming of Jesus, and he was able to encourage his readers to live with the consciousness of the second coming of Jesus Christ.
Peter points out the prophetic word (2 Peter 1:19-21)
Apostle Peter points out the prophetic word which his readers must pay careful attention to and heed as to a lamp shining in a dark place. The world is in darkness, but the accuracy of God’s Word is not in doubt. It will continue to dispel the power of darkness. Biblical prophecies, which include Peter’s prophecy about the return of Jesus Christ, were inspired by the Holy Spirit. Hence, they are authentic.
Therefore, their messages are reliable and free of error. Because the Holy Spirit inspires the messages of the Bible, Peter admonishes his readers that they will do well to heed the warning written in it. The following should be the believer’s disposition to the Word of God.
Read and meditate on it daily- Joshua 1:8, Psalm 1:1-3.
Obey and apply its teachings- Psalm 119:9.
Teach it to others Timothy 4:11.
Reflection Questions
- Believers are expected to grow in their relationship with Jesus once they receive Jesus as their Lord and Saviour, but often, the opposite is the case. What could be responsible for the retardation, and what are the possible outcomes when believers fail to grow?
- Peter instructs Christians in this study to add some virtues to their faith. Identify those virtues and explain the difference they will make when they are added to our faith.
- Many contemporary Christians are obsessed with titles and achievements. What could be responsible for this obsession, and how can the church change the narrative using the example of Peter, who introduced himself as Christ’s slave even though he was one of the closest persons to Jesus Christ?
Author: Deola Adelakun
