Posted: 04/15/2016 at 11:04am | IP Logged

Our God and Lord Jesus, by His divine power, gave us everything for life and godliness to help us escape the corruption that lust brought into the world and to partake of the divine nature. God gives us free will. We partake of the divine nature by our own will. In our partaking of the divine nature, we are to try very hard to develop excellent character traits. Thus, to be useful and productive in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Partake of the divine nature

Simon Peter, servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to the people who by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ were given a faith as precious as ours. As you know God and our Lord Jesus, may you enjoy more and more of His grace and peace.

By His glory and might He once gave us very great and precious promises and now has called us. When we got to know Him, His divine power gave us everything for life and godliness to help you escape the corruption that lust brought into the world and to partake of the divine nature. In view of that, try very hard to supply to your faith moral power to moral power knowledge, to knowledge self control, to self control endurance, to endurance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, to brotherly kindness love. If you have these and they grow more and more, they keep you from being useless and unproductive in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone doesn’t have these, he’s blind, shortsighted, and has forgotten that his old sins were washed away.

Be all the more eager, then, fellow Christians, to make sure you’re God’s called and chosen ones. If you do this, you will never fail. Then with rich gifts you will be welcomed into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 1:1-11 AAT

 God has called us according to His purpose (Ro 8:28-30). We who trust in Jesus all became partakers of the grace and peace of God through faith. Our faith for salvation is a gift from God (Eph 2:8). Yet, we are to grow in faith and in knowledge of the truth. Ref. Php 1:25, Col 2:7, 2 Cor 10:15, James 1:3, Jude 1:20. The Lord calls each of us to open our hearts and partake so deeply of His life that we are changed from glory to glory to be like Him (2 Cor 3:17-18). As we partake, the Messiah is formed in us (Gal4:19), helping us to relate in Him and for Him.  

Supply to your faith

Peter urges: “In view of that, try very hard to supply to your faith” the character traits of righteousness. Trying very hard means we are to be zealous, fervent, energetic and use diligent effort to supply those traits to our faith. We supply to our faith one character trait in the practice of another: “try very hard to supply to your faith moral excellence, in your moral power, in your moral power, knowledge, in your knowledge self control, in your self control endurance, in your endurance godliness, in your godliness brotherly kindness, in your brotherly kindness love.”

Moral power

Moral power is having heart to please the Lord, the courage and strength of character we gain through the discipline of the Father of spirits. Following the faith chapter of the Bible, we are given the example of Jesus to get gumption.

Now then, with all these witnesses around us like a cloud, let us get rid of every burden and the sin we easily fall into and with endurance run the race laid our before us, looking to Jesus, who gives us our faith from start to finish. For the joy that was set before Him He endured the cross, thinking nothing of its shame, and sat down at the right of God’s throne.

Think of how sinners opposed Him and He endured it. It will help you not to get tired and  give up. In your struggle against sin you haven’t yet resisted till blood has flowed. And you have forgotten the encouragement spoken to you as sons: My son, don’t think lightly of the Lord’s training or give up when He corrects you. The Lord corrects whom He loves, and He whips everyone He accepts as His son.

What you endure is to correct you. God is treating you as His sons. Is there a son whom his father doesn’t correct? All sons are corrected; if you’re not corrected, you’re no sons but bastards. Furthermore, our natural father used to correct us, and we respected them. Shouldn’t we much more submit to the Father of spirits and live? They corrected us for a short time as it seemed best to them. But He corrects us for our good, to have us share (be partakers of)  His holiness. While we’re being corrected, it always seems unpleasant and painful. But after we’ve been trained, correction gives us the peaceful fruit of righteousness. Hebrews 12:1:11 AAT

Enduring God’s correction and partaking of His holiness gives us the peaceful fruit of righteousness.

Knowledge

In his opening, Peter wrote: “As you know God and our Lord Jesus.” In conclusion he wrote: “If you have these and they grow more and more, they keep you from being useless and unproductive in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Chris.” This knowing is of the faith God has given. The lifestyle of righteousness helps us know Him better (Php 3:7-11, Col 1:9-13). Paul asked the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ to “enlighten the eyes of your heart so that you know the hope He called you to, the riches of the glory of the inheritance He gives to His holy people, and the vast resources of His power working in us who believe” (Eph 1:18 AAT). 

Self control

Self-control is the part of our character through which we choose right over wrong. By learning the word of God (2 Tim 2:15), by the enlightened eyes of our hearts (Eph 1:18). and by listing to a twinge from the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 2:11) we know when we are getting into wrong and avoid it (1 Cor 9:24-26). As we read above in the example of Jesus: “In your struggle against sin you haven’t yet resisted till blood has flowed.”

Endurance

Endurance is what it takes to accomplish what God has called us to do in spite of suffering.  Jesus is our example of endurance.”For the joy that was set before Him He endured the cross.” He set His face like a flint, ready to endure.

The Lord GOD gives Me the speech of the learned, so that I know how to talk to encourage the weary. Morning after morning He wakes Me to hear, so I will listen like a learner. The Lord GOD opened My ears, and I didn’t resist or turn away. I gave My back to the whip and let men pluck the hair from My face. I haven’t turned MY face away from those who insult Me and spit on Me. The Lord GOD helps Me; that is why I’m not overcome with shame. So I’ve set My face like a flint; I know I’ll not be shamed, because He is near who makes Me righteous. Isaiah 50:4:8 AAT

Following the example of Jesus, we endure because God helps us endure.

All that was written long ago was written to teach us by the endurance and encouragement we get froth the Bible to have hope. May God, who helps you endure and encourages you, give you such harmony with one another as you follow Christ Jesus that together with one voice you praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 15:5

Endurance produces character (Ro 5:1-5, James 1:4).

Godliness

Godliness is our walk with God; enjoyment of our relationship with God and zeal to he please God because of our personal attitude toward God that results in actions that are pleasing to him. We come to that through our fear of God, the love of God and our desire for God.

Fear of God is our veneration, reverence, and awe.  “Only the God-fearing Christian can truly appreciate the love of God. He sees the infinite gulf between a holy God and a sinful creature, and the love that bridged that gulf through the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. God’s love for us is many-faceted, but he supremely demonstrated it by sending his Son to die for our sins. All other aspects of his love are secondary, and in fact are made possible for us through the death of Christ. Desire for God. The apostle Paul also experienced this longing for God: “I want to know Christ” (Philippians 3:10). The Amplified Bible forcefully catches the intensity of Paul’s desire in this passage: “For my determined purpose is that I may know Him—that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His person more strongly and more clearly.”

“This is the heartbeat of the godly person. As he contemplates God in the awesomeness of his infinite majesty, power, and holiness, and then as he dwells upon the riches of God’s mercy and grace poured out at Calvary, his heart is captivated by this One who could love him so. He is satisfied with God alone, but he is never satisfied with his present experience of God. He always yearns for more.” Excerpt from What is Godliness? Also see my post, Our righteousness is God’s justice.

Brotherly kindness

In His farewell to His disciples, Jesus urged His disciples to stay in His love and ordered them to love one another.

You glorify My Father when you bear much fruit and so prove to be My disciples. As the father has loved Me, so II have loved you. Stay in my love. If you obey My commandments, you’ll stay in My love, as I have obeyed My Father’s commandments and stay in His love. I told you this so that My joy will be in you and that your joy might be full. This is what I order you to do: Love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than he who gives his life for his friends. You’re My friends if you do what I order you to do. I don’t call you servants any more, because a servant doesn’t know what his master is doing. But I’ve called you friends because I’ve told you everything I heard from My Father. You didn’t choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that doesn’t pass away and to have the Father give you anything you ask Him in My name. This is what I order you to do: Love one another. John 15:8, 17 AAT

John was one of Jesus’ disciples. He heard Jesus speak those words. Later, he wrote the following inspired Word on loving one another.

This is how we learned what love is: He gave His life for us. We should give our lives for our fellow Christians. If anyone has this world’s goods and sees his fellow Christian is in need but shuts his heart against him, how can he still be loving God? Children, let us not love only in words or in talk, but let us put our love into action and make it real. 1 John 3:16-18 AAT

Dear friends, let us love one another because love comes from God and everyone who loves is God’s child and knows God. He who doesn’t love hasn’t learned to know God, because God is Love. God has shown us His love by sending his only-begotten Son into the world for us to live through Him. This is love, not that we loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to pay for our sins. Dear friends, it that’s how god loved us, then we should love one another. Nobody has ever seen God. If we love one another, God lives in us, and His love has accomplished in us what He wants. This is how we know we live in Him and He in us: He has given us some of His Spirit. 1 John 4:7-13 AAT

Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments. 1 John 5:1-2 NASB

Love

Here, our love is to be extended to everyone. Since God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son (Jn 3:16), we are to love everyone, including those who persecute us.

You have heard it was said: ‘Love your neighbor, and hate your enemy. But I tell you, Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you. In this way you will show you are sons of your Father in heaven. He makes His sun rise on people whether they are bad or good and lets rain fall on them whether they do right or wrong. If you love those who love you, what’s your reward? Don’t tax collectors do that too? If you treat only your brother kindly, are you doing anything extraordinary? Don’t the people of the world do that too? Be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect. Matthew 5:43-48 AAT

Don’t make a mistake: you can’t fool God. Whatever you sow you’ll reap. If you sow to please your own flesh, you will from your flesh reap destruction. If you sow to please the Spirit, you will from the Spirit reap everlasting life. Let us not get tired of doing good. At the right time we’ll reap if we don’t give up. So whenever we have a chance, let us do good to everybody but especially to our family of believers. Galatians 6:7-10 AAT

The Lord make you grow in love and overflow with it for one another and for everybody, just as we love your, so may He give you inward strength to be holy and without a fault before our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all His holy ones! Amen. 1 Thessalonians 3:12-12-13 AAT

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