The God Who Provides
(2 Peter 1:3-4)
Note: I am suggesting that this text is partly a "midrash" (Rabbinic-style exposition and application) from Exodus 33:12-23 (and the concluding section, 34:33), particularly the phrase "grace and goodness," the idea of God providing with His presence, and Moses seeing the Lord, thus partaking of the "divine nature."
You might want to read the above Exodus passage first as a preliminary.
1. One title for God in the book of Genesis is, "The LORD Who Provides," Yahweh Yireh.
2. But God provides in a variety of ways. A Messianic Jewish brother relates:
"I was part of a singing group once that was scheduled to do a series of "peace" concerts in war-torn Northern Ireland. As Jews, we went with the message that Catholics and Protestants should stop fighting and behave...
We were scheduled one afternoon to do a concert outside of Wellworth's department store in downtown Londonderry. The weather looked menacing, but we knew the Lord wanted us there. We prayed that there would be no rain and expected a miracle. As we arrived at Wellworth's, the menacing sky menaced no more; it broke out in a thunderous downpour. We felt quite let down by God, to tell you the truth. Hadn't we prayed in faith? Hadn't we gone there at the risk of our lives to serve him? At the last moment, our guide found another venue, a store around the corner, where we could set up and sing, even with the pounding rain.
Then, in the middle of our concert, BOOM! A bomb had gone off, right next door to Wellworth's, the place where we would have been had the Lord "answered" our prayers.
Be encouraged. God always hears your prayers, but sometimes his answer is "No!" You wouldn't want it any other way." [from the daily e-mail devotional, "The Voice of the Lord"].
3. God provides us with what we need to do His will. This is true in all realms, including the spiritual realm.
Main Idea: God has given us what we need for eternal life and for spiritual growth in this life.
I. God Has Given Us Everything We Need for Eternal LIFE (3)
God has given us
• the righteousness of Christ,
• His Spirit, and
• His Word to provide us with the essentials of spiritual life;
A. Not all of life, but SPIRITUAL life
1. God does not tell us how to fill a tooth, how to invest for retirement, or what brand of toothpaste to use. False interpretation = Nouthetic counseling
2. We have many responsibilities and challenges in life, and He guides and comforts us along the way, but the life spoken of here is spiritual, eternal life.
B. God's Power is experienced as REGENERATION
C. Correlated with a saving KNOWLEDGE of Him
E. Applies only to those He has CALLED
F. God called us to display His GLORY and GOODNESS
I didn't mean to, but I accidentally stumbled over another midrash! I guess I can't help myself. Since I wrote up the outline on Thursday, I have stumbled across Exodus 33:12-23; please turn there:
Moses said to the LORD, "You have been telling me, 'Lead these people,' but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, 'I know you by name and you have found favor with me.' If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people."
The LORD replied, "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest."
Then Moses said to him, "If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?"
And the LORD said to Moses, "I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name."
Then Moses said, "Now show me your glory."
And the LORD said, "I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. But," he said, "you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live."
Then the LORD said, "There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen."
1. Note here that God chooses whom He is going to bless ("have compassion on")
2. Note that God here is going to provide everything the people need (be with them)
3. Notice Moses asks God to teach him all his ways (knowledge of God)
4. The Hebrews are distinguished (called) from all others
5. Moses asks to see God's glory, but He shows Him His goodness
6. Peter takes the principle of God's provision for the nation and applies it spiritually to individual believers who make up the New Covenant family
II. His Word Contains the COMPLETE Blueprint for
Godliness (4)
These verses lead us to a conclusion called "the sufficiency of Scripture." Wayne Grudem summarizes this conclusion: "The sufficiency of Scripture means that Scripture contained all the words of God he intended his people to have at each stage of redemptive history, and that it now contains all the words of God we need for salvation, for trusting him perfectly, and for obeying him perfectly." (Grudem, Systematic Theology, p. 127)
The idea of "godliness" is living a life based up reverence for God. Honoring God and His will in all we do. It is respecting God in a church meeting, but also not leaving Him in the church meeting!
A. No Extra-Scriptural "Disciplines" Are NECESSARY
B. Referred to as PROMISES (part for the whole)
• The emphasis is faith in God's Word; when we trust God's Word, the Word becomes a book of promises rather than mere information.
• The Bible is God's Word and focuses upon our spiritual life; if the Bible is not thorough and complete in THIS realm, then how can it mean much in other realms?
• If it is not in the Bible -- at least in concept -- then it is not necessary to our spiritual health.
• Here is a typical list of the "spiritual disciplines" from a book published by an evangelical publisher. Which, if any, of these "disciplines" is not taught in the Bible?
1. Bible intake
2. Worship
3. Prayer
4. Fasting
5. Stewardship
6. Serving
7. Journaling
8. Silence and solitude
9. Learning (gaining wisdom)
C. His glory and goodness resulted in giving the WORD
D. IMPLEMENTING God's Word helps us PARTICIPATE in the divine nature
1. We do not become part of God, but rather the image of God in us begins to be restored so that we reflect the qualities of God. Lenski puts it this way:
"As a foreigner is naturalized, so we are fully transplanted into God's kingdom…"
2. I Peter 1:23, "For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God."
We participate in, but do not possess, the divine nature; some qualities of God we will never have because they are His alone.
3. Moses "partook" of the divine nature by seeing God's "goodness." His interaction with God had profound effects on him. After this experience, in Exodus 34:33, Moses had to put a veil over his face. Thus he "partook of the divine nature," namely he reflected godliness.
E. God's Word helps us escape sinful CORRUPTION
We legally escape the corruption of the world when we are made right with God through faith in Jesus Christ. We practically escape this corruption as we grasp and depend upon His promises.
1. From living in the world
The world dirties us. Jesus and footwashing.
2. Energized by our evil desires
The most innocent of us is not innocent.
