Supply Self-Control
Be Certain of God’s Promises, Part 5
081609 PM
Text--2 Peter 1:1-11
Introduction
This lesson continues a series focused on the promises of God and our part in receiving what has been promised.
Definition: A promise is a transaction between two or more persons whereby the first person undertakes in the future to render some service or gift to the others or devotes something valuable now and here to his use.
In every promise there is the one who makes the promise and the one who receives. God has made to all who believe in His Son great and precious promises but it remains to us to be in a position to receive what has been promised.
1 Know The Source Of The Promise
A. It is God’s Promise:
1. This is not a worldly contract with worldly uncertainty.
2. God sent, God approved, God guaranteed!
Numbers 23:19 God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?
B. And God is Faithful to His Promises
Joshua 21:45 Not one of the good promises which the LORD had made to the house of Israel failed; all came to pass.
2 Know To Whom It Is Promised
2 Peter 1:4 For by these (His power and our true knowledge of Him v3) He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature having escaped the corruption of this world by lust.
A. A “partaker” is a participant, partner, or sharer.
1. Romans 8:17 …heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ,
2. His promises belong to His children:
3 Know Our Part in the Promises.
A. “Now for this very reason…” (v5) tells us that there is action required on our part.
1. In order to become partakers in the divine nature and so inherit His precious and magnificent promises we must have “escaped the corruption that is in the world.”
2. This is accomplished first (and foremost) with faith
3. To escape the corruption that is in this world we begin in faith but grow our character as a child of God through diligent effort. 2 Peter 1:5a Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith…
4. Peter lists the spiritual characteristics that need to be a part of a believer’s life. V5-7
a. Each quality is a tile laid on the rock foundation of our faith and serve to help us stand firm in our faith.
b. Diligent effort is needed as we obey the will of God: Hebrews 10:36 “You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised.”
B. In Your Faith…
1. Supply to your faith.
a. The Greek word translated here as supply or add, (in the imperative) is the word from which we get the English words “chorus,” “choreograph,” and “choreography.”
b. In ancient Greece the state established a chorus but the director, the chorēgys, paid the expenses for training the chorus.
c. Then the word came to be used of one who provides for or supports others or supplies something for them in abundance.
d. A believer is to “furnish, supply, or add” to his faith with these qualities.
2. Moral Excellence (aretē)
a. A distinctive word which encompasses the most outstanding quality (virtue) in someone’s life.
b. It is derived from the root word Aresko which means to please or be pleasing. It implies intentional, deliberate and continuous conduct that is pleasing to God
3. In your Moral Excellence, Knowledge
a. This is beyond knowing “the book.”
b. Remember we are supplying this to our faith.
c. “Knowledge” (gnosis) as used here does not refer to the knowledge of God that leads to salvation but is that knowledge that leads to wisdom and discernment that enables us to live godly lives
4 In your Knowledge, Self-Control
A. Moral excellence and spiritual knowledge are not enough for a Christian’s walk.
1. We must also make every effort to practice self-control (egkrateia); used only two other times in the NT, in Acts 24:25 (where Paul testifies to Felix); Galatians 5:23 (as part of the fruit of the Holy Spirit).
a. self-control, which literally means “holding oneself in”. It was used of athletes who sought self-discipline and self-restraint, even beating their bodies into submission (analogy used by Paul: 1 Corinthians 9:27).
b. We know from Galatians 5:22-23 that Christians have the Holy Spirit’s help to gain self-control, it still requires we “apply all diligence” to develop.
c. Don’t debate what part is the Spirit’s and what part belongs to us. Act as if the responsibility were all ours, knowing that the fruit is all His.
B. The key to self-control is the “self”
1. First dethrone the self: Philippians 2:3 - 7 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.
2. Second, enthrone Christ: Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
C. Allow the will of God to control your whole being.
1. The foremost commandment:
Mark 12:30 and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’
a. The heart was the center of desires and affections
Matthew 6:20 - 21 “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
b. The soul was the person’s “being” and uniqueness,
Ephesians 4:22 - 24 that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
c. The mind was considered to be the center of a person’s intellect
Colossians 3:2 Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.
Romans 8:5 - 6 For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace,
d. The strength referred to physical capabilities.
Romans 12:1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.
2. Self-control requires an honest look at our whole selves, examining our strengths and weaknesses, with emphasis on the latter. It means building the will to say no when a powerful appetite inside you screams yes.
No to that which would replace God in our heart.
No to that which would make us less like Christ.
No to that which focuses on earthly things.
No to that which does not serve and glorify God.
3. Self-control is a long, steady course of discipline that does not come naturally, but with the help of the Spirit can be channeled toward God’s purposes.
Conclusion
In this series of lessons we are studying the qualities Peter identified that we need to ensure we can be certain we will receive the promises of God.
2 Peter 1:10 - 11 Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.
Invitation
Let's remember again one final precious promise: “I will come again.”
John 14:1-3, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”
Jesus is coming back, and he will take us home to live with him…forever. That’s a promise!
