Possessed and Growing
Be Certain of God’s Promises, Part 10
100409 PM
Text--2 Peter 1:1-11
Introduction
This lesson concludes a series focused on the promises of God and our part in receiving what has been promised.
According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary a promise is a legally binding declaration that gives the person to whom it is made a right to expect or to claim the performance or forbearance of a specified act.
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. rmance or forbearance of a specified act.
1 Be Certain of God’s Promises
A. Know To Whom It Is Promised
1. These words were written to fellow believers.
a. 2 Peter 1:1 Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ:
2. 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.
b. A “partaker” is a participant, partner, or sharer.
c. Romans 8:17 …heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ,
B. It is God’s Promise:
1. This is not a worldly contract with worldly uncertainty.
a. God sent, God approved, God guaranteed! 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.
C. We Have a Part in the Promises.
1. “Now for this very reason…” (v5) tells us that there is action required on our part.
2. To become partakers in the divine nature we must have “escaped the corruption that is in the world.”(v4)
a. This is accomplished first (and foremost) by 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. The first five virtues pertain to our inner self and how we relate to God. The last two relate to others. V5-7
D. In Your Faith Supply…
1. Supply to your faith.
a. The Greek word translated here as supply or add, (in the imperative) means to provide all that is needed or to supply something in abundance.
b. A believer is to “furnish, supply, or add” to his faith with these qualities.
2. Moral Excellence (aretē)
a. 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. Remember we are supplying this to our faith.
b. “Knowledge” (gnosis) as used is that knowledge that leads to wisdom and discernment that enables us to live godly lives
c. This is beyond knowing “the book.”
4. In your Knowledge, Self-Control
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.
5. In your self-control, Perseverance.
a. This word is often used in the New Testament to refer to steadfastness in the face of adversity but it extends to all aspects of our lives. Perseverance springs from faith in God’s goodness and control over all that happens in our lives.
6. In Your Perseverance, supply Godliness
a. Derived from eu, good and sebo, to worship; literally "good worship" meaning worship (toward God) that is good. It implies a life which promotes reverence and respect towards God.
7. In your Godliness, supply Brotherly Kindness
a. Comes from two words: Philos and Adelphos.
1) “Philos” means friend, to be friendly, a companion.
2) “Adelphos” means a fellow associate united to another by some bond; a brother.
b. Thus Philadelphia means to love our associates bonded to us through Christ, as family.
8. In your Brotherly Kindness, supply Love
a. Love (GR: Agape) refers to self-sacrificial love. It is the kind of love God demonstrated in saving us.
b. Such love among believers allows for weaknesses and imperfections, deals with problems, affirms others, and has a strong commitment and loyalty.
c. Such love sustains the brotherhood, the family of Christ, no matter what persecutions and suffering they may face.
2 If yours and increasing v8
2 Peter 1:8a ( NASB ) For if these qualities are yours and are increasing,…
A. We don’t just have them, we are them.
1. We are to embrace these qualities, ingest them into our being.
2. Remember we are diligently adding these to our faith, that means we are giving them focused effort.
B. We don’t just have them, we are growing them.
1. As believers we don’t just “have” these qualities; instead, we are increasing in these qualities. To grow in these qualities, we must put them to work in daily life (v10 “practice these things…”)
ILL: Sourdough "starter" is a batter of flour and water, filled with living yeast and bacteria. The yeast and bacteria form a stable symbiotic relationship, and (as long as you keep the starter fed) can live for centuries, a thriving colony of microorganisms.
C. And they enable us to be useful and fruitful for God
2 Peter 1:8b ( NASB ) …they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
1. As these characteristics increase, they keep believers from being useless and unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
a. “Useless” means idle and slothful, literally “out of work.” James 2:20, “Faith without works is dead.”
b. “Unfruitful” means barren; unproductive; stagnant.
2. The dynamic presence of these characteristics when added to our faith results in active production of good fruit and leads to spiritual growth.
c. Salvation does not depend on these character qualities or good works; rather, it produces those qualities and works.
d. A person who claims to be saved while remaining unchanged does not understand faith or what God has done for them.
e. 2 Peter 1:9 ( NASB ) For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins.
1) The Greek word muopazo (shortsighted) can also mean “to blink” or “to shut the eyes.” So Peter may have meant such believers were intentionally closing their eyes to Christ’s saving work, spiritually blind.
3 Therefore be all the more diligent
2 Peter 1:10 ( NASB ) 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;
A. The word therefore ties this verse with the preceding passage (v3-9)
1. …therefore, because Christ has empowered believers through knowledge of him to live morally excellent lives (1:3),
2. …therefore, having escaped the corruption in the world He has given believers great and precious promises that we may participate in His divine nature (1:4),
3. …therefore, because believers desire to possess and increase in these characteristics so that they may be useful and fruitful. (1:8)
B. …then believers must apply themselves to be certain to receive God’s promises.
1. On one hand, the calling and choosing were already “certain” because they were by God’s promise.
a. However, the believers’ behavior would “make certain” their answer to the call by their good qualities and good works.
b. “Making certain” His call not for God’s sake, but for their own.
Conclusion
Each quality is a tile laid on the rock foundation of our faith and serve to help us stand firm in our faith.
Diligent effort is needed to possess these qualities and grow them though daily application in our lives.
In this series of lessons we have been studying the qualities Peter identified that we need to ensure we can be certain we will receive the promises of God.
2 Peter 1:11 “for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.”
Invitation
One final mention of one more great and 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 will return to take us home...forever. That’s a promise!
