Peter says because we have been given (past tense) "all things that pertain to Life and godliness" and because we have been given (past tense) "exceeding great and precious promises," we are without excuse and with all diligence SHOULD by believing Jesus is Who He says He is, let Him manifest His Divine Nature in us, and this Nature helps us escape the corruption that's in the world through lust (desire and covetousness of things that are ungodly). Paul says in verse 1 of 1 Peter we have been given "like precious faith" meaning we have all been given the same faith at the time we got born again like Romans 12:3 says, "For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to *every man the measure of faith."* The Scripture says God has dealt to us all the same measure of faith which is what Paul says again in 1 Peter 1:1 calling it " like precious faith" which means the very same measure of faith as with everyone else when we got born again. I once heard someone say we should never say we don't have faith to do this or that because that is untrue and would make God a liar because as pointed out in these Scriptures we have been given the gift of faith and its the same as every other believer but by choice, some will use their faith more than others so it's a choice. It's like a muscle that's well exercised, the more you exercise it the stronger it gets and the same analogy can be applied to faith. We have to exercise it, knowing we already have it so we ask not to be given faith, but for indwelling faith to be manifested or revealed in us.
For the rest of the sermon I am breaking down verse by verse of 1 Peter 1:1-11 to better explain. Please read along side your Bible for better understanding. Starting in verse 1 of 1 Peter, he says we have obtained (past tense) the same faith as all men when we got born again and we obtained this faith by The Righteousness of God our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. It's by His Righteousness that we got this faith. Jesus is our righteousness 1 Corinthians 1:30 says "But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:" This Scripture says Jesus has been "made unto us" righteousness, which means He has become and is our righteousness. We could leave it at that and only have the title "righteousness of God in Christ Jesus", but we have been called to manifest and bear fruit of this righteousness Who is Jesus, and bearing fruit of righteousness means His Life and Nature visibly manifested in and through us.
So more than having just the title, Peter makes his case by The Holy Spirit and says, the Nature of Jesus our righteousness should be manifested and seen outwardly and should not just be an inner acknowledgement, we should not be content with just having the title. The Bible talks a lot about Jesus being revealed in us and Romans 1:16 explains how that happens. Romans 1:16-17 "[16]For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is *the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth;* to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
[17] *For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith:* as it is written, The just shall live by faith." This Scripture says our righteousness Jesus, is manifested and revealed in us by The Holy Spirit's power if and only IF we believe The gospel of Christ, The Word spoken and confessed. Peter continues and says in verse 2, Grace and peace is multiplied to us, or increases and we receive more and more (Grace and peace) through the experiential intimate knowing of God and of Jesus our Lord. Peter is saying here it is through relationship with God that Grace and peace are increased. Verse 3, Peter says this Grace and peace are manifested and increased because of His Divine power, and this power has given to us "all things" that are Life and godliness. The Life and godliness being talked about here is Jesus He is our Life, the life of the new man, in Him is fullness and therefore "all things". To back track to Romans 1:18 quoted above, by believing He is Who He says He is, His divine power manifests His righteousness in us, manifests Life and godliness only and only IF we believe. The verse continues and says Life, godliness and "all things" are manifested through the knowledge of Him, that is knowing Him intimately through relationship, the Scripture says He has called us to glory and virtue, that is to manifest His glory. We have been called to be conformed to the image of Jesus as Romans 8:29 says. That is our high calling, "the upward call in Christ", to partake of His Nature which we already possess by the renewing of our minds by The Holy Spirit. Verse 4, for us to walk in this calling of glory and virtue authentically and not just have a "form of godliness", we have been given (past tense, so we already possess them in The Person of Jesus in us) exceeding Great and precious Promises which promises point us back to Jesus. (Compare Gen 15:1 where God tells Abraham He is his exceedingly Great Reward) There is nothing Greater, Higher or more powerful than God, so He has given us Himself as our Greatest Reward to partake of His very Nature. He is our glory, our Life, our precious Promise in Whom are the precious promises.
The Scripture continues and says by these precious promises which we already possess by Jesus in us, which is His very Nature, we escape the corruption that's in the world through lust. Jesus is The Incorruptible Seed, The Word of God in us and by His incorruptible Nature manifested in us by truly believing, we become immune and unaffected by the ungodly desires and wants of this world, we remain unaffected by the enemy's schemes to get us to focus on temporal material things and instead remain focused on godly things that will keep us in good relationship with God "walking pleasing to Him" as Scripture says, this will keep us doing those things that please Him and help us spiritually grow and mature. When His Nature is manifested, The Incorruptible One Jesus in us faces every scheme and lie of the enemy with Truth because He is Truth. Verse 5, Paul says because we have been given all things that pertain to Life and godliness mentioned in verse 3, and have been given precious promises already in our current possession, we should with all diligence, which means with persistent effort and perseverance, we should add more attributes (precious promises) of His Nature to the initial faith talked about in verse 1. And Paul lists these other precious promises to be added to faith, which are virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, charity (Love). Verse 8, Peter says if these precious promises/attributes of Jesus are in us and increase, then we will know experientially The very Life and Nature of Jesus manifested in us, we will see and know Him by His glory manifested in us, we will see His holiness that keeps us interested in godly things, we will see His kindness by our giving more and more etc. We will see a transformation but this transformation is not some mental exercise to help us do good or a mental agreement with what The Word says, but it is Jesus Himself manifesting His Nature in us, the ability to say "No" to ungodliness, or lose interest in the bad habits we did habitually, this ability is His holiness manifested in us that changes us and makes us want to pursue all things godly, so it's not us but Him manifesting His holy Nature in us. It's by Him that we authentically do anything because only He has the ability. Any self effort on our part wears off quickly and will never be consistent. So it's by believing Him that His power manifests His Nature.
Verse 9, says the person who lacks these precious promises and attributes of Jesus, that is the person who hasn't been diligent and persistently added to their initial faith all these other attributes, is blind and can't see afar off and has forgotten they are new creatures, re-created in the very image of God, the old has passed away and everything has been made new and "all things are of God". The Scripture says, the person who lacks these precious promises has forgotten their old sinful nature was dealt with at The Cross and are still living the deceived life of the old man and his old sinful nature. The Scripture is saying the person who hasn't added to their faith these other attributes has an unrenewed mind and because of that is still living the same way they were before they got born again, is still living in the corruption of the world with its deceitful lusts.
Verse 10, Peter says let's not live like we haven't received these precious promises and all things that pertain to life and godliness, but let us with persistent effort, perseverance and diligence, make our calling certain, that is make genuinely authentic the life we have been called to which as mentioned earlier by manifesting His Nature, and His glory in us. Peter is saying let's make our calling a certainty and not just a title, let's live the life we have been called to which is to manifest His Nature and glory by the precious promises we have in our current possession. We are conformed to the image of Christ by and with the precious promises we have been given. Peter continues and says, if you are persistent about adding these precious promises to your faith you will never fall, that is you won't be swayed by schemes from the enemy, temptations, trials, persecutions but will remain steadfast, overcome and have victory over whatever comes your way because of His glory manifested. Verse 11, Peter says having done all this, that is added to our faith these precious promises, a new entrance will be opened to us into His everlasting Kingdom where righteousness, peace and joy etc abound.
In a nutshell we have been given the same measure of faith, "like precious faith" as everyone but we don't leave it at that or get content with just that, we should add to our faith the different precious promises mentioned because we have been called to manifest His Nature and glory. That's our sole purpose as believers and our high calling. God has made all this possible by giving us precious promises and all things that pertain to Life and godliness by Jesus, Christ in us the hope of glory. It's by believing, speaking and confessing that God's divine power manifests Jesus in us. Not being persistent to add these precious promises to our faith leaves us at the same level we were when we got born again with only the initial faith we started off with to show for it, and keeps us living the deceived life of the old man who was crucified with Christ and died with Him.
The Lord told me not too long ago people easily believe Him for healing, cars, houses, marriage, money but they don't believe He can be their peace that surpasses all understanding, their Wisdom, their joy, their forgiveness etc. They won't turn to Him in moments of distress so He can overcome that situation through them, and instead turn to worldly solutions that don't work or are temporary. But the same power that heals, is the same power that manifests His peace, Love, joy etc it's the very same power if we'll choose Him over the flesh or the suggestions of the world. The Lord also said to me we really are without excuse because when we stand before Him He will tell and show us He has given us all things that pertain to Life and godliness, He has given us precious promises to help us authentically live in our calling which is to be conformed to His Image by the renewing of our minds, so we really are without excuse when we stand before Him and have to give an account. With all diligence as Peter says let us be persistent in adding to our faith the precious promises we already possess, let us not live the deceived life of the old man because we are brand new. All it takes is sitting with The Holy Spirit our Teacher totally submit to Him leaving any know-it-all attitude behind but come before Him as a child willing and eager to learn and let Him by His power reveal Truth to us that will renew our minds to our current possessions which will help us authentically live the life of the new creature.
