THOUGHTS IN 2 PETER – NUMBER 6 – PARTAKERS OF THE DIVINE POWER AND THE DIVINE NATURE - 2 PETER 1:5-11
[1]. THE INTRODUCTION
We are going to look at a series of verses here, interesting ones in the development of the Christian life. Peter’s ministry lay mainly in reaching and supporting those of the circumcision, that is, the Jews. This letter is written to scattered Jews throughout the empire. I am assuming it follows the same line as did the first letter – {{1 Peter 1:1 “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who reside as aliens scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen”}}
In these verses today we shall examine, there is instruction for the growth of Christians and this is what we will look at. In the last message we saw how important grace and peace are, two fundamental aspects in establishing the Christian’s relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.
In the verse – {{2 Peter 1:3 “His divine power HAS GRANTED TO US everything PERTAINING TO LIFE AND GODLINESS, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.”}} - we can’t miss the term “has granted to us” and that is the divine power that has granted to us everything we need for life and godliness.
Then in the next verse – {{2 Peter 1:4 “By these HE HAS GRANTED TO US His PRECIOUS AND MAGNIFICENT PROMISES in order that by them you might become partakers of THE DIVINE NATURE, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.”}} – We have an additional granting to us, this time, precious and magnificent promises.
Why would God grant to us so many magnificent things? What are these promises? Well the reason He has granted them to us was answered in 2 Peter 1:2 and that is through grace and peace. I think in this earthly walk we can never appreciate correctly the grace of God but it is ever giving. We are fallen creatures of Adam’s sin but God’s grace keeps being extended to us.
The second question about promises – what are they? Peter calls them precious and magnificent. I will not outline these at this time. It is up to us as individuals to find and appreciate them for ourselves. They are in the bible, both Testaments. The Old Testament was the scriptures of the early Church so there are a huge number there. Read and study to find them, and then appropriate each one for yourself.
Two verses speak of what God has granted to us, and the final purpose of all that, is in verse 4. It is that we become the PARTAKERS OF THE DIVINE NATURE. Do you feel it? Does it take hold of you? I don’t know if it works that way we understand. We have a new nature as Christians when God creates us anew with His nature, the divine nature.
Just think of that for a bit. We walk around but we possess the divine nature. That is a very powerful fact. How we ought to be ashamed when we let the Lord down. We carry the divine, nature. That completes the Introduction but it is very necessary to establish that so we can proceed with what follows on from this.
[2]. VERSES 5-7. THE INTERCONNECTED PROGRESSION
{{2 Peter 1:5 Now FOR THIS VERY REASON also, applying all diligence in your faith, supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge,
2 Peter 1:6 and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness,
2 Peter 1:7 and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.}}
Verse 5 begins “for this very reason” and that is why we spent time on verses 3 and 4 because we have established that we partake of the divine power and the divine nature. BECAUSE THAT IS FACT then there is a follow on from that, a development. It is not automatic because Peter says in verse 5 “applying all” and lazy Christians apply nothing. They wallow in the shallows.
It is imperative for us to follow on from what God has granted to us. The unworthy servant will do very little and not value the relationship with God. We need to treasure what God has granted us and then apply due diligence to the development of our Christian lives.
In verse 5 Peter asks that ALL diligence be applied in their faith. This word diligence means effort, speed, haste, earnestness, enthusiasm. That sounds to me like a person alert, active and keen. How many of us would measure up to that?
What would God require from us – full effort and application to our faith; or a half-hearted effort; getting around to it when we have time? I think it is more meaningful if we consider the cost of faith and testimony in the times when Peter wrote his letter. Martyrdom was a very real possibility so there was no place for play actors. There was no place for complacency.
A Christian faith is a serious faith. It requires nurturing and growth. It must not be stagnant or even go backwards. The sincerity of faith is tested under persecution and only the gold will be refined in persecution’s fire. All the pretence is burnt up. If severe persecution hit our western nations like it does in many African nations, we would see so many defections from the faith.
In the western world the claim of Christian faith is married to materialism and status and social acceptability. If that was stripped away and only the cold reality remained, on what basis would your faith remain?
Coming from the academic field I love Church History and have various good volumes. In those the accounts of many martyrs for the faith are recounted. Eusebius has a lot recorded from Roman times, and Miller’s Church History and Foxe’s Book of Martyrs also have many from the Middle Ages and especially from 1500 and for the next two to three centuries when the Roman Catholic Church murdered millions of born again Christians. One of the worst is St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre in France August 24, 1572 where up to 100 000 Huguenots were massacred by Catholic mobs led by the priests. France was one of the hotbeds of satanic hate against Christians.
What does faith mean when it collapses under testing? You’ll find that in the Parable of the Sower. The testimony of so many who remained loyal to Christ in death speaks volumes to us – or ought to!
Have another look at 2 Peter 1:5-7 and there we will now note the progression. There are 7 steps in the progression where one merges into the next as the edifice rises. These are the 7 points Peter chose –
MORAL EXCELLENCE, KNOWLEDGE, SELF-CONTROL, PERSEVERANCE, GODLINESS, BROTHERLY KINDNESS, LOVE.
The way Peter writes suggests each of these perhaps builds on the previous one, but they are a list that will supply faith to make it meaningful and strong. The KJV is this – {{2 Peter 1:5 “And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge”}}, but that is a very unfortunate and wrong translation. Faith is not being added to. It is being supplemented. You can not add to faith. AND diligence is not in isolation as it is worded in the KJV, but is applied to and connected with faith. We must be diligent in our faith but pay attention to what will make that faith more purposeful and meaningful.
Be diligent about your faith but keep it strong trough the supplements. Peter gives 7 of these listed above. Moral excellence will lead to knowledge which needs self-control which needs perseverance which needs godliness which needs brotherly kindness which needs love. They will all build up a fortress of faith that stands strong but you must be diligent about your faith.
Just what are these qualities? What do they supply to faith? A number of commentators and opinions have turned that around and say that the words listed are supplied BY faith, and not supplying faith. I give credibility to both opinions.
MORAL EXCELLENCE:- The Greek according to Strong’s embraces goodness, a gracious act, virtue, uprightness. The KJV = virtue; Holman = goodness; ESV = virtue; Legacy = moral excellence; NIV = goodness. The word for “virtue/moral excellence” occurs 5 times in the New Testament – one in Philippians 4:8, once in 1 Peter and 3 times in 2 Peter.
All in all, we ought to know that all these qualities in these verses must be absolutely connected with the Holy Spirit for no man has it in himself to exhibit those qualities. In this one quality here, the natural man stands condemned – {{Romans 3:12 “All have turned aside. Together they have become useless. THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD. THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.”}}. When we supply goodness to faith it is a gift of the Spirit – {{Galatians 5:22 “but the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, GOODNESS, faithfulness,”}}
KNOWLEDGE:- All translations use “knowledge” and it is a word meaning discretion, a right understanding. Of course there is a true knowledge and a false knowledge. The world adopts false knowledge in moral and spiritual matters because it is all built on a platform of humanism and rationalism, and it is getting worse in the WOKE world because the world is departing from God further and further away.
The true knowledge comes from God and is granted in the new God-nature that is given to us. Knowledge proceeds from grace – {{1 Corinthians 1:4-5 “I thank my God always concerning you, for THE GRACE OF GOD which was given you in Christ Jesus, that in everything you were enriched in Him, in all speech and ALL KNOWLEDGE”}}. In his second letter to the Corinthians Paul writes a lovely verse saying the light of God has shone on us to give the knowledge of God’s glory. {{2 Corinthians 4:6 for God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts TO GIVE THE LIGHT OF THE KNOWLEDGE of the glory of God in the face of Christ.}}
SELF-CONTROL:- The follow on from Knowledge is self-control and this is a direct fruit of the Holy Spirit – {{Galatians 5:22-23 “but the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, SELF-CONTROL. Against such things there is no law.”}}. All versions translate as “self-control” except the KJV which used “temperance”. When we have the correct knowledge about God and about ourselves then we should have self-control.
Of the last days of the Church age, Paul wrote – {{2 Timothy 3:3 “unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, WITHOUT SELF-CONTROL, brutal, haters of good,”}} and that certainly is evident in the world today. Cain had no self-control when he rose up against his brother; when Paul discussed self-control with Felix - Acts 24:25 – Felix became frightened; those without self-control ought to marry (1 Corinthians 7:5-9); an elder must have self-control - Titus 1:8. Our faith must stand in good stead with these aspects Peter mentions.
PERSEVERANCE:- The translations are mixed in the word used here. Some have perseverance, some have endurance, some have steadfastness. A vacillating person is no credit to God. {{2 Timothy 1:12 “For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed FOR I KNOW WHOM I HAVE BELIEVED, and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day.”}} In our Christian walk we should be steadfast and run the race with patience not trying to slip away from the running track or give up half way around. I would suggest the reason why we don’t finish our race and run with endurance; and all is stop and go is because our eyes are not on Jesus – Hebrews 12:1-2.
The Greek word means cheerful endurance, constancy and patiently waiting for. I think this quality is lost in today’s world of quick attainment and instant communications and computer age. Patience seems to have died along with endurance. The world is one of instant gratification. Patience is yet another of the fruit of the Spirit.
GODLINESS:- Godliness is an often-used word in the letters of Paul and Peter, especially in the letters to Timothy. What is godliness? We will try to answer that shortly. Godliness is always ascribed to men never to God in the scriptures. The derivation of the English word means “state of being godly,” and that can only apply to Christians because “ungodliness” is often used to describe the wicked in the world such as in {{Romans 1:18 “The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.”}}
There is something wrong when a Christian is not godly, for there is nothing to supply faith, which is what this Peter passage is about.
*** We are to live in godliness and dignity – 1 Timothy 2:2
*** Good works are connected with godliness – 1 Timothy 2:10
*** The mystery of godliness is great – 1 Timothy 3:16
*** Godliness requires discipline – 1 Timothy 4:7
*** Godliness is profitable for all things – 1 Timothy 4:8
*** Godliness with contentment is great gain – 1 Timothy 6:6
*** Godliness is to be pursued along with, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness – 1 Timothy 6:11
*** Godliness declines into ungodliness with worldly and empty chatter – 2 Timothy 2:16
*** The knowledge of the truth according to godliness – Titus 1:1
*** God has granted everything pertaining to life and godliness through true knowledge – 2 Peter 1:3
*** We ought to be people of holy conduct and godliness – 2 Peter 3:11
BROTHERLY KINDNESS:- Philadelphia – the love of brothers. Peter urges that brotherly kindness be supplied to faith. {{Romans 13:8 “Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another for he who loves his neighbour has fulfilled the law.”}}. {{1 Thessalonians 4:9 “Now as to the love of the brethren, you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to LOVE ONE ANOTHER.”}}. There should be NO snapping or scheming or backbiting, or trying to get advantage over another. That is “unbrotherly love”.
Who is the most important in a church – the minister? Elderly Christians? Foundation members? Actually those whom men see as important ought to be no more than servants. The correct answer to that is, “No one is more important than another because we are members one of another. We are all sheep in the Lord’s flock.” THEREFORE brotherly love must be exercised by all, and with all. We should stop putting people into hierarchies in churches. Each biblical functioning church is just a small flock of believers among so many.
LOVE:- Love must supply faith. Love must be the outcome of faith. This aspect is so well known that I don’t think I need to add any more to this one.
The Apostle Paul also gave a list of seven items in the fruit of the Spirit and I will give the verses but won’t speak on them. Galatians 5:22-23. Again there are 7 forms of service - Romans 12:5-8.
[3]. BE NEITHER SHORT-SIGHTED NOR FORGETFUL
{{2 Peter 1:8 “If these qualities are yours and are INCREASING, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
2 Peter 1:9 “He who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, HAVING FORGOTTEN his purification from his former sins.”}}
Verse 8 mentions “increasing” – this could be the strengthened steps. That would be progression. We dealt with the 7 qualities in a bit of detail but Peter now speaks of increasing. This is a tough call for many of us, isn’t it? In verse 8 Peter sees those qualities as useful and fruitful, but those without them are blind or short-sighted in verse 9.
Having given the 7 qualities of supply, Peter gets to the makeup that will make a Christian of standing. They are stages of growth. Those must increase and ultimately lead to “the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Whenever you have the true, there must also be the false. The Christian world is full of false, or imperfect knowledge. Let us strive for the fullest understanding of the true knowledge.
A preacher must never pretend when he speaks or writes to others. No man is perfect and he must not pretend he has achieved a standing with the Lord when he does not have it. To do so is hypocrisy. Until we reach heaven’s shores we are all rowing in that direction and must keep doing so.
The message I have for today is a very real problem for Christians in their stand before God, and for me also. I even think that if a man declined to speak on this passage we have dealt with, until he is perfect in it, then no one would ever teach or preach on this Peter passage. I have looked into these verses but not as one who has reached satisfaction in them.
[4]. NOW TO CLOSE
{{2 Peter 1:10 “Therefore, brethren, be ALL THE MORE DILIGENT to make certain about His calling and choosing you, for as long as you PRACTISE THESE THINGS, you will never stumble,”}}
{{2 Peter 1:11 “for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.”}}
In verse 5 Peter asked that we apply more diligence in our faith, and now in verse 10 he asks that we be “all the more diligent” and the reason for that is to make certain about God’s calling and choosing you. Never presume or be flippant about your faith. Those who are diligent in those matters and practise them will not stumble. I guess it is correct to say that if/when we stumble it is because we have failed in the 7 qualities mentioned earlier from verses 5 to 7.
Take verse 11 as being both a warning and encouragement to you. Paul did write this – {{Colossians 1:23 “IF INDEED YOU CONTINUE firmly established and steadfast in the faith, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, of which I, Paul, was made a minister.”}}
And also he wrote – {{2 Corinthians 13:5 “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith. Examine yourselves, or do you not recognise this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you - unless indeed you fail the test?”}}
