2Pe 1:1-5 Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have
obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our
Saviour Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the
knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, According as his divine power hath
given unto us all things that pertain
unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to
glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious
promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having
escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. And beside this,
giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
I don’t remember the first time Mama helped me make biscuits
but I do remember how delicious the homemade bread was even if she did most of
the work. Before Daddy divorced my mom,
she would make biscuits every day and sometimes twice a day depending on how
many workers came from the field for dinner (our lunch was called “dinner” back then).
In the mornings all five of us girls sat at a round table, our chins barely
touching the edge of the checkered tablecloth. Hot grits, smoking grits we
called it, with fresh fried pork and eggs that were gathered that morning and
of course, Mama’s biscuits. Mama was a good cook. She just didn’t know how to
keep all of us and the farm together. She loved us but somewhere she just
stopped making biscuits. I look back now as a Grandmother, and understand her
loneliness; her desire to know “stuff” beyond the farm. Her knowledge of God was limited and she
resisted any attempt to go with us to church. That in itself was a dangerous
sign that something wasn’t quite right. It’s risky for a woman to stop doing
what she does best in the family because allurements of the world outside can
cause havoc to the entire family.
I admit that I struggle with certain words and Knowledge in this passage is one of them, not because I
don’t understand its meaning, but because it is such a complicated word for the
Christian. Just because we have knowledge of God doesn’t mean we KNOW Him. Peter must have thought that knowledge was
indeed so very important as he used it seven times in II Peter and EVERY time
he used it, he referred to Christ. There cannot be true knowledge of God without Jesus
Christ in us. I really don’t want to use
making biscuits to learning about knowledge, but I do want for you and me to
see that each ingredient is a “must” as we study these seven attributes in II Peter 1. They are
necessary for us to move our faith to moving mountains in our lives! Don’t you
just want to see mountains moved for people and for yourself? The road ahead
looks totally impossible for the unbelieving and to the believer UNLESS the
right ingredients are added but mixed with one another. I don’t want to confuse
you, so stay with me for this ride. Rest stops are ahead.
In my Bible are these words printed right above II Peter
1:3, “Growth in Christ.” Growth, isn’t that what we desire on this road trip to
knowing God? Peter is talking to
believers, you and me. God has given us promises to participate in God’s divine
nature. Why? So we will not fall prey to the corruption that is all around us.
Promises are found in God’s Word as we study it day in and day out. Same place,
same time, same Bible. Yes, we may pick up one of the popular authors and read
the alphabetized list of promises OR we can claim them as we read through God’s
Word for ourselves. God desires to sit down with us as we listen to Him, and
eventually, a promise of truth jumps out and if you are like me, you just sit
there in awe! From Genesis to Revelation
we have some 3,800 promises. To me, that is exciting!
2Pe 1:4
Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these
ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that
is in the world through lust. 2Pe 1:5
¶ And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to
virtue knowledge;
So, we look at the
divine nature of God in us and are now ready to exercise our diligence if we
have any handy. Check out your diligence, ‘cause you will need your steady
Eddie, constant zeal, wholeheartedness….your diligence…. to add that cup of
virtue! Virtue is defined in The New Defenders’s Study Bible as “spiritual valor, or strength of
character.” I want to encourage you to take your faith however little or strong
it is, and exhibit this virtue of yours and if you are weak in valor or
strength of character, then tell God! Don’t quit on me. Stay for a while until
you are able to grab II Peter 2: 1-8 IF you want more perfect vision of who
this AWESOME, GREAT, LOVING GOD truly is!
Until next time, Lord willing.
Sharon
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