Thursday, 2 April 2020 2 Peter 1:1-21
His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. -2 Peter 1:3
This epistle of Peter is about living a godly life despite the troubles on this earth, while having fellowship with God and other believers. We are encouraged to look forward to the great and precious promise of an eternal kingdom, a new heaven and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. It also gives us an insight on how our spiritual well-being depends on both—Christ's righteousness and in part, on our knowledge of God.
How can His divine power become active in our lives?
God’s divine power is given to us to participate in the divine nature and escape the corruptions of this world. This is necessary for our own holy living to be nurtured throughout our earthly sojourn. All of us are given a measure of faith (Romans 12:3) and Peter asks us to add the below virtues to it. 2 Peter 1:5 -7 states, “But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.” WE can see a step by step approach of how to arrive at love which is the ultimate divine nature. We just cannot skip the steps— it takes a lot of work with the help of the Holy Spirit to get us to agape love-(Gal. 5:22: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control …….” ) This is divine power, for is Love. The above is nothing but our walk with the Lord in humility accepting all the discipline, troubles, trials that help to perfect us. This is known as growing in the knowledge of God. The end of all this, is a grand entrance into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1: 11).
How do we commence this godly walk?
Matthew 5:6 says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.” Whatever you hunger and thirst for, is what you will be filled with. If you hunger and thirst for the fruit of the Spirit to be borne in you, the Holy Spirit will lead you to that goal.
The Sermon on the Mount by Jesus in Matthew 5 commences with a call for humility. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
Divine Nature = Humility (poor in Spirit)
Promise = Assurance of the Kingdom of Heaven
Humility is the key to the kingdom. Grace abounds where this virtue exists and everything good adds on. If you are humble you will not take offense when insulted as you will consider the other better than you which leads to peace, not strife. 2 Peter 1:2 says that grace and peace will be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord: Grace to help you in your walk and peace to help you keep your mind on things of God.
Encouragement to overcome hindrance
The strife and struggle of daily living and the injustice we undergo and see, discourages us to give up and let things be. Jesus knew this- hence in Matthew 5 He speaks about all the lack that is there in this world. He shows that the lack of the world are the riches of the kingdom of God. For it makes us to hope for the fulfillment of all the great and precious promises that has been given to us. This hope encourages us to continue in righteousness for we are called to live by faith and not by sight.
Remember Christ humbled Himself for us. Let us also walk in a like manner where our heavenly Father can say, “This is My beloved Child, in whom I am well pleased.”
Prayer: Heavenly Father, help me to tap into Your divine power available for me, to live a godly life as I wait for Your Kingdom to come. In Jesus name, Amen.