This was from Sunday School, Sunday morning (1/15/2006)
Text:
2 Peter 1:1-11 KJV
Central Truth:
God provides resources to nurture spiritual growth in Christ.
Bible Focus:
"Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature...." - 2 Peter 1:4
1. Divine Resources for Growth (2 Peter 1:1-4)
2 Peter 1:1 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:
2 Peter 1:2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,
2 Peter 1:3 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:
2 Peter 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.
In his salutation, Peter affirms that his readers have been furnished with a faith just like his. Our faith, yours and mine, is in no way inferior to that of the great apostle! There is no such as a second-class believer or a second-rate faith. This is because everey Christian's faith comes as a result of the righteousness of Christ and is not our won achievement.
Our first acquaintance with the grace and peace of God came when we met Christ. Now, as we come to know Him better and better, grace and peace are multiplied in our lives.
Between our conversion, weh n we first receive Christ, and our final stage of maturity in growing to be like Him, there is a long process of spiritual transformation. This process is not a human endeavor brought about through programs of self-improvement. It requires the use of resources supplied by God and infused with His power through the Scriptures, the Holy Ghost, and the Church.
God has not shortchanged us or left us ill equiped. He has provided us with everything we need to live holy and godly lives that reflect His own glory and goodness. The world may be full of temptation and corruption, but we don't have to live under the dominion of these things. Christas overcome the world, and God has promised that through faith in him, we can share in that victory.
2. Developing Christian Character (2 Peter 1:5-7)
2 Peter 1:5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
2 Peter 1:6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;
2 Peter 1:7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
To come to Christ and receive forgiveness for our sins is not the end point but the beginning of a life transformed by the grace and power of God. Trusting in Christ is the first step, but we must go on to learn from him the virtues he displayed, so these qualities may also become a part of our character. As we grow in our knowledge about Christ and deepen our personal acquaintance with Him, we gain a better understanding of how He lived and how we can follow his example.
Living like Christ means taking control of our desires, deciding when they should be denied and how they should be fulfilled. It means patiently bearing with the faults and failures of others and continuing to persevere in our practice of righteousness no matter what obstacles or opposition we encournter. It means living our daily lives in the awareness of God's presence and in obedience to his will. It means viewing our brothers and sisters in the faith with tender affection and even laying down our lives for them in sacrificial love.
3. Results of Spiritual Growth (2 Peter 1:8-11)
2 Peter 1:8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Peter 1:9 But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
2 Peter 1:10 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:
2 Peter 1:11 For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
God expects us to grow spiritually, and he has provided the necessary resources and opportunities to make it possible. We have no excuse for drifting along year after year, enslaved to the same bad habits, falling into the same temptation, crippled by the same besetting sins, living fruitless lives that show no evidence of God's transforming pwoer. We my be willing to settle for an anemic Christian life, but that doesn't mean God is.
Christ didn't die so we could go on being the same self-centered and obnoxious people we've always been, but in church [now] instead of in the world. God has better things in mind for us, and so should we. God wants our lives to be useful and productive, displaying the values of the Kingdom and reflecting the glory of the King. God wants a family full of children who reflect the glory of Christ, sharing his virtues, doing his works, showing his love. Is this what we want as well?
