Through Our Knowledge of Him

2 Peter 1:1-11
Key Verse 3

”His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.”

Introduction:
Unlike 1 Peter, the author does not mention about his audience directly for his second epistle. Yet it seems it’s written to the same people: believers scattered throughout the regions of Asia Minor (Turkey). It was probably written from Rome just before Peter’s martyrdom about A.D. 68. The problem that Peter addressed here was not only persecution from outside but also troubles from within. False teachers were leading people astray with their own views of the nature of Christ and His second coming. Peter corrected these false views and advised the church leaders to deal firmly with these heretical teachers.

1. Read verses 1-2.  How does Simon Peter introduce himself? (1a) Who are the recipients of this letter? (1b) How can “grace and peace” be ours in abundance? (2)


1-1) Read verses 1-2.

”Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours: Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.”


1-2) How does Simon Peter introduce himself? (1a)

A servant and apostle of Jesus Christ

Especially this book is very meaningful in that he wrote it before his death. So he remarked each word very sincerely and seriously.

Who is Peter? Again his name indicates both old nature (Simon) and new nature (Peter). He was known for a man of big mouth.
He was called to be a leader of all believers.

Thanks to Jesus’ vision he was newly called as Peter and he grew up to be a rock like person.

Peter’s change came  through the full and personal knowledge of Jesus Christ.


1-3) Who are the recipients of this letter? (1b)

Those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours


1-4) How can “grace and peace” be ours in abundance? (2)

* through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord

It looks like contradictory between “grace and peace” and “the knowledge of God and of Jesus.”

But this knowledge is different from worldly one but personal and divine one with our eternal Father and Son.

John 17:3
“This is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you had sent.”



2. Read verses 3- 4. What has his divine power given us? (3a) How has it been given to us? (3b) How do we receive his very great and precious promises? (4a) What  then are two outcomes in our lives? (4b)


2-1) Read verses 3- 4.

”His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.”


2-2) What has his divine power given us? (3a)

i) Everything we need for life and godliness

ii) In these (3, 4) verses, we find the word “divine” twice.

“Divine” denotes the eternal, unlimited, and almighty divinity of God.

So his divine power is the power of the eternal, unexhausted, and almighty God;

God’s divine power imparted, infused, and planted in us by the life-giving Spirit, who regenerates us and indwells us.

iii) Here  ‘life’ is within and it enables us to live. ‘Godliness’ is something outside as the outward expression of the inward life.

In other words, life is the inward energy, the inward strength, to bring forth the outward godliness.

iv) Then what is everything we need for life and godliness?

All things which relate to life and godliness are the various aspects of the divine life such as holiness, righteousness, justice and loving kindness.


2-3) How has it been given to us? (3b)

Through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and godliness

How could this imparting into us of everything be possible?

It is through the thorough and experiential  knowledge of God who is our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ and who called us by His glory and goodness.

In short, God’s divine power is manifested when we come to know our God personally.


2-4) How do we receive his very great and precious promises? (4a)

i) Through these- most likely these are our knowledge of him who called us

ii) Through eternal words, we are connected to our eternal Lord and live for his eternal purpose.

This reminds me of one of our recent daily bread passages (08-04-2012)

-He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. (Ecclesiastes 3:11)

-Man is not only a creature of time. There is within us that which transcends time. We are too deeply immersed in time to see the end and the beginning.

iii) Yet man can find eternity, forever and today, in God because God has set eternity within us.

That we can enjoy our lives and find satisfaction in our work is God's gift to us. Everything is in God so we must fear him. The beginning of our wisdom is when we fear God. (from Daily bread book)


2-5) What  then are two outcomes in our lives? (4b)

You may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

Participating in the divine nature is very against our earth bound nature and very difficult against our gravitation driven by our earthly desire.

We are aware of what our evil desires are through the knowledge.



3. Read verses 5-9.  What level of effort should we make? (5a) Which qualities should we make every effort to add to our faith? (5b-7) What does possession of these qualities keep us from? (8) What is true of anyone who does not have them? (9)


3-1) Read verses 5-9.

”5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge;6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness;7 and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.”


3-2) What level of effort should we make? (5a)

Every effort


3-3) Which qualities should we make every effort to add to our faith? (5b-7)

i) ”Add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge;6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness;7 and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.”

ii) Faith is the first step but it is not all.

Peter used to think that he has faith and that’s was all. But he misunderstood.

By God’s grace all these virtues were added up in him one by one (think of “Joseph” in Genesis)

iii) Notice their order as follows:

First step: goodness and knowledge-like Joseph who was born in Jacob’s family who changed into Israel (goodness) and educated through his father (knowledge)

Second step: it is hard topic- self control (self endurance despite odds) and perseverance (keep his personal faith in spite of all odds in Egypt and Potiphar’s prisons)

Last step: godliness (bearing fruit inside Joseph to be a shepherd), brotherly kindness (dealt with his sinful brothers with brotherly kindness and discipline), love (agape love to bring up 12 ancestors of faith starting from “Judah”-external fruit)

iv) In the same way,

Apostle Peter encouraged the Christians to make every effort to possess the spiritual qualities-

associated with the divine nature such as goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness and love.
In detail,

Again, faith is the foundation of the Christian life. We are justified and saved by faith alone.

But there is a long way to go to learn of our Lord Jesus Christ!

Yet faith needs to be supplied by goodness.

Goodness needs the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

Self-control is the exercise of control and restraint over one’s passions, desires and habits.

Self-control needs to be supplied and developed in knowledge for the proper growth in life.

To exercise self-control is to deal with ourselves; to exercise perseverance is to deal with others and with circumstances.

The next step is to add godliness. It is a living that is like God and that expresses God.

As we exercise control over our temper and bear with others and with circumstances, godliness could develop in us, that we may be like God and express him.-internal fruit!!

God created man in his image so that man could express and glorify God. But man fell. Many fallen men are like the devil and express the devil in word and action.

To be like God and express and reveal God should be our utmost desire.

But still two more steps to go.

Godliness needs to be supplied by brotherly kindness or brotherly affection, a love characterized by delight and pleasure.

 In godliness, this kind of love needs to be supplied for the brotherhood, for our testimony to the world.

What is the “love” mentioned in the last step? The Greek word for love is agape, the divine love.

It adorns all the qualities of the Christian life. It is nobler, stronger and greater than human love.

Who can possess divine love? A believer who lives by the divine life and participates in the divine nature can be saturated with this kind of love and express it fully. God is love.

So whoever lives in God grows in his divine love.

In short, if faith can be considered the seed of divine life, this nobler love is the fruit in its full development.


3-4) What does possession of these qualities keep us from? (8)

They will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Although we have knowledge, we often times find the fact that our knowledge is not effective and unproductive.

Thus we need to possess these qualities to refine ourselves until we settle down in the right truth and real(personal, experiential) knowledge.

Most importantly, the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ is most important, for it gives salvation and eternal life.

Christians are those who have the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. According to Peter, it should be effective and productive. Is your knowledge of Jesus effective and productive?


3-5) What is true of anyone who does not have them? (9)

He is nearsighted and blind,and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.

If these qualities are not displayed in increasing measure, it is a proof of spiritual amnesia.

When we reinforce what we’ve learned, our memories improve.

The same thing is true of spiritual memories. Peter urges believers to reinforce what they’ve learned and experienced.

He warns us that if we neglect spiritual disciplines, we will forget what God has done and will become nearsighted, even blind, and will live inconsistently.



4. Read verses 10-11. What then should we be eager to do? (10a) What benefits do you receive if you make your calling and election sure? (10b-11)


4-1) Read verses 10-11.

10 Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, 11 and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.


4-2) What then should we be eager to do? (10a)

Be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure.


 4-3) What benefits do you receive if you make your calling and election sure? (10b-11)

i) For if you do these things, you will never fall, 11 and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

If we develop the spiritual virtues in the divine life and advance in the growth of the divine life, this makes God’s calling and selection firm.

Our own spiritual discipline and growth will bring the assurance of God’s salvation.

ii) We not only do not fall but the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be richly and bountifully supplied to us.

The more spiritual qualities we possess, the more firm our assurance of salvation and hope of the kingdom of God will be.

 iii) Practically, the bountiful supply that we enjoy in the development of the divine life and the divine nature will bountifully supply us a rich welcoming into the eternal kingdom of God.

 It will enable and qualify us to enter into the coming kingdom of Christ by all the riches of the divine life and divine nature.

A true Christian is the one who is not merely saved but after being saved pursues the growth and maturity in the divine life and then receives the kingdom reward.


In conclusion,
We are very thankful for our Lord Jesus who started his wonderful work in each person. Through the knowledge of him, we are now connected with him and further getting into effective and productive knowledge about him. Knowledge is not dead but active enough to give us meaning and purpose in this transient life so that we may not entangled with evil desires. It is through the personal knowledge of Jesus that we are more than conquerors in any situation to make our election and calling sure enough!

One word: Through the knowledge!

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