Written ~ 10-10-2023
2 Peter 1:2-4
2 May God give you more and more grace and peace as you grow in your knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord.
3 By His divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know Him, the One who called us to Himself by means of His marvelous glory and excellence.
4 And because of His glory and excellence, He has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share His divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.
In this second book that the Apostle Peter has written to believers, he gives encouragement, instruction, and warning. In our verses for today we hear Peter’s heart for encouraging believers to grow in their faith and to realize the divine power we have been given through the knowledge of God and Jesus Christ our Lord. So, for today’s study, let’s go verse by verse…
Verse 1:2…
When we have put our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, we mustn’t stop there, we need to take the time to read the Bible in order to “…grow in our knowledge…” If we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, but don’t do anything else to further our knowledge, our faith and trust could diminish in such a way that we begin to go back to our old ways. So growing our “knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord” is an essential part of our newfound life walking with Jesus! Even the Apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 1:16-18,
16 “I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, 17 asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. 18 I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope He has given to those He called…”
Now look at Proverbs 19:27,
27 If you stop listening to instruction, my child,
you will turn your back on knowledge.
To grow in knowledge of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, we must heed to the instructions given to us in God’s Word! If we stop listening to what the Bible says, we are turning our backs on what God says and our knowledge will be stunted, perhaps stopped all together. Why is it important to increase our knowledge in the things of the Lord? 2 Peter 1:2 says, “…God will give you MORE and MORE Grace and Peace…” all of us could use more of grace and more peace, right? One of the definitions of knowledge is: the fact or condition of knowing something with familiarity.
Familiarity. Are you familiar with the Bible? Well, the only way to know what God is saying, is to read and study His Book. I would say, a lot of us don’t like the idea of studying, maybe it brings back memories of your school days and studying for a test, only then to barely get a passing grade. Not fun. In my experience, studying the Word of God is different, Hebrews 4:12 says, “…the word of God is alive and powerful…”
In the Amplified Version Hebrews 4:12 says, “…the word of God is living and active and full of power [making it operative, energizing, and effective]…”
So the difference between studying for a test in school and studying the Word of God, it changes you from the inside out! It brings an exceptional fire to your life, it invigorates even the most lifeless soul! It brings peace to your heart, it shows you how to love! It captures your imagination, it opens your eyes to the supernatural power of the Almighty God! Truly, if you don’t believe me… with your heart, mind, and soul completely open to what the Word of God says, try it yourself! See what it does! This is what Peter is talking about in verse 1:2, “May God give you more and more grace and peace as you grow in your knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord.”
OK, so let’s move on to verse 1:3,
3 By His divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know Him, the One who called us to Himself by means of His marvelous glory and excellence.
Read this part of verse 3 again, “…God has given us everything we need for living a godly life…” How? By accepting His Son Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, He has opened our eyes and our minds to the truth of every word written in Scripture; “…we have received all of this by coming to know Him…” God has called us to become His children. Some, unfortunately, will ignore His call… But for those of us who have answered, we have a wealth of information at our fingertips when we choose to dig into the Word of God and increase our knowledge. See what it says here, “…He called us to Himself by means of His marvelous glory and excellence…” God is Marvelous! God is Glorious! God is Excellence! This is the God, our Father in Heaven who we get to learn about in Scripture! But what else do we gain by learning more through Scripture? Read verse 1:4,
4 And because of His glory and excellence, He has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share His divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.
Reading and studying the Bible helps us understand and see that “He has given us great and precious promises.” If we don’t gain knowledge through the study of Scripture, we will miss out on knowing the great and precious promises of God. Once we have given our heart and lives over to the Lord Jesus Christ, that decision “…enables us to share in God’s divine nature…” So what does that mean? When we become believers, we now have the Spirit of the Living God residing within our hearts and souls! In Galatians 2:20 it says, “…My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me…” So, we now have access to the divine nature, the power of God through the Holy Spirit living in us. Awesome, that’s all I can say! It’s truly an awesome thing!
The last part of verse 1:4 says,
“…we escape the world’s corruption caused by human nature…”
We now have a new option, a new way to live. We don’t need to follow the world’s standards of corruption and lusting after the things the world tries to throw in our direction. No, our backs have now turned away from the evil of this world and we look to the glorious treasures we have stored in Heaven.
I didn’t have these next verses as part of the reading for today, but I think adding 2 Peter 1:5-9 will bring this study full circle. Ponder these additional verses, examine your own heart, see how your walk with the Lord and the knowledge you have gained so far measures up to Peter’s encouragement in these verses:
5 In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge,
6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness,
7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone.
8 The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9 But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins.
If you have not yet given your heart to Jesus. You’re curious about how it could matter. Well. It matters to God! He’s calling you by name, waiting for your response. He’s ready to pour out His Grace, His Peace to the heart that is ready to soften, to be pliable enough and allow Christ to bring life and His light into the darkness. If you have come to the point in your life where change is necessary, but apprehension and doubt is what governs your life… maybe it’s time to let that go.
With the deepest sincerity within your heart, pray this prayer…
Dear Jesus, You know my heart, all the things I have done and said. Please forgive me for my unbelief. Please forgive me for all of my sins. I believe You are the Son of God. I believe You came to earth to die on the cross for my sins. I believe You rose from the dead to give me freedom from sin and death. By faith through believing in Who You Are, I accept You as my Lord and Savior. Come into my life, cleanse this heart of mine, white as snow. Help me not to doubt any longer and breathe life into me, fill me with Your light. Thank You Jesus! Amen.
If you solemnly prayed this prayer, tell at least one person, so they can share in your joy!! I rejoice with you! All the angels in Heaven rejoice with you! And just as 2 Peter 1:2 says, “May God give you more and more grace and peace as you grow in your knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord.”
~AMEN~