PASSAGE FOR THE DAY:
2 Peter 1 (click the link)
KEY VERSES:
3 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. 4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
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, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, 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 whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.
10 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, 11 and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 1:3-11, NIV)
REFLECTIONS:
I can still vividly recall when the exciting truth of this passage hit me with its full force. I had grown up in a church that emphasized biblical knowledge. I had spent my entire life studying the Bible, and I could easily spout off one answer after another to questions about God, the Bible, or the Christian life. But at the same time, I was a very selfish, petty, and worldly person. Most of the time, my life resembled my unbelieving neighbors’ much more than Jesus'. Though I had undoubtedly read 2 Peter 1 a number of times, I had totally missed the extraordinary news that I was designed to "participate in the divine nature." And then one day, this amazing message hit me like a ton of bricks. God opened my eyes to his desires, and set me on a course of action that revolutionized my life.
Before we get into the nitty-gritty details of this passage, it's important for us to see the big picture within which all of this cluster of exciting and challenging ideas means what it means. And the big picture of this passage is that it describes what God wants for his people. All too often, people get the idea that "religion," or even "Christian faith," is about what God wants from us—good behavior, denying ourselves the things we like, a gritted-teeth morality of forcing ourselves to behave unnaturally. But this is a total caricature. Here, in these three breathtaking paragraphs from verses 3-11, we see the truth.
First, God has already given us everything we need (verse 3). He's given us a starter kit for all that we need to become everything he desires for us. There is indeed a lot in this letter about the moral effort we have to make. But in verse 3, Peter is quite clear—it all comes from God in the first place.
For those God foreknew he also
predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the
firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also
called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also
glorified. (Romans 8:29-30)
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and
where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, who with
unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his
image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the
Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:17-18)
You were taught, with regard to
your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by
its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put
on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
(Ephesians 4:22-24)
Dear friends, now we are children
of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when
Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. (1 John
3:2)
If we say that the Holy Spirit is fully
divine, and if we say that the Holy Spirit has come to live within us and
transform us from within, what is that but to say that the divine nature is
already dwelling within us, leading us forward until we are fully suffused with
God's own presence and power? Obviously, for most of us, most of the time, it
doesn't feel like that. But that may be because we are not yet very good at recognizing
what actually happens when God takes up residence in our life.
Third, God has indeed called and chosen
those of us who follow Jesus (verse 10). In this verse, Peter urges his readers
to "confirm" this call and choice. He doesn't mean that we can make God
more sure of it; rather, we can make ourselves more sure.
This leads directly to the fourth point:
God has already set up his "kingdom," his sovereign rule over earth
as well as heaven (verse 11). When "the eternal kingdom" has fully
and finally arrived those who in the present time follow Jesus will find that
they are welcomed into that ultimate heaven-and-earth reality.
Now, all this is just the outer framework
for this remarkable passage. But it is all the more important because it shows
that whatever we do by way of obedience and allegiance to God, it all takes
place within the grace of God, by the promise of God, through the power of God,
and leading to the kingdom of God. And that's a great place to start!
But it's not a good place to stop, because
Peter has much more to say to us in this passage. Central to it all is the idea
that, by God's grace and empowerment, we are to learn the discipline of Christian
moral development. Peter is clear—we are to put forth an effort to grow in
godliness. This has sometimes been frowned upon, as though it leads
automatically to a legalistic, works-based religious experience that leads
automatically to pride and arrogance. ("See what a fine Christian I've
become!") But the God-centered framework we've just discussed should make
it clear that nothing could be further from the truth. While we put forth an
effort, God is intimately involved in the whole process (see Philippians2:12-13). Once this point is grasped, there are two basic things which must happen.
First, we must escape "the corruption
in the world caused by evil desires," in order to become partakers of
God's own nature. We are to passionately and intentionally seek an escape from—to
flee from (2 Timothy 2:22)—the evil desires that drag us down to the sub-human
level. Think of Joseph when Potiphar's wife tried to seduce him (Genesis 39).
She made a grab at him, but he ran away—he "left his cloak in her hand and
ran out of the house." Both Paul and Peter want us to do the same.
This running away from the evil desires—the
lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (1 John 2:16-17)—isn't
a negative thing, despite what the people of our culture try to tell us today.
Lust is a drug. Like all drugs, it demands more and more, but gives less and
less. It turns people into shadows of themselves. It leads to a moral
"corruption"—it does to the moral fiber what cancer does to physical
cells. So, Peter urges his readers to go in the opposite direction.
Finally, we are to become more fully human by
building one aspect of Christian character on top of another: faith… goodness…
knowledge… self-control… perseverance… godliness… mutual affection… and finally
love. All these things take thought. They take creativity. They take effort.
They take intentionality. They don't happen by accident. You have to want to do
them. You have to choose to do them. But when you do—and when you pray for
God's grace, promises and power to help—you will be coming to know Jesus. And
in that knowledge, you will become fruitful and effective in God's service
(verse 8).
POINT OF ACTION:
If you're interested in reading more about
the divine-human collaboration of putting on the character of Christ, I'd like
to recommend a number of books for you to read. No one has had a bigger impact
on my understanding of the way God changes our lives than Dallas Willard. Three
of his books that I'd recommend are: The Divine Conspiracy, The Spirit of the Disciplines, and Renovation of the Heart. Because his
books are sometimes difficult to understand, I'd also recommend that you read
Richard Foster's Celebration of Discipline, John Ortberg's The Life You've Always Wanted,
and James Bryan Smith's The Good and Beautiful Life. Read
these books, then read them again, and again. Practice, practice, practice the
spiritual habits they describe. Intentionally invite others to join you in seeking
after Jesus. Pray together and encourage one another in the endeavor to
participate in the divine nature.
WHO AM I?
I am Tres Sansom, and I am so grateful
for the incredible truth of this passage!
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