Lesson 10 - 2 Peter 1:1-11 - THE CHRISTIAN LADDER OF VIRTUES
INTRODUCTION: Last week, in 1 Pet. 5:1-11, we concluded our study of Peter's first epistle and learned five important principles about what makes a church healthy: (1) A pastor who shepherds the flock. Foremost, He's a Spirit-driven man who leads the church as a godly example rather than forcing his will on members through his authority. (2) A flock that submits to its pastor and leaders. It pictures a church where the members humbly and willingly place themselves under the authority of the pastor and other appointed leaders in the church. (3) The best response to trials and worries is to humble ourselves before God and put all our anxiety on Him. Since God cares for us and intends to build us up, it's not His will for us to live under these self-imposed burdens. (4) We must always be prepared to resist the devil. The key to "resist" is being ready to defend yourself by "standing firm in your faith," which in practical terms, means saying 'no' to the devil's temptation. (5) Because of God's sovereign "dominion" of everything, we Christians have nothing to fear. Whatever we're hit with in this life the word "dominion" means we're entirely safe in God's hands-forever.
Today, in 2 Pet. 5:1-11, we'll move into Peter's second epistle, which the apostle wrote later in his life, probably between 65-67 A.D., since he is thought to have been martyred before 68 A.D. In the opening chapter, Peter publishes a list which many Bibles scholars consider to be one of the finest expositions of Christian character in all of the NT. Peter's primary purpose was that his readers (and the churches they belonged to) would become so strong and sure in their faith that they would be able to withstand and reject the false teaching that was beginning to creep into the church at that time. Simply stated, in order to know what is wrong, you must first be sure about what is right.
Read 2 Pet. 1:1-2 - A FAITH OF THE SAME KIND AS OURS
1 Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ: 2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord,
v. 1a: "Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ," - The writer could hardly have identified himself more clearly than he does here. "Simon" was his Hebrew name and "Peter" is a transliteration of the Greek word Cephas, lit. the rock. Peter may have done this to suggest the two aspects of his life-before and after his discipleship of Jesus Christ. We should notice that he refers to himself first as a "bond-servant" and second as an "apostle" of Jesus Christ." He needed to assert his apostolic authority up front in order to discredit the false teaching he was preparing to deal with.
v. 1b: "To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ:" - The phrase, "same kind of faith as ours" is a direct reference to the faith the apostles received "by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ." By saying this, Peter confirmed that every other Christian believer has exactly the same faith and spiritual benefits that all the apostles received. This would effectively discredit any false teaching which claimed that something more was needed.
v. 2: "Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord," - "Grace and peace" were common greetings used both by Greeks and Jews, which suggests that Peter is writing this epistle to a mixed audience. The word used for "knowledge" (Gk. epignosis) denotes the fundamental spiritual knowledge "of God and Jesus our Lord" received by believers at the moment of conversion. Other knowledge (Gk. gnosis) through preaching, teaching, and personal Bible study is knowledge acquired during the course of the Christian life.
Read 2 Pet. 1:3-4 - HIS DIVINE POWER HAS GRANTED US EVERYTHING
3 seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. 4 For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.
v. 3a: "seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness," - "power" is a key word in the epistle. Just as Christ's power saves us in the first place, His power likewise energizes us to live holy lives from that point onward. "everything pertaining to Life and godliness" are all the resources-His High priestly work, the Holy Spirit, and the truth of Scripture, including the teaching of the apostles (i.e., NT)-that make it possible for us to live Godly lives.
v. 3b: "through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence." - To know Christ is eternal life (John 17:3), and our growth in knowing Him is our progress in godliness. The better we get to know Christ, the more like Him we become...more excellent.
v. 4: "For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises," - Included in the "everything" (v. 3) "granted to" us are all the great promises of God's Word, which is an inheritance that comes with our salvation. You might note that there are at least 30,000 promises in the Bible.
v. 4b: "so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust." - We become "partakers" at the moment of salvation. God saved us by faith in His promise, He indwelt us, and we therefore partake the nature of God within us. And with His "promises," we have everything we need to avoid the corruption of this world. As we live in the practical enjoyment of what God has promised, we become more and more like Him.
APPLICATION 1: The power of Christ and the promises of God grant us everything we need to attain godly lives. At the moment of salvation, the power of Christ, which includes the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, energizes us to live a new life; and the many promises of God gives us the ability to navigate through the corruption of the world.
Read 2 Peter 1:5-9 - THE BELIEVER'S NEED - EIGHT VIRTUES
5 Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, 6 and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, 7 and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins.
v. 5a: "Now for this very reason also," - In the next five verses, Peter will explain what some commentators refer to as the "Ladder of Christian Virtues." Peter assumes the virtue of faith, for without saving faith in Jesus Christ, no one is genuinely capable of living the Christian life.
v. 5b-7: "applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, 6 and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, 7 and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love."
APPLICATION 2: Spiritual growth is a choice that doesn't happen automatically or inevitably. It's something that requires strenuous effort on the part of a believer, something we must do consciously and proactively. If a believer fails to add virtues to his or her faith, it loses its vitality and productivity and soon becomes what James calls "dead faith" (James 2:14-16).
Note: Christian faith is the root from which the eight virtues listed above must grow, and Christian love is the crowning virtue upon which all of the other's rest. The virtues listed form a good checklist to help you evaluate and measure whether (or not) you are all that God wants you to be. If you apply all of these virtues to yourself, it shows that you're a mature Christian whose faith is vital, not dead.
v. 8: "For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. - The key here word is "increasing": We must not only possess all of the eight virtues listed, but must continue to grow in them over the entire course of our earthly lives. This "increasing" process isn't complete until we depart this earth for our new heavenly home. If we fail to do this and allow out faith to stagnate, we can become:
APPLICATION 3: The absence of any good works in the life of a believer reflects a useless and unfruitful faith. This describes a backslidden Christian who has the learning and skills to be a witness and a disciple or to serve in ministry, but refuses to use them. This is dead faith.
v. 9: "For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins. - The absence of these virtues strongly implies a decided lack of the "knowledge" discussed in v. 6, above. Peter describes such a condition as:
APPLICATION 4: Christians who allow themselves to be preoccupied with the present are spiritually blind and have forgotten what God called them to do. This describes a believer who lives only for the present and is blind to the future. This person has not only forgotten what God has saved them from (hell), but has forgotten what God calls all Christians to do-to proclaim Christ and live godly lives that escape the corruption of this world!
Read 2 Peter 1:10-11 - TO MAKE CERTAIN ABOUT HIS CALLING AND CHOOSING
10 Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; 11 for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.
v. 10a: "Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; - This verse is tricky. Peter is challenging his readers to confirm their call to faith and salvation by compelling them to show evidence of a divine nature-virtues-that confirm they are
saved. A person who shows no evidence (no virtues) is probably not a genuine believer.
v. 10b: "for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble;" - Leading a holy life that integrates the eight virtues will keep us from stumbling-falling back into sinful routines. We don't stumble when we're paying attention to where we're stepping. Caveat: This verse isn't implying that our salvation rests on our good works; our assurance of salvation rests upon the promise of God.
v. 11: "for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you." - Peter concludes this section on Christian character by assuring his readers that simply practicing and applying the virtues he advocates will effectively prepare them for the future. Proactively, it also taught them to turn aside any false teachings about how the Christian life should be lived.
Endnote: On of the greatest motivations for "increasing...our qualities" (vv. 8-9) as we move through the Christian life is the kind of welcome we will receive when we finally meet Jesus face-to-face. While entrance to heaven is a free gift, the gospels and epistles suggest varying degrees of reward (Matt. 5:12; Luke 6:23, 35; 1 Cor. 3:14; 9:18), and the rewards are said to depend on how faithfully we have built a structure of character and service upon the foundation of Christ.
APPLICATION 5: The salvation of a person whose life shows no evidence of godly virtues is doubtful. Jesus Himself explained, "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.' (Matt. 7:21-23).
