by Tom Brown

“…knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

Knowing This First of All
Peter has just charged us in the previous verses to place our uttermost confidence in the Scriptures, and to pay close attention to them as we order and conduct the business of our daily lives. In verses twenty and twenty-one he is going to unpack for us exactly how we can have such confidence. We will see the true origin of the words God has spoken, the means through which God has spoken, and the power by which God has spoken.  All these are the basis for our confidence in his Word, as something even more sure than our human experiences. We must not forget the important words Peter wrote in the beginning of this letter, “May grace and peace be multiplied to you through the knowledge of God…” or in verse four, “He has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature…” If the Bible is not the holy, flawless, perfect, complete, inerrant, effective, powerful, trustworthy, illuminating, and liberating Word of God himself, then what can we possibly know for certain about our faith? 

The Origin & Means - From God Through Man
The Bible is more than man’s footnotes from holy encounters, more than the prophets and apostles best efforts at articulating some heavenly experience. Peter is teaching us that the Scriptures did not originate as man’s interpretation of the divine, nor were they originally produced by the will of man at all. The Bible is God’s original Words spoken through man’s sovereignly ordained mouth. To be sure, men have indeed spoken, they have articulated what they saw and heard, they have recorded experiences and scribed dreams, but while they acted freely of their own will and desire, there was a greater will and a greater desire at work in and through them. Their every stroke of the pen was simply the publication of the sovereign script of heaven. The true author of every book of the Bible is God himself; no prophecy comes from someone’s own interpretation of life, nor was any prophecy ever produced by the desires of man, but men spoke from God…  

We must consider the importance of this truth. If the Bible is of the will and interpretation of man, and man is sinful and flawed, the Bible is also imperfect and flawed. But if, as the apostle Peter has said, the Scriptures are not of man, but of our holy God, there can be no flaw within them and therefore we can put our complete and utter trust in every word therein. Without divine authorship the precious and very great promises of God are not very precious or great at all, they become nothing more than hand-me-down advice from a bygone era instead of something more sure, to which we will do well to pay attention. Furthermore, if the Scriptures are not of divine authorship, how can we tell the difference between doctrine and heresy? In the very next sentence, at the beginning of chapter two, Peter begins warning us against false teachers who will bring in corruption, heresies, lies, and scandals. How are we to discern between the truth of God and the destructive teachings of men? Without the sure, unchanging, and immovable anchor of God’s holy Word we are at the whim of our time and culture, adrift in a sea of deception, unable to stand firm upon any of the great promises offered to us in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Power - Carried By The Holy Spirit
We are meant to understand that although God worked through men in authoring the Bible, he was no benefactor of their service, rather we are all benefactors of his. As a child who is worn out and unable to complete the hike on their own is scooped up and carried along by the superior strength and vigor of their parents, so too were the weak and feeble Biblical authors carried along by the Spirit of God. We are meant to understand that the genesis of the Scriptures begins entirely in God alone. From the words being written, to the pens being used, to the trees from which the parchment was made, to the very breath in the lungs of it's scribes... God has done it, and God alone. "Men spoke from God, as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit."

There is no source of understanding under heaven that is more sure than the holy Scriptures of our God. Therefore, "knowing this first of all…" let us confidently believe every promise and command of God therein. For these are not the words of strangers long dead, these are the words of our loving heavenly Father who lives.

by Tom Brown

This blog entry is part of a series through the book of 2nd Peter.

Text: 2 Peter 1: 16-19

“For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. And we have something more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts…"

We Were Eyewitnesses
Consider what a convincing reality it is that men and women walked with Jesus. They were with him in the extraordinary and in the mundane, they camped with him, they ate with him, they were there on groggy mornings and late nights, during times of joy and times of sadness… and after being with Jesus Christ in every facet of life for three years their conclusion was unanimous: He is God. After three years of walking, talking, living and lodging with the man called Jesus of Nazareth, the collective proclamation of those who knew him best was that he was truly the Messiah foretold by the prophets, God in the flesh, Emmanuel. 

Having now been two-thousand years since these events took place it is easy for us to forget that the Bible was written through the hands of men who, “were with him on the holy mountain,” men who heard the very voice of the LORD thunder from the heavens, men who at the risk of their own reputations and lives penned the very parchments from which we derive the Bible. This is what Peter means when he says, “For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.” He wants you to know that the things he is writing about are not legends passed down to him by storytellers and entertainers, these are events in which he himself was a participant. 

Something More Sure
But then, just as you would think Peter had reached the pinnacle of his argument he lands the final blow with these six words, “And we have something more sure…” What a truly shocking statement. What could possibly be deserving of more confidence and clout than our own personal experience? His answer is the “prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention.” The chief exhortation of the Apostle in these verses is that his readers put more confidence, conviction, and reverence on the inerrant Word of God than upon even what they see and hear with their own senses. Peter is giving us perhaps the highest view of Scripture offered in the Bible by insisting that the trustworthiness of God’s Word supersedes every other source of understanding in existence. For the Christian, the Word of God is to be held high above every other word, thought, idea, perspective, experience and encounter, bar none. The Word of God is the final authority in all matters of life. This does not mean that our math books have no place, or that our science experiments are of no value, rather it means that all these things find their greatest value when understood and employed under the authority of God’s revealed Word. Anything that contradicts the Bible is to be regarded as false, with no exceptions. This very concept rubs us the wrong way, it feels restricting and confining, but in fact it is the very foundation for our confident expectation of eternal life with God in the new heavens and the new earth. If God’s Word is not infallible, what confidence can we have in any of the "precious and very great promises" therein? (We will see more on why this is the case in the next blog entry, #9, “Men Spoke From God”).

A Lamp Shining
The "prophetic word" is metaphorically spoken of in verse nineteen as, “a lamp shining in a dark place.” The singular form, “a lamp,” is very important for us to take note of. This metaphor means to imply that there is only one source of light by which anyone anywhere can see into what is otherwise dark. That source is the flawless Word of our heavenly Father. 

Dear Christian, take care that you do not neglect these truths. You are either walking by the "more sure" light of God’s Word, or you are walking by the deceitful flickering of your own understanding. Building every area of your life upon the foundation of God’s Word is an unmistakable must. If all else falls away, if all our human senses deceive, if false teachers rise up and the church at large becomes overrun with delusions and heresies… still there be a safe harbor for the true believer, a sure anchor in every tempest, the unchangeable Word of your heavenly Father to which you will do well to pay attention. 

Let us hold fast to the Word of God as our supreme authority in all matters of life and godliness.  

by Tom Brown

This blog entry is part of a series through the book of 2nd Peter.

Text: 2 Peter 1:12-15

“Therefore I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have. I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder, since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able to at any time recall these things.”

As Long As I am In This Body
Death is real. Despite the crescendo of modern culture, we will all die in these bodies. Our lives will someday end, and at a time unknown to us. It could be many years from now, or it could be in just a few short hours. What do you want to do with the rest of your life? How do you want to live before you die? Many scholars feel confident that this epistle is written as a farewell address. Peter’s time on the earth is soon to come to an end, “as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to [him],” and he has one aim in mind: encourage the saints! Peter wants to die pointing people to the truth of the gospel for the glory of God, and It is for this goal that he will “make every effort” until the end.

What do you want to do with the rest of your life? It is easy to give lip service to a life of ministry and sacrifice, but what do the ordinary moments of our days proclaim we are truly living for? Is it God’s glory or our own? Is it the upbuilding of Christ’s kingdom or the procurement and preservation of ours? Are we living for the benefit and blessing of others, or the comfort and convenience of ourselves? Oh that we would not run from the conviction these questions bring! We need to be melted by the fire these questions cast into the dark places of our hearts and drawn to repentance. We need to be “reminded of these qualities” because we are so prone to wander away from them and forget. 

It Is Right To Stir You Up By Way Of Reminder
What exactly has the Apostle been reminding us of? What has he been trying to teach our hearts? I want to provide a short list for us to ponder, but please keep in mind that this is not exhaustive. So far, we have learned that...

1. God gives every repentant sinner the same abundant salvation through faith in "the righteousness of Jesus Christ." (v. 1)
2. We lack nothing which is necessary for our success and growth "in life and godliness." (v. 3)
3. We were saved for the purpose of eternally displaying God’s infinite "glory and excellence." (v.3)
4. It is through growth "in the knowledge of God" that our sinful nature is conformed to his "divine nature." (v. 4)
5. We must pursue obedience to God through perpetual growth in the “qualities" of Christ. (v. 5-8)
6. The truth of the gospel must never be “forgotten." (v. 9)
7. The "practice" of obedience increases our joy and peace as we sojourn in this world. (v. 10-11)

Peter’s aim is to plant “these qualities” deep in the belly of our souls. These are the things we ought to "be able to recall at any time,” the things it is “right” for us to be “reminded” of. And let us keep in mind that Peter is not only addressing those who are lingering in disobedience, he is also addressing those who already "know [these things] and are established in the truth.” Take heed of this point lest you fall: no christian ever outgrows their need to be reminded of the basic truths of our faith. It is always right to be stirred up by way of reminder, and only the prideful heart will reject such a gift. 

Let us never cease to marvel and wonder at the gift of grace which we have received through the shed blood of our Lord.  

by Tom Brown

This blog entry is part of a series through the book of 2nd Peter.

Text: 2 Peter 1:9-11

“For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

An Essential Clarification
We must be careful not to misread these heavenly words and glean a very devilish interpretation. The “practice” of “these qualities” is not the provider of our entrance into heaven, rather, it is the determining factor of how joyfully we shall enter. This text does not say that our personal obedience to God is the basis of salvation, it says that our personal obedience to God makes the free gift of salvation all the sweeter to the recipient. Satan would have us read these words and turn our eyes away from Christ. He would have us believe that our entrance into heaven is up to some obedience of our own, some righteousness that we must provide for ourselves. But Hell will not prevail against the Church. Salvation is available to all people by grace alone, through faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ. This text is not a charge for you and I to work harder so that we might someday receive salvation from God. No, it is a plea for those who have already received salvation to be conformed to Christ in every area of their life, to not only receive pardon for their sin, but the power of the Spirit to triumph over it. “For if you practice these qualities you will never fall,” and, “in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” There is a very rich entrance into eternal life available for all of us, the question is, will we seize it?  

How can you be sure that you are a christian? How can you be confident in your heavenly adoption? How can you endure hardship and great trials with peace in your heart? Obedience. Anxiety and fear regarding our relationship with God are nourished and sustained by areas of disobedience in our life. When we willfully “lack these qualities” we are heaping kindling on the fire of of our own doubt. What makes the difference between a rich entrance into heaven and a poor entrance is the confidence we have in the love of God as we sojourn upon the earth. “Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure…” There is not a soul under heaven who does not desire confidence about the life to come, and God has graciously provided the means for us to have it. Obedience. Faithful obedience always yields the fruit of heavenly assurance. This is the way God richly provides an entrance into his eternal kingdom, through a life that is continually being conformed to Christ. 

Remember The Gospel
In the first years of school we learn the basic truths of the primary subjects. A foundation is laid upon which all other learning is to be built. Calculus is obviously impossible for the person who never learned to count to ten, but it is also impossible for the person who thought they no longer needed to remember how to count to ten. As a professing Christian, when we walk in deliberate disobedience to God it is because we have “forgotten” the truth of the gospel. The christian’s relationship with God is built solely upon the person and work of Jesus Christ; if the foundation of the gospel is missing, the christian life is impossible. If the foundation of the gospel is “forgotten,” the christian life becomes entirely undesirable. We begin to drift back to our old nature, “having forgotten that [we] were cleansed from [our] former sins.” 

Peter says that the christian who is straying into disobedience, neglecting the qualities of godliness, is “so nearsighted that they are blind.” To be nearsighted means that you can only see things that are directly in front of your face. In essence, Peter is saying that this person has forgotten about eternal life and has begun basing all their decisions on the short view. They are living for today, for right now; they are living for themselves and not for God. Why? Because they have “forgotten” the truth of the gospel. They have forgotten that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. They have forgotten that the punishment for sin is eternal separation from God in hell. They have forgotten that every soul will live forever in one place or the other. They have forgotten that all the riches and wealth and comfort in this life cannot offer you any pleasure in the life to come. They have forgotten that it is only those who repent and believe in Jesus Christ who will be saved. And they have forgotten that by his grace, he has already suffered and died for their sake, even while they go on living in outright rebellion against him. It is only when we forget these things that we drift from our Lord, lingering in sin and forfeiting the strong assurance we have been offered.  

Be Diligent
Do you see how undesirable disobedience ought to be for the children of God? Do you see what havoc it brings? Do you see how it embezzles your confidence in God’s love? Do you see how it makes you forget the truth of the gospel which saves you? “Brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” 

By all means, grow in your personal obedience to God.  

by Tom Brown

This blog entry is part of a series through the book of 2nd Peter.

Text: 2 Peter 1:8

“For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective and unfruitful in the knowledge of God.”

Are These Qualities Yours?
Your works cannot save you, nor can they add to God's love for you, but if you have come to believe in Christ you have been undeniably called to display his glory in the actions of your life. Faith in Christ supplies every believer with complete reconciliation to God and gifts us a definitive holiness—an entirely righteous standing before God based on the perfect obedience of Jesus in our place—but definitive holiness and practical holiness are two different things. Faith in Christ supplies every true believer with the free gift of God’s salvation, but it does not automatically apply all the traits of godliness to one’s soul. The old things must be worked out, and the new things must be worked in. The Bible calls this process, “sanctification,” and this is exactly what Peter means when he say that we must, "make every effort to supplement our faith...” God intends to bring about conformity to Christ in every area of our lives. How? Through the perpetual revelation of his glory, our personal growth in the knowledge of God. In the words of John the Baptist, “He must become greater, and I must become less."

The purification of the heart and corresponding growth in obedience is the evidence that our participation in the religious functions of christianity are more than perfunctory. “If these qualities are yours” you will have great assurance of your salvation. Why? Because you see the saving power of God transforming the conduct of your life. Your inner faith is being displayed by your outer behavior. But “if these qualities are” not yours, what assurance can you have? Every action of our lives is an act of worship. Obedience is the worship of God, and disobedience is the worship of self. A true believer will always begin to be changed from the inside out, and the character qualities of Christ will, even if ever so slightly at first, be displayed in their life. Indeed, the qualities of godliness must belong to the children of God because we have been brought from death to life through the blood of the cross, we have been filled with the Spirit of holiness and power, the same Spirit which raised Christ from the dead. Paul says in Romans 1:16 that the gospel is the power of God for salvation. If the power of God has been unleashed in your heart your actions will undoubtedly testify to it! Not perfectly, but perpetually, continually, and as Peter is about to show us, increasingly.

Are They Increasing?
I have a gas tank in my car that holds ten gallons. I have a gauge on my dashboard that tells me how much fuel I have at a given time. It tells me when I am running low and when I am filled to the brim. This is how I determine when I should stop at the gas station or not. I go only when I perceive that I need more gas. It is exactly this kind of thinking about our relationship with God that corrupts our understanding of eternity. Our soul is not like our gas tank, and the Bible is not the filling station. While this metaphor can be used in a beneficial way at times, it is emphatic that we understand this reality. We do not have a gas tank in our soul which can be filled by a pitstop at the Gospel of John or the Psalms, etc. No. We do not have a limited sized tank for drinking deeply of the things of God. We have been given souls that, when gazing upon him rightly, simply cannot get enough. We never reach full. We do not come and go from the gas station of God based on how our “tank" feels. By his design, we never run out of space and he never runs out of glory. We were made for a seamless, exhilarating and endless relationship with the Creator. Eternity itself is centered on this truth. The inexhaustible glory of God is the foundation for joy in heaven. We will spend unending days marveling at who our Savior truly is and what he has done for those who believe. We will not be bored. Awe will not be in short supply. Why not? Because the glory of our God is utterly boundless and we were made to worship him. 

Obedience is worship. This is why Peter says that the qualities of godliness shouldn’t just be ours, but that they should be "increasing.” The increase in our obedience is connected to the increase in our worship, and our increased worship is rooted in our growth in the knowledge of God. The rhythm of eternity begins now. Our understanding of the depths of the glory of God will never end, therefore our growth in the character of Christ should be “increasing." No one who has truly been born-again can continue in unrepentant sin or be content with only “a little bit” of God. The more we come to see him for who he truly is, the more we long to worship him with a heart of “increasing” obedience.

Ineffective And Unfruitful
What does it mean to be "ineffective and unfruitful in the knowledge of God?” Imagine a farm land that is infertile. A farmer can spread seed there, he can water the ground, he can clear the weeds and brush, but if the soil is not full of nutrients the harvest simply will not come. Scattering more seed will not fix it, adding more water to the ground will make no difference. If the soil itself is not fertile, the harvest will not grow. The question we must ask ourselves is this: Is my heart like this soil? Are you participating in the religious functions of christianity but without a heart-transforming relationship with Jesus Christ? Peter means to say in the contents of this letter that a person lacking perpetual growth in conformity to Christ is a soul for whom he fears. The evidence of our saving-faith is displayed by our glad participation in the “divine nature” of God. Let us take sincere inventory of our lives and find out what effect "the knowledge of God" is having on our souls. Are you being changed by the glory of God? Do you possess the traits of godliness? And are they increasing in your life?

Indeed, we are great sinners, but Christ is a great Savior. His salvation saves us not only from the consequences of sin, but from the very power and presence of it altogether. Let us make every effort to grow up into him who called us to his own glory and excellence that we might display his divine nature through our redeemed lives! 

by Tom Brown

This blog entry is part of a series through the book of 2nd Peter.

Text: 2 Peter 1:5-7

“For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.”

Make Every Effort...
It is by grace alone through faith alone that a soul is saved. No works can add to or subtract from the positional righteousness that Jesus has won for all who believe. We are children of God through faith, not performance. Children do not earn their position in the family, rather they simply grow up into what is already theirs. Likewise, we also must grow up into the salvation we have received from God. But we need to remember that the "works" Peter mentions in these verses are "supplements," not the main course. Think of multi-vitamins; these are great supplements to take with your breakfast, but they are no substitute for your breakfast. A man can live on breakfast with no supplements, but a man cannot live on supplements with no breakfast. So it is with our faith in Christ. Faith alone is enough to save, but all the works in the world with no faith will save no one.

Nevertheless, there is a way in which immature faith, (or a faith with little evidence), withholds blessing from the child of God. If our faith is not supplemented by the character traits of maturity we will make life much more difficult on ourselves than God would have it be. Jesus not only purchased our salvation but also our sanctification. We have been “granted all things that pertain to life and godliness.” Yet, we must take hold of these gifts if we are to receive their benefits. Christian maturity strengthens and empowers us to resist temptation, endure hardship, and persevere in every circumstance with joy. Simultaneously, immaturity in our faith causes us to continually give in, give up, and suffer perpetual defeat. We are called to be, "partakers of the divine nature," and, “for this very reason,” we must, “make every effort,” to grow in maturity. But how? 

The phrase, “make every effort,” sheds light on the tenacious pursuit of a transformed life that every follower of Christ is called to strive for. We might say it differently with our modern tongues: “You must stop at nothing!,” or, “Give it everything you have!” This is exactly the kind of attitude we are being encouraged to take regarding our relationship with Christ. We must, “make every effort,” to grow up into the new life we have freely received. The Apostle gives us seven clear aims to make central in our lives, seven “supplements" to add to our saving faith. Let’s explore them together.

Supplement Your Faith With...
Virtue — Moral Excellence
To cry out to God, “Lord, save me from my sins!” is to say that sin itself is indeed something from which you need to be saved. This means that a true believer will no longer desire to continue living in disobedience to God. Growing in holiness is the only reasonable response to sincere faith in Christ. The old manner of life must be put off, and the new manner of life must be put on. Therefore, let us make every effort to supplement our faith with virtue. 

Knowledge — Relational Intimacy with God
Our stomaches crave calories, and our rescued souls crave Christ. Sincere faith hungers after a deeper relationship with God, and the primary means by which we obtain that intimacy is through the ministry of his Word. We are not only called, but privileged to commune with God through his inerrant Word and prayer. Therefore, let us make every effort to compliment virtue with knowledge. 

Self-Control — Mastery Of Personal Desire
Self-control without salvation is a fool’s errand. Until God opens the eyes of our heart to see life through the lens of his grace we cannot cultivate godly self-discipline. It is only through salvation that Christ becomes our supreme treasure enabling us to rightly value the puny whims of this world. Christian self-control is learning to say no to sin and yes to God in every area of our lives. Therefore, let us make every effort to apply our knowledge of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ by exhibiting self-control in our lives.

Steadfastness — Unswerving Loyalty
Steadfastness is the maturation of self-control. It is a continual, yes to God and no to sin in every area of our lives. There is grace for the inconsistent, for bad days and times of weakness, but the goal of our sanctification is that we would mature in the salvation we have freely received. God’s desire is to cultivate unswerving loyalty and endurance in the hearts of his people, so that we will be steadfast and immovable, shining as lights in this world. Therefore, let us make every effort to mature in self-control and press on toward steadfastness.

Godliness — Reverence for God
Godliness abounds where depth of insight is increased. Our reverence for God flourishes in humble honesty about the depth of our personal need for his pardon. When we measure ourselves against the holy and righteous standard of God, we are drawn quickly and reverently to our knees in worship. It is in that humble worship that the eternal glory of the cross shines bright into the darkest corners of our heart and we are from that moment on perpetually transformed in our inner man to rightly bear the image of our maker in the actions, attitudes, and values of our life. Godliness is therefore, the imminent result of truly encountering the living God. Let us make every effort to allow steadfastness to mold our hearts in godliness as we marvel at the grace of our great King.

Brotherly Affection — Affection for the Saints
Our concern for the needs of others is always a reflection of our own understanding of the grace we have received. Those who understand of how much they themselves have been forgiven, are quicker to forgive the sins of others. Those who understand that if it were not for mercy, they too would be lost, these are the ones who excel in brotherly love. As christians, we care for others out of the overflowing care we have personally received from God. Brotherly affection is the mark of maturity in the faith because it no longer measure others by their failures, by what they may take from you, or by what they have to offer. Brotherly affection looks at the soul of every human being through the lens of Christ’s perfect victory, knowing that, "the ground is level at the foot of the cross." Therefore, let us make every effort for our growth godliness to spill over into sincere brotherly affection for others. 

Love — Unconditional Love (Selflessness)
When we realize that God has promised an eternal reward that no power, situation, or circumstance in this world can take away, we are then, and only then, truly freed to lay down our lives in love for the sake of others and for the glory of our Savior. Unconditional love is the fruit that blossoms on the vine of promise. We must personally believe the “precious and very great promises” of God if we are to grow in maturity, to be “partakers of the divine nature." Divine love cannot be displayed by the immature because it is solely the result of resting in the promised provision of our infinitely powerful Lord and Savior by faith. Our personal intimacy with God is what grows our ability to offer a selfless love like his to the world around us. 

As Peter says in the very next verse, “For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective and unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Let us then make every effort to grow up into the salvation we have received, that we might be partakers of the divine nature both in our personal fellowship with God and in our witness to the world.

by Tom Brown

This blog entry is part of a series through the book of 2nd Peter.

Text: 2 Peter 1:3-4

“His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.”

Partakers Of The Divine Nature
“So that… you may become partakers of the divine nature…” This is the divine purpose that Peter is charging us to see. There are many ways in which the wicked human heart can twist and contort God’s gracious gifts to their own selfish ends, but here is laid out for us the end that our Savior has in mind. It is the plan and desire of God not only to spare you from the consequences of sin, but to remove the presence of sin from your heart altogether. One does not come without the other. To be spared from wrath is also to be set on fire by the Spirit in the refining process of sanctification. Indeed, he has, “called us to his own glory and excellence.” This means that our transformed hearts will tell of his glory and excellence by the way we mimic his character in our lives. This is the grand purpose of salvation, that God’s glory and goodness and mercy and perfection would be perpetually displayed through the obedient worship of his people. All of God’s redemptive work is moving toward one end, the eternal worship of himself by the ransomed and sanctified saints. But how can such a lofty destiny be reached?

He Has Granted All Things
By, “his divine power,” he, “has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness.” The divine power of God is his supreme authority to give of himself to whoever he pleases. In other words, the only reason that any human being has been given mercy and grace is because God willed to do so; these gifts can come from no other source. All have sinned and are separated from God without his merciful pardon. And despite our un-deservedness, this mercy and grace come at no cost to the recipient. Salvation is the free gift of God for all who believe. This is precisely the “divine nature” that we are called to partake in—that we would no longer measure one another by our deservedness, but according to mercy. Yet mercy cannot be mustered up from an impoverished heart, it is the overflow of a heart that has been richly supplied by the God of all grace. This is exactly what Peter means to remind us of when he says, “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness…” There is no blessing that we require which God has not given to us through faith in Christ. Absolutely everything we will ever need for salvation, sanctification, and glorification has been “granted to us" through the finished work of our Savior. All the power and wisdom we will ever need to live lives that reflect the divine nature of God has already been granted to us. Yet, it does no good to leave a christmas present wrapped up under the tree, it must be opened, it must be received. How does Peter say we are to receive the gifts of God?

Through The Knowledge Of God
The incalculable blessings that God has given to all who believe come only through his specific ordained means, namely the Word of God. Therefore, if you desire to be near to God, to know him deeply, intimately, and personally, then you must pursue him through his Word. In short, what Peter is trying to help us understand is that we, as the children of God, have the occasion for perfect peace, abounding hope, and unquenchable joy at all times. “His divine power has granted us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence.” The more we know who our great God actually is, the more confidence and assurance we will have in every circumstance of life. Simultaneously, to neglect the pursuit of the knowledge of our heavenly Father is to forfeit the blessings he has granted. In other words, a dusty Bible always leads to an anxious heart. We all desire the blessings, and Peter shows us the source from which they flow. We must be a people who stop at nothing in the pursuit of our God. There is no other road which leads to inner peace, and there is no other power by which we can fight against the corruption that is in this world. 

Escaping The Corruption
God has, "granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.” But what is the corruption that is in the world? What is it that God desires his people to escape from? It is a corruption of deception. We have been deceived to hold a false view of our Creator. We doubt his goodness. We doubt his judgments. We doubt his commands. We doubt his promises. We sometimes doubt that he is even real at all. Because of these heaping suspicions in the depths of our soul we are utterly corrupt. God says go right, and we go left instead. Why? Because we don’t believe he has our best interests in mind. God says stay put and we press ahead anyway. Why? Because we think he is holding something back from us, keeping us from the fullest and most satisfying life we could live. Because of sin, we are born with corrupt hearts. We do not know God. This is the great sin from which Jesus ultimately came to save us. Suddenly we are beginning to see why Peter opened his letter saying, “May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord." Suddenly we are understanding why Peter says that ALL THINGS HAVE BEEN GRANTED TO US… THROUGH THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD! When we see him for who he truly is, sin will no longer look satisfying. When we have a proper view of our Lord and Savior the things of this world will fade from our hearts. We will escape the corruption of this world by obtaining a true and proper understanding of the Maker, Sustainer, and Savior of our soul.

“For this very reason,” says Peter in the very next verse, “make every effort to supplement your faith…” These verses we just unraveled are meant to give us perspective and understanding as to the full purpose of the salvation we have received. You might say that we have taken a look at the map of our journey, and now its time to put on the boots and start hiking. Next we will begin to learn what the “divine nature” actually looks like in the everyday life of a believer, but we need to remember what we have learned here. Having a vision of the big picture for our salvation breathes life into the practical changes God is calling his children to make in their lives. If we forget the big picture, obedience looses its luster, and the corruption of the world will creep in yet again. Let us guard ourselves from that corruption by never ceasing to meditate on the truths of who our awesome God has always been and will always be.

by Jeremy McKeen

Why is God so insistent on people praising him? I was recently talking with a skeptical gentleman about the greatness of God and when I invited him to church, he said, “I don’t get why a God that is so great would need me to come to church and praise him. How self-centered and egotistical could God be that he constantly demands people to praise him?” This gentleman is not alone. That is a very common objection to Christianity. Many people throughout the centuries, including C.S. Lewis prior to his conversion, have wrestled with God’s constant demand for your worship. All throughout the bible, God is commanding people to worship him and him alone. Jesus even says, in so many words, “If you love anything more than you love me, you’re not worthy of me” (see Matt. 10:37). So how can God continually point to his own greatness and demand you only worship him without God being self-centered and egotistical? This is no small question. It strikes at the very heart of Christianity and the meaning of life itself.

Worshiping God is the result of knowing God   

Think of worship like this. Here are a few of the most incredible artists who are masters at sculpting and painting, but their highest joy is fellowship with one another and praising each other’s work. One day they decide they want others to share in the beauty and joy of this experience. So they send out a public invitation for people to meet them and enjoy their artwork. Now, the invitation was sent out not because they didn’t have love and glory from others and needed it to complete them, but rather because they wanted other people to share in it with them. God is like that community group of artists. God is tri-personal. God is three persons in one being. This is critical to keep in mind because in Jesus’ prayer in John 17 you learn that there was already a mutual exchange of love, enjoyment and praise between the persons of the Godhead before creation. And later on in that prayer, Jesus asks that others would be able to know and experience it too. This means that God didn’t create you to get love and praise that he didn’t have; he created you to let you in on the joy of knowing him and his work, which can’t help but result in praise.

Worshiping God is the result of enjoying God.

Why is it that if you use social media like Facebook, it’s almost never enough to see or experience something great on its own? You want to publically post it, and you want people to like it and share it with others. Why is it more fun to watch a sporting event with others and high-five like-minded fans? Because public praise is the consummation of your joy. C.S. Lewis, in his Reflections on the Psalms, explains that praising something not only expresses the enjoyment; it completes the enjoyment. So, publically praising God and getting others to do the same is the culmination of your joy in God. You were meant to enjoy God. In fact, you’re commanded to. “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say rejoice” (Phil.4:6). This command reflects God’s goodness, because he’s calling people away from the many things that will never satisfy their soul to the one thing that always will. Therefore, when God calls you to worship him, he is calling you to fully enjoy him. This means that the ultimate goal in wanting people to know God is because the choir is too small. You want more people joining with you in praising the great God that you enjoy. When you understand worship this way, it changes the way you view attending church. Going to church no longer is seen as just your Christian duty to check off; it’s seen as the consummation of your delight in God. Praising God is the flower of your joy in full bloom.

Worshiping God is the result of appreciating God.

It’s only natural to praise someone for giving you a great gift. The praise is the spontaneous result of a heart filled with gratitude. It’s pride that keeps people from praising God, because pride sees every good thing in life as a wage instead of a gift. The more you appreciate the grace of God who laid aside his glory and became a man to die and rise again so that you could be forgiven and welcomed into the joy of knowing him forever, the more you will praise him. The more you realize that every good and perfect gift comes from above, you can’t help but appreciate and praise God. God-centeredness is the cure for the cancer of self-centeredness. As the old hymn writer put it, “Come thou fount of every blessing, tune my heart to sing thy grace, streams of mercy never ceasing, call for songs of loudest praise.” Worshiping God is the result of knowing, enjoying, and appreciating the God who is the source of every blessing in life, including life itself.

by Tom Brown

This blog entry is part of a series through the book of 2nd Peter.

Text: 2 Peter 1:2

“May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.”

The Source Of True Grace & Peace
"May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God…” This verse concludes Peter’s greeting for the letter. The blessing of true grace and true peace in the life of a believer comes through real knowledge of the living God. The more we come to understand who our God is, the more we realize how minuscule our troubles are. Which is also to say that the less we know of who our God is, the more menacing and threatening our problems will seem. Peter wants to be a vessel for the fulfillment of the very blessing he just pronounced. He wants to increase our knowledge of God through the contents of his letter, and if we have ears to hear it, and by the help of the Spirit of God, that is exactly what we will do. 

Of all the wonderful blessings Peter could mention, why does he choose, “grace and peace?” I believe Peter chooses these two attributes because they are the most foundational truths in the life of every christian. In other words, if you have any understanding of God at all you will know of his grace. Jesus, our Savior, is the “image of the invisible God.” He is the “exact imprint of [God’s] nature.” He is “Emmanuel.” Jesus even teaches this truth about himself in the Gospel of John, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” Therefore, the way we come to know the God of grace is through the life, death, and resurrection of his Son. And if you know of his grace, your heart will undoubtedly find peace—resting in the unchangeable promises of the Almighty.

But, what does it look like for grace to be multiplied? I believe Peter has the same goal in mind that we have in using a telescope. A telescope does not help a blind person see, but rather it multiplies the vision of someone who can already see. With the use of a telescope the person's vision is far more clear. Peter has in mind that our vision of God’s abundant grace might be multiplied in a similar way. He wants us to see more clearly the innumerable blessings that abound. He wants us to become intoxicated by the unmerited favor that has been poured out into our lives. Multiplied grace is another way of saying that he wants our hearts to take a more heavenly perspective, to measure every circumstance of life by the finished work of God's Son.

And what is the result? Peace. Indomitable peace abounds in the life of every true believer because we have gained knowledge of the depths of the riches of the mercies of our God. Our sin did not repel him. The grave could not keep him. He has done all things necessary for our eternal peace! What are we to fear? "If God is for us who can be against us?” The tempest of life in this fallen world will beat and batter every human heart, but the true believer will not be overcome. Why? Because the knowledge of God proves to be a sure anchor for the soul. To know God is to know his grace. To know his grace is to experience his peace. Truly, “He keeps him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on him." Therefore, “May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.” 

Let us stop at nothing to know him, and to know him more! 

by Tom Brown

Text: 2 Peter 1:1

“Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.”

A Faith Of Equal Standing
If we are not mindful of grace, we end up classifying one another’s position before God based on superficial credentials instead of sheer faith. The Apostle Peter wants to set this worldly perspective straight right from the start. Who exactly is it that has "a faith of equal standing?" Anyone and everyone who has believed in Jesus Christ for salvation. Whether you have been a Christian for five minutes or fifty years, according to the Word of God you have a faith of equal standing to every other believer who has ever lived! This is a profound symbol of God’s pardoning grace for repentant sinners. 

God’s love is not gifted in increments based on performance and achievement. Maybe in your profession you have something like an annual review. In these meetings your work is assessed and scrutinized by your boss. Depending on the measure of your performance, your pay may increase or decrease, you may receive a promotion or you could lose your position altogether. In the world, everything hinges on your ability to measure up, but this is the exact opposite of how God works. From the first moment that our heart turns to Christ we are gifted "a faith of equal standing" with every other true believer who has ever lived. It is not that God isn’t interested in helping us grow up into the salvation we have been given, but rather that Christ is the only measure of our merit, not ourselves. Our faith is of equal standing because the faith of every Christian is based on the perfect life and sacrificial death of Jesus. It is his standing before God that is gifted to us. In a sense, you could say that our “pay” and our “position" are based on the annual review of Jesus Christ, and his spotless record means eternal glory for all who believe. This is what Peter means when he says, “…by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.” Our “equal standing” is based solely on the finished work of Jesus Christ. The bedrock message of the Christian faith is that God’s saving love is a free gift provided for you, not anything that you could ever provide for God. 

A Unique God-Given Function
Peter has been called by God to serve the Church as an “apostle,” and you see him mention this in the opening of his letter. “Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ.” Why does he make sure to share that? Because "equal standing" does not necessarily mean equal function. In other words, by clarifying his calling as an apostle Peter is saying, “I’m not implying that I am more important than you because of my apostleship, instead I am saying that although we are equals I still have a unique God-given job to do.” It is important for us to understand that Peter is in no way saying that our "faith of equal standing" negates the importance of our unique God-given function. Others have made this point well by using the phrase, “Unity does not necessarily mean uniformity.” We are unalterably equal before the throne of God, and we are also each given unique gifts and callings to be used for the common good.

God’s design for the upbuilding of his people is the ministry of all his saints, one to another. In other words, God has gifted each of us in such a way that is meant for the strengthening and encouraging of the whole. Where this reality becomes tense is in the area of submission to church leadership. It is not hard to submit to the authority of a pastor who is encouraging you with truths that you desperately want to hear, but it is much harder to submit to a pastor who is lovingly pointing you to an area where you need to grow in obedience to God. We are tempted to say, “What right do you have to point these things out in my life?” But in order for that leader to be faithful to his God-given calling he must share that loving truth with you. In fact, it would be unloving and disobedient for him not to. This is the foundational opening of Peter’s second epistle. “Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, equal among brothers, yet called by God to lead.”

The primary intention of Peter’s letter is to help believer’s grow up into the salvation they have received. He is going to share some truths with us that we will be tempted to ignore and reject. This is why he opens his letter by reminding us that God’s love for us is not based on our performance whatsoever. Our standing before God is based solely on the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ in our place. We will need to remember this as we unfold the verses ahead, lest we become discouraged and start trying to perform, trying to put together a righteousness of our own. 

Rest in the faith of equal standing that you have been freely given through Christ, and be humble to receive and faithful to serve in the functions God has appointed for the blessing of his people.