Last 5 Days
The Last Word
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: 2 May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
3 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, 4 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. 5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For whoever lacks these qualities is so near-sighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. 10 Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. 11 For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
12 Therefore I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have. 13 I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder, 14 since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. 15 And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things.
Peter’s second letter was his last testament or will to his readers, “Those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Saviour.” This description suggests all believers are equal in God’s sight. There is no distinction between him as an apostle with any believers. He gives “His divine power” to all the believers to live a godly life because of their knowledge of Him. This power is of the Holy Spirit who resides in all believers. Thus, all can “partake” in God’s divine nature after having been set free from sin and the power of our sinful desires.
But this divine nature must be expressed as Peter said you must, “supplement your faith with virtue.” Virtue refers to having a high moral standard. In this case, that which is befitting to the divine nature of God whom we know. This demands that we must be self-control. In self-control, we will be unwavering in our faith to live a godly life that is expressed by brotherly love. The godly qualities mentioned in verses 5 to 6 must also be increasing as they will keep us effective and fruitful in growing in our knowledge of the Lord. If we lack these qualities then we will be “near-sighted” to being blind because we will be quick to forget that we were made righteous. Therefore, we must “be more diligent” to prove our “calling and election” as God’s people to “practice these qualities” so as not to fall away or fail in living a godly life.
In practicing the godly qualities, Peter said that the door of the eternal kingdom of God will be opened to them. He felt this is his responsibility before he departs (dies) to remind them that they must have such qualities and practice them. He did not want them to forget them after he departed. This implies Peter was at the end of his life when he wrote this letter. It was his last word to them which they must take seriously what he has to say to them.
As believers of Jesus Christ, we are given the Holy Spirit who enables us to know God and empowers us to overcome sins and temptations. We must not gratify the selfish desires in us but be self-control when tempted to sin against God. We must continually remind ourselves not to sin against God because we have been made righteous by the Lord. And our lives must be evidenced by this divine power and the divine nature with such godly virtues in our lives.
Prayer: Father, thank you that we are all equal in your sight. You have given us the same divine power so that we can live out the qualities of this divine nature in our lives as your people. Help us not to forget that we have been made righteous by Christ and empower us with the power of the Holy Spirit to live victoriously as children of God. Help us not to be blinded by our selfish desires and forget what Christ has done to make us righteous before our God.