God's Work Within You

2 Peter 1:1-15

Do you smell what The Cephas is cookin'?

"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."

It's always important to note who the intended recipient of the letter was. Based on what Peter writes in 3:1, it's understood that this second letter is intended for the same people who received his first. In 1 Peter, the Apostle greets more specifically then his second letter. He opens his first letter with "to the elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia" (modern day Turkey area). The fact that he identifies his recipients as those who have "obtained a faith" and as "elect exiles" is of great importance.

"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."

The list of qualities in verses 5-7 is not a list of things to check off as you go through life (that would be legalism), rather it is a list of the desires of a regenerated heart. Remember to whom this letter is addressed, those who have already received faith "by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ." This is a list of qualities that reflect a faithful, obedient heart.

Consider what this list is not. This is certainly not a list of things the believer should avoid. There are lists in the New Testament telling us the things to avoid. Actions and desires that are not of the Spirit, but of the flesh (Col 3:5; Gal 5:19-21). Paul makes it quite clear that it is not possible for a human to put those desires to death without the Holy Spirit acting within us (Romans 8:13; Philippians 2:12, 13; Colossians 1:28, 29). This is why it's so important to understand who is receiving this letter: those who have already been chosen by God for salvation (1 Peter 1:1, 2, 2 Peter 1:1). By faith in Christ, they already have the Spirit at work within them. If the list of qualities Peter lists in verses 5-7 are made plain in the believer's life, he will have assurance of his own salvation for the Spirit is at work within him. Salvation belongs to the chosen children of God, and it is confirmed by obedience.

The means for this assurance of eternal security to occur is shown in verses 3 and 4. There is no doubt that it is only by God's divine power that salvation is made possible, and that salvation occurs only through the knowledge of Christ (v3). "The knowledge of Christ emphasized here is not a superficial knowledge, or a mere surface awareness of the facts about Christ, but a genuine, personal sharing of life with Christ, based on repentance from sin and personal faith in Him" (MacArthur, 1929). Peter tells us what God's divine power provides in verse 3, "all things that pertain to life and godliness." Therefore, through Christ, we are given everything we need to confirm the fact that we are "called to his own glory and excellence" and away from "the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire." Through Christ, we are called to life and away from death. Otherwise stated, the only way to escape sinful desire (i.e. desires that take you away from the qualities in verses 5-7) is to be called to God's own glory and excellence.

"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 nearsighted 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."

The Greek word that "ineffective" is translated from is argos, meaning, "idle, lazy, thoughtless, unprofitable, injurious." While the word for "unfruitful" is translated from akarpos, which means, "barren, profitless." If we are called to God's own glory and excellence (v3), we will start looking more and more like Christ. Words like lazy, barren, and profitless have no business in a Christian's life because they do not describe our Savior, Whom we are being made to look like. "Salvation is by grace. But once you have been saved by the grace of God, you will begin to look like someone who is saved" (Dever, 463). When these qualities (vv5-7) leave your life you have, as Peter puts it, not only do you become unfruitful but "blind" to the forgiveness of your sins! Even though the elect are never without salvation, a fruitless faith will blend in nicely with the corrupted world from which they were saved. "He (the believer) may be saved and possess all the blessings of verses 3 and 4, but without the excellencies of verses 5-7, he will live in doubt and fear" (MacArthur, 1930).

"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."

Living a life glorifying to the Lord is not only how we confirm our election, it's also a great way to remind our brothers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ! By word and action, let's display the work of the Spirit within us!

Sources:

ESV Study Bible, Crossway, 2008.
The MacArthur Bible Commentary, John MacArthur, Thomas Nelson, 2005.
The Message of the New Testament, Mark Dever, Crossway, 2005.

Grace and Peace

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Ephesians 1:1-2, ESV

Grace and peace. I have become enamored with these words and how Paul delivers them so often. He starts all 13 of the letters that he authored in the New Testament with them. It shows that Paul was a man of habit, much like myself. However, repetition can have a negative effect on the perception of others. Like an axe blade that gets dull from use, losing effectiveness at the one job that it has. I see this a lot in the church. We've heard John 3:16 and Psalm 23 a thousand times. These are universe and heart changing passages! We've seen words like grace, peace, and mercy thrown around a lot. These words remind us of so much in this life. This is when slowing ourselves down and really dwelling on the Word of God is beneficial. If Paul said, "grace and peace" so much, it must be very important.

What is grace? Webster's defines it as, "unmerited divine assistance given humans for their regeneration or sanctification." That's the way I've heard it the most, or shorter still, "unmerited favor." What a thing to be reminded of! The love and patience of the Creator of the universe is consistently directed toward you, believer, for nothing that you have done! It wasn't a one shot deal, either. Peter starts his epistles by going one step further, "May grace and peace be multiplied to you…" The grace that we receive by the blood of Christ has on-going, lasting effects that are multiplied as we grow nearer to Jesus.

As we exist naturally, we don't stand a chance in the presence of God. His holiness, His righteousness, and His perfection would destroy us. We are born into sin, our natural desires are of the flesh and are apart from God. We tend to worship the creation and not the Creator. This is due to the fact that the world, created for His glory, is fallen and we are in need of a Savior. A perfect atoning sacrifice is necessary to cover the iniquity of man in order for the wrath of a holy, righteous, and perfect God to pass over us. The Greek word for Gospel is euaggelion, it means "good news." The sacrifice of God's perfect Son covers us with His perfect blood allowing us into the presence of a holy God. That's the good news!

"For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God." John 3:17-18, ESV

Why is the unbeliever "condemned already?" Paul elaborates on this in Romans 5. The Apostle contrasts the original sin of the man, Adam, with the redeeming grace of God through the man, Jesus Christ.
 

"But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ." Romans 5:15-18, ESV

Whoa. What in the world is "justification?" This word is translated from the Greek word dikaióma. Which is defined as, "a thing pronounced (by God) to be righteous; or the restoration of a criminal, a fresh chance given him; a righteous deed, an instance of perfect righteousness." Instead of "justification" used in the ESV translation of Romans 5:16, the New Living Translation makes things a little simpler and translates dikaióma as "our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins." Brothers and sisters: That's grace. Paul elaborates further in the second chapter of Ephesians:

"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." Ephesians 2:8-10, ESV

Paul reminds the recipients of his letters that they receive this grace and whom they receive it from. What of peace? What's that? Is "the opposite of war" an appropriate definition? That is the definition at its most simple, and probably the first thing you think of.  The Greek word here is eiréné. Defined as, "peace, peace of mind; wholeness, i.e. when all essential parts are joined together." This Greek word is the word most often used for peace in the New Testament (92 times, 84% of the time a word is translated as "peace"). The Hebrew philosophy of shalom influenced the New Testament writers in their use of eiréné. Shalom is not just a greeting, it doesn't mean "hello" in Hebrew. It's a hope that signifies a "right relationship or harmony between two parties or people, often established by a covenant." True peace is only obtainable by the grace of God. There are no exceptions.

The events that unfold in our lives are a physical manifestation of our search of this true peace. This search for peace is a war. For both the believer and the unbeliever our lives are a constant struggle for the peace that only Christ can award. We attempt to satisfy that craving with desires of the flesh. Alcohol, drugs, lust, materialism, laziness; there is always something that we think will satisfy- but it never does. We are born into this state of yearning for the peace of Christ and it's only by grace that it's given. This state of  yearning is due to a separation between the unrighteous man and the perfectly righteous God. Through Christ, that yearning is satisfied.  Through Christ, that wall of hostility is destroyed. He is the only mediator between man and God.

"But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility." Ephesians 2:13-16, ESV

Praise be to God. Paul, by greeting the recipients of his letters with "grace and peace," was reminding them in two words of the Good News! Two words, when unpacked, remind the reader of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I'll be working through Ephesians and attempting to make sense of it to the best of my ability. This post is way longer then I hope the others will be, and it took me way longer than I anticipated. I did not anticipate that I would be defining the entire redeeming work of God through Christ by discussing two words!! Keep on the lookout for two primary themes throughout the rest of the book: 1) Christ has reconciled all creation to Himself and to the Father. 2) Christ has united people from all nations to Himself and to one another in His church.  Read, comment, let me know your thoughts on these matters. Grace and peace! 

Where Your Strength and Passion Meet

I have been struggling to find a way to get into and stay into the Word for the past 8 months. Everything I've attempted has ended in failure. Studies have been started in Hebrews, John, Zechariah, and Psalms- none of them to completion. I barely get past the first chapter. It feels as though I'm in the fiction aisle reading the backs of Sci-Fi novels looking for the one that will really give me what I want. The story with the most "wow factor" is what I want. Give me the good stuff. Show me something that will give me great stories to tell to my friends. Reveal to me some great secret that's gone 2,000 years without being discovered. Some great revelation waiting for a barely educated wannabe theologian. Yeah, right.

Rewind to when I was in Scripture on a daily basis. Man, things were great. I had a job I hated that paid well, and a routine that I loved that paid well in other means. The job was an 8-5 gig. Well, more like 8:30 to 4:45 most days. As soon as my alarm went off at 6:00 in the morning, I was up and yearning for the wheels to start spinning. In less than 10 minutes, I was going to be neck deep in God's Word! A quick five minute shower. No time to waste, I'm almost to my desk! My desk was amazing. It had everything I needed. ESV Study Bible, Strong's Concordance, Bible Dictionary, internet- All the tools I need! My coffee, a necessary compliment to my quiet time, was waiting patiently for me after my shower. Being on such a routine, my coffee maker was on a timer. Finally. Showered, dressed, and with coffee in hand, I'm sitting at my desk and ready for the riches of Scripture.

God changed me drastically during this time, and my routine was a tool he used to do so. My strength at this time, a gift from above, was my routine and my love of structure. Yeah, He changed me during this time, alright. That was a different time, though. A time that is past that I've been attempting to hang on to. Like the silver under Achan's tent (Joshua 7). Presently, much to my dismay, I don't have a routine. That's okay, though. God will use this time to continue His work on my heart. He will point out the obvious things I already know, and they will bring fear and trembling to my heart as if I were hearing them for the first time. His perfect patience, His lovingkindness, leads us to repentance. Praise His name!

Now, I'm going to try to start doing something a little different. Maybe it's the step He's been showing me for the past 8 months that I've been too blinded by pride to see. During my period of routine, I catered to that routine, to that strength. Through one of my greatest gifts (fellowship and community) something else has been revealed to me. Another strength I need to cater to, and I pray God is glorified by my pursuit of this gift.