Our Gracious Resources in Christ, 2 Peter 1:1-4
By Jay Wegter
Who me Lord?
I suspect that like me you frequently find your own personality in the actions of certain biblical characters. I think about Moses—God tells him to confront a world leader, Pharaoh, the human demi-god of Egypt—the leader of the most powerful empire in the world—the most advanced nation on the planet, and Moses immediately is paralyzed with self-doubt.
Perhaps Moses pictures himself shuffling into the huge royal court; a scruffy bearded 80 year old shepherd asking for the release of a million man slave force. What a daunting task, as God is speaking to him, Moses considers the magnitude of the job and his own meager personal resources. We are not surprised that he is eager to decline accepting the assignment.
Moses is still smarting from his failure to be Israel’s deliverer at the age of forty (Ex 2:11-15). He recalls that bitter embarrassment and imagines himself a laughingstock to all who will hear of his second failed attempt—he pictures how he will ‘bomb’ in a spectacular manner. So he tries to convince God that He has chosen the wrong man for the job. There’s Moses pleading with God to send someone else—even after
God promises effectiveness, success, and every provision.
Moses is promised miraculous assistance, every resource, yet he is still hesitant. “Then Moses said, “What if they will not believe me or listen to what I say? For they may say, ‘The LORD has not appeared to you’ ” (Ex 4:1). “Then Moses said to the LORD, ‘Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither recently nor in time past, nor since You have spoken to Your servant; for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue’” (Ex 4:10).
In a small way I see myself in Moses—here is a weak man faced with an immense task—he has the promises of Almighty God, and yet he still is reluctant. That is the juncture at which I find myself from time to time. I assess my weaknesses and the size of the task that faces me in spiritual leadership, and it is easy to
become tentative, unsure, and halting.
But the Lord is the God of all comfort and encouragement. He gives us experiences which demonstrate His faithfulness—in our weakness He shows Himself strong. When we are faithful to obey Him and are willing to be a spiritual influence, we find that there is strength there for the task—we are amazed. As we ‘leverage’ ourselves upon God in new acts of trust and obedience, we prove His faithfulness, AND in the process, God is glorified, and we get to know Him better. It reminds me of Ancient Israel poised and ready to enter and conquer Canaan. There before them is a formidable obstacle—it is the Jordan River at flood stage. How will the armies of Israel safely cross? God gets them across in a way that teaches them about His power and resources for the believer. He commands them to cross—as the feet of the priests carrying the ark dipped into the water, the Jordan parted permitting safe crossing (Josh 3:14-17).
Edging out on a limb with God
This is the great adventure of the Christian life—stepping out before you see the miracle, the provision, and the power—obeying before you ‘see’ divine resources being exerted on your behalf. This is the great lesson He is teaching us. As men called to exercise leadership, how we need this lesson. For, we frequently have our eyes riveted upon our own inadequacy, but see His promises dimly. In our efforts at spiritual leadership we have to learn to step out in the strength of Another, in the strength of Christ (Gal 2:20). It is a process of learning to rely on the resources provided by Another. When we obey and then step out in obedience and service we are appropriating those promised resources.
When we take action in obedience there will be blessed surprises. I think of the disciples—the 70 chosen by Christ running back to Jesus with amazement and excitement, “Even the demons are subject to us in your Name” (Luke 10:17). Our willingness to leave our comfort zones and step out in obedience in spiritual leadership and influence depends partly on us knowing about the divine resources that are ours. That is our purpose in this chapter, to begin learning to make decisions based upon God’s promised enablement.
The grace of God gives us the saving knowledge of God
The Apostle Peter writes this second epistle during a time when false teachers were taking advantage of widespread confusion, uncertainty, and troublous conditions. It has always been that way. Unbelief can take root in uncertain times because the ups and downs of life can breed doubt, discouragement, insecurity, and tiredness. Peter is writing this epistle to stabilize his readers (including us)—he is giving them needed ballast in the pitching seas of the age. The Apostle’s aim is to make certain his readers understand their foundations so that they can grow in grace.
“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 Pet 1:2). Peter identifies himself as the Lord’s BONDSERVANT. To speak of oneself as a “bondservant” was socially demeaning; but for the believer it is honorable spiritually because of the infinite worthiness of Christ Jesus. The bondservant was duty-bound to obey his master whatever the cost. Every true believer is a bondservant of Christ—we are God’s possession. We live to do His will—our rights are surrendered to the One who died and rose on our behalf (2 Cor 5:14-15).
Our text says, “Who have received a FAITH of the same kind as ours” (1:1). Peter is stressing that faith is a gift of God—a gift of divine grace wherein the sinner takes hold of redemption and accepts the finished work of Christ on his behalf (Eph 2:8-9). As one author said, “Faith breathes the breath God’s grace supplies.” It is a FAITH of the same kind—there are not degrees of Christianity—Peter as an Apostle has the same precious faith as his humble readers—a faith equal in validity.
God’s RIGHTEOUSNESS is the source of salvation—His righteousness is not a static ‘holy standard’ written on a tablet of gold enshrined in heaven—His righteousness is active and dynamic. His righteousness is His zeal for His Name—it is God graciously giving His righteousness to us in Christ—it is the righteousness of God to us through Christ. “. . .and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith” (Phil 3:9).
In this gracious act of justifying sinners, it is God giving guilty sinners right-standing with Himself through the righteousness of the Son of God. This is the amazing glad tidings of the Gospel—God is clothing unrighteous sinners in a God-provided God-approved righteousness (Gal 3:27)—He is hiding them in the righteousness of Christ (2 Cor 5:21).
Through the incarnation of Christ and His substitutionary work—God in Christ has prepared a perfect place of refuge for all who believe. We have right-relatedness to God’s righteousness by faith in what God has done in Christ. “Even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction” (Rom 3:22). In the Son of God we truly attain righteousness in the sight of God! The grace of God is not a method, a mechanism, or a material substance. God’s grace is inseparable from who God is, for the righteousness of God revealed in the Gospel (Rom 1:16-17). He makes Himself known in His acts of saving grace—He provides a refuge for sinners who come to Him for forgiveness.
In 2 Peter 1:2, ‘GRACE’ is the Father’s favor and acceptance of us. It is the equal possession of every true believer. BUT, we perceive this grace of God’s infinite favor ONLY in proportion to our measure of faith. “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord” (2:2). No wonder we are constantly enjoined in the New Testament to excel in faith—for by faith in Christ the love of God is confirmed to our hearts; and, the more happy, holy, and useful we will be (Rom 15:13).
The Christian faith is founded upon the true KNOWLEDGE of God—that He is just, loving, merciful, and wrathful—and that these attributes are only reconciled in Christ and His cross. Thus, God is just, and He is the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus (Rom 3:25-26). The knowledge of God is only through the knowledge of Christ (Matt 11:27). The object of saving knowledge is God’s self-revelation in Christ (2 Cor 4:4-6). Salvation (eternal life) is the knowledge of God through Christ. “And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (Jn 17:3).
The N.T. word for knowledge here is the strengthened form of the Greek word for knowledge (epiginosko)—it implies larger, thorough, intimate knowledge—it means to know exactly, completely, through and through in a more personal relationship. Peter is communicating that the believer knows Christ personally rather than just knowing about Him (i.e. many who are unsaved know the basic historic ‘facts’ of His life, death, and resurrection—but our knowledge of Christ must be personal—our ‘knowing’ must be grounded in the Father’s testimony in the gospel and in our faith and repentance. Then, by the assuring work of His Spirit we will know that His saving work and intercession are directed at us in particular).
The more you progress in the knowledge of God, the more every kind of blessing increases along with the sense of God’s love. The deeper and wider one’s knowledge of the Lord; the more grace and peace is multiplied to the believer. This is what God desires—that the substance of salvation, grace and peace, be multiplied to His children (1:2).
Growth in the knowledge of God (of God, not about God) is dear to Peter’s heart. You’ve heard it said, “knowledge puffs up; love builds up,” but the pursuit of the knowledge of God never brings pride, in fact growing in the knowledge of God is how God makes us like Himself—it is how He makes us holy and how He increases our level of obedience (2 Cor 3:18). Peter ends His epistle with this command and exhortation to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Pet 3:18).
The Apostle Paul speaks of pursuing the knowledge of Christ as his highest purpose—counting all as loss compared to the infinite privilege of knowing Christ (Phil 3:10: 2 Cor 3:18). This author highly recommends keeping a book about the Person of Christ on your nightstand. Study the saving work of God toward you. Meditate upon Christ’s offices. Meditate upon all that God is toward you in Christ. Investigate what your riches are by union with Christ (Eph 1:18-23). Contemplate God’s saving work toward you—meditate upon the passages which describe how God sees you in Christ—joined to Him (Phil 3:8-11).
True believers know Christ in an intimate relationship
In 2 Peter 2:3, Christ’s POWER is the source of the believer’s sufficiency (2 Cor 12:9). Christ is our source of power to persevere in Christian living. He grants us everything pertaining to LIFE and GODLINESS. “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. 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” (2:3-4).
Salvation is the bestowal of spiritual LIFE. True salvation is the impartation of a life that is to be lived in a godly manner, in the strength which God supplies. Godly living is God-ward living that is obedient, loyal, and reverent. In Christ there is total sufficiency available for life and godliness—you are ‘complete in Him’ (Col 2:10). Peter exhorts us on the basis of this well-founded assurance—he builds the foundation of our resources in Christ, then exhorts to growth.
This “LIFE” stated in verse two is bestowed through the TRUE KNOWLEDGE of Him who CALLED us. By an act of God’s sovereign grace, He bestowed upon us the knowledge of Himself through the gospel. One believing ‘look’ at Christ will save you for all eternity—because that believing look gives you the knowledge of God (Jn 3:14-15). “Knowledge” of Him is a key word in Peter’s epistle implying intimate knowledge—as of your closest friend or your own marriage partner. Thus, the KNOWLEDGE of Christ here is anything but superficial or casual. It is not a surface awareness but knowledge of Christ by ‘revelation’— beholding the glory of God in the face of Christ (2 Cor 4:6). The Holy Spirit gives us this personal knowledge of Christ. “Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him” (Jn 14:21).
When speaking of our growth in the knowledge of the Lord, Paul prays for a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him (Eph 1:17). It is a knowledge of our personal sharing in life with Christ (Gal 2:20). Jesus Christ is our GOD AND SAVIOR (vs. 1b)—it is His deity that is in view—He is our “Source Person” for the Christian life—the Fountain of Life. He has all the things needed for the successful completion of the Christian life. He has everything needed for growth, development, perseverance, sanctification, and service.
How we need to hear this! For now that God has shown us our true sinful condition outside of Christ, we know what we were in our state of nature; in the spiritual state in which Christ found us. In that former state of spiritual deadness, life and godliness were foreign to us, but now they are freely granted to us in and by UNION with Christ. They belong to us by virtue of the fact that He has CALLED us. That calling is a ‘spiritual resurrection’ in which we are “begotten of God” (1 Pet 1:3). God’s CALLING us is the means of
the bestowal of these gracious resources and promises.
The promises of grace are formed by God’s magnificent character
We were called by His own GLORY and EXCELLENCE. The Lord’s GLORY and EXCELLENCE placed the promises of the Gospel in our hearts. As we will see in a moment in verse 4, these promises are mighty because God’s attributes stand behind them—these promises will take us all the way from dust to glory. God has lavished these divine resources upon us (everything needed for life and godliness)—our resources in Christ are sufficient to meet all of life’s demands (Phil 4:19). God is glorifying His grace— dispensing His grace not with an eye-dropper sparingly—but in an unending Niagara Falls of grace with endless installments. He is willing to do beyond what we could ask or think—Ephesians 3:20. The more withdrawals of grace we make; the more He is glorified in our lives.
Think about how essential it is to know about our resources in Christ. What resolve, stability, and comfort in our setbacks, our sins, our declines, times of unfruitfulness, battles with indwelling sins. Christ’s divine power toward us never fails—He keeps restoring us—He is the Lord of 10,000 times 10,000 restorations in the life of the believer. In Him, you have received everything pertaining to life and godliness (1:3). In Christ you have the resources necessary to pursue godly living—to persevere to the end and finish well.
And it is THROUGH THE KNOWLEDGE OF HIM that we experience the fullness of our resources in Christ—power to persevere in trials, set-backs, difficulties, inadequacies, and struggles. The more you know Him; the more you will utilize your resources in Him.
“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. 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” (1:3-4). Verses 3-4 are in reality a description of the Christian life—literally the N.T. standard of normalcy in the Christian life. Our changing circumstances always threaten to ‘knock us around’ and send us adrift on a ‘sea of uncertainty and doubt’. Do you see how much these promises are intended to stabilize the believer?
In 2 Peter 1:4, the Apostle tells us that BY THESE He has granted us His precious and magnificent PROMISES. By “THESE” is meant by His own glory and excellence (v. 3b). God has, in effect, poured His perfections, excellence, and glorious attributes into the mold and form of Gospel promises. He has harnessed His own infinite perfections and attributes and put them to work in saving and perfecting the saints. These precious and magnificent gospel promises were ‘cast’ in the foundry of His divine attributes— your salvation puts God’s perfections and excellence on display! In Christ, God has joined His glory to your eternal good. How He is taking you from dust to glory is a subject of endless fascination to the holy angels (Eph 3:10; 1 Pet 1:12).
God’s promises of grace empower holy living
Now the intended outcome of these magnificent promises is that we might be PARTAKERS of the divine nature. The promises in Christ and the Gospel are the means by which we become partakers of the divine nature. Every part of our salvation has been thought out by our all-wise Father—every aspect of our ruin by sin is answered by means of the perfection of Christ our Substitute and His work for us.
By the indwelling of God’s Spirit, we are PARTAKERS of the divine nature (not little ‘gods’ but sharers in the moral nature of God. Sharing in God’s moral nature means that we are destined to be conformed to the image of Christ—Romans 8:29; Ephesians 1:4—we are being developed into this new life after the image of the One who created him (Col 3:10). Christ is the ‘Architect’, the ‘Contractor’, and the ‘Blueprint’ for the new man—you are being constructed into His likeness—that is what these precious promises are able to accomplish because God’s mighty attributes stand behind them, energizing them on your behalf so that their outcome is guaranteed.
This sharing in the moral nature of God enables us to have communion with God and to ultimately be unified with Him in glory—as much as a creature could possibly be! We will share His holiness—Hebrews 12:10. “And it was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thess 2:14).
How we need to allow this to ‘sink in’ to our thinking: a true Christian is one who is a PARTAKER of the divine nature. Are you conscious of this incredible spiritual reality; that the divine life has been communicated to you in the indwelling of the Holy Spirit—that you are the eternal habitation of God’s Spirit? And this fact determines your identity, purpose, mission, and destiny. From the moment of salvation through all eternity, the redeemed individual is the permanent dwelling place of God’s Spirit. “In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit” (Eph 2:22).
The bestowal of the divine nature in the believer demands that you continue in communion and obedience. The elect of God are predestined to be conformed to the image of Christ (Eph 1:4). Brothers this promise is a source of resolve—to be done with the evil remnants of the old life; to turn your back on the immoral filth and pollution of the world. When God contemplates you in Christ, He sees you as HAVING ESCAPED the corruption in the world by lust. You live in a different sphere now—because CORRUPTION is the very opposite of the divine nature—God, by His redeeming power, has designated you “an escapee” from the vile corruption in the world. By the divine PROMISES you have been delivered from the tyranny of evil cravings and lusts. They once held you in their grasp and ruled over you—you could not free yourself. The unregenerate world around you still lives under their control.
But by God’s sovereign grace in Christ, you have ESCAPED. You have been radically identified with Christ—His death was your death to sin (Rom 6:3-11). His resurrection is your resurrection to newness of life in Him. How can we go back to the cesspool from which we once drank?
Notice the text describes what is in the world by lust; it is CORRUPTION—that is decay, death, dissolution. When a person serves sin the “death meter” is running according to Romans chapter six. If he does not repent it is but a matter of time before corruption catches him—for sin pays an unavoidable “wage” or paycheck of death and corruption. “For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life” (Gal 6:8). But by God’s precious and magnificent promises you have escaped! God’s glory and excellence have constructed precious and magnificent promises which have made you partakers of the DIVINE NATURE.
Therefore our only logical, reasonable, rational response is to renounce the WORLD entirely—there is not a thing in the world for your regenerate soul to feed upon. Therefore smash your heart idols; trample the world’s lying offers. Press on, answer the upward call—pursue an experimental heart-knowledge of Christ —for the image of God has been reborn in you. This is nothing less than God’s plan to permit you to share in His blessedness—to glorify Himself by making you eternally happy in Him.
Do you see the Spirit-inspired logic here? Sharing in the blessedness of eternal life in God is set against the spurious offers of this world in which are nothing but corruption. The two are mutually exclusive.
CONCLUSION:
We have been called to a supernatural life. We’ve seen that the knowledge of God is the ‘door’ to holy living. But here is the wealth promised to us—what God requires, He has promised. He has imparted a new divine life to us. We are joined to God the Son. The full sufficiency of His divine resources are there to mold us into His likeness (He is exercising His power toward us—Ephesians 1:19-20.) God’s glory and excellence have molded gospel promises which shall surely mold us to the likeness of God’s Son.
Everything we need we have through a true knowledge of God in Christ. LUST is what I was by nature. I used to live a futile life of following sin in an effort to get my needs met (Eph 4:17-19). But now the divine nature lives in me—this is not only a heavenly promise, but a present reality which is to characterize my entire life. Professing Christians genuinely manifest the DIVINE NATURE—by their very lives they convict the
world of sin, lust, and corruption.
Where do you stand in this all important matter? Is it your purpose and cause to proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light—to live for His glory as an escapee from the corruption of the world through lust? (1 Pet 2:9b). The promises of Second Peter chapter one, verses one through four are filled with power and hope, for the Lord’s glorious and magnificent attributes stand behind each of these promises. When we step out in service and obedience, His power accompanies our efforts—He literally meets our efforts with His divine enablement. Paul describes this paradox as “striving according to His power which mightily works within me” (Col 1:29).
I can think of an offbeat example that helps me understand this divine principle. Think of a man with a withered limb who has been fitted with a hi-tech motorized arm. The power to lift and move things is coming from the device, not from his weak muscles. Yet, he must attempt to lift and move things before the power kicks in to assist him. So also, if we like Moses look only at our own weakness, we will hesitate to attempt great things for God. Our purpose in this chapter is to convince the growing believer that in God’s ‘precious and magnificent promises’ he truly does possess everything pertaining to life and godliness.
God requires those who possess these promises to pursue Christian character with all their might
In the verses immediately following the description of God’s precious and magnificent promises toward us, we are given the exhortation to pursue Christian character with all of our might (and remember, our efforts are accompanied by God’s might). “Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love” (2 Pet 1:5-7).
Here is the proof that we are in actual possession of these magnificent promises: we will live upon these promises so as to develop Christian character. God’s promises literally become the power source for our progress in Christian virtue and godly character. As we reckon these promises, we will increasingly define ourselves as God does—as those who are partakers of the divine nature and as escapees from the corruption in the world by lust (1:4). This means that these God-energized promises form the staging area or ‘launch point’ for all of our attempts to grow in godliness. We do not have to attempt to form godly character in our own strength or by our own meager resources.
Now every genuine believer is filled with overflowing gratitude for his salvation in Christ (Col 2:7). And that thankfulness is not a passive gratitude, for it expresses itself in the yearning to be useful to God—we want our lives to count for His Kingdom. Well it is at this juncture then that we must connect the dots so to speak of God’s promises with our actions. When we take God’s promises seriously so as to begin to live upon them, we will grow in Christian character (vv. 5-7). And the Lord promises that our development of Christian character will make us highly useful in the cause of Christ. “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” (1:8).
There is a wonderful ‘chain reaction’ of growth in this first chapter of Second Peter. First we come to know the Lord through the gospel of Jesus Christ. Then, we are amazed at the magnitude of His promises toward us—we find that we have everything pertaining to life and godliness. Then, we discover that His promises are empowered by His magnificent attributes and that these promises drive our efforts to grow in godly character. Then, we have the joy of usefulness for the Lord as we grow in character. Then, our stability and assurance of salvation gives us an ever increasing boldness in our service and worship. “For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins. 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; for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you” (1:9-11).
In summary, God’s magnificent promises reveal who God is toward us in Christ. His promises also reveal our new identity in Christ as ‘partakers of the divine nature’ and as escapees from the corruption that is in the world by lust. Our growth in Christian character is so closely tied to these promises— God has designed these precious promises to make us like His Son, to animate us, and to buoy us up in our journey toward glory.
Review Questions:
- What kept Moses from gladly accepting his commission to confront Pharaoh?
- Why do you think it is difficult to learn to live upon the strength of Another (upon Christ)?
- How does grace give us the knowledge of God?
- What are some of the ways we can get to know Christ better?
- How have God’s gracious promises changed us according to 2 Peter 1:2-4?
- What is the connection between God’s gracious promises and holy living? Between God’s gracious promises and Christian character?