Day 137: What Is The Outcome of Our Efforts?
Today, we finish our discussion of 2 Peter 1 and also the 5th study unit of MilktoMeat!
2 Peter 1:8-11
For if these things are really yours and are continually increasing, they will keep you from becoming ineffective and unproductive in your pursuit of knowing our Lord Jesus Christ more intimately. But concerning the one who lacks such things —he is blind. That is to say, he is nearsighted, since he has forgotten about the cleansing of his past sins.
1:10 Therefore, brothers and sisters, make every effort to be sure of your calling and election. For by doing this you will never stumble into sin. 1:11 For thus an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be richly provided for you.
Peter wants us to be very clear on why pursuing these virtues is so important: these character qualities make us effective and productive for Christ’s sake. Do you want to know if you are growing in your spiritual life and in your relationship with Father God in Christ? Peter says we can look at the character of our lives and know if we are living in a way that is worthy of Christ.
Not only should these virtues be present in our lives, they should be continually increasing. This is to say that we should be “growing in” these virtues throughout our journey. We can pursue excellence and there will always be areas of our lives where we could be “more excellent.” This is true of all seven virtues. I think Peter expects us to let all of these virtues shape every aspect of our lives.
These virtues will make us more effective and productive in “knowing our Lord Jesus more intimately.” Here again we have the term that points to deep, personal knowledge of someone. This translation renders it as “knowing…intimately.” Our Father desires for our personal knowing of Jesus to work itself out in a life of “fruitfulness.” These virtues cultivate that fruitful type of life.
Peter also gives us a warning: “But concerning the one who lacks such things: he is blind—he is nearsighted, apparently forgetting about the cleansing of his previous sins” (2 Peter 1:9)
Later in this letter, Peter will be dealing with the destructive teachings of false teachers that had worked their way into the early churches. One of the things that they apparently taught was that if you “believed” in Jesus, then how you lived and behaved really did not matter. Peter is correcting this head on.
To trust in Christ is to understand that He is doing something to us: He and The Father, through the power and presence of their Spirit, are seeking to transform us from the inside out. What we do matters. The choices that we make matters. God has granted us all that we need to live a way of life that is pleasing to Him and satisfying to us but we have to cooperate in His grace and provision. There are ways that we should think and act that are in line with becoming more like Christ.
Peter gives us one more thing to “make every effort” to do: “make every effort to be sure of your calling and election” (1:10). As we have already discussed, many people have trouble with this “choosing” and “election” and “predestination” language that we see in the New Testament. Peter, as most of the ancients, realized that all of life is initiated by God. Father God always makes the first move. When we were still lost and rebellious, Jesus came to find us. When we were still God’s enemies, He invited us to become part of His family. God chooses to come to us, to find us, to cleanse us and to place us in His family.
But how can I know if this is true about me? Peter tells us in this passage. Take a look at our life: is it characterized by the pursuit of excellence, knowledge, self-control, etc. or by “the worldly corruption that is produced by evil desires.” Peter wants us to be sure where we stand. He wants to make sure that a “rich entrance” into The Kingdom is provided for us.
As we have already discussed, we each must stand before Christ’s judgment seat (see 2 Corinthians 5:10). By practicing the kinds of virtues Peter lists here, we can be assured that we will be fully pleasing to Christ on that day.
One final note on all of this: Peter is not giving us a formula for some type of works salvation. The things we have been exploring are things that we do, but they are things that we can do only as Father God is working in Christ through the Holy Spirit in us. These are not things that we do to earn salvation; these are things that flow out of our salvation. As we see these virtues in our lives and see them growing they give us confidence that we are heading the right Way.
A good exercise would be to see if you can figure out what the OPPOSITES of these Seven Virtues are. What is the opposite of excellence? Etc. This will help you clarify what these virtues are.
As Peter lays out these Virtues, it is clear that they are interlinked and interrelated: To faith, add excellence; to excellence add knowledge… The idea seems to be that you can’t grow in knowledge unless you are first growing in excellence. This would make sense. One virtue builds on the foundation of another. Take a look at the following chart:
It is also important to note that we generally do not grow in these virtues at an equal pace, all at the same time. We may be growing by leaps and bounds in “knowledge” but still have work to do in “Godliness” and “Love.” The following chart illustrates this:
Again, there is no “formula” for spiritual growth. We hope that the material we have covered in this unit will help you hear the Father as He leads you in Christ to grow to Spiritual maturity. By learning to cooperate with Him, you will discover a pattern of life that will make you more faithful and fruitful.
Based on what you have learned this week, what virtues are growing in your life? Which ones need work? Pray, asking the Lord to help you in the areas where you need help.
Congratulations! You have finished the 5th Study in MilktoMeat. Next week, we will continue in Phase 3 Living The Life Part 2: Serving As The Body of Christ
*You can find a complete list of all the MilktoMeat readings here.
