Peter welcomes his readers as “those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ” (1:1). Immediately he draws their attention to the fact that their faith and resulting righteousness is only given through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. “His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” (1:3-4). Jesus Christ has given us the promise of eternal life in His presence and the privilege of being His child. When a person becomes His child, they are immediately given the Holy Spirit and a new, righteous nature (new creation) which enables the believer to overcome the power of sin. Having established the foundation for faith, Peter now reveals the potential for fruitfulness in the Christian life (1:5-8). We must remember that God has already equipped us with every spiritual blessings, but there must be “diligence” on our part to be effective for Him. Peter lists seven things which we must add to our faith so we can “abound” and not be “barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1:8). Here is the progression which should result from our faith:
Add to faith virtue (doing good deeds)
To virtue knowledge (understanding and obeying God’s truth)
To knowledge self-control (controlling our desires)
To self-control perseverance (refusing to quit in the face of danger)
To perseverance godliness (living out the character of Christ)
To godliness brotherly kindness (willingness to sacrifice for someone else)
To brotherly kindness love (genuine care for the well-being of another)
These characteristics should be the aim of those who follow Christ and with the help of the Holy Spirit, all believers can reach their potential. The faith given to us by God is meant to grow and we must be diligent in every attitude and action.
Add to faith virtue (doing good deeds)
To virtue knowledge (understanding and obeying God’s truth)
To knowledge self-control (controlling our desires)
To self-control perseverance (refusing to quit in the face of danger)
To perseverance godliness (living out the character of Christ)
To godliness brotherly kindness (willingness to sacrifice for someone else)
To brotherly kindness love (genuine care for the well-being of another)
These characteristics should be the aim of those who follow Christ and with the help of the Holy Spirit, all believers can reach their potential. The faith given to us by God is meant to grow and we must be diligent in every attitude and action.
Dear God, help me develop my faith.
