2002-01-01
Good Morning Dear Ones,
As I mentioned in my last message, the second part of Peter’s letter to the dispersed early church is to combat the work of false teachers and the immorality that results from their teachings. A particularly controversial issue was their efforts to explain the delay in Christ’s return by saying He would not return. Peter asserts that God doesn’t want anyone destroyed, but wants all to turn away from their sins. That’s the reason for His delay. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, said in JN 10: 10, “The thief comes only in order to steal, kill, and destroy. I have come in order that you might have life-life in all its fullness.” We know from the rainbow covenant of GN 9: 11-13 that God never intends to wipe out all of mankind by a flood again. There have been too many instances in the Scriptures of a believing remnant surviving horrific temptation and trials testing their faith for us not to believe that this sub-set of mankind will endure in their faith and thus, eventually enjoy eternal joy and fellowship with the Father in heaven. Such and outcome has been promised to one third of the Jews during the Tribulation who will come to faith in ZECH 13: 8-9 and RO 11: 25-28. And, they are not all that will survive.
Today’s passage, 2 PET 1: 1-4 begins with Peter’s greeting to the recipients of this letter and then begins a section on God’s call and choice. 2 PET 1: 1-2, “From Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ-to those who through the righteousness of God and Savior Jesus Christ have been given a faith as precious as ours: May grace and peace be yours in full measure through your knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.” As I read these words I was struck by their similarity to RO 1: 1 written by Paul. “From Paul, a bondservant of Christ Jesus set apart for the Gospel and called by God.” Both these men were servants of Christ set apart to preach the Gospel. In the true humility of a servant, they understood that their power to serve and the awesome word they had to share was from God through Christ and not themselves. While Peter was mostly an apostle to the Jews, Paul was the apostle to the Gentiles. That had been decided after the meeting in Jerusalem described in AC 15. Regardless of whether the recipients were Gentiles or Jews, the message to the early church was the same, they should endure in their faith in the Gospel even in the face of persecution. For, that faith is precious, and Christ is the only way to salvation [see JN 14: 6].
The second portion of today’s passage is 2 PET 1: 3-4, “God’s divine power has given us everything we need to live a truly religious life through our knowledge of the One Who called us to share in His own glory and goodness. In this way He has given us the very great and precious gifts He promised, so that by means of these gifts you may escape from the destructive lust that is in the world, and may come to share the divine nature.” I realize that I have stopped mid-paragraph here and to some degree left you hanging. It is my promise to go on with the rest of what Peter had to say on this subject in the next few messages. This has been done to allow us to look into each wonderful concept carefully. Let me state that I agree wholeheartedly with Les Feldick’s uncomfortable feelings about the word “religious” as opposed to “spiritual.” I truly believe that Peter in (3) is talking about leading a “Spirit-led” life, as opposed to one of rote religious ritual unconnected to the heart to appear acceptable to others. I must also witness to how privileged I personally feel that we have been “called to share in His own glory and goodness.” What a loving Lord that we have! RO 5: 8-11, “But God has shown us how much He loves us-it was while we were still sinners that Christ died for us! By His death we are now put right with God; how much more, then, will we be saved by Him from God's wrath! We were God’s enemies, but He made us His friends through the death of His Son. Now that we are God’s friends, how much more will we be saved by Christ’s life! but that is not all; we rejoice because of what God has done through our Lord Jesus Christ, Who has now made us God’s friends.”
God’s love for us is nothing new. He had it from the time He created us. Just look at the words of EPH 2: 8-9 which show that. “For it is by God’s grace that you have been saved through faith. It is not the result of your own efforts, but God’s gift, so that no one can boast about it. God has made us what we are, and in our union with Christ Jesus He has created us for a life of good deeds, which He has already prepared for us to do.” In PHIL 2: 12-13 Paul reveals more on this subject. “So then, dear friends, as you always obeyed me when I was with you, it is even more important that you obey me now while I am away from you. Keep on working with fear and trembling to complete your salvation, because God is always at work in you to make you willing and able to obey His own purpose.” If there is one striking feature of the Scriptures, it is the consistency of the Gospel messages, no matter who the author speaking God’s word is. No other book published or paper written can match that.
I had to ask what Peter meant by “the divine nature” in 2 PET 1:4. When a question like that comes up, God puts it there and invites us to allow Scripture to interpret Scripture. My first response is to go to the words of 1 COR 15: 19-21, “If our hope in Christ is good for this life only and no more, then we deserve more pity than anyone else in all the world. But the truth is that Christ has been raised from death as the guarantee that those who sleep in death will also be raised. For just as death came by means of a man, in the same way the rising from death came by means of a Man.” Still I needed to understand more, and God, through Paul, provides it. 1 COR 15: 42-44, “This is how it will be when the dead are raised to life. When the body is buried, it is mortal; when raised, it will be immortal. When buried, it is ugly and weak; when raised, it will be beautiful and strong. When buried, it is a physical body; when raised, it will be a spiritual body. There is, of course, a physical body, so there has to be a spiritual body.” Later in (50) Paul tells us, “What is made of flesh and blood cannot share in God’s Kingdom, and what is mortal cannot possess immortality.” Since we know that through sanctification we are advancing toward glorification, and RO 8: 17 tells us we will be joint-heirs to the Kingdom with Jesus Christ, then it is clear that we can realistically hold the hope of sharing the “divine nature” of which Peter speaks. When we share in Christ’s suffering, and we will also share in His glory! Hallelujah!
PRAYER: O Lord, Your righteousness and that of Your Son is revealed to us in the compassionate way You have given us the Good News. That faith that we share has revealed to us that Christ is the only way to our salvation, a way You made possible to us through the greatest sacrifice a Parent can give-the life of His only Son on the cross. When we sin, You must reveal Your righteousness through Your wrath. When we obey You, You rejoice in the love that we are showing You. These are the characteristics of a Parent with extraordinary love for His children. We are blessed by being called by You to a Christ-like life, one that will allow our sanctification to proceed and for us to eventually be perfected enough that we will be ready when the last trumpet is sounded calling us to a meeting with Christ in the air. Dearest Lord, You are like a great Eagle spreading His wings to protect and provide for His young. Your presence and Your love brings meaning to our lives and is our refuge. Glory be to You as we eagerly await that great Day when the wedding between Christ and His church will happen! In His holy name, amen.
Tomorrow, we will look at 2 PET 1: 5-9 in which Peter tells us how to “escape from that destructive lust” and “share in the divine nature.” God loves us enough not just to say what we should do, but He also inspires the writers of the Scriptures to tell us how to do as He has commanded. I hope you are getting the idea that never a day goes by that our Lord doesn’t love us. My husband, Peter, and I send our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn