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Articles, Bible studies, and sermons that contain 2 Peter 1:5:
II Peter 1:5-8
Excerpted from: Faith (Part Five)This series of verses is building upon the implication of grace—that is, gifts given in the previous verses—and later on in the sermon we are going to get back to those verses. What Peter is saying is that grace, that is the gifts of God, both enable or empower us and make demands upon us by putting us under obligation. Those of you who heard the sermons in the past on self-government, on responsibility, know that I stressed that very strongly. And how that Titus 2:12 tells us that the grace of God teaches us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live righteously, and so on. Receiving the grace of God puts us under obligation to respond.
What Peter is saying here is the grace of God demands diligence, or effort would be another way of putting it. In verse 5 it says, "giving all diligence [or effort]." There is even a little bit more than that that is helpful to understand, and that is that Peter is saying that we are to bring it—this diligence, this effort—alongside, or in alongside, in cooperation with what God has already given. So God freely extends His grace, but grace puts us under obligation to respond, and we are then to do our part in cooperating with what God has given to us. And He said, do it diligently, speedily, with a great deal of effort.
We ministers are almost constantly speaking of growth. Did you notice the order that Peter listed these things we are to become fruitful through? He says add to your faith and that word add is also woefully mistranslated into the English. Yes it can mean add, but it is much more expansive than that. "Generously supplement" would be more literally correct, and that brings it in harmony with the word "diligence." "Make great effort. Be speedy. Generously supplement your faith."
Faith is seen as the starting point for all of these other qualities or attributes. It does not mean or imply in any way that faith is elementary, but rather fundamental or foundational, that the other things will not exist, as aspects of godliness, without faith undergirding them. The way that it is written in the Greek, it is as though each one of these qualities flows out from the previous one. Another way that we might be able to put it is that faith is like the central or dominant theme in a symphony, and all these other qualities are amplifying or embellishing it.
II Peter 1:1-10
Excerpted from: God's Spiritual HouseWe have been called by glory and virtue. Can we consider what Peter lists here as building blocks, a materials list? Add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, and on and on the list goes. And if we do these things, we will never stumble. "Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ our Lord, as His divine power has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness." All things that pertain to life and true life and godliness.
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