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2 Peter 1:3b1
“All things” that have been given to the believers that pertain to life and godliness (1 Peter 1:3a (NKJV) comes through the “knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue,” as Peter states in 2 Peter 1:3b. “Knowledge” of God and our Savior Jesus Christ is revealed to believers through His Holy Spirit, which we have learned in our lesson on 2 Peter 1:2. Jesus states to His disciples in John 14:26, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. In this, the Apostle Peter is showing how God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit work together as one, but yet have individual roles within God’s ultimate power and divine nature. This helps explain how and why the guidance and instruction of the Bible is directed to those who have put their faith in God through salvation in Christ Jesus. The result is the indwelling of God’s Holy Spirit in the believer, which in turn “reveals” the knowledge of God to the believer. Without God’s Holy Spirit living within the believer’s heart it is very difficult, if not impossible, to learn and receive God’s blessings of grace and peace (2 Peter 1:2).
This is an example of how God reveals Himself and His blessings of “grace and peace” through His Holy Spirit to those who believe in Him.
As we dive into this study of 2 Peter and of how God reveals His blessings of grace and peace to “those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ,” as the Apostle Peter puts it in the second part of 2 Peter 1:1, I feel God pulling on my heart to let you know that believing in God and our Savior Jesus is not an exclusive way of life, but that Jesus extends His arms wide open on the cross for all people who will open their hearts to Him and believe, repent, and receive His forgiveness. But the results of believing in Him, repenting of sin (which means to go in another direction/change direction) and receiving a new life of forgiveness in Christ Jesus only pertains to those who actually do it. We cannot continue to live in a life filled with the sinful desires of the world and expect to receive God’s blessings whenever we decide that we need them. But God does use those events in our lives to help us realize just how much we do need Him and the gift of forgiveness and eternal life that He offers us through salvation in His one and only Son Jesus, whom He sent to save the world from sin. We know this through His Word (the Bible) in the most widely known and memorized verse in the Bible; John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” And the next verse, John 3:17 is just as important, “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” The question to me is “Why do so many people know John 3:16 but yet very few people memorize John 3:17?” I believe the answer is found in the sinful nature of this world. Satan doesn’t mind if we all know that God sent His only begotten Son into the world that those who believe in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. It sounds like a nice dream for the weak, right? But Satan wants us all to believe how strong we are in and of ourselves, and that we don’t need God or Jesus to save us from sin because we do plenty of “good works” that the Bible teaches that we should do if we want to get to heaven, and we all do that…right? Satan’s arsenal of trickery is vast and deep to deceive us all from believing that we need anything, especially Jesus. But John 3:17 punches Satan right in the gut. It tells us that Jesus was sent by God to save us from Satan. Satan don’t want us to know that, and as long as we have a false hope in memorizing John 3:16 and yet doing nothing about it, Satan wins. Memorizing a Bible verse or two does not save us from sin, but it is when we apply in our lives what the Bible teaches us that salvation is being realized and received into our lives. It all starts with opening your heart to Jesus in humble, sincere, heartfelt repentance and asking Jesus to forgive you of your sins. It must be sincere, not merely words in a false hope, but sincere to Jesus in believing that He died on the cross for your sins to pay the price of sin for you, because living in sin, you cannot pay for your sins yourself; it took the purity of Jesus giving His life willfully for you. And that is what He did through the love of God that would one day, today, touch your heart for Christ Jesus and open the door to salvation for you – in Christ.
Dear LORD,
The Bible is full of guidance and instruction for the Christian (those who have put their faith in You through salvation in Your one and only begotten Son Jesus), but please help us all understand that Christianity is not exclusive to a particular people, but only the results; the promises, the blessings, and Your mercy and grace are to those who believe. Please help us to realize that no one is excluded from receiving salvation in and through Christ Jesus, but it is not automatic by our own desires and wishes, but comes through sincere humility to the need for the forgiveness of our Savior Jesus who You sent into the world to save the world from sin (John 3:17) and actually asking Jesus of His forgiveness in our prayers to Him. Please help us to realize that the results of salvation in and through Christ Jesus is a repentant life in turning from living willfully in the acts of the sinful nature to living and seeking Your will for our lives, each day, through study and application of Your Word (the Bible) from the teachings of Jesus in our new lives – in Christ. In Jesus name I pray, amen.