Grace and Peace
“May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory and excellence, by which He has granted to us His precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.” 2 Peter 1:2-4
It is through knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ that grace and peace are multiplied in your life. As you learn who Jesus is and what He has done for you on the cross, by this knowledge a door is open to faith. Only after learning about the immense and unconditional love Jesus has for you, and the power He has to conform all things to the purposes of His will, can you then believe these truths. Once we know these things, it is possible then to believe these truths. Without knowledge there is no foundation for faith. But when knowledge and faith grow together, grace and peace are multiplied.
This glorious passage tells us that by God’s “divine power” He has granted to us all we need to make it through this life – all we need physically and spiritually. We can give thanks in all occasions as we seek Jesus in faith, because His purposes are perfect. His plan for the life of His beloved children is never late, never early, never lacking resources – but right on time and sufficiently supplied in every way to accomplish Jesus’ purposes in our life. As the Lord works to redeem His “called” people, he accomplishes the process of saving rebellious, guilty, and ruined sinners by transforming them into obedient, justified, and glorified saints. This work is to “His own glory and excellence.” Jesus is glorified in the salvation of sinners!
In this process of saving those who believe, Jesus makes to us “precious and very great promises.” A promise is only as good as the person who makes it. The hope of the promise relates to the ability of the person to make good on the promise and the dependability of the promise-maker to follow through on his word. The Lord Jesus is both able to fulfill His promises and is faithful to do so, in His time.
The promises of God to save those who believe in Him are promises that ultimately result in our being born again (being given a new nature that loves Jesus), being justified before God (declared not guilty), being sanctified (made more like Jesus in our attitude and actions) over the years of our life, and finally, being glorified (resurrected in glory and our nature of sin fully removed). Peter tells us that the fulfillment of these saving promises in your life allows you to partake in the “divine nature.” By this promised, and progressively accomplished work of God, we move from being those on the outside looking at the work of God, to those indwelt by the Holy Spirit living in, and being a part, of the work of God. This is a relationship and participation that will grow and endure for all eternity. It is a work that begins now, in this life, as soon as a person repents of their sins and believes in Jesus as Savior! By this we “escape from the corruption that is in the world.”
This is the way of Jesus. This is the way of life.
This past week the tragic death of Tony Hsieh made the news. Hsieh was the brilliant, Harvard educated, businessman and entrepreneur that founded Zappos.com, the first major on-line shoe seller. Only a few years after its immense success he sold the company to Amazon for more than one billion dollars. Mr. Hsieh had all the world could offer, but not the great and precious promises of salvation. Instead of sharing in the divine nature of Jesus, he sought all the world had to offer, and was well known for his partying and excesses. Last week, after a long downward spiral of alcoholism and drug abuse, he died in a house fire that he started himself. A tragic end to a brilliant life. What is gained if a person achieves all the world has to offer but loses their own soul?
Grace and peace be multiplied to you in our Lord Jesus Christ,
Pastor Vic