Through the Knowledge of Him
2 Peter 1:1-2 “Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Savior Jesus Christ:
Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord.”
How much we need grace (the unmerited favor of power), and peace in these days for our individual lives.
It is to be had, in Christ.
If you are born again, you have access to it by the Holy Spirit within.
But you get it “multiplied unto you”, through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord.
(You will notice that our “faith” is through our Savior Jesus Christ; but the grace and peace multiplied is through Jesus our Lord. Is Jesus Christ Lord of your life?)
He is our Savior as we believe and receive Him, through the faith that is given us by the Holy Spirit. (John 1:12)
He is Lord, but He is only “our” Lord, by our submitting our wills to Him, in obedience.
And we only do this as we get to know Him, and submit to His character through the Holy Spirit.
2 Peter 1:3 “According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us unto glory and virtue:”
(“According as His divine power”; It is not according to my miserable ability. But according to His divine power. The limitless, and Almighty power of God.)
“Hath given” means they are given us in Christ Jesus. They are ours to have and use by the Holy Spirit within us. They are all the things we need to have Christ’s character formed in our everyday lives. “All things” means all things.
Again, it is through the knowledge of Him.
How important it is that we know Christ, and continue to gain knowledge of Him.
He has indeed called us to “glory and virtue”; to manifest His glory (His light and goodness), even here in these circumstances, and among the people we know.
And called us to the virtue of His Holy Spirit within us: The Artea of His power.
Artea means “force”. He is that force within us, “working in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13).
So we manifest His glory–the glory of His salvation, of His calling, of His love by the force of the Holy Spirit within our spirits; helping us to obey, and joy in it.
2 Peter 1:4 “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises; that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”
Christ has given us promises….His Word to claim and obtain for yourself; they are ours , but we must get them into our experience. That is what obtain means; to get them for ourselves.
They are given to us, that you might have the character of Christ, and escape the corruptions (envy, anger, lying)that the world’s system lives in. We each have our own lusts. Whether they be spiritual, mental, emotional, or physical; we lust after what we don’t have.
Until we make Christ Lord of our lives, and yield to His will and way for our lives.
And the way that happens is to : Know Christ more and more, for ourselves.
This not to know about Him (although that is not bad), but to know Him.
It is to know what He requires of me.
It is to know the force of the Holy Spirit , and how we are to yield to Him.
It is to know what He will do for me in the temptations, and trials that I go through.
It is to know Him. Through the Knowledge of Him, we multiply grace and peace.
Preaching, Teaching, and Notes 