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In this message we will continue to consider aspects of the experience and enjoyment of Christ as our God and Savior. We will then go on to see the enjoyment and experience of Christ as the Master and as the element of our growth.
Second Peter 1:11 says, “In this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be richly and bountifully supplied to you.” The eternal kingdom in this verse refers to the kingdom of God, which was given to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (Dan. 7:13-14) and which will be manifested at His coming back (Luke 19:11-12). It will be a reward to His faithful believers, who pursue the growth in His life unto maturity and the development of the virtues of His nature that in the millennium they may participate in His kingship in God’s glory (2 Tim. 2:12; Rev. 20:4, 6). To enter thus into the eternal kingdom of the Lord is related to entering into God’s eternal glory, to which God has called us in Christ (1 Pet. 5:10; 1 Thes. 2:12).
In 2 Peter 1:3-11 we see that the development of the kingdom within us is actually our entrance into the kingdom. In verses 3 and 4 Peter speaks of the divine power granting to us all things which relate to life and godliness and of becoming partakers of the divine nature. Then in verses 5 through 11 we have the development through growth in life unto the rich entrance into the eternal kingdom.
In verses 5 through 7 Peter says, “Adding all diligence, supply bountifully in your faith virtue; and in virtue, knowledge; and in knowledge, self-control; and in self-control, endurance; and in endurance, godliness; and in godliness, brotherly love; and in brotherly love, love.” Here we see the development of the divine life in us through a number of steps. Then in verse 11 Peter concludes, “For in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be richly and bountifully supplied to you.”
The bountiful supply that we enjoy in the development of the divine life and divine nature (vv. 3-7) will bountifully supply us a rich entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord. It will enable and qualify us to enter into the coming kingdom by all the riches of the divine life and divine nature as our excellent virtues (energy) unto the splendid glory of God. This is not merely to be saved but, after being saved, to pursue the growth and maturity in the divine life and thereby receive the kingdom reward.
The entrance into the kingdom is a matter of the development of the divine life within us. The growing of Christ within us is our entering into the kingdom. The reason that the growth of Christ in us is our entrance into the kingdom is that this growing is the developing of the kingdom. As we develop the kingdom, we enter into it.
We cannot simply walk into the kingdom; we must grow and develop into the kingdom. The secret of entering into the kingdom is simply to grow in life. The seed of life is already within us; it simply needs to grow and develop. We enter the kingdom day by day by the growth of the inner life.
Since the day we believed in the Lord Jesus, we received a little seed sown into us. Actually, there is no need for us to grow so fast. We need to simply go to the Lord, open to Him, enjoy Him, thank Him, and praise Him. Thank the Lord that He has sown Himself into us and that He is growing and spreading within us. If we sow a carnation seed into the ground, we do not need to pray and fast. We simply need to sow the seed properly and then go home and rest. Occasionally, we need to come and water the seed. It will grow without our effort. Likewise, to enter into the kingdom we simply need to grow in life and grow in grace. To enter into the kingdom we need the maturity of life, the full growth of life.
How can the kingdom develop within us? If we would have the kingdom develop in us, we need to humble ourselves, empty ourselves, and unload ourselves. We should not be occupied with culture, religion, ethics, morality, philosophy, improvement of character, or the effort to be spiritual, scriptural, holy, and victorious. We should care only for Christ and for the growth of Christ within us. All the ground within us should be made available for Him to grow in us. The entrance into the kingdom is supplied to us by the Lord through our growth in His life and through the development of this life within us.
We also can have a rich entrance by losing our soul today (Matt. 16:25-28). When we lose our soul and its enjoyment, we are undergoing transformation. The losing of the soul today actually transforms the soul, but the saving of our soul today frustrates the transformation. If we lose our soul in all things related to our daily living, we will gradually be transformed. The more we lose the enjoyment of the soul, the richer an entrance we will have.
According to 2 Peter 1:1-4, God has given the seed of faith, the growing power, and He has given the promises that He will send the rain, the growth, and the harvest if we cooperate with Him. With God’s giving, we must be diligent to develop the seed of faith by taking the promises, by receiving His word. The best way to receive His word is to pray-read the word. The more we pray-read all the promises, the more we will enjoy the divine nature. As we enjoy this divine nature, we have the growth in life, the maturity in life, and the harvest of life. This maturity is the entrance into the kingdom of the Lord Jesus. We all need to grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.
In order to bring us into the eternal kingdom, Christ will come in power, majesty, and glory as the beloved Son of God revealed on the holy mountain. Verses 16 through 18 say, “We did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we became eyewitnesses of that One’s majesty. For He received from God the Father honor and glory, a voice such as this being borne to Him by the magnificent glory: This is My Son, My Beloved, in whom I delight. And this voice we heard being borne out of heaven while we were with Him in the holy mountain.” Myths were the superstitious stories cleverly devised in Greek philosophy, which was related to the apostasy. The apostles preached and taught concerning the power and coming (Gk. parousia, presence) of the Lord Jesus Christ. To unbelievers, the preaching concerning the Lord’s coming sounded very much like a myth or a superstitious tale. But here Peter says that the apostles did not follow cleverly devised myths when they made known the power and coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Concerning the word eyewitnesses, Darby comments, “‘Admitted into immediate vision of the glory,’ a word used for full initiation into the mysteries.” Peter realized that he, James, and John had been admitted into the highest degree of initiation at the Lord’s transfiguration, admitted to be the initiated spectators of His majesty. He considered the transfiguration of the Lord a figure of His second coming, even as the Lord did in Luke 9:26-36. The Lord’s transfiguration in glory was a fact, and he was in it. The Lord’s coming back in glory also will be a fact, as real as the Lord’s transfiguration, and he will be in it as well.
Peter says that the apostles became eyewitnesses of the Lord’s majesty. This majesty denotes magnificence, greatness in splendor, honor, and glory, even magnificent glory (2 Pet. 1:17), as that which appeared to the eyes of Peter and the other two disciples in the Lord’s transfiguration (Matt. 17:1-2; Luke 9:32).
In 2 Peter 1:16 Peter indicates that the Lord Jesus will come back in glory. This is not a tale or a myth. Even when He was on earth, the glory came out of Him, and He was transfigured. Peter, James, and John saw His majesty when they were with Him on the mountain. They were eyewitnesses and were initiated into a vision of His glory.
Verse 17 tells us that Christ received from God the Father honor and glory. Honor is a matter of position, and glory is a matter of state. On the Mount of Transfiguration, the Lord was in a position of honor and in a state of glory.
Peter says that a voice was borne to the Lord by the magnificent glory. This magnificent glory denotes the overshadowing cloud at the Lord’s transfiguration (Luke 9:34-35), like the shekinah glory overshadowing the expiation cover (Exo. 25:20; 40:34).
If we read the accounts in Matthew, Mark, and Luke concerning the Lord’s transfiguration, we will see that the magnificent glory in 2 Peter 1:17 refers to the overshadowing cloud. Peter, James, and John saw the cloud, and that cloud was the glory. Likewise, after the tabernacle had been erected in ancient times, it was filled with the glory of God, for the cloud of God’s glory overshadowed the tabernacle. It would have been difficult to discern the cloud from the glory, because the cloud was with the glory.
Second Peter 2:1 says, “There arose also false prophets among the people, as also among you there will be false teachers, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.” Here Peter speaks of Christ as “the Master” who “bought” the believers. The word Master implies the Lord’s person and His redemptive work (Jude 4; 2 Tim. 2:21; Rev. 6:10). The false teachers at Peter’s time, like today’s modernists in their apostasy, denied both the person of the Lord as the Master and His redemption, by which the Lord purchased the believers (Acts 20:28; 1 Cor. 6:20; 7:23; Rev. 5:9; 14:3-4). The false teachers despised the lordship of Christ and were made slaves of corruption (2 Pet. 2:10, 19). In contrast to the false teachers, we need to escape “the defilements of the world by the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (v. 20). This indicates the importance of having the full knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Master who bought us.
In 2 Peter 3:18, Peter tells us to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” This verse reveals Christ as the element of our growth. The word grow in verse 18 indicates that what Peter wrote in his two Epistles is a matter of life (1 Pet. 2:2; Eph. 4:15; Col. 2:19). To grow in grace is to grow by the bountiful supply of eternal life provided by the divine power (2 Pet. 1:3-4), and to grow in the knowledge of the Lord is to grow by the realization of what Christ is. This is to grow by the enjoyment of grace and the realization of truth (John 1:14).
Grace is the Triune God being life and the life supply to us. We need to grow in this life supply, in this nourishment. Therefore, to grow in grace means to grow in this inward source of the supply of life. At the beginning of this Epistle, Peter speaks of grace, and now at the end he charges us to grow in this grace.
Grace is God Himself with divinity processed through incarnation, death, resurrection, and ascension. All these elements of grace are within us to be one with us. Grace is God Himself as our life to be one with us, to save us, to make His home in us, and to be formed in us. To grow in grace is to grow in the increase of God. Grace is God’s visitation to us to stay in us and make Himself one with us. We need to grow in such a grace for His glory today and unto the day of eternity. Second Peter 3:18 is the concluding word of the apostle Peter’s writings, indicating that whatever he has written is of, in, by, and through the grace of God.
Verse 18 tells us to “grow in the grace.” This indicates that to grow is by the feeding and watering, as revealed by Peter in 1 Peter 2:2 and by Paul in 1 Corinthians 3:2 and 6. To grow in grace is to grow in the enjoyment of all that Christ is to us as our spiritual food and living water. All the riches of what Christ is to us are for our growth in life. The more we enjoy the riches of Christ (Eph. 3:8), the more we will grow in life (4:15).
Peter also encourages us to grow in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The realization of the knowledge of our Lord equals truth, the reality of all that He is, as in John 1:14 and 17. Peter charged the believers to grow not only in grace but also in this truth. The full knowledge of Jesus Christ, knowing Christ in a deeper and fuller way, helps us to grow and develop. Both in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the believers should grow unto His glory both now and unto the day of eternity.
