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Scripture Reading: 2 Pet. 1:5-11
In this message we shall review 1:5-11.
In verse 5 Peter says, “And for this very reason also, adding all diligence, supply bountifully in your faith virtue, and in virtue knowledge.” The word “virtue” refers to the virtue mentioned in verse 3, where Peter speaks of the One who has “called us to His own glory and virtue.” Furthermore, this virtue is related to the divine nature (v. 4), which denotes the different aspects of the riches of what God is. The virtue in verses 3 and 5 is the issue of the experience of the divine nature, the enjoyment of the divine nature, in verse 4. When we partake of the divine nature, the different aspects of the riches of what God is, these riches become our virtues. For example, God is love, light, holiness, righteousness, and kindness. All these are God’s attributes. Each divine attribute is also a virtue. When we enjoy what God is, we enjoy His holiness. Then this holiness becomes a virtue in us and with us. The principle is the same with the enjoyment of other divine attributes.
The essence or element of virtue is contained in faith as a seed. This seed is actually Christ Himself, and Christ is God in all that He is. Because all that God is, is in Christ, Christ is the embodiment of what God is. This Christ has become our inheritance. The response to, or reflection of, this embodiment within us is faith. Faith, then, is also our inheritance. Within faith as a seed are included all the divine attributes, all the riches of what God is. Because we have this seed of faith with the divine nature, we must go on to develop this seed. The first thing that comes forth in this development is virtue. Therefore, virtue is the result of enjoying the divine nature, the result of enjoying what God is.
In verse 5 Peter says that in our virtue we need to develop knowledge. Virtue requires the bountiful supply of the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord (vv. 2, 3, 8) regarding the things related to the divine life and godliness and to the partaking of the divine nature.
We may have a great deal of knowledge, but our knowledge may be shallow and superficial. We may not know life or know what like precious faith is. Moreover, we may not know anything regarding the divine nature, and we may even oppose it when it is pointed out from the Bible that believers may become partakers of the divine nature. Those with a superficial knowledge also may not know that godliness is the expression of God, that Christ is the embodiment of the Triune God, and that Christ today is the life-giving Spirit. To lack the knowledge of such matters is to be short of the knowledge of the depths of the truth in the Bible.
Some believers have been hindered or even spoiled by superficial knowledge. They may be fundamental in their doctrine, but they may be fundamental in a superficial way. Superficial fundamentalism may actually be a kind of “drug” that can dull the spiritual senses. A good number of Christians have been “drugged” by the influence of a superficial fundamentalism. For this reason, it is very difficult to speak with them about having Christ as our food and enjoyment. If you tell them that we can eat Christ, digest Christ, and assimilate Him so that He becomes the constituent of our being, they would say that such a teaching is heretical. They may react and say, “Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is on the throne in heaven. How can we eat Him, and how can He become the constituent of our being?” They may even consider scriptural teachings such as these to be blasphemous.
Some with superficial knowledge also oppose the matter of mingling. The word “mingling” is used in the Old Testament. Leviticus 2 speaks of the mingling of oil with fine flour to make the meal offering. The concept of mingling, therefore, is surely according to the Scriptures.
Furthermore, in John 6 the Lord Jesus says that He is the bread, the living bread that came down from heaven to give life to the world, and that whoever eats Him will also live because of Him. Consider what happens to the food we eat. The food is digested, assimilated, and eventually mingled with our fibers and cells. Is it not true, then, that eating implies mingling? The digestion and assimilation of the food we eat definitely involves mingling. The food we eat is mingled with our very constitution. In the same principle, when we eat the Lord as the bread of life and digest and assimilate Him in our spiritual being, He is mingled with us and we with Him. However, certain Christians do not have this knowledge, which is a knowledge of the depths of biblical truth.
The knowledge spoken of in 1:5 is the full knowledge of God and of our Lord. We need a full knowledge not of the unprocessed God, the “raw” God, but of the processed God. The expression “processed God” refers to the God who became a man through incarnation, who lived on earth for thirty-three and a half years, who died on the cross and was buried, who was resurrected, and who has ascended to the heavens. Incarnation, human living, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension are all a part of a long process. Because Christ has passed through such a process, no longer is He merely God with the element of divinity; He is also man with the element of humanity. Our Lord is both God and man. He has both the divine nature and the human nature. Moreover, He also includes the elements of human living, His all-inclusive death, and His life-imparting resurrection. Such a word concerning the processed God may sound alien or strange to those who have only a superficial knowledge of the Word. But according to what Peter says in 1:5, we need to supply bountifully in our virtue the full knowledge of God.
If believers do not have the proper knowledge, how can they have the development described in 1:5-7? It is not possible to have this development apart from the full knowledge of God. With some believers there is hardly any development. They may not even have a full realization concerning the like precious faith, not knowing that this faith is the all-inclusive seed within them. They have never heard this kind of teaching. Their knowledge is not on this line, but is related instead to a superficial religious understanding.
In verse 6 Peter goes on to say, “And in knowledge self-control, and in self-control endurance, and in endurance godliness.” Self-control is the exercise of control over the self in its passions, desires, and habits. In our knowledge we need to develop such a self-control.
In our self-control we need to develop endurance. Self-control is related to the self, but endurance is related to others and to our circumstances. As to ourselves, we must have self-control, and as to our circumstances, no matter what they may be, we need endurance. We need to have endurance with the members of our family, with our neighbors, and with various things that disturb us. For example, when you are bothered by something in your environment, you need endurance. We need to develop endurance in order to bear with others and with our circumstances.
In verse 6 Peter also says that in our endurance we need to develop godliness. Godliness means God-likeness, that is, being like God and expressing God. The Christian life should be a life that expresses God and bears God’s likeness in all things. As we exercise control over the self and bear with others and with circumstances, we also need to develop godliness so that we may be like God and express Him.
In verse 7 Peter goes on to say, “And in godliness brotherly love, and in brotherly love love.” We have pointed out that in godliness, the expression of God, brotherly love, which is brotherly affection, needs to be supplied. We have also seen that the Greek word for “love” in verse 7 is agape, the word used in the New Testament for the divine love, which God is in His nature (1 John 4:8, 16). This kind of love is nobler than brotherly love, and it is stronger in ability and greater in capacity than human love.
The brothers and sisters in the church life may love one another, but their love may be rather superficial. In their love there may be no life supply and no “antibiotic” to foster healing. This means that their love is lacking in agape. But in Peter’s love for the brothers there is another element, and this element is the divine love, a love that supplies us with wisdom to love the brothers in a proper way. Sometimes we love others foolishly, in a way that can spoil them. We do not have the wisdom to love them in a way that will enable them to receive the life supply and be nourished. God’s love is not only nourishing, but also contains a spiritual antibiotic that fosters healing and prevents illness. If we love the brothers with divine love, we shall infuse such an antibiotic into them. For example, you may realize that a brother has a certain shortage or weakness. You know that teaching or correction will not help the brother. This brother needs to be loved with a noble love. If you love him with this kind of love, he will receive the life supply and an antibiotic that can kill the “germs” within him. In the church life we need to love one another with discernment, not foolishly. We need to love the brothers with the high purpose of nourishing them and helping them to be healed.
God’s love is always with discernment. Matthew 5:45 tells us that God sends rain upon both the just and the unjust. But He does this with wisdom. Sometimes He may withhold rain from a certain region. This does not mean that He does not love the people in that place. He loves them, but He loves them with discernment. Likewise, we should not withhold love from the saints. We should love all the brothers, but we should love them with discernment.
Our love for the saints should also always be according to a measure or within a limitation. If we love a brother excessively, that love may spoil him. We need to love him only to a certain extent. But another brother may be in need of a greater measure of love. To love others in this way is to love them not merely with brotherly affection but also with agape.
Often our brotherly love is dependent on the tide of our emotions. When our emotional tide is high, we love everyone. But when the tide of our emotion is low, we may not be willing to show love for anyone. When the emotional tide of some brothers is high, they will do almost anything to help you. But when the emotional tide is low, they are not willing to help at all. This kind of brother loves the saints, but he loves them according to the changeable tide of his emotion. That kind of love is not agape. The divine love does not depend on our emotional tide. Because this love has its source in the divine life, it does not change. We need to learn to love the brothers with this divine love, not with the love that depends on the tide of our emotions.
God’s love is consistent. If we love others with this love, we shall also be consistent. Whenever someone contacts us, we shall be the same with respect to our love. We shall always love others with discernment and according to their need. We may realize that one brother needs a certain measure of love. Therefore, we shall measure out, mete out, that much love to him. But another brother may need a different measure of love to meet his need. This is a noble kind of love.
We need to have this divine love in our married life and family life. Peter charges the husbands to assign honor to the wife (1 Pet. 3:7). This requires a noble love.
It is common for sisters to love their husbands emotionally and without discernment or measure. When such a sister is happy or high in her emotion, she will love her husband accordingly. But if she is unhappy or angry, she will not love him. That kind of love is emotional and does not contain the element of agape. However, another sister, with more experience in the Lord, will consistently love her husband and children, but will always love with a measure and with discernment. This kind of love is surely a noble love.
It is not possible for our human love to be with the proper measure and discernment. This is the reason that, after speaking of brotherly love, Peter goes on to indicate that in our brotherly love we need to develop love. Some expositors have misinterpreted Peter here and have thought that he is telling us to develop first a love for the brothers and then a love for all men. This understanding, however, is too shallow. Peter’s thought is that in our brotherly love there needs to be the element of agape, the divine love.
In verses 8 through 10 Peter says that if all these virtues exist in us and abound, they shall constitute us neither idle nor unfruitful unto the full knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he in whom these things are not present is shortsighted and has forgotten the cleansing of his past sins. Therefore, Peter charges us to be diligent to make our calling and selection firm by developing all these virtues.
In verse 11 Peter concludes, “For so shall be richly and bountifully supplied to you the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” In this eternal kingdom we shall not be subjects — we shall be kings. But in order to be kings in the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we need maturity in life. We Christians are destined to be kings in the Lord’s kingdom. However, how can someone be a king in the coming kingdom if he lacks the maturity in the divine life? It is impossible to be a king without this maturity. Even if the Lord would want to enthrone as a king someone who is not mature, that person would realize that he is not able to exercise the kingship. This indicates that even we ourselves know that we need to grow to maturity in order to be kings.
According to Peter’s word in 1:5-11, to grow to maturity is to develop what we have already received. We have been allotted the wonderful like precious faith, and this faith is an all-inclusive seed. All the divine riches are in this seed, but we must be diligent to develop them into virtue. Then we need to develop in our virtue knowledge; in knowledge, self-control; in self-control, endurance; in endurance, godliness; in godliness, brotherly love; and in brotherly love, love. By developing these virtues we grow, and eventually we shall reach maturity. As a result, we shall be full of Christ, and, in Paul’s words, we shall arrive at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (Eph. 4:13). Then we shall be qualified and equipped to be kings in the coming kingdom.
