Promise Keeper

2 Peter 1:1, 3-7

Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours:

See God's divine power versus his nature. I feel like I could pull a whole doctrinal rabbit out of this hat of Scripture. His divine power comes after the authority and authentication of the believer as the child of God in verse one. Simone Peter first had to introduce himself, not only in the natural but also in the supernatural, as a child of God by faith. In this world there are two things: those we can see and those we cannot see. We call them the natural and the supernatural. There is this life, then there is the one to come. Which of the two is the greater? Greater is the one living in me than he that is living in the world in 1 John 4:4. We know from this that Christ is greater according to John 3:30. Thus, the things we can see are often of lesser value than the ones we cannot see. The things of this life, the money, the fame, the prestige, the job standing, the house, and the 401K, and everything else, are but tools in the hands of the Father. He can use these to establish his kingdom as in Mark 4:19. One thing I had to learn is that all things come from him and return to him. No matter how extra you give, you can never out-give the Lord. This is why 2 Peter 1:1 mentions a faith as precious as ours. The entire sixty-six books of the Scripture are dedicated to this faith and to the life of his Son.

His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.

His divine power means that he who called you can also keep you. Not only is he all things to all men in 1 Corinthians 9:22, but also he is everything we need. I do not say this so you should sit with folded hands waiting on God while saying that 'he is everything I need.' He gave us "everything we need for a Godly life." This is a life of action; this is the life of Christ lived in us according to Galatians 2:20. The disciple is not above his master or the servant above his Lord in Matthew 10:24. Neither are we above Christ. If we all had a life of ease without the marks of the calling or the stripes of Christ on our lives I would question if you truly knew him. I do not know how to say this, but if you need something for a Godly life or an abundant life and lack the knowledge or the resources, God does. Through his divine power he gave us the calling to do so; we also have the power, resources, and knowledge to do so supernaturally. This is how I could get married with no money to buy furniture, only a little bit of wood, a couple screws, and a few tools. Then half the neighborhood was giving away wood scraps that fit in the car; I found I knew how to build nice things without a pattern that I never made in my life. Suddenly, the house was fully furnished and I had enough to bless the rest of the family.

Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

Here we go from his power to his promises. Sometimes you cannot build it or make it on your own. While he gave the power for a Godly life, some things he has to bring about himself in both the supernatural and then the natural. For that, he promises himself for he cannot lie in Hebrews 6:18. This is why once you have been saved, you cannot get unsaved. Jesus says he holds his children in his hands and will not lose any of them according to John 10:28. If he could lose you, he already would have and been found a liar. He will not because the divine nature lives in you. A personal illustration may help this verse but is not necessary; you likely have your own personal encounters with the Lord. I had just lost a man whom I thought was to be my husband. I was very upset about how it all worked out. So I went to the church to pray. How many of you know that going to God with an attitude and an agenda is very dangerous? He said that this man would be a husband to me and that I would be a mother to his kids. I said 'okay, God.' I did not know anyone, and I chose all the wrong people for myself until I finally gave up. I met a man years later after I reminded God of what he said and got very angry with him. I told him I thought he lied. God whispered to me, 'give him a chance.' We married that Monday and are expecting his children. Tell me God does not keep his word. Sometimes, like the children of Israel who were promised the Messiah, there is a waiting period. The Israelites waited for four-hundred years and still did not recognize him when he came according to John 1:11. They failed to recognize him because they did not believe him. If they had believed him they would have seen him for who he was in Hebrews 3:19.

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.

You are not going anywhere in the kingdom of God once you have come to him in John 6:37. Maybe, you will "grow in grace and the knowledge" of Christ if you let him teach you as in 2 Peter 3:18. The divine nature of Christ is not only someone who does not lie but also these verses tell what he should look like. So, if you meet someone with these characteristics they likely know Christ or are of him. These people are between the promises of God and the corruption of the world. I would rather have Jesus than the whole world and the devil; I know how sweet service to Jesus is. It is taxing, but like Paul you will have a full life as John 10:10 states. Paul had a list this long of the stripes, beating, stoning, and shipwreck that occurred in 2 Corinthians 11:23-27. It is interesting to note he got one in each place or country to which he went; perhaps this happened so he could remember better the places from which God had brought him. When he was a tool of the Jews to persecute the Christians he did not know where he was half the time in Acts 9:8. He was at the stoning of Stephen and the torture of many others according to Acts 7:58. Maybe he did not know he was there but God knew; he later knew exactly what he was doing in Acts 9:4. See Paul had a list of bad things he remembered but did not know the places he was when these happened. Today we have maps of where the Apostle Paul traveled which was all over the known world of that day. We know this because when his sight was gone, the people he traveled with had to lead him by the hand. When it was restored due to Jesus's power, he still did not know who he met with or where he was as Acts 9:17 makes plain. However, he could say through Jesus he led an abundant life. It was then he could say with Romans 8:37 that he was more than an overcomer through Christ who loved him.