II Peter part 4

II peter 

part four - add knowledge:

5c) “And in your moral excellence, (supply) knowledge.” 

Like the virtue of moral excellence that we just considered, this virtue, knowledge, which we are to add to our faith, is an attribute that was enjoyed perfectly in the beginning by Adam and Eve before they sinned.
Our progenitors were created with the capacity for perfect knowledge; not infinite knowledge, that is something that only God can ever posses,
but completely correct knowledge.
The Apostle Peter is saying, that by the power of God and through the glorious gifts that He has bestowed upon those who are partakers of the divine nature (born again ones), we can and should now begin to seek to attain a more perfect knowledge of God and of truth.

Adam and Eve shared a common language between themselves and with God.
And so it is with us; we share a common language with God by virtue of the fact that we have the “mind of Christ” and are able to understand God’s truth (I Cor.2:16).

So, what is the beginning of knowledge for the born again believer?

Ps.46:10 – “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations; I will be exalted in the earth!”
Prov. 1:7 – The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Jn.10:14 – "I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me.”

Jn.17:3 – “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.
Jn.20:28-31 – Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.”
Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe (know for certain - Heb.11:1) that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God;
And that believing you may have life in His name.

Jn.21:24-25 – This is the disciple who is testifying to these things and wrote these things, and we know that his testimony is true.
And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written.

Eph.3:14-19 – For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name,
that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man,
so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend (know completely) with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,
And to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge (worldly and human knowledge), that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.

Phil.3:7-11 – But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Col2:1-3 – For I want you to know how great a struggle I have on your behalf and for those who are at Laodicea,
and for all those who have not personally seen my face,
that their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love,
and attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself,
in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

The knowledge we are to add is godly knowledge found in the Word of God.
It is knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ and if we continue to grow in such knowledge we will certainly grow on our journey toward Christian maturity. (II Pet.1:8)

The third step on our chart, in conjunction with knowledge, following after salvation and separation is submission.
It is a submission to the truth of God’s word; submission to the leading of the Holy Spirit and submission to the will of God as He reveals it to us through His word and by His Spirit.

As I stated before, I believe there is a natural flow to the steps as Pastor Hanson has outlined them on our chart.
The step of submission to God’s word and His will follows naturally after separation to God and from the things that used to keep us from Him.

I cited Ro.12:1+2 previously in the context of our new life in Christ; now I want to emphasize the concept of submitting our minds to God in order for us to receive this most precious knowledge of which we have been speaking.

Ro.12:1-2 – Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

You see, as stated on page 267 of “Eight Steps to Spiritual Maturity”;
Now that our spirits have been regenerated and we are born again as new creations before God, our minds need renewing also.

This is accomplished through study, memorization, and life application of God’s word; and daily seeking and submitting to His will.
This renewal process concerning the mind is not automatic or instantaneous. No, we must seek it, through the power of the Holy Spirit and when we are lead by the Spirit to the place of renewal, we must submit and yield to it and apply it to our lives.

Ro.6:16 – Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?

Ro.6:18-19 – and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.
I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification.

“If one is serious with God then he has to put himself in a position where God can deal with him. In other words, in a spirit of submission one has to submit to the exposure of God’s light, which is revealed in the person of Jesus Christ and in the Word of God.”
(E S T S M - pg.270)

I Pet.1:13-16 – Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance,
but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, “YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.”

Eph.4:22-24 – that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit,
and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind,
and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.

One very important principle that we should always keep in mind is this;
“The key to future or further knowledge lies in the application of knowledge received.”
It is a matter of good stewardship as with so many of God’s gifts, blessings and answers to prayer.

As we grow in the knowledge of God and of Christ we come to see the greatness of God’s love for us and of Christ’s love for us; as we do we grow in our love for God and for our Savior. Our desire to please God and to be close to Him increases with our knowledge.

Augustine called it irresistible grace and while I do not agree with the concept as he defined it (irresistible on the unwilling), I do believe that the gracious love of God when understood by a willing recipient of that love is indeed irresistible.

An old Jewish proverb says:
“To know God is to love God and to love God is to desire to obey Him.”

And so we see that by adding knowledge to our Christian journey of faith we grow in our ability to submit to God, which will put us in the right place for our next step; service.