For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.
2 Peter 1v5-7 ESV
In verses 2-5 of the first chapter of 2 Peter, knowledge is mentioned 3 times. When we see such frequent repetition in such a small section of scripture, we know that God is highlighting something that He wants us to observe and understand.
May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. (v2)
God is telling us through Peter that grace and peace can only come through knowledge of what God, through Jesus has done for us. We do not earn His grace and favour. It is given to anyone who will accept the knowledge that the only way to Heaven is by the redeeming blood of Jesus. We can know this in an intellectual way and give a coherent explanation of the mechanics of this, but scriptural knowledge is not just knowing something intellectually, but applying this truth to our lives. It is both an intellectual and an experiential knowledge that God is calling us to.
His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory and excellence, (v3)
In today’s western society there is an emphasis on knowing yourself. There are all sorts of seminars, training sessions and psychoanalytical therapies which hold the philosophy that when you really know your true self and how you “tick”, it will bring a sense of true peace and contentment. In my experience, the more I really know about myself, the more I really dislike myself and the more I really don’t want to be me!
God puts the emphasis on knowing Him, and that takes the pressure off knowing ourselves. When we really focus our hearts on knowing Him, then we can share in His glory and His excellence, which is far greater than anything I could ever be. Our God is so great and generous in His love for us that He didn’t just save us from going to hell. He wants to share His divine nature with us! (v4). I can think of nothing or nobody that I want to be like more than being like Jesus. But to be like Jesus I need to know Him and what makes Him “tick”.
Yesterday we looked at the difference between morality and virtue, and how there should be an excitement about pursuing righteousness. This is the next step. We need to know what it is we are pursuing. Experiential knowledge of God starts at the moment of salvation, but will take more than this lifetime to fully understand all that He is.
To know God, we have to know His Word. God wants to be known. He is not hiding from us. The more I learn about how the Scriptures have been written and compiled over thousands of years through different people, in different geographical locations, the more I realise what a miraculous book it really is. God has persevered His Word and has made it so readily available to this generation of Christians that we really have no excuse in not knowing Him except our own laziness or preoccupation with other things.
Peter is exhorting us to pursue the knowledge of God. We do that through Bible study, on our own, and as part of a group of believers. We need to be constantly reading and rereading the scriptures and discussing what they mean with other Christians. No one person, group or denomination has the whole truth about God. He is too big to be contained fully by any of us. The more familiar we become with God’s Word, the more readily we will be able to spot the heresies that can and do creep into any church denomination that does not adhere to the absolute truth of God’s Word. Reading the scriptures takes time. Any knowledge that is worth knowing needs to be pondered over, absorbed and applied. To pursue the knowledge of God we must set ourselves to read, ponder, absorb and apply His Word in our lives. Quick daily readings, (this one included) is not a substitute for consistent Bible reading and meditation. Snacks can keep you going until dinner time, but should never replace regular well-balanced meals.
Tomorrow we’ll look at how we get to know God through prayer.
