2 Peter Chapter One: Obtaining a Rich Entry
It is so very tempting for me to think that 2 Peter chapter one is one of the most important segments of Scripture in all of the Bible. Peter writes this letter towards the end of his life, and the truth that he wants to continually remind them of is in verses 5-11. This is a primary focus of his teaching in the final lap, so that they will recall these things after he is gone:
“So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things”(verses 12-15).
What things? The things he previously writes of in verses 5-8. It is sort of a if you forget everything else I write, don’t forget this exhortation.
What is the end of following this instruction? Peter states the end of this teaching in verse 11:
“and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
The goal of this teaching is a rich entry into the kingdom. Obviously then, we can have an unfortunate entry fraught with fear and doubt. Peter states this by antithesis in verses 9 and 10:
“But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins. Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall,”
This is what Matthew Henry said in regard to the above text:
“He cannot see far off. This present evil world he can see, and dotes upon, but has no discerning at all of the world to come, so as to be affected with the spiritual privileges and heavenly blessings thereof. He who sees the excellences of Christianity must needs be diligent in endeavours after all those graces that are absolutely necessary for obtaining glory, honour, and immortality; but, where these graces are not obtained nor endeavoured after, men are not able to look forward to the things that are but a very little way off in reality, though in appearance, or in their apprehension, they are at a great distance, because they put them far away from them; and how wretched is their condition who are thus blind as to the awfully great things of the other world, who cannot see any thing of the reality and certainty, the greatness and nearness, of the glorious rewards God will bestow on the righteous, and the dreadful punishment he will inflict on the ungodly!
But this is not all the misery of those who do not add to their faith virtue, knowledge, etc. They are as unable to look backward as forward, their memories are slippery and unable to retain what is past, as their sight is short and unable to discern what is future; they forget that they have been baptized, and had the means, and been laid under the obligations to holiness of heart and life. By baptism we are engaged in a holy war against sin, and are solemnly bound to fight against the flesh, the world, and the devil. Often call to mind, and seriously meditate on, your solemn engagement to be the Lord’s, and your peculiar advantages and encouragements to lay aside all filthiness of flesh and spirit.”
Following Peter’s instruction as contained in verses 5-8 results in a surety of our election. Obviously, we cannot earn our election, but following Peter’s instruction will make us sure that we belong to God. If one is sure that they belong to the kingdom and have extensive knowledge of its glories, they are truly unshakable and will not stumble in this present life. Peter says to be “eager” and diligent to make our calling sure, resulting in a rich entry into the kingdom of God.
Peter teaches the practice that leads to this rich entry in verses 5-8:
“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, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Again, Peter emphasizes the importance of effort on our part. We are to make “every” effort to add these qualities to our life. To the degree that we practice these things, we will have surety and a rich entry into heaven. The goal is to implement these qualities in increasing measure, which also keeps us from being unproductive in our knowledge Christ. To the degree that we know Christ, we can effectively follow him as he commanded. However, sandwiched in between these qualities is the working together of knowledge and practice (add). We can’t follow what we don’t know, so adding knowledge is of great import, but the Holy Spirit will not give a continued, increased understanding along with true discernment without our practice. This is a theme throughout Scripture (John 7:17 Hebrews 5:14).
Peter starts with the foundation of faith which can only come from God, and then we supplement or add to faith the following seven categorical qualities: goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and finally, love. Don’t miss this: all of these qualities are connected or build on each other. You can’t build on any of these qualities without the foundation of the prior. You can’t add knowledge to faith unless you have goodness first. Peter doesn’t say to add knowledge to faith, he says to add goodness, and then knowledge, and so forth. Call it a building; the foundation is faith, and each floor provides a foundation for the next until you get to the top floor which is love. Or call it a chain; the chain is made up of eight links, and it is not a complete chain without all of the links. But I prefer to think of this concept as an electrical circuit. Every electrical circuit needs a power source and a proper load (components on the circuit and complete connection between them) to work properly.
Whatever your analogy, we are on safe ground as follows: it is absolutely essential that all of these elements are in operation daily in order for each element to be functioning properly. They all work together to maximize each other. Obviously, to the degree that we add to goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, and brotherly kindness; we have a higher quality of love. Think of love and how it would be diminished if one of the other elements were missing. For instance, lack of knowledge would end up as an attempt to love with a love that is not according to God’s way of love. Love would not last very long without perseverance, etc. Therefore, let’s look at each quality individually.
Goodness (arete): it means courage and valor. The idea of an excellent or praiseworthy courage. We are to nourish or add courage to our faith. Knowledge (gnosis): knowledge. Self-control (egkrateia): temperance or moderation. We cannot serve multiple masters. Perseverance (hupomone): patience, continuance, joyful enduring, waiting. Godliness (eusebeia): piety, holiness. Brotherly kindness (Philadelphia): brotherly love. Love (agape): benevolence.
It would seem that forgetfulness is one of our more formidable nemeses in regard to adding these qualities to our faith. But as you can imagine, it would be easy enough to fill our daily lives with the practice of these qualities. Certainly, life its self offers plenty of opportunity to practice the one element of patience. Do you struggle with patience? Take note of how well you apply the other elements, they all contribute to our grand goal of love.
paul
Paul's Passing Thoughts 
I have two analogies that I have used in my poetry for those who think often of a rich entry – “A backdrop of eternity” No matter what scene is playing out in your life, you are playing it out before eternity.
The second is “spectacles of eternity” We cannot see clearly before us unless it is through the prism of eternal life.
I have not yet attained such vision, but I do recognize it in others.
Great commentary on the chain of attributes. Everyone thinks love is the easiest, and comes first, but no, true love is seldom seen.
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Paul, here’s an excerpt from my post:
Being Vague and Spontaneous About Growth is Itself a Method — A Poor Method
Posted on July 9, 2010 by tadwyoming
We have had the Spirit indwelling us since day one of our walk with the Lord. Peter writes of where we stand in Christ:
His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. 4For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. 5Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, 6and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, 7and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. 8For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins. 10Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; 11for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you. 2 Peter 1.
What are we waiting for?
We’ve got the promises and the power at our finger tips to escape the corruption that is in the world by lust, and to then partake of the divine nature!!! Wow!
I’ll tell you why some of us are waiting around. Many people believe they have no business trying to speed their own spiritual growth. … Really, they do.
Some think that it is bad theology and even sin to strive to grow in the Lord. They tell us to cease striving, because they think we are attempting to wrest from God’s hands what is properly His province alone. He’s the potter, and we are the clay. — From that standpoint, all we need do is surrender and be pliable noodles in His hands, right?
Others believe such efforts, even if not sinful, are futile. They think God has ordained it for us to be beholden to the Sin Nature until we receive our glorified bodies at the Second Coming, ‘when I’ll finally get it right.’ Is that what Scripture says? Does Jesus expect you to bear fruit only after His return? If you think so, you’d better read the Parable of the Talents.
Other believers, who are no doubt quite comfortable as type (2) toddlers for the Lord, don’t really think about it, and don’t care. If they are truly His, they will most surely experience the discipline of the Lord, which is a fallback position. For God would prefer we not be merely reactionary to our circumstances, but proactively seek Him in our sanctification.
There is also a large group who have grown to be adolescents in the Lord. They have grown outwardly like a mature Christian, but inside they really have not changed that much. They really haven’t heard that much from the Holy Spirit since He slapped them on the butt and yelled, “It’s a boy!” or “It’s a girl!” Like adolescents, they think everyone is looking at them, and they are extremely self-conscious. They don’t want anyone saying anything bad about them. They fiercely demand their independence from their spiritual parents, and they want to show everyone they can do it on their own. They aren’t hardly listening anymore. They know it all, and mom and dad are stupid.
Yet, there is a remnant who are led by the Spirit to be highly active in seeking their own spiritual growth, and to some degree they are already seeing amazing results. They very well may be these type (3) mature believers I’m talking about. One thing sets them apart from the rest. They are taking the initiative to seek the Lord to become like Jesus, and they are seeking to do what He did, the way He did.
Whatever our disposition is, and whatever our level of development in the Lord, if a person is a believer, and if they are not yet the spitting image of Jesus, God is calling that believer to a higher level of spiritual growth, right now. However, it will take a new spiritual initiative.
But more than that, it will take a new spiritual know-how. After all, we are talking about growing exponentially faster than we ever have before. How many people do you know who have grown exponentially? How many of them are still doing so?
But, again, that is where we run into some major problems with attitude.
Despite the powerful deterrent effect of our prejudices against speed of change, which is certainly deterrance enough for most of us, the Number One reason believers are not already becoming like Jesus all that much, or all that quickly, is simply that they do not already know how. And why don’t they know how? Because there is a prevalent view out there, that there is no how, no method, by which we can engender our own growth. Who among us hasn’t become so discouraged we doubt it is even possible to become that much like Jesus in this lifetime? Who among us isn’t skeptical, and who isn’t even cynical, of all the supposed methods to become like Jesus?
Even among those who would permit that there is a how, they tend to demand that their idea of how to grow in the Lord remain vague, open-ended, indeterminate, and on egg shells. To many, it’s all about exposing yourself to the Holy Spirit as if He is a skiddish deer in a meadow you mustn’t spook, lest He bound away and take His precious presence with Him. So, they seek to walk this razor’s edge, between making themselves ‘available’ to the Spirit, and getting out of His way, so He can do His work within them without our meddling interference. ’It’s His unilateral, one-sided work to get done in us, don’t you know. So, stay off His toes, clumsy you! And remember, perfection is your enemy.’ Cf. Francesca Battistelli, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKNLIkrHRf8.
Despite such concerns and sentiments, what serious believer would deny they would like to have the same purity of heart, mind and body as Jesus possessed when He walked on planet Earth? Despite our discouragement at having never before seen a speedy and effective method to become like Jesus, who among us does not yet still yearn to become like Him? Whether we are discouraged, cynical or still searching, we would all welcome an earthly payoff to our faith. We would welcome the Spirit’s radical transformation of us now, in this lifetime. That way we could please the Father, store up more heavenly Treasure, and be a salt and a light that truly reflects Christ. Then, we could be an authentic witness to how He changes lives. We want ours to be a life that demonstrates that difference in reality, not just in theory, and not just as a propped up show.
Read More at tadwyoming.wordpress.com. TW
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