Great Power & Responsibility 2 Peter 1:1-11
The Gospels give us the details of Jesus life and work. The letters of Paul give us a great deal of theology, they explain things such as salvation by faith. Several of the letters in the New Testament were written by others and they also are filled with information we need.
Last week we looked at Peter’s first letter, today we’ll look into his second letter. Verse 4, “Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature…”
God gives us great promises and through them we are asked to participate with God and in God’s plan. Put simpler by another Peter; Peter Parker, “With great power comes great responsibility.” With that in mind let’s unpack some of this letter.
We know Peter wrote this, but who is Peter? Verse 1, “a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ.” But he is also a fisherman who worked hard for a living. He’s the one who walked on water and then let his fear cause him to sink. He’s the one who swore he would die alongside Jesus and then denied him a few hours later. He’s the disciple Jesus told to feed his sheep. Peter was many things, and he is relatable to us for many reasons; we all have said and done things we regret. We all can be short tempered. Peter admits he has been influenced by his experiences, but he is defined by his faith. He is defined by “the righteousness of our God and savior Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 1:1)
I’ve talked with people over the years who say, “They lived with Jesus, they saw his face, I’m not the same, I can’t do great things like they did.” Peter addresses this when he writes “…those who…have received a faith as precious as ours…” (2 Peter 1:1) Peter received salvation from God through Jesus, and so have we. We are of equal standing in God to that of those first disciples, and we can do great things in Christ’s name just as they did. If we don’t believe this we are denouncing the power of the Holy Spirit and we are ignoring our responsibilities as followers of Jesus.
Verse 3, “His divine power has given us everything we need foe a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.”
Peter writes to his 1st century audience and his audience now that we can only experience the grace and peace of God through the knowledge of God and Jesus Christ. Without this knowledge we cannot understand our sin and God’s redemption, we cannot understand our need for salvation and Jesus sacrifice as our means to God’s favor. We are in great luck for God is the one who instills this knowledge. The Holy Spirit is the one who works in our hearts, helps us to understand the truth of salvation, helps us to feel the glory of what Jesus offers. And he helps open our minds to acceptance of this knowledge and truth in our lives.
We are in great luck that God gives us an abundance of knowledge in the sixty-six books and letters of the Bible. Books and letters that when studied, increase our knowledge and maturity in faith.
This knowledge is a great power in our lives. Power because whatever happens we have God’s strength because he is with us. Power because whatever mistakes we may make, our salvation is secured by the cross. Power because we are now a part of God’s plan for mankind. And because of that great power, we also have great responsibility,
Verse 4-5, “…having escaped the corruption in the world by evil desires…make every effort to add to your faith, goodness; and to goodness, knowledge.”
Our first responsibility is to God; to live a life governed by his Word, a life not governed by the desires of the world, a life not governed by our own self desires, a life turned away from Satan. A life of good to ourselves and to others.
We have the responsibility to gain more knowledge to deepen our faith. You believe and accept Jesus, you are a Christian, but God doesn’t expect you to stop there. It should not be, “Are you a Christian? Yep, I believe in Jesus.” It should be “Are you a Christian? Yes, I believe in Christ, and I continue to learn about his ways. I strive to always move closer to him and to always reach out to others in his name and for his glory.”
Verse 6, “and to the knowledge, self-control; to self-control, perseverance; to perseverance, godliness; to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.”
With our deepening faith we can face each obstacle and hardship knowing God is in control. And because God is in control, we do not need to respond with apprehension, fear, or anger. With deep faith we can have self-control and with self-control we do not give in to fear or hate or trepidation. We can persevere and move forward with God whether or not the circumstance change in our favor.
Our perseverance keeps our focus on God and not on the negatives in our life and this leads us to see the love God has for us every minute of every day. And seeing God’s love leads our hearts to see and interact with others with affection.
Deep faith leads us to give aid to others, to reach out to others for Christ, to work for God among the poor and the imprisoned, to befriend the single teen mom or the bullied LGBT neighbor. To see the injured or senior on our street who has trouble mowing their lawn or shoveling their driveway and just doing it for them. Deep faith and an understanding of God moves us toward all of these and more, not because of obligation, which we can talk ourselves out of, but because of genuine concern and affection for those who are in need. And the mindset that comes with the knowledge of God in us and in the world brings us into love; God’s love.
John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, he gave his only begotten Son…” When we understand God loves us so much he sent his son to the cross, we can love each other enough to help the scared teen mother, to stand beside the bullied LGBT, to give our time to the one who cannot do for themselves.
Verse 8, “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.” If we do things in the world for God, then our faith has influence among mankind. Our faith is productive and fruitful. Our lives are our testament to our faith and our God.
James 2:17, “…faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” If we do not give aid to others through our faith, if we do not have concern and empathy for others through our faith, if we do not work for God because of our faith; then our faith is dead. It is useless in the world because we shun our great responsibility. We are shunning the responsibility of sharing ourselves with the world in faith because of the great power God gave us with our faith.
When we live out our responsibility, we honor the God of our salvation. When we ignore our responsibility, Peter tells us in verse 9 that we are “forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.” This is so important to us as Christians that Peter tells us in verse 10, “Therefore…make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things you will never stumble.”
It is not enough to just say you are a Christian, you must live as a follower of Jesus, confirming to all others that your faith is true. When we do this people will see we are not Christians in name only; we are Christians in faith, in body, in action, and in life.
We who are followers of the cross have been given by God knowledge of the truth, knowledge of sin, and knowledge of our need of Jesus. We who believe in Christ and follow him are on equal footing with those original apostles and we too can-do great things in Christ’s name. Yes we are human, we live in a fallen world, and we make choices against God. But because we trust in the cross our life may be influenced by the events of our lives, but it is not defined by those events. I am not a liar. I am not an alcoholic. I am not an addict. I am not a sinner. I am a loved and cherished child of Almighty God, powerfully and lovingly made.
We have been given great power in our lives through the promises of God, through the work of Christ and the cross, through the love of the Holy Spirit. And through this power we have great responsibilities; responsibilities to live our faith and to share ourselves with others. Responsibilities to give our lives to God and to the world. Responsibilities to share the Word and to share God.
I pray the Holy Spirit gives all of us the strength to achieve and satisfy our responsibilities.
Amen