SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 8/8/2017
10:34 PM
My Worship Time Focus:
PT-2 Faith Results in Spiritual Growth
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: 2 Peter
1:5-7
Message of the
verses: “5 Now for this very reason
also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in
your moral excellence, knowledge, 6 and in your knowledge, self-control, and in
your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, 7 and in
your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.
(NASB)” “5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and
to virtue knowledge; 6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience;
and to patience godliness; 7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to
brotherly kindness charity.”
In our last SD we stated that there are seven qualities
listed in these three verses and said we would begin looking at them in today’s
SD. I must state that Dr. Warren Wiersbe
uses the KJV of the Bible and so the words that we use for these qualities may
be a bit different.
The first term is either “moral excellence” or “virtue”
depending which version you are looking at.
2 Peter 1:3 says in the KJV “3 According as his divine power hath given
unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge
of him that hath called us to glory and virtue.”
This word means “excellence” and perhaps that is why the NASB has
translated the Greek word “moral excellence.”
Dr. Wiersbe writes “To the Greek philosopher, it meant ‘the fulfillment of a thing.’ When anything in nature fulfills its purpose,
that is virtue-moral excellence.’ The
word was also used to describe the power of the gods to do heroic deeds. The land that produces crops is ‘excellent’
because it is fulfilling its purpose.
The tool that works correctly is ‘excellent’ because it is doing what a
tool is suppose to do.”
Now the question is how do we bring this word into the
life of a believer. Christians are to
glorify God, and the reason we are to do this is that God has given us His
nature that is within us, and so when he does this, he shows “excellence” and
the reason is that he is fulfilling his purpose in life. Dr. Wiersbe writes “True virtue in the
Christian life is not ‘polishing’ human qualities, no matter how fine they may
be, but producing divine qualities
that make the person more like Jesus Christ.”
Verse five tells us that faith will help us develop virtue,
and then virtue will help us develop knowledge.
One may think that Peter put these things in some kind of random order
where they could be mixed up and get the same result, but that is not true at
all, as they are in the exact order that the Spirit of God wants them in. Dr. Wiersbe points out that the “word
translated ‘knowledge’ in 2 Peter 1:2-3 means ‘full knowledge’ or ‘knowledge
that is growing.’” This word refers to
the ability to handle life successfully.
We have probably heard the saying “you are so heavenly minded that you
are no earthly good” but knowledge is the opposite of that old saying. The kind of knowledge we are given from God
takes us hard work to get it and to live in it.
“"If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know of the
teaching, whether it is of God or whether I speak from Myself (John 7:17). Dr. Wiersbe concludes “In the Christian life,
you must not separate the heart and the mind, character and knowledge.”
8/8/2017 10:58 PM
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