Today is the third, and final, lesson of 2 Pet 1:5. This verse is dependent on the first four verses of this chapter, which tell us about the five gifts that God gives to us when we open or hearts to Jesus. In verse five, Peter tells us to build our spiritual life by adding to the God-given gift of faith, these seven elements: virtue - to make up one's mind and strive for excellence; knowledge - knowledge about Jesus; temperance - to crucify the flesh...in other words to have willpower; patience - endurance. These four elements are internal and are not necessarily obvious to others. However, without these, one cannot have the other three elements, which are external and show in one's testimony.
The first of these external elements is godliness. This element shows others how our testimony is like Jesus, which is our goal in life.
That brings us to brotherly kindness, which obviously means, how we treat each other.
The last element is charity, or love. This love is not romantic, but a mental decision to serve; to focus on what we can do for others and do it.
This verse, 2 Pet 1:5, is a summary of the entire Christian dynamic. When we fellowship with other Christians, Peter tells us to remember these things and allow them to "stir [us] up" (2 Pet 1:13).
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