God Has Done His Part...

This lesson will cover, in part, 2 Pet 1:5.  We need to take this slow and easy, so we will break it up into phrases, then pull the phrases apart.  Because it has a lot of "meat" to it, we will study 2 Pet 1:5 over a number of days.  First, you need to make yourself acquainted with what we have just covered in 2 Pet 1:1-4 (covered on April 11, 2013).

So, let's begin.  The first phrase is "And beside this".  Peter is saying, "Because of the prior statement in 2 Pet 1:1-4, in which he states that we all were given five gifts when we accepted Jesus as our Savior, the following is true.  It is a natural cause and effect situation.

The second phrase is "giving all diligence".  In the original Greek, diligence here means to have an eagerness for or to get excited about.  In other words, "using all that you have eagerly".

The third phrase is "add to your faith".  This phrase coupled with the previous phrase, is telling us that we need immediate growth to our faith, stressing immediate.  Peter is tell us that we can never stop growing, not even for one day.  If we do, we give decay a foothold in our faith and, eventually, our walk with the Lord.  We cannot have spiritual decay and be Christ-like, which is our goal in this life.  Peter tells us that our faith, which is a gift from God (2 Pet 1:3), is the foundation of our spiritual growth so, naturally, we add to that.  This faith, in the original Greek, means a "firm conviction".

The last phrase (or word) that we are looking at today, is "virtue"; which, here, means worth; excellence; integrity; above-average moral character; and worthy of praise.  It is not the same virtue that we find in the fruit of the spirit, as that virtue is acts.  Let me explain.  This virtue in 2 Pet 1:5, is internal, or cause; whereas, the virtue found in fruit of the spirit is external, or effect.  In other words, if we have this virtue, it will cause the virtue found in the fruit of the spirit, which others will see in our actions.

So, Peter is saying that, when we accept Jesus, God gives us five gifts, of which faith is one.  Then our job starts.  We make our heart clean and holy.  We are starting anew.  First, like any building, we need a foundation.  We have a firm foundation, which is faith.  We need to add to this, seven layers of spiritual growth, beginning with virtue, which is a condition of the heart.  By starting fresh, and building with "new materials", we will have a pure place for the Holy Spirit to reside in our heart.