In my last post I shared what the Lord has laid upon my heart with regard to 2 Peter 1:3-4, and we will look today at the last part of that passage to complete the thought Peter is making. It will make more sense if you read the first post though.
3 By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. 4 And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.
Jesus is unlike anyone you or I have ever met. He just is. We can start with the fact that he is divine and all-knowing, which I'll explore with you in a later post. However, he's so much different from any human relationship we have! He knows everything about you, the good and the bad, the ups and the downs, the strengths and the weaknesses, the victories and the failures, the good thoughts and the very bad thoughts. Nothing is hidden from him. And even though he knows you in this way, he still wants relationship with you. And nothing you can do in this life will ever make him lose interest or give up on you. With humans this happens all the time. With God, it just doesn't happen ever.
Somehow through Jesus's "glory and excellence," we receive the gift of promises he has given. What does that mean exactly? Let's look at some wording to understand.
The original text for "has given" is important. It means that something has been bestowed on us. We don't use that word often, but it means that there has been a great gift given to someone. It also means that what was given was given as an honor to someone else. This is more than me just giving you a pencil. This would be like a wealthy person giving you a huge house just because they wanted to. Whatever has been bestowed on you and I is a huge gift. This same word was used in the book of Mark when Pilate gave Jesus's body to Joseph of Arimathea.
The second important word in verse 4 is "promises." This is not an ordinary promise. This is a promise that is made publically, as in it is being shouted over a loudspeaker or public address system. Such a promise must be a big deal. For example, I might promise to you that I'll come pick you up at a certain place in 20 minutes. That isn't worthy of any great pronouncement to the world. Nobody else but you would care. This type of promise carries such weight that it is worthy of announcing to the world.
Peter's language communicates that the promises being made from Jesus are very great and precious. Peter used this same descriptive language when describing Christ's blood (1 Peter 1:19) and a Christian's faith (1 Peter 2:7; 2 Peter 1:1). The promise being described is important and valuable.
What then are these promises that Peter describes? Well, two of them were stated in verse 3. We have the promise of a new birth, the promise of God's protecting power (v 5), and the promise of the Spirit's power in our lives. What can this mean for me in everyday life?
When we decide to cross the starting line of the marathon of Christianity, an important thing happens. It is as though we have been born once again. In practical terms that means that whatever person you were prior to crossing that starting line is dead. That person is gone. All of the horrible things that person said and did and thought are all gone. They are in the past, and the door to the past is shut and locked. We cannot travel that way again. And since it is a new birth, you are made into a new person. That process begins in that moment of first having faith in Jesus and it only grows from that point. A new birth is exciting because it is a totally new person who has never lived before. They have different characteristics and values and morals and thoughts and behaviors than the other person because they are entirely new.
Think of it in this silly way. Most American adults have owned several vehicles. Back when I went to college I had a 1993 Ford Taurus. It got me around, it was comfortable, and it got good gas mileage. I didn't really like the car though. I wanted a truck, and because of my immaturity at the time I did everything I could do to rid myself of this Taurus and get a truck. But that never happened. I stuck with that car until it had 123,000 miles on it and could barely shift gears anymore. A lot of stuff didn't work on it by that time and I was quite relieved when I went to trade it in for a much newer, nicer car. I was glad that Taurus died.
The thought never crossed my mind at the time to keep the Taurus and rebuild it. Could I have done that? Sure! I could have refurbished the engine or bought a new one. I could have replaced the transmission and given it a new paint job. I could have done all of the things necessary to make it "like new" again. The reality, though, is that it wouldn't have been new. It would still have been a 1993 Ford Taurus. It would still have been in existence since it was built by Ford in 1992.
You see, God knows this about old and new. That's why he doesn't take the old you and dress you up in better clothes and change a couple of things about you to make you the "new" you. It wouldn't work. There would still be old and new parts of you and you would never fully function in the capacity of new, no matter what was done. That's why you and I, when we decide to cross that starting line of the marathon called Christianity, begin taking steps as an entirely new person. The old is gone. The old is in the rear view mirror and the image is getting smaller and smaller with time. The new is where we are now and is up ahead. That's the way God works in us.
I'm certain that some of you hold on to your past self, the old, dead you. There are things in your life that you did or said that have caused deep regret. There are things you did that you wish now you could take back. The Apostle Paul would sympathize with you. He had plenty in his past that he wished he could take back. But he came to realize that Christ simply wanted him to look ahead to the relationship they had right now versus the relationship they didn't have in his past. He describes it this way in Philippians 3:
12 I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. 13 No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it,[d] but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.
You see that Paul also refers to the Christian life as a race.
These promises from 2 Peter 1:3-5 tell us something important. We have access to God everyday. Since we have access everyday, his very divine nature can work through us everyday if we allow it. We don't need to do anything different or special because those things have already been bestowed upon us. They are already there, in the new you!
If you find that living out this kind of Christianity is hard, you are not alone! It IS hard, and some days are harder than others. That's why you and I must be in daily relationship with the Lord. Only through that do we find the necessary surrender so he can work out these great promises in us. Jesus himself even said that this race is a hard one.
Matthew 7:13-1413 “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell[a] is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. 14 But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.
If Jesus said it would be hard, then it is going to be hard! Count on it! Pray about it! But above all things, just don't give up. The reward for running this hard marathon is that you know Jesus more personally and you see him working through your life in larger and larger ways. And as you see that larger work he is doing, you only want more of it! That is the life of beauty and significance that most of us really want, but oddly it comes from dying first.
So if you are not a follower of Jesus and you have a past, know that this new birth can be you. You really can leave it all behind, and Jesus will help you to do that.
If you consider yourself a Christian but feel stuck, there is hope. You already have everything you need to live a godly life. And what you have is Jesus himself. Spend time in prayer and in silence with him. Put in the time to get to know him and to speak to him. He will meet you in that moment, right where you are.
May God reveal himself more and more to each of you as you pursue a deeper relationship with him!
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