2 Peter 1:5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith
- excellence, to excellence,
- knowledge; 1:6 to knowledge,
- self-control; to self-control,
- perseverance; to perseverance,
- godliness; 1:7 to godliness,
- brotherly affection; to brotherly affection,
- unselfish love.
1:8 For if these things are really yours and are continually increasing,
- they will keep you from becoming
- ineffective and
- unproductive
- in your pursuit of knowing our Lord Jesus Christ more intimately.
1:9 But concerning the one who lacks such things—
- he is blind. That is to say,
- he is nearsighted, since
- he has forgotten about the cleansing of his past sins.
1:10 Therefore, brothers and sisters,
- make every effort to be sure of your calling and election.
- For by doing this you will never stumble into sin.
1:11 For thus an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be richly provided for you.
Peter gives us a list of God's characteristics and then tells us to "make every effort" to develop these same characteristics in ourselves. We are to become like God. We are to "image" him and this reminds me of what we read in Genesis.
What does it mean to make man "in our image."
Gen1:26 Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, after our likeness, so they may rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move on the earth.”
1:27 God created humankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them,
male and female he created them.
In God's image means
- To rule as God's agents
- to represent God's character
- to "image" God --
- to represent God perfectly
- Others looking at our lives should see God in us
- We should be able to say, "If you've seen me........."
- But, of course, we cannot.
- But that should not stop us from trying
- Peter is telling us how to "image" the Father
- But his list is not the only one in the NT
Paul's list to the Phillippians
Philippians 4:8–9
- Finally, brothers and sisters,whatever is
- true,
- worthy of respect,
- just,
- pure,
- lovely,
- commendable,
- if something is excellent or praiseworthy,
- think about these things.
- 4:9 And what you
- learned and
- received and
- heard and
- saw in me,
- do these things.
- And the God of peace will be with you.
- Paul gave himself as an example to follow
- Are we living lives worthy of being imitated????
Paul's list to the Romans
- Romans 12: Our bodies are to become living sacrifices for God's glory
- How to deal with our selves
- How to deal with our friends
- Romans 13:
- How to deal with the State
- Romans 14
- How to deal with those weak in the faith
- Romans 15
- We are to imitate Christ
Paul's list to the
Galatians 5:22 Fruit of the Spirit
But the fruit of the Spirit is
- love,
- joy,
- peace,
- patience,
- kindness,
- goodness,
- faithfulness, 5:23
- gentleness, and
- self-control.
Against such things there is no law.
5:24 Now those who belong to Christ
- have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
5:25 If we live by the Spirit,
- let us also behave in accordance with the Spirit.
5:26 Let us
- not become conceited,
- not provoke one another,
- not being jealous of one another.
By keeping our attention focused upon God and His characteristics we can grow in all of these graces and more successfully reflect the glory of God. This is what God wants us to do and to be. We succeed by "renewing our minds" and by making "every effort" to grow more like God every day. It's a never ending "effort" but the rewards are eternal.
