Godly Living (2)

Knowledge of God and Jesus

Peter writes that grace and peace will be multiplied to the scattered church as they grow in their knowledge of God and Jesus. This holds true for us today. So the question is how do we grow in our knowledge of God and Jesus? The answer is twofold: Bible Study and experience.

Bible Study

God reveals himself in His word. Everything that we need to know about God is revealed in the Old and New Testament. The Old Testament shows a Creator God that created all things. He made humanity in His own image. He demonstrated that He is a covenant making God. The first covenant was with Adam and Eve in Genesis 2:16-17

Genesis 2:16–17 (NASB95)

The Lord God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”

This was a bi-lateral covenant. If they obeyed God they would live.

The second covenant was with Noah in Genesis 9:8-11

Genesis 9:8–11 NASB95

Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying, “Now behold, I Myself do establish My covenant with you, and with your descendants after you; and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you; of all that comes out of the ark, even every beast of the earth. “I establish My covenant with you; and all flesh shall never again be cut off by the water of the flood, neither shall there again be a flood to destroy the earth.”

This is a unilateral covenant. God promised to never flood the earth.

The third covenant was with Abraham This was the covenant of circumcision in Genesis 17:10

Genesis 17:10 NASB95

“This is My covenant, which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: every male among you shall be circumcised.

This was to identify the people that God had chosen and was also a foreshadowing of removing the flesh from our hearts in salvation

The fourth covenant was with David in 2 Samuel 7:13

2 Samuel 7:13 NASB95

“He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.

God Promised to put a person on the throne of David forever. This was done in Jesus Christ.

In the New Testament we see God manifested in Jesus Christ in Hebrews 1:3

Hebrews 1:3 NASB95

And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

As we look at the life of Christ we see His love, power, wisdom, patience and all the attributes of God. The study of the word of God will increase your knowledge of God And Jesus

Experiential

Not only does the Bible give you knowledge of the character of God, but it also gives you principles of life to experience God.

In our darkest hour Jesus will be the light that shines into the darkness. When we are sick Jesus will be our healer. When we are in poverty Jesus will be our provider. When we wonder what to do Jesus will be our wisdom. When we are mourning Jesus will be our comforter. Jesus is not just a religious figure that lived 2000 years ago. He is active in his children's lives.

I find that the most intimate times with Jesus and God are in those times of uncertainty and suffering. The manifestation of his being just seems to be much clearer in these times.

It takes a lifetime to get to know Jesus and God experientially. When life happens we need to allow Them to reveal Themselves in a very real way.

Grace and Peace

As our knowledge of God and Jesus increases so does our grace and peace. Grace is the supernatural power God gives us to live the lives we live. When we are living in the grace that God gives we will have overwhelming peace. So how do we live in the grace of God? By understanding that He has already given us His divine power.

Living a Godly Life In Jesus Power

2 Peter 1:3 NASB95

seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.

The tendency of many Christians is to seek for the next big experience with Jesus so that we can learn and receive some deeper religious power to make us a better Christian. This verse plainly tells us that we have been given everything that we need to live a godly life.

This also comes from the knowledge of God. It is encouraging to see that there is nothing in life that we will face that Christ has not already given us to handle. It is found in discovering Christ in your life and circumstances.

God has also equipped us to live Godly lives. The indwelling of His Spirit guides us on how to avoid sin, but also how to live on purpose for Him.

Partakers of the Divine Nature

We become partakers of the divine nature through the precious and magnificent promises.

Paul explains how this happens in Ephesians 2:1-10

Ephesians 2:1–10 NASB95

And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

Jesus has delivered us from our old lusts of the flesh and made us alive in Christ so we can walk in the good works he has prepared for us and raised us up in the heavenlies. This means that our salvation is secure in Christ.

John 3:16 NASB95

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

Through our faith in Christ we have everlasting life