Closer walk through growing knowledge of Jesus Christ

Growing slide here

That is what God has given us in Christ Jesus, and Christ has given us in His promises.

Peter charges us to grow in grace and knowledge

2Pt3:18 “18 but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.”

He has given us what we need to enjoy the promises, what kind of promises you may ask, magnificent ones:

Magnificent:

impressively beautiful, elaborate, or extravagant; striking; Very good, excellent.

Aim: to look at what does it mean to grow in knowledge of Jesus Christ; How can we know we are growing.

So, open your bibles to 2Pt1:2-11, and we will look at that section this morning.

What Growing Involves slide

Look at them listed here

2pt1:5-7 “5 Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, 6 and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, 7 and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.”

Faith: Strong conviction

Moral Excellence: virtue, goodness

Knowledge: correct insight

self-control: self-discipline

Perseverance: bearing up under trials

Godliness: godly character out of devotion to God

Brotherly kindness: love toward brethren

love: desire best for others; active goodwill towards others

then look at (v.8)

2Pt1:8 “8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Is this what Paul was talking about being transformed

Rom12:2 “2 transformed by the renewing of your mind

Developing these graces picture here

remember having to develop film. Well God given graces that we just listed need to be developed “added” to too.

First you take it, or you receive it, then you develop it, then you enjoy it.

Do we want to partake of the precious and magnificent divine promises, the graces that are laid out before us? He has given them to us and we need to learn to develop them, to grow in them, to be transformed by them. That is what we are looking at today.

Each one adds to the next.

Faith w/diligence (careful and persistent work or effort) we add virtue, goodness, for we are being transformed from the sinner we were to the person God wants us to be, from selfish to selfless. From faithless to faithful. From self-pleasing to God-pleasing.

From faith w/diligence that brought about virtue we add knowledge, not just any knowledge, but correct knowledge, correct insight (the capacity to gain an accurate and deep intuitive understanding of a person or thing)

From knowledge able to then add self-control; ability to control one self for we are no longer living for self, but living for God because we have the right knowledge, the right virtues, and the right faith that brought about diligence.

So now we go from our self-control to perseverance (persistence in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success ) - pressing on even when it is difficult, not giving up, giving in

So with perseverance adding godliness, to be with god like qualities each and every day, day in, day out, regardless of circumstances. Now we know that takes perseverance, it takes self-control with the right knowledge that has moral excellence (virtue) with all diligent faith.

So, with all that we are able to then show brotherly kindness - in case you are wondering it looks like forgiveness, kindness, compassion, making someone feel like a sense of belonging, giving sympathy, comforting in sorrow or grief, it is kinship.

Then is it demonstrated in love, desiring the best for others.

If you notice (vv.5, 10) both use the word diligence, it takes earnestness, zeal, oftentimes with haste. If we want to grow in knowledge of Jesus Christ, it requires much effort on our part. It is not going to happen accidently or by osmosis. We need to develop them with intentionality.

From adding, developing these graces we get to why

Why develop these graces slide here

1 Peter 1:2 (ref) May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure.”

May they be multiplied in You because of the knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Turn to and read

Ephesians 1:3 “3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,”

Fullness, every spiritual blessing

Philippians 4:6–7 “6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Peace of God that surpasses all comprehension! - - - now is that not fullness because of knowledge of Jesus Christ

All things, again look at (vv.3-4)

1 Peter 1:3–4 “3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,”

Life- our spiritual well being

Godliness- our pious (devoutly religious) conduct and devotion to God. That unlocks the what is made available to us, the exceedingly great and precious promises of the divine nature that frees us from the corruption that is in the world.

Avoid spiritual myopia / Amnesia

2 Peter 1:9 “9 For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins.”

Don’t be short sighted, we are to grow beyond our salvation, grow in our knowledge of Jesus Christ, so to be conformed

turn to and read

Romans 8:29 “29 For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;”

then paraphrase

Colossians 3:9–11 “9 Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, 10 and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him— 11 a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all.”

We do not want to forget that we are redeemed, we do not want to get amnesia or have spiritual myopia and know where we are going or where we came from, for our sins have been forgiven!

If we forget we cannot then present ourselves like He wants; like His “Son”

Why develop; so we never stumble

2 Peter 1:10 “10 Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble;”

Of course this does not mean you will never sin you could see that from 1Jn1:8, 10. The stumble here is to fall short of our very salvation. why, because we are giving all diligence to grow in true knowledge of Christ, and making certain of His calling and election in you by the gospel (v.10) depending on the version you read.

Why develop? So an entrance will be abundantly supplied

2 Peter 1:11 “11 for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.”

check this out

2 Timothy 4:18 “18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”

Isn’t this what we want kingdom living? Develop these graces as we wait for our final reward that has been promised to us, look back

2 Peter 1:3 “3 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.”

Let me lay it out one more time why. Let this sink in.

Conclusion Slide Here

We want to grow in the graces we have discussed so to enjoy the riches of the promises, the magnificent, divine promises.

To grow in a closer walk, let me give a look one more time at the passage, then a challenge on what to do with it.

2 Peter 2:2–4 “2 Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; 3 and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. 4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment;”

2 Peter 2:5–7 “5 and did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; 6 and if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them an example to those who would live ungodly lives thereafter; 7 and if He rescued righteous Lot, oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men”

2 Peter 2:8–11 “8 (for by what he saw and heard that righteous man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by their lawless deeds), 9 then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment, 10 and especially those who indulge the flesh in its corrupt desires and despise authority. Daring, self-willed, they do not tremble when they revile angelic majesties, 11 whereas angels who are greater in might and power do not bring a reviling judgment against them before the Lord.”

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