I AM COMPLETE IN CHRIST

2 Peter 1:1–12 KJV 1900

1 Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ: 2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, 3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: 4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; 6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; 7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. 8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. 10 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: 11 For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 12 Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth.

How not to fail: Add to your...

Faith

Moral excellence

Knowledge

Self-control

Patience/endurance

Godliness/Holiness

Brotherly kindness

Love/Agape

These are the steps that we must take to grow into a mature believer.

2 Peter 3:18 KJV 1900

18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.

More comprehensive list:

How to grow in God’s favor and peace

How to build a relationship with God

How to defeat the enemy

Acquire a love for His Word

Building a strong foundation

Know the Gospels

Grow in grace and faith

What is the church and its importance in your life

Altar building

Personal evangelism

Growing moral excellence

Overcoming shame of past sin

Understanding God’s nature

Walking with Christ

Self control

Patience

Giving

Holiness

Serving one another

God’s Love

Complete in Christ

GOD’S FAVOR AND PEACE

2 Peter 1:1–2 KJV 1900

1 Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ: 2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,

Let’s learn about the multiplication of God’s favor and peace.

What is Grace?

The story is told about a judge whose own son was brought before her for a crime he had committed.

The judge felt deep grief that her son would violate the laws upon which she had based her entire life.

Tears welled in her eyes and she listened painfully as the evidence against her son was presented.

The courtroom sat in silence wondering how the judge would rule.

Would she just give him a reprimand in an act of mercy?

Would she give him the minimum penalty for the offense?

Much to their surprise, she handed down the maximum fine, upholding the law to its fullest degree.

The son was in shock, for he knew that he couldn’t pay the fine and was anguished at the thought of imprisonment.

He looked up at her in disbelief.

But then something happened that nobody expected.

She stepped down from the bench, took off her judge’s robe, told her son how much she loved him, then paid out of her own pocket the fine she had just handed down.

Not everyone understood what she had done.

As a judge, she showed her commitment to honor the law, but she then stepped down from that seat of honor to show her love for her child.

Until that moment, her son never understood the depth of his mother’s commitment to the law until that moment, and, until that moment, he never knew the depth of his mother’s love for him.

He felt deep sorrow for the pain he had caused her and for those he had hurt by his act of crime.

With his head bowed, and his tears flowing freely, he asked for her forgiveness, which she willingly gave to him.

Is 53 tells this story.

Isaiah 53:1–12 KJV 1900

1 Who hath believed our report? And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? 2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, And as a root out of a dry ground: He hath no form nor comeliness; And when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. 3 He is despised and rejected of men; A man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: And we hid as it were our faces from him; He was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, And carried our sorrows: Yet we did esteem him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: The chastisement of our peace was upon him; And with his stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned every one to his own way; And the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, Yet he opened not his mouth: He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, So he openeth not his mouth. 8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: And who shall declare his generation? For he was cut off out of the land of the living: For the transgression of my people was he stricken. 9 And he made his grave with the wicked, And with the rich in his death; Because he had done no violence, Neither was any deceit in his mouth. 10 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, He shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. 11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; For he shall bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, And he shall divide the spoil with the strong; Because he hath poured out his soul unto death: And he was numbered with the transgressors; And he bare the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors.

John 1:1–14 KJV 1900

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. 6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. 8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. 9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. 11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not. 12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. 14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

The Definition of Grace

There are several definitions given for the word grace.

Webster records grace as: “The free and unmerited favor of God, as manifested in the salvation of sinners and the bestowal of blessings.”

Strong’s Concordance defines grace as: “The divine influence of heart and its reflect in the life.”

The ancient Hebrew definition gives us a better mental picture of what grace actually is.

An encircling of tents that created an inward protection for the people. Within the circle of tents was the tabernacle of God’s presence, making the entire camp His house and family. The camp was a place of favor, mercy, protection, and guidance. Therefore, to have the grace of God would be to belong to His camp and be under His protection through His provision.

What is Peace?

Strong’s Concordance defines peace as:

Security, safety, prosperity, felicity (because peace and harmony make and keep things safe and prosperous).

In Christianity, the tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God, and content with its earthly lot, of whatsoever sort that is.

The blessed state of devout and upright men after death.

The Ancient Hebrew meaning is:

The noun מולש (shalom), often translated as “peace”, comes from the verb מלש (Sh.L.M).

The verb shalam means to “restore”, in the sense of replacing or providing what is needed in order to make someone or something whole and complete.

The noun מולש (shalom) is one who has, or has been provided, what is needed to be whole and complete.

The following story illustrates this further:

Imagine a village almost totally destroyed by the enemy and now that same enemy has taken up residence in the village. The villagers are terrified of him.

The Great Conqueror comes (Prince of Peace) and He fights against the enemy and drives him out. He then demands full restitution of all properties and belongings of the villagers. The Conqueror brings peace and restoration and brings the village under His oversight. This is what Christ has done for YOU!

How can grace and peace be increased in our lives?

Peter told us in 2 Peter that, “...grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord...”

This means we increase in grace and peace as we continue to grow in the knowledge of God.

This is done by applying these biblical principles learned through the studying of the scriptures.

2 Timothy 2:15 KJV 1900

15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Practicum Memorize 2 Peter 1:1-4

Give God thanks daily for His grace and peace.

Be prepared to be at the next home group.

Be at the next assembly of the Church on Sunday.