Peter mentioned this theme in his second letter to the believers in Asia Minor. He wrote: "God's power has given us everything related to life and piety, because we know the Lord who called us with his glory and virtue. So he gave us a precious and great promise to get rid of corruption from lust in the world and have a share in God's temperament. " (2 Peter 1: 3-4) Peter said that we were washed by the precious blood of the Lord Jesus, who bought us back from the dark country and returned to the country where we loved our son. God the Father has also given us everything we need in this life and the afterlife. This promise is a part of God's nature. What does divine temperament mean? He is kind, just, holy, holy, omnipotent and glorious. Now that we have become his children, we should also integrate into his temperament and internalize these temperament into our lives.
Peter went on to say, "Because of this, you should be extra diligent;" With self-confidence, we must add virtue; With virtue, we must add knowledge; With knowledge, it is necessary to add moderation; With temperance, we must add patience; With patience, we must add piety; With godliness, we must add love to our brothers; If you love your brother, you should also love everyone. " (2 Peter 1: 5-7) Here we point out the steps to build a new life in Christ.
This process can be compared to building a life building. Diligence is the working attitude of builders, and self-confidence is the foundation of architecture. We should lay a good foundation and strengthen our confidence. The first cornerstone placed on the foundation is virtue, and the English word for virtue is "word", which means kindness and virtue. Generally speaking, it is easy to understand as a good character. Pastor Ye Guangming said in How to Grow and Mature that he personally prefers to understand it as the pursuit of Excellence. He further clarified that if you were a teacher before becoming a Christian, you should become a better teacher, better and more beautiful after becoming a Christian. This is the pursuit of Excellence. I accept his statement, because it is not easy to distinguish a character without behavior.
Above virtue is knowledge, and the opposite of knowledge is ignorance. Ignorance makes people fall into ignorance, not only in the world, but also in faith. What Peter is talking about here is the knowledge of faith. Where can the knowledge of faith be obtained? This is the word of the Lord Jesus, the word of the Lord, for example, our understanding of time. In the third and eighth chapters, Peter said, "Dear brothers, one thing you must not forget is that one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day." If we don't understand God's view of time, we can't understand God's saying that he will come again soon. Why hasn't he come after two thousand years? Peter answered the question. Only two days with the Lord. "My people died for lack of knowledge." (Hosea 4:6) Through the prophet Hosea, God pointed out the existence of his people, that is, they did not know his knowledge and did not understand his knowledge, and as a result they perished. This also reminds us to have a comprehensive understanding of the Bible, and the way to prevent deviation due to ignorance is to read the Bible frequently.
Above knowledge is temperance, which means not losing control and self-discipline, that is, self-discipline. It is easy for people to relax. There is a situation among Christians that they give up their responsibilities because of God's sovereignty, and they always use God's sovereignty as an excuse for being lazy. This is really a misunderstanding of the true meaning of this doctrine, which emphasizes both the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man. Secondly, we should set goals, seek visions, exercise self-discipline under the guidance of goals and visions, and control our emotions, attitudes and desires under our own will.
Patience is higher than temperance. When Jesus was alive, he also taught his disciples to be patient. He said, "Only those who endure to the end will be saved." (Matthew 24: 13) "Patience leads to life." (Luke 2 1: 19) Patience will save you, and patience will lead you to life. Paul also mentioned patience many times in his letter. "Love is patience." (1 Corinthians 13:4) Not only patience, but also patience, which is love. He also said, "You must be patient, so that when you finish God's will, you can get what you promised." (Hebrews 10:36) Patience is related to keeping promises. "Brothers, be patient until the Lord comes. Look, the farmer patiently waited for precious agricultural products in the field until the autumn rain and spring rain came. "(James 5: 7) Jacob compares the farmer's farming here to show how important patience is. Patience needs to expect traction, and patience needs time to complete. In this way, we know that our life can't be accomplished overnight, so we just bite the bullet and stick to it.
Above patience is piety, "less is good for exercise; But godliness is beneficial in all things, because there are promises of this life and the next life. " (1 Timothy 4: 8) Paul pointed out to Timothy here that godliness comes from practice, just as if you want to have strong muscles, you must insist on fitness. So how to practice? Praying regularly every day, having a fixed time to read and practice, chanting and meditating, and fasting and praying can conquer yourself and obey me. These are all good ways to practice piety.
Godliness is above love for brothers. I give you a new command, that is, you should love each other as I love you, and you must love each other. (Gospel of John 13:34) What the Lord Jesus gives here is not a suggestion, but a command. Since we are his disciples, let's do as the Lord Jesus tells us. Brotherhood regrets mountains and rivers.
Above the love for brothers is the love for all, which reaches the peak of love, not just universal love, but God's love. The Lord Jesus gave himself for us. "Only Christ died for us when we were still sinners, and God's love is manifested here." (Romans 5: 8) Before we knew the Lord Jesus, he laid down his life for us when we opposed him. Now, we recognize him as the Lord and Savior of our lives, and we are determined to follow him, so we should be as kind to those who do evil to us as he is. Love those who hate us and bless those who curse us. In this way, everything is achieved in love, completely.
When the apostle Peter wrote this letter, he knew that his death was near, and he encouraged his successor to do the same on the way to sanctification, so as to get the complete life of Christ. From the heart, flowing rivers, gurgling water, endless. Reminds me that the apostle Paul also said, "Brothers, I don't think I have;" I only have one thing, that is, forget what is behind me, work hard at what is in front of me, and go straight to the benchmark. " (Philippians 3: 13- 14)