Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; 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. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. 2 Peter 1:2-4.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God (אלהים) says:
Holiness is in you now so live holy as I AM holy. And I will tell you how: partake of My divine nature. If you get enough of My nature in you, you will have the power to walk with Me and be as I am, though you are in the world. But you are not of the world anymore than Jesus was. He was just like you but He lived a sanctified life. And He enables you to do the same for as He is so are you in this world. You can live through Him. He is My gift to you and He has given you the gift of the baptism in the Holy Spirit.
Today’s life lesson in how to walk in holiness is called “Self-Control,” it could also be called “Self-Mastery.” It is the next step to holiness on the ascent show you by My Spirit in the second letter of Peter. I also speak of this steep ascent, for it will raise you very high above the ways of the world to where you are seated with Christ, in My Song of Songs, “O my dove, in the clefts of the rock, in the secret place of the steep pathway of ascent, let Me see your face, let Me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely.” Song of Songs 2:14. But what do I tell you to do to stay in that secret place of ascent? “Catch the foxes for us, the little (young) foxes that are ruining the vineyards, while our vineyards are in blossom.” Song of Songs 2:15. And to catch the things that make you unholy and rob you of your destiny, such as worry, fear, bitterness, offense, and the lusts of the world, you will need self-control.
Yesterday we studied knowledge and today knowledge develops to self-control. Knowledge of who I AM and the love I have for you as manifested in all I have done to take away your sins, heal you, and make you righteous, holy and blameless before Me in Christ, will empower you to walk pure, in other words, to exercise self-control by the help of My grace. This is also a fruit of the Holy Spirit, which is a grace gift as well. Galatians 3:22-23. So to walk in holiness, you must be led and empowered by My Spirit, for you did not receive a spirit of fear but of power, love, and self-control (self-discipline).
My servant Peter went from weakness and a lack of self-mastery to a holy man so filled with My nature that his shadow healed those he walked by. He understood the power in the Name. And he wrote for you how to be living the same life of power, sharing the same precious faith that comes through the Name, and walking in My glory and excellence to which I have called you and equipped you. He discerned spirits, raised the dead, and raised up the lame to leap like a stag. Just like his Teacher. The student is not above the Teacher but should become just like his Teacher. He did. And so can you, but it will take a growth in holiness that My Spirit maps out to you through Peter’s second letter. For as he tells you, “But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” 2 Peter 1:20-21. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. Revelation 19:10.
Peter opens his second letter as follows, “To those who have received by lot a faith of the equal precious value as ours, in the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ.” So he is speaking to you who are born again and have received Jesus as your Savior. To each born again person I have allotted a measure of faith. Romans 12:3. My faith which is of honor and precious value. And I allot it to all in Jesus in equal measure. Some, however, develop it to greater levels and become more skillful in using it than others. Which is true in any area of life, whether physical or spiritual. It is the diligence and effort you put in that comes back in harvest. More is given to the one that puts in more.
And Peter continues with a truth that should change your world and sanctify you entirely; and preserve your spirit and soul and body complete, without blame at the coming of your Lord Jesus Christ. I am faithful who calls you to My own glory and excellence, and I also will bring it to pass, but you must do what I show you now to bring the manifestation thereof. 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24.
So open the ears of your heart to this passage, “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; 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, because of which (by the instrumentality of) He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, in order that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.” 2 Peter 1:2-4.
First you see what we talked of in our last life lesson, grace and peace are not just added but MULTIPLIED to you in knowledge of Me and your Lord Jesus. But now continue: My divine POWER (dunamis (δύναμις): (miraculous) power, might, strength) has granted to you EVERYTHING moving you (pros (πρός) in Greek, which means advantageous for, at (denotes local proximity), toward (denotes motion toward a place), motion towards to “interface with,” literally, moving toward a goal or destination) to life and godliness (being like Me) THROUGH THE TRUE KNOWLEDGE of Me who has called YOU by My own glory and excellence (this is the same word translated as “moral excellence” in the first step of faith towards holiness, so I call you to the same moral purity which is in Me) because of which (by the instrumentality of) I have granted to you My precious and magnificent promises in order that by them (i.e., My promises) YOU MAY BECOME PARTAKERS OF MY DIVINE NATURE having escaped the destruction (decay, corruption) that is in the world through lust (passion).
This is very important, so listen. You become partakers of My divine nature (like the branches drawing their nature and nourishment from the vine to produce the fruit of the vine) and all you need for life and godliness, by the instrumentality of My promises. And what are these precious and magnificent promises? They are the promises I give you in My Word signed by My Covenant Name: the LORD your healer, the LORD your righteousness, the LORD who sees ahead and provides for you, the LORD your shepherd, the LORD your standard (victory, miracle), the LORD is peace, the LORD who sanctifies you, the LORD your refuge, the LORD your deliverer, the LORD your redeemer, the LORD your fortress, the LORD who is with you, and I could go on. All the benefits listed in Psalm 103 are precious promises: I forgive all your sins, heal all your diseases and pains, redeem you out of the pit, surround you with love and compassion, fill your days with good things, and renew your youth like the eagle’s. I promise you eternal life and that life is in My Son. In fact all of My precious and magnificent promises are fulfilled in Jesus and are “YES” to you in Jesus. You see them all manifesting towards you in His life among you.
My Word, My promises, are all contained in My Names. And you, who are My children in Christ, are all named with My Name when you are born again. Ephesians 3:14. All My family in Heaven and on earth is named by Me with My Name.
Do you see the importance of knowing My Name? All My Name? David sang, “I will give You thanks with all my heart; I will sing praises to You, sing before Elohim, I will bow down toward Your holy temple and give thanks to Your Name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth; for You have magnified Your Word (promises) according to all Your Name.” Psalm 138:2. All My Name, for in Me, in the strong tower of My Name, you find all My precious and magnificent promises that I have given you so that through them, that is, by applying them in your life by faith, you become partakers of My divine nature, and My nature is LOVE, LIGHT, GOODNESS, TRUTH, and HOLINESS. I am holy. And when you are partakers of My divine nature you escape, are freed from and free of, the destruction (corruption and decay) that is in the world through wrongly directed passion (lust). MY PROMISES ARE THE WAY IF GIVE YOU ALL THINGS THAT MOVE YOU OVER INTO LIFE AND GODLINESS, the abundant life that is life indeed, now and forever, that Jesus came to give you. And that is why all My promises are “yes” to you in Him. But you must receive and take them by faith. And if you do not know them you will not stand your ground against the world, the flesh, and the devil to keep them, to enforce them. And this is the way you fulfill My call to My own glory and excellence.
So look at the next step on the steep pathway of ascent, by faith you go from moral excellence to knowledge, and knowledge to self-control. When by faith you are obeying My Word and walking in the light (excellence) you come to know Me as you renew your mind in My Word and advance on to the knowledge of who I AM to you by learning of My Names and the magnificent and precious work I have done for you in Jesus fulfilling all the promises found in My Name, and next this knowledge of who you are in Chris and what you have in Him, that is, all the promises in My Name are yours in Him, this knowledge will raise you to self-mastery by My Spirit in you. You need self-control to stand on and speak My promises with faith in the onslaught of a full attack of the devil trying to take the Word of promise from you. You must be diligent to realize the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. Hebrews 6:11-12. Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done My Will, you may receive what is in My promises. My righteous one shall live by faith; and if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him. But when you are taking the ascending steps by faith I am showing you, these qualities will render you useful and fruitful in the true knowledge of your Lord Jesus Christ, and you will not be of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul. Hebrews 10:35-39.
And self-control comes when you are full, when you are totally satisfied and have no need or room for anything further. Full of My Word, like a good meal, for man does not live on bread alone but on every Word that proceeds from My mouth, but there is more to being full, that is, being so full you overflow. And how do you have this overflow of fullness? By being filled with My Spirit, which is all the fullness of the Godhead. Ephesians 3:20. And one of the fruit of the Spirit is self-control. Galatians 5:22-23.
And how do you get full? I tell in the Gospel of Luke that I will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Me for Him, Luke 11:13, and then I tell you in the Letter to the Ephesians how to be filled with Him on a daily basis: “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father.” Ephesians 5:18-20. And finally in the first letter to the Thessalonians I tell you another way to be filled with the Spirit and have self-control: “Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-19. So by singing psalms, hymns, and songs in the Spirit you become filled with My Spirit and from this self control follows.
And self-control all begins with your thoughts and your words. If you do not take your thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ and just speak anything that your emotions put in your mouth, then you will not be able to exercise any self-control. Put a curb on your mouth, especially when a trial hits or the devil throws a fiery dart your way, and be careful what you say. Death and life are in the power of your tongue. Stay awake to this and catch all the little foxes. I have told you that the man who controls his tongue can control his whole body. And that is self-control at the highest level.
One way to exercise this is to be aware that you are in My presence and think and speak only what you would want Me to see and hear. And if you keep in My presence, where there is fullness of joy, you can rejoice always, pray without ceasing (always keep up an inner awareness of My presence in your heart) and give thanks at all times, then self-control follows. Depression and anger quench My Spirit. Avoid them by thankfulness and singing of joyful praise at all times. That is the key of David that opens the door of hope in the valley of trouble.
I love you. Know My promises by knowing My Name and that is knowing Me and My Son, for I have given Him My Name and I have given Him a Name above every other Name. You would do well to look at His “I AM” statements to learn more of My promises that are all yours in order that you might live like Me.