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. 2 Peter 1:2-3.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God (אלוהים) says:
I blessed you from the first day I created mankind to be fruitful, to live amazing lives of glory and excellence. I filled the earth with wonderful treasures and powers for you to discover and utilize. But Adam separated you from Me and your mind no longer thought as I do, My thoughts became higher than yours and My ways higher than yours. Adam made the life that had flowed so easily for him with dominion over the earth into toil and sweat. He had submitted to a new master which harnessed his creativity down to the slavery of sin and death. He no longer was getting his source of information from Me, the creator of all, but from a fallen angel, a mere creature, who knew less than he did and was created to serve mankind.
But I did not create you to be slaves to anyone but to reign with Me as My own family in My image and according to My likeness. I wanted to be able to bless you and be dwelling with you again. My delight is to be with My children. How was I do to that when Adam had shut Me out of the earth I created for your home? I had a plan whereby I could again act in your lives to raise you up and bless you, freeing you from toil, pain, and sorrow. It is called “Covenant,” whereby two parties join as one in fellowship and purpose and vow to care for one another and share their lives. And what each has their own becomes joint property, the goal being to raise the lesser to the level of the greater.
And the way I lift your mind and your ways back up to the level at which I think is by My Word in your heart and mouth and My Spirit in and on you forever.
I made Covenant with Abraham and his descendants that was of My spoken Word which produced a household of faith. When that household increased to over two million people that I redeemed out of slavery in Egypt to be a great and mighty nation of just laws and abundant prosperity and fruitfulness, I gave them My written Word with its laws, instruction, and statutes which created a nation of faith. And when the fullness of time came, My spoken and written Word stepped off the page and manifested among you as one like you in all things but sin and gave His life and every drop of his pure and eternal blood to redeem you and reconciled you to Me. And in Him you became a new creation in Christ, His body the Church. And in Him you are made complete, lacking in nothing.
The problem is most people, even believers, do not know that or benefit from it. Why? They have not renewed their minds with My Word, and, thus, even though they could and could be getting ideas and inventions from Heaven, they do not. They do not know Me and they operate in the flesh level so they do not become virtuous and fruitful. Yes, excellence has to do with the quality of fruit you will produce. I have called you to My own glory and excellence, and that rests on certain qualities of the heart, and it certainly does not include unforgiveness. That is not a virtue, but the opposite.
Unforgiveness is a bitter root that will choke off My Word and stop you from producing good fruit. And I have put in each person’s heart the desire to be fruitful, that is, to live a meaningful life that produces fruit that will last eternally. So if you are frustrated and unhappy with your life, it is most likely because you feel useless and unfruitful. The futile way of life of many of your ancestors does not produce fruit or anything healthy, only destruction, addictions, and all kinds of vile behavior. It is time to break that cycle and live a life of shalom as I planned for you from the start.
In the second letter of My apostle Peter I reveal to you a way to assure you are not only fruitful but that your entrance into the eternal kingdom of your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you. 2 Peter 1:8-11. So if you are concerned about living a fruitful life—a life that will be rewarded when you enter the Kingdom of Heaven then today’s Life Lesson is for you. Why live a wasted life that you regret and receives no reward, when I want to richly reward you and have planned a life of good deeds for you in advance so you can have it and enjoy it?
Jesus Himself told you that if you attach to Him by remaining in His Words like a branch attaches to the vine, then you will produce much fruit. So first you see that the secret to being fruitful is keeping My Word in your mind and mouth and keeping the eyes of your heart on Jesus and your mind on My Word. The secret is Christ in you, your hope of glory. And to have that you must take Him as your Lord and read My Word so that you are renewed in your mind to a new way of thinking—My Way of thinking—which is positive and filled with confident expectation of good. Like Psalm 103.
But let us look at 2 Peter 1:2-11 and it will be clearer of what it means to be abiding in Jesus as a branch in a vine.
Remember that a branch changes and grows, it does not sit stagnate— it grows so that there is first the leaf, next the bud, then the flower, and finally the fruit.
Now I think you are ready to see the stages Peter shows you in growing in Christ.
As an introduction, Peter, under the inspiration of My Spirit (for all Scripture is Spirit breathed), writes that grace and peace are multiplied in your life through the knowledge of Jesus Christ, so the more you know Jesus the more grace in your life, the more peace in your life, and access to everything pertaining to life and godliness. For by grace I have granted to you My precious and magnificent promises so that by them you may become partakers of My divine nature and escape the corruption (death and the curse) that is in the world by lust.
Now for this very reason—to have access to walk in the precious grace that supplies all you need for life and godliness and makes you a partaker of My very nature so that you have eternal life—once you are saved you have a process of growth to bear fruit. You must first have the leaf, then the bud, then the flower, and finally the fruit. And attached to My Son you will produce much fruit that will remain to bless people of every nation even after you have departed for Heaven.
So, I tell you that, applying all diligence (which is active participation and consistency) add to your faith moral excellence. You may be wondering how you add moral excellence to your faith. Let Me show you. When you believe in My Son as Lord and that I raised Him from the dead after He had borne all your sins and diseases you are saved, born again, and My Spirit comes to dwell in your spirit. This is good but now you need to renew your mind with My Word and grow in your knowledge of Jesus.
In My Word I define moral excellence for you in many places, but you can get the practical definition in Proverbs 6:16-19, Psalm 34:13-14, and Colossians 3:8-9, 12-13. And a good example of moral excellence is the conduct of Jacob’s son, Joseph.
In Proverbs 6:16-18, I tell you that there are six things which I hate, yes, seven which are an abomination to Me: Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that run rapidly to evil, a false witness who utters lies, and one who spreads strife among brothers. These are things to avoid in order to have moral excellence. You see what they are: pride, lying, abusive behavior, thoughts that devise plans that harm others, and spreading strife and division among people, especially those of your family of faith.
That tells you that moral excellence consists of humility, truthful speech, kindness, compassion, and being a peacemaker. In Psalm 34, I put it this way: “Who is the man who desires life and loves many days that he may see good? Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit. Depart from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.” Psalm 34:13-14.
And in Colossians, I tell you are to put aside anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth. That you are no longer to lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to My image. Colossians 3:8-10. And so, as those who have been saved, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the I forgave you in Christ, so also should you. Colossians 3:12-13.
These Scriptures all tell you how to add moral excellence as you grow in your faith attached to the vine who is Jesus. And I will work in you both the desire and the will to do these things. But you too must use diligence to watch your thoughts and words so that you keep your tongue from lies and evil and your mind from proud thoughts. Instead be thankful. Be conscious of your words so that you do not hurt those who hear you but build them up. And I will give you the grace to do this but you must do your part like an athlete training for the Olympics must do his.
Next, Peter writes that as you grow on the Word, you will add knowledge to moral excellence. I tell you about the knowledge you must add in 1 John 4:16, Ephesians 1:18-19, Ephesians 3:17-19, and Isaiah 11:2.
You may be wondering what knowledge you need to know. It is knowledge of My love for you. Have you come to know and believe in the love which I have for you? 1 John 4:16. And love consists in this, not that you have loved Me but that I have loved you and given you My Son as propitiation for your sins. 1 John 4:10.
And this knowledge is not just that of your mind but it also involves the eyes of your heart- that you may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of My calling, what are the riches of the glory of your inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of My power toward you who believe. Ephesians 1:18-19. It is the knowledge that Christ dwells in your heart through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all My fullness, the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:17-19.
So you see it is growing in knowledge of My love for you, who you are in Christ Jesus, and knowing the great hope and power to which I have called you that I am talking about here. It is knowing that you are citizens of My Kingdom and have full access to the riches and glory that abide there. It is knowing you can come to My throne of grace with confidence that you will receive mercy and find grace (skill, solutions and answers) just when you need them. Hebrews 4:16. It is knowing that in Christ you are holy and blameless in My eyes and that all things are yours in Him. Ephesians 1:4-7. It is knowing that you are righteous in Him with My own righteousness. 2 Corinthians 5:21. It is knowing that you are My child, My heir and a joint heir with Christ. Romans 8:14-16; Galatians 4:4-7. And every good and perfect gift comes from Me. It is knowing that Jesus emptied Himself and became poor so that you could become rich with all His righteousness, health, and prosperity. 2 Corinthians 8:9
Next Peter writes that as you grow in the Word you will add self-control to your knowledge. For I have not given you a spirit of fear, but of power and love and self-control. 2 Timothy 1:7. Self control comes when you are full, when you are totally satisfied and have no need or room for anything further. If Adam and Eve had been full of joy over the blessings and goodness with which I surrounded them they would not have been open to trying to get something “better.”
And how do you have this fullness? By being filled with My Spirit, which is all the fullness of the Godhead. Ephesians 3:20. And that will give you joy unspeakable filled with glory. And the fruit of the Spirit contains 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 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.
Next, as you grow in your faith, Peter writes that perseverance will be added to self-control. I define perseverance in the Letter to the Hebrews as living by faith rather than by your natural senses and circumstances. The righteous shall live by faith in My promises and not be swayed to doubt by circumstances that look contrary to My promises. Hebrews 10:36-39. And I desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the end so as to realize the full assurance of hope until you obtain My promise, so that you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. Hebrews 6:11-12. Perseverance is believing My Word and standing on it no matter how impossible it looks, and standing until you have what I have promised. It is being consistently constant in faith.
Next, after perseverance comes godliness. Godliness is being like Me; it is imitating Me as My dear children and walking in love. Ephesians 5:1. And how do you do that? I pour My love into your heart by My gift to you of the Holy Spirit so that you are so filled with My love that it pours out to others through you. The more filled with the Holy Spirit and the more you know of My love for you as shown in Christ Jesus the more you will love and be like Me. As you behold My Son, you will be conformed to the image of My Son, transformed from glory to glory by My Spirit in you. 2 Corinthians 3:18. Attach to Jesus by remaining in My Word, as a branch to the vine, and you will be like Him for you shall bear the fruit of the vine to which you are attached. John 15:3.
After godliness is added brotherly kindness. Brotherly kindness is compassion for others, especially those of your family of faith. Jesus told you that “A new commandment I give to you, that you may love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:34-35. And you love because I have first loved you. I have poured My love in your heart and covered you with the shadow of My hand. My banner over you is love. You forgive because you know I have forgiven you in Christ. And that gives you compassion for all weak sinners for you were once one too until you came to Christ and became a saint in Him. The one who is forgiven much loves much. The more you know what My Son went through to remove all sin from you, the more you will love.
In the Letter to the Ephesians I describe brotherly kindness for you in this way: “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.” Ephesians 4:31-32.
And finally, in brotherly kindness comes love. Agape in the Greek language. Chesed in Hebrew. In English it is hard to translate the different kinds of love, but in Greek and Hebrew, there are different levels of love, as you see here in the virtues, and the highest form of love is My kind of love, which is agape and chesed. This is love that is based on the nature of the one loving and is not defined by how one is treated by the beloved. It is pure love that is not subject to change. It is a committed love that has no self-interest or malice. It is not based on how one is treated but on the operation of excellence in the one loving. It is the love that lays down your life for the good of others. The love that makes you want to serve the needs of others. The love that makes others’ interests just as important as your own. The love that reaches out to Me with no self interest in mind but only consciousness of the great love I have for you. The love that is stronger than death, for in the end these three: faith, hope and love, and the greatest of these is love.
And this love will come to you the more you come to know and believe in the love I have for you. It is kindled at My throne and comes to you in the heart of My Son. It is the greatest gift of all. And you will abide in My love and be filled with that love for all eternity. Why not let it light your life now? It is the fruit of the flower that began as a bud after you first received Jesus as your Lord and believed that He bore all your sins and that I raised Him from the dead in glorious splendor as your High Priest before Me. Not because of your love for Me, but because of My love for you.
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 1 John 4:7-10.
And when you know and experience this great love that I have for you everything that you once thought so important and desirable will fade into nothing, mere rubbish as Paul called it. And then you can write with Paul: “If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written, ‘For Your sake we are being put to death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.’ But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:31-39.
So, we have taken quite a journey into how you grow in virtue, but to sum up, once you believe and are born again you will grow in the faith if you are diligent to renew your mind in My Word to a new way of thinking. And as you grow from faith to faith led by My Spirit in you, first you will begin to walk in moral excellence (no longer lying to and abusing one another for as you grow you will no longer be comfortable with these things but will rejoice in the truth), then knowledge which will lead to self-control, then perseverance which will then add godliness, then brotherly kindness which will lead to perfect love. And perfect love casts out all fear and bonds us together forever.
And if you are diligent in growing in this way so that these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of Jesus Christ through whom you receive the gift of righteousness and the abundance of grace so that you reign in life through Him.
There are many believers, however, that never grow because they do not read or spend time in My Word or with Me in prayer. They do not understand all that Jesus has done for them in His finished work. They have no true knowledge of Him.
And I tell you that when believers who have heard the good news lack these qualities that Peter has listed, know that they are that way because they are blind– short-sighted– having forgotten that they have purification from their former sins. They still see themselves as sinners who are trying to avoid My punishment. Do not see yourself this way in Christ. You do not understand what I did for you in giving you My Son and condemning and punishing ALL your sins upon Him if you feel this way and keep Me at a distance.
Therefore, you who believe in My Son, be all the more diligent to make certain to know that I have called and chosen you in Him before the world began.
So attach to the vine and grow thereby. For as long as you grow in and practice these things that I have listed for you in Peter’s second letter, you will never stumble and you will be fruitful; and in this way your entrance into the eternal kingdom of your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you. 2 Peter 1:10-12.
Remember that you are one to be welcomed, for as He is so you are by grace. You will eat and drink at My table in My Kingdom.
A merited crown awaits you. And for many of you, more than one. The crown of righteousness, the crown of life and the crown of glory are all revealed to you in My Word.
I love you. Grow on My Word. Let it dwell in you richly. Let Me, the God of Shalom, sanctify you entirely so that your spirit, soul and body are preserved complete, without blame at the coming of My Son. I who call you am faithful and I will bring it to pass. 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24.