Peter Warns All Believers Against False Teachers Within and Exhorts Us to be Steadfast Volume 15

The Trustworthy Prophetic Word of God Declared and Affirmed by the Apostle Peter Part 2 2 Peter 1:20-21 Knowing this first, that no Prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation. For the Prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. KJV Note: NKJV=New King 👑James Version The Apostle Peter in concluding his discourse on the Prophetic Word of God that was declared through God's Prophets long ago concerning the first coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and also concerning His second coming when He judges this world in righteousness (that being His own righteousness) and ends time forever, declares to us that what the Prophets spoke was not from their own intellect or intelligence, that is, not from the mind of man. Peter uses the phrase 'private interpretation' in 2 Peter 1:20 and we understand what he means here by private, but the English word 'interpretation' is translated by the Greek word epilusis which is used this one time only in the entire New Testament and means explanation, that is, application: - interpretation. In other words, these men like Moses and Isaiah and Zechariah and Hosea and Amos and so on were not using their intelligence or wisdom or knowledge to foretell when and where the Messiah would come or how He would live and suffer and die for the sins of the world 🗺. But on the contrary they were listening 👂and hearing from the Lord Jehovah/Yahweh and then speaking or writing what He declared to them, for example here is what Ezekiel said and then wrote in his book, "And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, "'Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who prophesy, and say to those who prophesy out of their own heart, 'Hear the Word of the LORD!' Thus says the Lord GOD: 'Woe to the foolish prophets, who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing! O Israel, your prophets are like foxes in the deserts. You have not gone up into the gaps to build a wall for the house of Israel to stand in battle on the day of the LORD. They have envisioned futility and false divination, saying, 'Thus says the LORD!' But the LORD has not sent them; yet they hope that the word may be confirmed. Have you not seen a futile vision, and have you not spoken false divination? You say, 'The LORD says,' but I have not spoken.' Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: 'Because you have spoken nonsense and envisioned lies, therefore I am indeed against you,' says the Lord GOD. 'My hand will be against the prophets who envision futility and who divine lies; they shall not be in the assembly of My people, nor be written in the record of the house of Israel, nor shall they enter into the land of Israel. Then you shall know that I am the Lord GOD." (Ezekiel 13:1-9) (NKJV). You see the One true God is Omnipotent (all Powerful) and Omniscient (all Knowing), therefore, nothing that He does not want recorded as His Eternal Words will not be so declared. The Old Testament Prophets as well as the New Testament writers declared the true Word of the Lord because He God gave His Word to them. The Bible is the Word of God and not the Word of Men 🚹 and there is the very Power of God in His Holy Words. No other book ever written by men does any of the words contain in any of those many books have any power in them at all. God's Word (the Bible) comes with His Divine Power in every Word from Genesis Chapter 1 to Revelation Chapter 22. Here is what the Expositor's Bible Commentary has to say of 2 Peter 1:20, "The Greek words need to be taken account of before we can gather the true meaning of this clause. That which is translated 'is' is much more frequently rendered 'comes to pass,' and bears the sense of 'arises,' 'has its origin.' 'Interpretation' is the translation of a word which occurs here only in the-New Testament, and implies the 'loosing' of what is complicated, the 'clearing' of what is obscure. The lesson which the Apostle would give relates to the right appreciation of the Old Testament Scriptures, which contain the prophecy which he has called above 'the lamp in a dark place.' He intends to say something which may incline men to follow its guidance. The prophetic writings furnish us with illustrations how the problems which arose in the lives of the men of old time, both about events around them and also about the dispensations of Divine providence, found their solution. Thus they furnish rules and principles for time to come; and that men may be induced to confide in their guidance is the object of St. Peter's words. He bids the converts know that these unravellings and clearings of the ways of God are not men's private interpretation of what they beheld. This was not the manner in which they came to be known. They are not evolved out of human consciousness, pondering on the facts of life and the ways of God, nor are they the individual exposition of those whom God employed as His prophets. They are messages and lessons which came from One and the same Impelling Power, from One and the same Illuminating Influence, even from God Himself, and so are uniform in spirit and teaching from first to last; and He from whom and through whom they are given can say by the mouth of the last of the prophetic body, 'I am Jehovah; I change not.' (Malachi 3:6)." The Apostle Peter now wants to put a period and exclamation point on this very long entertained but very wrong entertained fallacy or fiction or foolishness that the Prophets of old declared or decided or determined what they would speak or write concerning the will of God. Peter says here in 2 Peter 1:21 that 'the Prophecy came not in old time by the will of man' and that little English word 'will' is translated by the Greek word thelēma which means a determination that is, (actively) choice (specifically purpose, decree; abstractly volition) or (passively) inclination: - desire, pleasure, will. In other words, they didn't know anything about the times and places of the coming of the Messiah Jesus Christ our Lord nor did they know of any future events in human history that they wrote about, for it was all given to them by the Spirit of God who is the true author of the Old Testament as well as the New Testament. This entire 1st Chapter of 2nd Peter is all about what he and we have been given by God, not about what he or we have determined about God or decreed about God or declared about God from our own knowing or knowledge, but all about what God has shown him and given to him that he might declare the truth of God to all of us who are of the truth and love the truth, remember what the Apostle John wrote, "But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things. I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth." (1 John 2:20-21) (NKJV). The anointing from the Holy One is what every true born again son or daughter has from God and so was it with those men of old who spoke and wrote for God His very Words and now we see Peter writing this very truth here in 2 Peter 1:21, "but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost" and so is the Apostle Peter in his writing these two letters. The little English phrase 'were moved' is translated by the Greek word pherō̄ a primary verb which means to 'bear' or carry (in a very wide application, literally and figuratively: - be driven, move along. Like a sail boat with no engine cannot move forward through the water without the wind 🍃going through the sails, so could not those Prophets of old 🧓speak or write 📝for God without the Holy Ghost giving them the words to speak and write 📝. This is why we read in the Old Testament 'Thus saith the Lord God' or 'The Word of the Lord came to me saying' or 'Then the Lord said to Noah' or 'And the Lord said to Moses', for this is the pattern throughout the Old Testament. However, we now read these words written to us by the writer of the Book of Hebrews, "God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the Prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds;" (Hebrews 1:1-2) (NKJV). Peter and Paul and John and the other writers of the New Testament are all likewise moved along by the Holy Spirit and we must recall these words our Lord Jesus spoke to them not long before He ascended back to Heaven, "'I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you." (John 16:12-15) (NKJV). These are all the things that Peter and Paul and John have written in their letters Amen! Here is what Matthew Henry had to say of 2 Peter 1:21, "Seeing it is so absolutely necessary that persons be fully persuaded of the Scripture's Divine origin, the Apostle tells us how the Old Testament came to be compiled, and that, 1. Negatively: It came not by the will of man. Neither the things themselves that are recorded, and make up the several parts of the Old Testament, are the opinions of men, nor was the will of any of the Prophets or penmen of the Scriptures the rule or reason why any of those things were written which make up the canon of the Scripture. 2. Affirmatively: Holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. Observe, (1.) They were holy men of God who were employed about that book which we receive as the Word of God. If Balaam and Caiaphas, and others who were destitute of holiness, had any thing of the spirit of prophecy, upon occasion, yet such persons were not employed to write any part of the Scriptures for the use of the Church of God. All the penmen of the Scriptures were holy men of God. (2.) These holy men were moved by the Holy Ghost in what they delivered as the mind and will of God. The Holy Ghost is the supreme agent, the holy men are but instruments. [1.] The Holy Ghost inspired and dictated to them what they were to deliver of the Mind of God. [2.] He powerfully excited and effectually engaged them to speak (and write) what he had put into their mouths. [3.] He so wisely and carefully assisted and directed them in the delivery of what they had received from Him that they were effectually secured from any the least mistake in expressing what they revealed; so that the very Words of Scripture are to be accounted the Words of the Holy Ghost, and all the plainness and simplicity, all the power and virtue, all the elegance and propriety, of the very words and expressions are to be regarded by us as proceeding from God. Mix faith therefore with what you find in the Scriptures; esteem and reverence your Bible as a book written by holy men, inspired, influenced, and assisted by the Holy Ghost." If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...

Peter Warns All Believers Against False Teachers Within and Exhorts Us to be Steadfast Volume 14

The Trustworthy Prophetic Word of God Declared and Affirmed by the Apostle Peter Part 1 2 Peter 1:19 We have also a more sure Word of Prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: KJV Note: NKJV=New King 👑James Version As we declared in the very last commentary/bible study, the Apostle Peter had the reality and truth of who Christ Jesus our Lord was then and is now and always has been and that is He is very God manifested or made visible in human flesh to mankind, for Peter was an eyewitness to His Majesty/Splendor/Glory and God the Father speaking from Heaven affirming who Jesus Christ was and is for all Eternity. However, now the Apostle Peter writes to us these words, "We have also a more sure Word of Prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:" (2 Peter 1:19) (KJV). What does Peter mean by these words? Is he saying that the Word of God (the Old Testament for Peter at the time of his writing) is more sure or certain than what he saw and heard? Of course he is not discounting what he saw of the Glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, nor the Words he heard spoken from Heaven, for our Lord Jesus Himself affirmed to Peter, James, and John the truth of what they saw and heard as they were about to go down from the mountain when He spoke these words to them, "Now as they came down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, 'Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man is risen from the dead.'" (Matthew 17:9) (NKJV). Therefore, we see that this was real and true what the Apostles saw and heard. What Peter is actually saying here, is that the Words written by the Prophets of Old 🧓were and are true and trustworthy and of course they are because it was God/Jesus Himself speaking through them. Remember when Moses said this, "'The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear'" (Deuteronomy 18:15) (NKJV). Moses was not told who this Prophet would be or the fact/reality that it would be God Himself manifested in human flesh. Moses went on further down to write these words as well, "And the LORD said to me: What they have spoken is good. I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him. And it shall be that whoever will not hear My words, which He speaks in My Name, I will require it of him." (Deuteronomy 18:17-19) (NKJV). Note: "Notice the very first words Moses writes, "AND THE LORD SAID TO ME:" This is what Moses and all the other true Prophets of God declared to the people and that being what the Lord said to them and everything that the Lord said to them came to pass exactly as He the Lord said it would. Here is the Prophet Ezekiel speaking the trustworthy Word of God, "Now it came to pass at the end of seven days that the Word of the LORD came to me, saying, 'Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore hear a word from My mouth, and give them warning from Me: When I say to the wicked, 'You shall surely die,' and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life (that being his eternal life), that same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand. Yet, if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn (repent) from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul." (Ezekiel 3:16-19) (NKJV). The Apostle Peter says at the end of 2 Peter 1:19 that 'light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts', for the English word 'dark' is translated by the Greek word auchmēros which is used this one time only in the entire New Testament and it means dust, as dried by wind; properly dirty and dark. The English word 'dawn' is translated by the Greek word diaugazō which also is used this one time only in the entire New Testament and it means to glimmer through, that is, break (as day): - dawn. Finally, the English word 'star' used here by Peter is translated by the Greek word light bearing ('phosphorus'), that is, (specifically) the morning star (figuratively): - day star. What our Lord Jesus means here is exactly what he declared to the Prophet Ezekiel to speak to the people and that is our human inner man 👨and inner woman 👩is evil and wicked (for we are all born that way at our physical birth into the human race Roman 3:10-18) dark and dirty, therefore, we need the light of the Word of God the Gospel of Christ to break through into our filthy hearts as the day light or the morning Sun Rise breaks through the darkness of nightfall and moves it out of the way so that only the light bearing rays of the Sun are visible, so do we human sinners need the filthy sin of our hearts dawned upon by the Word of God, that is, the Gospel of Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-11), that is, Christ Himself as He enters the heart, for He is the Morning Star, as it is written by our Lord Jesus to us with these words, "Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie. 'I, Jesus, have sent My Angel to testify to you these things in the Churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.'" (Revelation 22:14-16) (NKJV). Here is what the Expositor's Bible Commentary had to say of 2 Peter 1:19, "THE rendering of the first words in this passage must be reckoned among the distinct improvements of the Revised Version. As the translation stands in the Authorized Version, 'We have also a more sure word of Prophecy,' it conveys a sense which many must have found perplexing. The Apostle had just dwelt on the confirmation of faith, both for himself and those to whom he preached, which was ministered by the vision of the Glory of Jesus and by the proclamation of His Divinity by God's voice from Heaven. Could any Prophetic message vie in his estimate with the assurance of such a revelation? Now what St. Peter meant is made clear. 'And we have the Word of Prophecy made more sure'-more sure because we have received the confirmation of all that the Prophets spake dimly and in figure. The Apostle and the rest of the Jewish people had been trained in the ancient Scriptures, and gathered from them, some more and some less, light concerning God's scheme of salvation. There were, however, but few who had attained a true insight into what was revealed. They had dwelt, as a rule, too exclusively on all that spake of the glory of the promised Redeemer and of His coming to reign and to conquer. That there should be suffering in His life, they had put out of sight, though the Prophets had foretold it; and so when Christ spake of His crucifixion, soon to come to pass in Jerusalem, St. Peter exclaimed-and he had the feelings of his nation with him-'That be far from Thee.' The voice on the holy mount and the words of Moses and Elias had opened their eyes to the full drift of Prophetic revelation; and by the illumination of that scene of glory, where yet the lot of suffering was contemplated as near at hand, there had been given to them a grasp of the whole scope of prophecy, and their partial and distorted conception of the Work of Christ was banished forever. 'Whereunto ye do well that ye take heed.' The idea of a volume of New Testament Scriptures had not entered St. Peter's mind. He knows that St. Paul's letters (2 Peter 3:15-16) are read by some, who do not all profit by the privilege; and his own letters he intends to be an abiding admonition to the Churches. The need, too, of a record of Christ's life and works, a Gospel, must have begun to be felt. But yet he points the converts to the ancient records of Israel as a guide to direct their lives. They had heard the Gospel story from the lips of himself and others. Thus they had the key to unlock what hitherto had seemed hard to understand, and could study their Prophetic volume with a new and perfect light. This he means by 'ye do well.' Ye go to the true source of guidance, drink of the fountain of true wisdom, and gain strength and refreshment-when it is much needed. Duly to take heed of these records is to search out their lessons and labor after that deeper sense which is enshrined beneath the Word. Given as they were at various times and in various fashions, and given to point on to God's purposes in the future, these Scriptures must needs have been dark to those who first received them, nor could the men whom God chose to deliver them have been fully conscious of all they were meant to declare as the ages rolled on and brought their fulfillment nearer. Nor are they all luminous even yet, but they grow ever more so to those who take heed. 'As unto a lamp shining in a dark place.' Spite of all the light we can compass, the world will always be in one sense a dark place. It is a world of beauty, full of the tokens of God's Handiwork, the indications of His Love. But evil has also made an entrance: and the trail of the serpent is evident in the sorrow, the disease, the wickedness, that abound on every side. And problems continually present themselves which even to the saints are hard to be solved. Many a Psalm records the conflict which has to be passed through ere God's ways can be reconciled to men. We must go into His House, draw near to Him, feel to the full His Fatherhood, ere our hearts can be contented. Nay, the disquiet breaks out again and again. So God, in His mercy, has provided His lamp for those who will use it; and to those who take heed it furnishes ever-new light. The history, the Prophecy, the devotion, the allegory, of the holy volume are all full of illustrations of the firm purpose of redemption, of the eternal, unchanging love of Jehovah, thwarted only by the perverseness of those whom He is longing to save from their sins. And to call God's revelation in His word a lamp is a striking and instructive figure. It is something which you can take with you, and carry into the dark places whither your lot may send you, and use its light just where and when you need it. But its light must be fed by the constant oil of diligent study, or its usefulness will not be found to the full. And the truth is the same if we apply the lesson to nations and Churches as it is for individuals. The records were given to a Nation chosen to keep the knowledge of God alive in the world. The word spoken did not profit, as it was meant to do, because it was not mixed with faith in them that heard it. And there is the same faith needed still. The light of a lamp in a dark place shines but a little way; but by the rays of the Divine lamp men are to walk, in faith that the steps beyond will become clear in their turn. And thus alone will the problems of life be really solved, the religious contentions, the social difficulties, the trials of family life, the individual doubts and fears: all are elements of darkness; all need to be illumined by the lamp which God has provided. Oh that men would burnish it by diligent heed, and keep its radiance at the full by constant seeking thereunto! 'Until the day dawn, and the day-star arise' in your hearts. The day has begun to dawn for those who will lift up their hearts to its breaking. The day-star from on high hath visited the earth in the Person of Christ, but the full day will not be till He returns again. Yet His coming into the world was meant to lighten every man, and to win all men to walk in His light. 'I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto Me,' is His own promise. And in that decease of which He spake with Moses and Elijah. He has been lifted up. But He has left it to them that love Him to lift Him up constantly before the eyes of men, to exalt Him by their lives; and our lax performances make the progress of His drawing all men, to halt. We fail to make due use of the lamp which He has put ready to our hand, and which only needs to be grasped. The perfect day will not come to us in this life, but He gives to His faithful ones glimpses of the dawn. They learn the presence of the Sun of righteousness, though as yet they see Him only through the mists and darkness of life; and they are cheered with the certainty of the coming day. And the day-star of the Spirit is kindled in the hearts of those who ask Him to dwell there; and they are led forward into greater and greater truth, into richer and fuller light. And for the same end the Spirit is promised to the Church of Christ: that she may be enabled, having used the lamp first given with all faithfulness, to open to men the ways of God more fully, and, amid the changes of times and varying vicissitudes and needs of men and nations, to prove that the only satisfaction to the soul is the increasing knowledge of the oneness of God's purpose and eternity of His Love. To such a power she will be helped by giving heed to the lamp in every dark place and seeking in its light the elucidation of all hard questions." If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...

Peter Warns All Believers Against False Teachers Within and Exhorts Us to be Steadfast Volume 13

Christ's Wonderful and Powerful Glory Seen by the Apostle Peter 2 Peter 1:16-18 For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His Majesty. For He received from God the Father Honour and Glory, when there came such a voice to Him from the Excellent Glory, This is My Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with Him in the Holy Mount. KJV Note: NKJV=New King 👑James Version All that Peter has written in his first letter ✉ and now this very second letter ✉, he wrote with concrete assurance of who our Lord, Master, and Savior Jesus Christ truly is and that being God Manifesting Himself in Human Flesh (1 Timothy 3:16). The Apostle Peter was an eyewitness of the majesty and power of Christ's Glory (2 Peter 1:16). Peter saw His face 😔 shine forth as bright as the sun ☀, yet Peter only saw a glimpse or a foretaste of His Mighty Glory (remember Moses Exodus 33:18-22). Peter wanted those early true believers and all of us true believers who have come after them to know that this Christ (whom he speaks of and writes about) is the One True and Only God. This why Peter says here in the beginning of 2 Peter 1:16 that they did not follow after fables, that is, deliberately false or improbable accounts; stories about mythical or supernatural beings or events. The Lord Jesus took Peter and James and John up on a high mountain ⛰ and let them be eyewitnesses of part of His Glory that was veiled or covered up by His human flesh, even as He made Moses and Elijah appear before Him talking with Him (Matthew 17:1-8). So this is why Peter wrote these incredible words in his first and second letter ✉, for example remember what he wrote at the very beginning of his first letter ✉. "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time." (1 Peter 1:3-5) (NKJV). He (God the Father) has begotten us, that is, made us His offspring through new birth. Our inheritance waiting for us in Heaven is incorruptible. We are kept or guarded by the Power of God. Wow! Wow! and Wow! The fact that Peter knew that Jesus Christ is God and that the Spirit of God moved him along like the wind does a sail on a ship is why Peter wrote such awesome, amazing, and absolute words in each of these letters. Here is what Adam Clarke had to say of 2 Peter 1:16, "I think, with Macknight and others, from the Apostle's using eye witnesses, or rather beholders, in the end of the verse, it is probable that he means those cunningly devised fables among the heathens, concerning the appearance of their gods on earth in human form. And to gain the greater credit to these fables, the priests and statesmen instituted what they called the mysteries of the gods, in which the fabulous appearance of the gods was represented in mystic shows. But one particular show none but the fully initiated were permitted to behold; hence they were entitled beholders. This show was probably some resplendent image of the god, imitating life, which, by its glory, dazzled the eyes of the beholders, while their ears were ravished by hymns sung in its praise; to this it was natural enough for St. Peter to allude, when speaking about the transfiguration of Christ. Here the indescribably resplendent majesty of the great God was manifested, as far as it could be, in conjunction with that human body in which the fullness of the Divinity dwelt. And we, says the Apostle, were beholders of His own majesty. Here was no trick, no feigned show; we saw Him in His Glory whom thousands saw before and afterwards; and we have made known to you the power and coming, the appearance and presence, of our Lord Jesus; and we call you to feel the exceeding greatness of this power in your conversion, and the glory of this appearance in His revelation by the power of His Spirit to your souls. These things we have witnessed, and these things ye have experienced: and therefore we can confidently say that neither you nor we have followed cunningly devised fables, but that blessed Gospel which is the power of God to the salvation of every one that believes." God the Father affirming God the Son by speaking from Heaven in an audible voice that could be understood and was understood by the three Apostles on the Mountain ⛰. For these words spoken from Heaven, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (2 Peter 1:17), were spoken for them and us to believe and understand and never doubt again. God had come to earth 🌎in human form to bring man back to Himself, as the Apostle Paul wrote it with these words, "Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting people's sins against them (but canceling them), and has committed to us the word of reconciliation." (2 Corinthians 5:18-19)(NKJV plus a little Amplified Bible). Here is what Matthew Henry had to say of 2 Peter 1:17, "What a gracious declaration was made: This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased - the best voice that ever came from Heaven to earth; God is well pleased with Christ, and with us in Him. This is the Messiah who was promised, through whom all who believe in Him shall be accepted and saved. This declaration is made by God the Father, who thus publicly owns His Son (even in His state of humiliation, when He was in the form of a servant), yea, proclaims Him to be His Beloved Son, when He is in that low condition; yea, so far are Christ's mean and low circumstances from abating the love of the Father to Him that His laying down His life is said to be one special reason of the Father's love, John 10:17. The design of this voice was to do our Saviour a singular honour while he was here below: He received honour and glory from God the Father. This is the person whom God delights to honour. As He requires us to give honour and glory to His Son by confessing Him to be our Saviour, so does He give glory and honour to our Saviour by declaring Him to be His Son. This voice is from Heaven, called here the Excellent Glory, which still reflects a greater glory upon our blessed Saviour. This declaration is from God the fountain of honour, and from Heaven the seat of glory, where God is most gloriously present." The Apostle Peter wanted to make it very clear that they heard this voice from Heaven (2 Peter 1:18) for it was not a figment of their imagination, but a clear detectable audible voice from Heaven speaking in the Hebrew language that they could clearly discern. Here is what again Matthew Henry had to say of 2 Peter 1:18, "This voice was heard, and that so as to be understood, by Peter, James, and John. They not only heard a sound (as the people did, John 12:28, John 12:29), but they understood the sense. God opens the ears and understandings of His people to receive what they are concerned to know, when others are like Paul's companions, who only heard a sound of words (Acts 9:7), but understood not the meaning thereof, and therefore are said not to hear the voice of Him that spoke, Acts 22:9. Blessed are those who not only hear, but understand, who believe the truth, and feel the power of the voice from Heaven, as he did who testifieth these things: and we have all the reason in the world to receive his testimony; for who would refuse to give credit to what is so circumstantially laid down as this account of the voice from heaven, of which the Apostle tells us, It was heard by them in the holy mount, when they were with Jesus? The place wherein God affords any peculiarly gracious manifestation of Himself is thereby made holy, not with an inherent holiness, but as the ground was holy where God appeared to Moses (Exodus 3:5), and the mountain holy on which the temple was built, Psalms 87:1. Such places are relatively holy, and to be regarded as such during the time that men in themselves experience, or may, by warrant from the word, believingly expect, the special presence and gracious influence of the holy and glorious God." If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...

Peter Warns All Believers Against False Teachers Within and Exhorts Us to be Steadfast Volume 12

Peter was Intent to Put Every Believer in Recollection of God's Design for Us Part 2 2 Peter 1:14-15 Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me. Moreover I will endeavour that ye may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance. KJV Note: NKJV=New King 👑James Version The Apostle Peter wrote all of this wonderful, wise, and warning truth to those early believers in our Lord Jesus Christ for their edifying, encouragement, and exhortation because they needed it and also because he wanted to leave with them a permanent record of spiritual truth for their good and God's Glory. Peter told them that he knew shortly that he must put off his tabernacle (2 Peter 1:14). The English word 'tabernacle' used by Peter here is translated by the Greek word skēnōma meaning the body (as a tenement for the soul): - tabernacle. Peter knew that the real him was encased or encamped or enclosed inside this outer structure we humans call the body. The Apostle did not see his body as something to be pampered or to take pride in or to promote as being wonderful, but instead Peter knew that it was his soul (the real him) that needed the nurture and nourishment of the Word of God daily and that Word being enable and energized by the Spirit of God also daily. This too is the entire idea the Apostle Paul was delivering to brother Timothy when he wrote him these words, "For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come." (1 Timothy 4:8)(NKJV). Peter (like Paul) saw this as the real design and desire of every true believer in our Lord Jesus Christ that should be exercised daily, for one glorious day our faith now will be sight as we gaze upon the One who died for us and gave us Himself just as the Apostle Paul wrote to the Colossians with these words, "And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross." (Colossians 2:13-14) (NKJV). Peter could not wait to take off the old dirty clothing of his tent, tabernacle, or body and then be clothed in his new indestructible glorified body given to him by our Lord Jesus Himself. It was our Lord Jesus Christ who told Peter how he would be murdered by people when he was old because of his walk with Christ and his standing in the truth, for we read these words written by the Apostle John, "'Most assuredly, I say to you (Peter), when you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish.' This He spoke, signifying by what death he (Peter) would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, 'Follow Me.' (John 21:18-19) (NKJV). Peter recalled these words as he was now much older (perhaps 30 plus years had gone by since Christ spoke these words to him) and the Spirit of God may have given some indication that the time was near at hand. Here is what Albert Barnes had to say of 2 Peter 1:14, "This is one of the few instances that have occurred in the world, where a man knew distinctly, long beforehand, what would be the manner of his own death, and where he could have it constantly in his eye. We cannot foresee this in regard to ourselves, but we may learn to feel that death is not far distant, and may accustom ourselves to think upon it in whatever manner it may come upon us, as Peter did, and endeavor to prepare for it. Peter would naturally seek to prepare himself for death in the particular form in which he knew it would occur to him; we should prepare for it in whatever way it may occur to us. The subject of crucifixion would be one of special interest to him; to us death itself should be the subject of unusual interest - the manner is to be left to God. Whatever may be the signs of its approach, whether sickness or grey hairs, we should meditate much upon an event so solemn to us; and as these indications thicken we should be more diligent, as Peter was, in doing the work that God has given us to do. Our days, like the fabled Sybil's leaves, become more valuable as they are diminished in number; and as the inevitable hour draws nearer to us, we should labor more diligently in our Master's cause, gird our loins more closely, and trim our lamps. Peter thought of the Cross, for it was such a death that he was led to anticipate. Let us think of the bed of languishing on which we may die, or of the blow that may strike us suddenly down in the midst of our way, calling us without a moment's warning into the presence of our Judge." However, first Peter before leaving the brethren and sisteren, he wanted to leave them with a record of the truth that they would be able to refer to it at anytime or place, so as to keep themselves from the false doctrines or teachings of false believers who had taken the truth and twisted it to their own destruction (2 Peter 3:16), just as also the Apostle Paul had warned brother Timothy with these words concerning such people, "But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived." (2 Timothy 3:13 (NKJV). With this being at the forefront of Peter's mind he writes this to them, "Moreover I will endeavour that ye may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance." (2 Peter 1:15) (KJV). It was Peter's earnest design and desire to leave this unshakable record of the truth with them that they may have it always. Peter uses the English word 'endeavour' which is translated by the Greek word spoudazō to use speed, that is, to make effort, be prompt or earnest: - give diligence, be diligent, labour, study. It is because Peter thought his time to be short that he wanted to labor in study diligently and work hard to get the truth that is written in his 1st epistle and now this 2nd epistle done so that those true believers then and we true believers now and of every era and generation would be able to know how our walk with the Lord Jesus must be when we are in times of suffering for His sake (1st letter ✉) and to be able to recognize fake, and fraudulent, and false believers (2nd letter ✉) so that we should not be moved away from our steadfastness 'in Christ' even as Paul the Apostle also wrote with these words warning brother Timothy of these same things, "But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus." (2 Timothy 3:14-15) (NKJV). Peter uses the English word 'decease' to speak of his death and this word is translated by the Greek word exodos which simply means an exit, that is, (figuratively) death: - departing. This is the reality of every human beings death, they depart or exit out of their body to be with Christ Jesus (if they have been born again John 3:5) or to be apart or away from Christ Jesus (if they have not been born again Revelation 20:15 which is the second death). Here is what the Expositor's Bible Commentary had to say of 2 Peter 1:15, "'Yea, I will give diligence that at every time ye may be able after my decease to call these things to remembrance.' Jesus is related (Luke 9:31) to have conversed with Moses and Elias of His decease (εξοδος), which He should accomplish at Jerusalem. The word is rare in this sense, being commonly used, as in Hebrews 11:22, of the departing of the children of Israel from Egypt. But it is deeply printed in St. Peter's mind; and he, who looks forward to drinking of his Master's cup and dying somewhere as He died, employs the same word concerning his own end. And the word is another indication of the calm with which he can look forward to his death. As with Christ, there is no reluctance, no shrinking. The change will be but a departure, a passing from one stage to another, the putting off the worn garment of mortality to be clothed upon by the robe which is from heaven. His letters are the only means whereby he can speak after he has been taken from them. Hence his earnestness in writing. 'I will give diligence.' I have urged diligence on you; I will apply the lesson to myself, and make it possible that afterwards on every occasion you may have it before you. When dead, he will yet speak to them; so that in each new trial, in each time of need, they may strengthen their faith or be warned of their danger. "At every time,' he says; and thus his strengthening words of admonition are a legacy through the ages to the Church for evermore." If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...

Peter Warns All Believers Against False Teachers Within and Exhorts Us to be Steadfast Volume 11

Peter was Intent to Put Every Believer in Recollection of God's Design for Us Part 1 2 Peter 1:12-13 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. Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance; KJV Note: NKJV=New King 👑James Version After the Apostle Peter's great failure (out of fear) of denying our Lord Jesus Christ three times in front of men 🚹and women 🚺, when he turned back to our Lord Jesus, just as our Lord Jesus said to him with these words, "And the Lord said, 'Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.'" (Luke 22:31-32) (NKJV), Peter was forever determined to declare the truth of God's Holy Word anywhere and everywhere. Note: Notice very carefully what our Lord Jesus said to Peter, 'when you have returned to Me' (not if but when) and also notice what our Lord Jesus said to Peter, 'But I have prayed for you'. The reality of our Lord Jesus Christ Himself praying for us should always and at all times strengthen us with so much might in our inner man 👨and inner woman 👩that we should never doubt, draw back, or dilute the Word of God for no one. Peter learned this from his failure and his determination to walk closely in the counsel of God the Holy Spirit alone and to be ever watchful of the devil 👿and his demons, for it was Peter who told us in his first letter ✉ these words of pure wise gold, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world." (1 Peter 5:8-9) (NKJV). Therefore, Peter was writing these two letters to those early believers and to all of us who believe now and in every generation and era from the penning of his two letters that he wanted us to be 'put always in remembrance of the things that he had written even though we know them and are established in the present truth' (2 Peter 1:12). Why? Because we are very prone to forget these things, but if we have a reference document (these two letters) to go back to time and time again then we would not forget and we would walk in the truth or turn back to the truth if any of us have wandered away from the truth. Peter did not know that God/Jesus would compile all the words of His Prophets like Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, etc. and even his words into a Holy Book the Bible, but what Peter did know is that the brethren and sisteren needed his words written through him by inspiration of God the Holy Spirit to be forever available to those believers to draw from. Here is what Albert Barnes had to say of 2 Peter 1:12, "Wherefore I will not be negligent - That is, in view of the importance of these things. To put you always in remembrance - To give you the means of having them always in remembrance; to wit, by his writings. Though ye know them - It was of importance for Peter, as it is for ministers of the gospel now, to bring known truths to remembrance. Men are liable to forget them, and they do not exert the influence over them which they ought. It is the office of the ministry not only to impart to a people truths which they did not know before, but a large part of their work is to bring to recollection well-known truths. and to seek that they may exert a proper influence on the life. Amidst the cares, the business, the amusements, and the temptations of the world, even true Christians are prone to forget them; and the ministers of the gospel render them an essential service, even if they should do nothing more than remind them of truths which are well understood, and which they have known before. A pastor, in order to be useful, need not always aim at originality, or deem it necessary always to present truths which have never been heard of before. He renders an essential service to mankind who 'reminds' them of what they know but are prone to forget, and who endeavors to impress plain and familiar truths on the heart and conscience, for these truths are most important for man. And be established in the present truth - That is, the truth which is with you, or which you have received - Robinson's Lexicon on the word πάρειμι pareimi. The Apostle did not doubt that they were now confirmed in the truth as far as it had been made known to them, but he felt that amidst their trials, and especially as they were liable to be drawn away by false teachers, there was need of reminding them of the grounds on which the truths which they had embraced rested, and of adding his own testimony to confirm their Divine origin. Though we may be very firm in our belief of the truth, yet there is a propriety that the grounds of our faith should be stated to us frequently, that they may be always in our remembrance. The mere fact that at present we are firm in the belief of the truth, is no certain evidence that we shall always continue to be; nor because we are thus firm should we deem it improper for our religious teachers to state the grounds on which our faith rests, or to guard us against the arts of those who would attempt to subvert our faith." The Apostle Peter thinks it to be a holy and righteous thing that he always strives to put them/us in remembrance of all these things while he is still alive on the earth 🌎(2 Peter 1:13). Peter begins to realize that he is much older 🧓and if our Lord Jesus does not make His 2nd coming soon, then he would be going to the Lord himself and he must needs to leave a firm volume of truth for those brethren and sisteren to have for future reference. Peter uses the little English phrase 'to stir you up' which is translated by the Greek word diegeirō meaning to wake fully, that is, arouse (literally or figuratively): - arise, awake, raise, stir up. In other words, Peter was determined to wake sleeping believers (spiritually sleeping) out of their slumber with his letters back into the truth of God's Holy Counsel. Paul the Apostle also knew this same fact and reality was needed as a constant reminder for all believers of every era and generation, so he wrote these very words to the Church ⛪@Rome, "And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts." (Romans 13:11-14) (NKJV). Peter is saying the same things in this entire 2nd letter of his warning believers that the time is short and that we must cast off all darkness and walk/live in the light of our Lord Jesus Christ letting His Resurrection Life given to us by Him be prevalent, prominent, and predominate in our daily lives as we sojourn our way home to Him in Heaven. Here is what Dr. John Gill had to say of 2 Peter 1:13, "'And I think it right.' The word marks the solemn estimate which the Apostle takes of his duty. It is a just and righteous work. Danger is abroad, and he has been made one of Christ's shepherds. Many motives prompt him to write his words of counsel and warning. First, his love for them as his brethren, some of them, perhaps, his children in Christ. Like St. Paul, he has them in his heart. Then, he will fulfill to the utmost the charge which the Lord gave him. He is conscious, too, that opportunities for the fulfillment of his trust will soon come to an end. 'As long as I am in this tabernacle,' he says. It is but a frail home, the body; and with St. Peter age was drawing on. He saw that the time of his departure could not be far off, and this left no excuse for remitting his admonitions. He must be urgent so long as he can. 'To stir you up by putting you in remembrance.' The work of the Apostle will be thoroughly done(διεγειρειν), and be of that nature for which the Holy Ghost was promised to himself and his fellows. 'He shall bring to your remembrance all that I said unto you.' Thus (John 14:26) would St. Peter, like St. Paul, impart unto the converts some spiritual gift, that he, with them, may be comforted, strengthened, each by the other's faith. So he proceeds to dwell on that Divine manifestation by which his own belief had been confirmed. And there would be memories of St. Paul's lessons also to call to their minds, and many of these would be awakened by an appeal like this. The falling away of the Galatians had been from a different cause, but the memory of the past would warn, and might strengthen, them all in the future against their new dangers." If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...

Peter Warns All Believers Against False Teachers Within and Exhorts Us to be Steadfast Volume 10

Making our Calling and Election Sure (to ourselves & to the world 🗺) Part 7 2 Peter 1:11 For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. KJV  Note: NKJV=New King 👑James Version The Apostle Peter in concluding his declaration to those early persecuted believers 'in Christ' and to us who have believed in Christ through their word (John 17:20) now gives the reason for his exhorting them and us to be diligent in making our calling and election sure to ourselves and that is by these words he wrote that would be the result of so doing, "For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." (2 Peter 1:11). Our entrance into Christ Kingdom from His perspective is already done and dusted, however, for us we cannot expect to have what our Lord Jesus wants for us and that is to be calm, confident, and courageous at our physical death unless we are diligent, for the Apostle knows that this will only reign and rule in our souls if we have been diligent in cultivating the graces given to us at our Heavenly birth as we finish our race strong as the Apostle Paul declared with these words concerning himself, "But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the Gospel of the grace of God." (Acts 20:24) (NKJV). In the two verses before Acts 20:24 Paul knew that continual persecution spiritual (from demons/devils) and physical (from demons/devils working through human beings) would come his way, yet none of those things could move him from the mission given him by Christ Jesus our Lord. This likewise is my declaration, desire, and determination to finish the work which my Lord Jesus Christ has given me to do. I have been led through the entire New Testament from Romans to this point I am now in 2 Peter verse by verse by the Holy Spirit to write Bible Study/Commentary and it is my design and desire to get through the end of Jude if it be the will of God for me to complete. The Apostle Peter wants us to go into our Heavenly Eternal home in victory as John Wesley said, "Ye shall go in full triumph to glory." We can get a taste or a glimpse of the Glory of God/Abba down here as we cultivate godliness and self-control and love and perseverance and courage/virtue, etc. We must come to fully realize and believe what our Lord Jesus said to the devil 👿when he tried to get Him to turn stones into bread or food to satisfy His physical hunger and Christ Jesus our Lord quoted His own words of, "But He answered and said, 'It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'" (Matthew 4:4) (NKJV). It is the Word of God that sustains us, supplies us, and strengthens us always. In 2 Peter 1:11 the Apostle Peter in describing our entrance into our Heavenly home used the English word 'abundantly' which is translated by the Greek word plousiōs which means copiously/extravagantly: - abundantly, richly. When we see our Lord Jesus Christ after our physical death we want to be joyously looking upon Him for the first time with great love 😍and adoration, not hanging our heads in shame because we have finished our race weakly and not strong. Let each of us seek to finish strong as the brother Nu Tone says in his tilted Christian Rap song "Finish Strong" ! Here is what the Expositor's Bible Commentary had to say of 2 Peter 1:11, "For thus shall be richly supplied unto you the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In his first words in this passage the Apostle exhorted the believers to supply something, as it were, of their own towards their spiritual advancement; but when the demand was fully understood, behold God had made ready the means for doing everything which was asked for! Within the precious faith which He bestowed was enfolded the potentiality of every other grace. There they lay, as seeds in a seed-plot. All that men were bidden to do was to give them culture. Then God’s Spirit would operate as the generous sunshine, and cause each hidden power to unfold itself in its time and bloom into beauty and strength. In this verse the Divine assistance is more clearly promised. What men bestow shall be returned unto them manifold. Do your diligence, says the Apostle, and there shall be supplied unto you from the rich stores of God all that can help you forward in your heavenward journey. The kingdom of God shall begin for you while you are passing through this present life. For it can be set up within you. It has been prepared from all eternity in heaven, and will be enjoyed in full fruition when this life is ended. But it is a state, and not a place. The entrance thereto is opened here. The believer is beckoned into it; and with enraptured soul he enjoys through faith a foretaste of the things which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor heart of man conceived, the things which God has prepared for them that love Him. Over those joys Christ is King, but He is also the door; and those who enter through Him shall go in and out, and shall surely find pasture, even life for evermore." If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...

Peter Warns All Believers Against False Teachers Within and Exhorts Us to be Steadfast Volume 9

Making our Calling and Election Sure (to ourselves & to the world 🗺) Part 6 2 Peter 1:10 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: KJV Note: NKJV=New King 👑James Version Now the Apostle Peter directly declares to those early converts to Christ who were suffering tremendous persecution in those early days of the Church ⛪how the knowing that they have been individually called by God the Father into His Heavenly Family and Kingdom will be for them comfort of mind and consolation to their souls and conformity to the will of God in all places and circumstances. Because in their/our diligence in adding those seven moral excellencies to the gift 📦of grace/faith that we have so undeservedly received from above we will have calm in our inner man 👨and inner woman 👩as assured sons and daughters of the Most High God. This is why the Apostle Peter writes these words for us here in 2 Peter 1:10, "give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:" In 2 Peter 1:5 Peter used the Greek word spoudē for the English word diligence which meant to be speedy and eager and earnest in adding these seven (7) moral excellencies to our grace/faith gift 📦, however, here in 2 Peter 1:10 the Apostle uses the Greek word spoudazō for the English word diligence which in this case means also to be speedy but as well it means to be make an effort, giving diligence/endeavor in labor and in study. In other words, or the idea Peter is spelling out for us is that it is our responsibility to work out of us the salvation that has been poured into us by the grace of God when we were regenerated, redeemed, and resurrected from spiritual death, that is, when we were born again. This is exactly what Paul the Apostle meant when he wrote these words to the brothers and sisters of the Philippian Church ⛪, "Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure." (Philippians 2:12-13) (NKJV). This is exactly the same thing the Apostle Peter here means in 2 Peter 1:10, but because these are two different men inspired by the same Holy Spirit there words are different, yet the meaning identical. God the Holy Spirit does not make each one of us identical robots but works through each son and daughter of God using our own unique personalities, proclivities, and perspectives as each child of God is made-up, for we are all the same in human form but created by God as His unique and different soul from any other. In God's mind each one of us are His sons and daughters before He ever created anything, but for our sakes we are to make our election = Divine selection sure or firm to ourselves so as to not be wondering around as pilgrims hoping we are saved, but knowing we are saved by grace through faith as the Apostle John recorded the Words of our Lord Jesus when He prayed these Words in John 17:3, "And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." Also these words written by the Apostle John in his little epistle 1 John when he wrote this speaking in conclusion of the entire epistle of 1 John, "These things I have written to you who believe in the Name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the Name of the Son of God." (1 John 5:13) (NKJV). We can and we must examine ourselves by the entire letter ✉ of 1 John and then we can and will have the assurance (freedom from doubt) of our place in God's/Abba's Family and Heavenly Kingdom and the deposit of the Holy Spirit within us is our guarantee/insurance of our Heavenly Hope and Home with Christ Jesus our Lord forever, as Paul the Apostle wrote with these words to the Ephesian Church ⛪, "In Him (Jesus) you also trusted, after you heard the Word of Truth, the Gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory." (Ephesians 1:13-14) (NKJV). Here is what Dr. John Gill had to say of 2 Peter 1:10, "To exercise the afore mentioned graces, and to perform the above duties, since this is the way to make your calling and election sure; by calling is not meant a call to any office in the Church, nor an external call, either by the voice of nature, or by the ministry of the word; but an internal and effectual call by special grace, to grace here, and glory hereafter; instead of 'calling', the Alexandrian copy reads, 'comfort': and by 'election' is meant, not a national, nor Church election, but a particular and personal one, since scattered saints, and particular believers, are here written to, and each called upon to be diligent to make their own, and not another's, calling and election sure; nor is a choice of persons to an office designed, seeing the Apostle writes not to officers of Churches in particular, but to believers in common; nor a separation of persons from the world by the effectual calling, since these two are both mentioned here, and as distinct from each other, and to be made sure; but an election of particular persons to eternal life and salvation is here intended, which is an eternal act of God, arises from His free grace and favour, and is according to His Sovereign will and pleasure; and is absolute, and independent of any condition, foreseen, or required in men, as faith, holiness, and good works; all which are fruits and effects, and not causes and conditions of electing grace. These may be made 'sure', not in themselves, or with respect to God, for in this sense they cannot be made surer than they are: effectual calling is according to the purpose of God, which cannot be frustrated, and is, without repentance, irreversible, and irrevocable, and is inseparably connected with eternal glory; and election stands not upon the foot of works, but upon the free grace of God, which cannot be made void, and upon the will of God, which cannot be resisted; and is also closely connected with glorification; see Romans 8:30 nor are those to be made sure by saints, with respect to themselves; for though they may sometimes be at a loss about them, and may have some scruples and doubts in their minds concerning their interest in them, and an assurance of their being both called and chosen, may be after all attained unto by them; yet this is not their work, but it is the work of the Spirit of God, to certify and make sure unto them, or assure them of their calling and election of God: but the sense is, that diligence is to be used by the saints, to make their calling and election sure to others; not their election by their calling only, which is to themselves; for both are to be made sure, and that to others, and by some third thing; either to their fellow Christians, which they may do by giving them an account of the work of God upon their souls, joined with a testimony of their good lives and conversations; or rather to the world 'by good works', as the Vulgate Latin version and two copies of Beza's read; or 'by your good works', as the Alexandrian copy and the Syriac and Ethiopic versions read; or by the exercise of the graces, and the discharge of the duties before mentioned, whereby the men of the world may be certified and assured, by the best evidence the saints are capable of giving to them, or they of receiving, that they are the called and chosen of God, they profess themselves to be; and which is a reason why those things should be done: and another follows, for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall; or 'sin', as the Vulgate Latin and Arabic versions render it; not that they should never fall at all, or in any sense, for in many things we all offend or fall; or should ever commit any act of sin, or fall into sin, for there is no man that lives, and sins not; or that they should not fall from a degree of the lively exercise of grace, or from a degree of steadfastness in the doctrine of faith, but that they should never sin the sin against the Holy Ghost, or fall totally and finally; for though they fall, they should rise again by faith and repentance, through the grace and power of Christ, who is able to keep them from falling: and besides, while they were exercising those graces, and doing those duties, they should not fall; for these are the means of final perseverance, and therefore the rather to be regarded. Another argument, strengthening the exhortation, follows." If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...

Peter Warns All Believers Against False Teachers Within Volume 8

Making our Calling and Election Sure (to ourselves & to the world 🗺) Part 5 2 Peter 1:9 But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. KJV Note: NKJV=New King 👑James Version Peter wants all of us to see where persistent deficiency on any of our parts of feeding on Christ and His Holy Word will lead us into; First, Peter says in 2 Peter 1:8 that "he that lacketh these things is blind." We all know and understand what physical blindness means, but there is a far worse blindness of the spirit for the son or daughter of Christ Jesus our Lord. Spiritual blindness can cause any of us to not feel near or close to God the Father. It is just like in the natural family where Parents and children can drift away from one another in closeness and fellowship caused by many different things on both parts, however, with our Heavenly Father when the closeness or intimacy begins to fade it is always we His children that have moved away from Him, for He never moves away His redeeming, restoring, and resurrecting love away from us. Here is how Charles Wesley declares it, "The eyes of his understanding are again closed. He cannot see God, or his pardoning love. He has lost the evidence of things not seen. Not able to see afar off - Literally, purblind. He has lost sight of the precious promises: perfect love and Heaven are equally out of his sight. Nay, he cannot now see what himself 🖐and pulled us out of that sinking sand and lifted us up and placed on firm ground where we could now see clearly with new eyes 👀and we looked back at that quicksand of sin that we thought was normal and with new eyes 👀we found it disgusting, dirty, and diseased. Therefore, to lack virtue, knowledge, self-control, patience, godliness, brother kindness, and love would not just be a small thing, but it would be terrible, for it would show our ungratefulness for being rescued from such a horrible state or condition. Peter says it is if we have shut our spiritual eyes 👀which has caused any of us to forget that our old filthy/rotten sins were 'purged' and this English word is translated by the Greek word katharismos which means a washing off, that is, (morally) expiation (the act of atoning for sin or wrongdoing, that is, a satisfactory clearing of all sin): - cleansing, purge, purification. Remember what Paul declared to the Corinthian Church ⛪with these words, "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such WERE some of you. But you were WASHED, but you were SANCTIFIED, but you were JUSTIFIED in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God." (1 Corinthians 6:9-11) (NKJV). This is what our Lord, Master, and Savior Jesus Christ did on that Cross ➕at Calvary by shedding His Holy Blood to WASH every sinner who repents of their sin, that is, turns from their sin (180 degrees) to Him. If you ever think that sin is a little or light thing with God the Father, then just look at Calvary and see what He allowed to happen to His Holy Son for you and for me. We cannot and we must not ever forget what our sin cost God. Here is what Dr. John Gill had to say of 2 Peter 1:9, "But he that lacketh these things,.... Or in, and with whom, they are not; that is, these virtues, as the Arabic version reads, as faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and charity; where the principles of those things are not, and they are not exercised and performed, such an one is blind: let him boast ever so much of his light and knowledge, and value himself upon it, and expect to be saved by it, let him live as he will; for he has no true knowledge of God, as in Christ, as the God of all grace, as his covenant God and Father; nor does he know what it is to have communion with Him in Christ; he only professes to know Him in words, while in works he denies Him; nor has he any right knowledge of Christ, only notional and general, not spiritual, experimental, particular, and practical; he does not see the Son, so as truly to believe in Him; he has no true sight of His beauty, suitableness, and fulness, and of Him for himself; nor any experience of the work of the Spirit of God upon his heart, whom he neither receives, sees, nor knows spiritually, any more than the world itself does; nor does he see the plague of his own heart, the corruptions of his nature, and the exceeding sinfulness of sin; nor has he any true spiritual light into the Gospel, and the doctrines of it, only a form origour. The Vulgate Latin version renders it, 'trying with the hand', as blind men do, feeling and groping to find the way; see Acts 17:27, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins; not by baptism, from the sins committed before it, for that does not purge from any sins, old or new, but that which it leads the faith of believers to, for pardon and cleansing, even the blood of Christ; but this also, and purification by it, is not meant here, though generally interpreters give this as the sense, and understanding it of the sin of ingratitude in such a person, who had received so great a benefit by Christ, and was unmindful of it; since it cannot be thought that one so described as above should ever have had his conscience purged by the Blood of Christ from his old sins, or those before conversion, unless it be by profession; and then the sense is, that he has forgotten that he once professed to have been purged from all his sins by Christ; which, if he had, would have made him zealous of good works, and put him upon glorifying Christ both in body and spirit. The Ethiopic version renders it, 'and he hath forgot to purge himself from shapen in sin, and went astray, and was called a transgressor from the womb; he does not think that he stands in any need of being purged from former sins; and is entirely unmindful of, and neglects, the purification of them by the Blood of Christ." If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...

Peter Warns All Believers Against False Teachers Within Volume 7

Making our Calling and Election Sure (to ourselves & to the world 🗺) Part 4 2 Peter 1:8 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. KJV Note: NKJV=New King 👑James Version The Apostle Peter wants us to know that the gift of grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8) that we have received must be exercised in order that we not become as it is written, 'be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ' as he declares here in 2 Peter 1:8. Let us examine the little English phrase 'be barren', for it is translated by the Greek word argos which is a negative particle meaning to be inactive (by implication) to be lazy or useless or idle. In other words, not adding those qualities listed above to our faith will make our faith 'in Christ' to become weak somewhat like our muscles in our human body undergo atrophy, that is, weakening or degeneration (especially through lack of use). So it is with our faith in Christ Jesus our Lord, we must exercise our faith 'in Christ' through communion with Him in unceasing prayer and consuming His flesh and His blood (through continual intake of His Holy Word) as our Lord Jesus told us with these words, "For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me." (John 6:55-57) (NKJV). Peter understood this emphatically for when our Lord Jesus asked all the Apostles if this teaching of eating His flesh and drinking His blood was to h🌎, but to do as Paul the Apostle wrote with these words to the Corinthian Church ⛪, "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord." (1 Corinthians 15:58) (NKJV), for this mentality will cause us to want more and more from the gift 📦of grace through faith so undeservedly received by us from the gracious and loving Hand of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen!!! Here is what Dr. John Gill had to say of 2 Peter 1:8, "For if these things be in you,.... Are wrought in you by the Spirit of God, and exercised and performed by His assistance, who works in His people both to will and do: and abound; increase in their acts and exercises by the frequent performance of them: they make you; both by way of influence and evidence, that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. There is a knowledge of Christ which is barren and fruitless; and those that have it are so in their conversations, and it will be of no avail to them another day: and this is a mere notional and speculative knowledge, such as is not attended with any inward experience and application of Christ to themselves, or any fruits of righteousness in their lives, and is a bare theory of things relating to His person, offices, and works; but there is a knowledge of Him that is spiritual and experimental, by which a soul not only approves of Christ, but places its trust and confidence in Him, and appropriates Him to himself, and practically observes His commands and ordinances in the faith of Him; and in love to Him he performs the above duties, and exercises the above graces; from whence it appears, that he is neither barren nor unfruitful himself in the profession of his knowledge of Christ; 'or in the acknowledgment of Him', as it ma If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...

Peter Warns All Believers Against False Teachers Within and Exhorts Us to be Steadfast Volume 6

Making our Calling and Election Sure (to ourselves & to the world 🗺) Part 3 2 Peter 1:7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. KJV Note: NKJV=New King 👑James Version The Apostle Peter now reaches the crescendo of his exhortations to us in adding to our gift of faith given to us by our Lord, Master, and Savior Jesus Christ at our birth into His Family and Heavenly Kingdom as he declares with these words in 2 Peter 1:7, "And to godliness brotherly kindness;" This is the wonderful affection we must show towards those souls who have the same like precious faith as we have in Christ Jesus our Lord. The English phrase 'brotherly kindness' is translated by the Greek word philadelphia which means fraternal affection: - brotherly love (kindness), love of the brethren. Our brothers and sisters 'in Christ' are to have the best from us always, not with standing that when and if we offend one another (which will occur sometimes as we sojourn home to Heaven) we are to earnestly seek reconciliation with them that the Body of Christ does not suffer, for the Apostle Paul tells us with these words how connected we are in Christ Body, "And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it." (1 Corinthians 12:26) (NKJV). The Body of Christ is just like our human bodies, for when we break a hand or a leg or a foot, the rest of the human body is affected by such a thing, so it is with us as sons and daughters of God/Abba. You see our first priority must be always and at all times to seek the good of one another (physically and spiritually), this is why Paul told the Corinthians to expel someone in their fellowship who was living (unrepentantly) in sexual immorality (until that brother repented and turned back to the Lord), for the Corinthian Church ⛪and every true Church ⛪of the Lord Jesus Christ is one lump and if something corrupt is present it will corrupt the whole lump/Church ⛪. This is why Paul wrote these words to them later on in his first letter ✉ to them, "Do not be deceived: 'Evil company corrupts good habits.'" (1 Corinthians 15:33)(NKJV). Brotherly kindness seeks the good always of those belonging to our Lord Jesus Christ because of our individual great love each of us should have for Him and so we should have for one another because we all are a part of Him. Our Lord Jesus Himself told us how we must deal with any brother or sister who sins against us and likewise how we are to be dealt with when we sin against them, as it is written, "'If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back. But if you are unsuccessful, take one or two others with you and go back again, so that everything you say may be confirmed by two or three witnesses. If the person still refuses to listen, take your case to the Church. Then if he or she won't accept the Church's decision, treat that person as a pagan or a corrupt tax collector." (Matthew 18:15-17) (NLT). This is true love and brotherly kindness one to another, for the goal is to be in loving and truthful fellowship with our brothers and sisters 'in Christ' not to let lies, lewdness, or lasciviousness run free in the fellowship and it be overlooked or ignored. Lastly, when we truly love our brothers and sisters 'in Christ' we will most assuredly have the desire Paul wrote with these words to the Church ⛪@Rome confronting those who were judging one another for eating meat or eating only vegetables, "So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother's way." (Romans 14:12-13) (NKJV). Here is the litmus test that declares whether we are truly walking in love to our brothers and sisters 'in Christ', when we never want to do anything, to say anything, to teach anything, to affirm anything that might cause one of them to fall into sin or be caught in any sin. Here is what Matthew Henry had to say of brotherly kindness, "We must add brotherly-kindness, a tender affection to all our fellow-Christians, who are children of the same Father, servants of the same Master, members of the same family, travellers to the same country, and heirs of the same inheritance, and therefore are to be loved with a pure heart fervently, with a love of complacency, as those who are peculiarly near and dear to us, in whom we take particular delight, Psalms 16:3." Finally, the Apostle reaches the very peak of what we must add to our gift of faith with these words in 2 Peter 1:7, "And to brotherly kindness charity." This English word 'charity' is translated by the Greek word agapē which means love, that is, affection or benevolence; specifically (plural) a love feast: - dear love or to put it plainly God's love. This love no human being is born with nor can any human being work it up within them nor can any human live out this love in their human strength. This love of God comes only to those of us who have been born of God (John 1:13), for this love is the love that God has for all of humanity (even those who hate Him and even corrupt Him and His Word). God's love made manifest or revealed in us causes us to want the highest good (not only for those whom we love and whom love us) for those who even hate us and want to harm, hurt, or harass us even when we have done nothing offensive to any of them. It is the love of Christ within us that compels us to want to see the highest good for them and the highest good is that they too be 'born again' and be brought out of darkness (Colossians 1:13-14) into Christ Jesus our Lord and His marvelous light. Paul said this to the Corinthian Church ⛪, "For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; or if we are of sound mind, it is for you. For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died;" (2 Corinthians 5:13-14) (NKJV). All human beings are born dead to God and only by the Power of the Holy Spirit working through the dead sinner hearing the Gospel of Grace can they be made alive to God and brought supernaturally out of their enslavement to sin and death, as it is written, "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:23) (NLT). There is nothing within us to want the good of those who hate us, but when we come to Christ that desire is given to us by Him and so we declare the Gospel to all who will listen, then we pray for them to be awakened from spiritual death and given eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. Everyone of us fall short of being like our Lord Jesus Christ in showing this love to world 🗺, that is, the people still of the world, but we must strive, scrap, and struggle to keep moving toward Him and His love for us and His love in us so that He will be glorified forever from even one soul that repents and is born again because we declared the truth to them without compromise. When we do good to all men 🚹and women 🚺(Galatians 6:10) and return not our own evil back to them for their evil against us (1 Thessalonians 5:15) then we are making visible God's agape love poured out into our hearts when He birthed us into His family as Paul wrote with these words to the Church ⛪@Rome, "And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because He has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love." (Romans 5:5) (NLT). Amen!!! Here is what Matthew Henry had to say of God's agape love, "Charity, or a love of good-will to all mankind, must be added to the love of delight which we have for those who are the children of God. God has made of one blood all nations, and all the children of men are partakers of the same human nature, are all capable of the same mercies, and liable to the same afflictions, and therefore, though upon a spiritual account Christians are distinguished and dignified above those who are without Christ, yet are they to sympathize with others in their calamities, and relieve their necessities, and promote their welfare both in body and soul, as they have opportunity: thus must all believers in Christ evidence that they are the children of God, who is good to all, but is especially good to Israel." "Often Divine Holiness and love are set over against one another, but in Scripture this is never the case. This is best seen in the context of the affirmation, 'God is love' (1 John 4:8). John, in this context, does not view the love of God as mere sentimentality or a blind overlooking of our sin; rather, he views Divine love as that which loves the unlovely and undeserving. In fact,the supreme display of God's love is found in the Father giving His own dear Son as our propitiatory (Intended to reconcile or appease) sacrifice that turn back God's holy anger against us and satisfies the demands of justice on our behalf (1 John 4:8-10). Thus, in the Cross of Christ we see the greatest demonstration of both the holiness and love of God fully expressed, where justice and grace come together, and God remains both just and the justifier of those who have faith in Christ Jesus (Romans 3:21-26)." (Holman's Bible Dictionary). If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...

Peter Warns All Believers Against False Teachers Within and Exhorts Us to be Steadfast Volume 5

Making our Calling and Election Sure (to ourselves & to the world 🗺) Part 2 2 Peter 1:6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; KJV Note: NKJV=New King 👑James Version The Apostle Peter continues onward in his declaration of what we are required to add to our gift of faith from our Lord, Master, and Savior Jesus Christ with these first words in 2 Peter 1:6 of adding to knowledge 'temperance' and this English word is translated by the Greek word egkrateia which literally means self-control. The enemy of our souls (the devil) wants to see us being influenced by him and his demons and the remaining human sinners who are still being led by him (Ephesians 2:2). However, we are now living in the light of our Lord Jesus Christ who is the Light of the World (John 8:12) and He has given us to be the light of the world through Him (Matthew 5:14), therefore, for us to walk in or live in the darkness of being out of control in our speech and our behavior is not according to who we now are 'in Christ', because we have come into union with Him and so ought to walk as He walked (1 John 2:6). The impulses that are in our old man 👨and old woman 👩must be put to death daily so that the light of Christ may shine forth through us always, but when we allow those impulses' to flourish then we must recognize that and repent and seek Christ's grace in our time of need, for He is always ready to give us help, as it is written, "For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted." (Hebrews 2:18) (NKJV). Self-control and having it continuously in our lives is not a minor thing, for Peter warned us of this in his first letter when he wrote these words, "Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation." (1 Peter 2:11-12) (NKJV). The soul being our mind and our emotions and our will. We see then how self-control is not a minor thing, but on the contrary a very major thing that we must cultivate and make it active and prevalent in our daily lives. Here is what John Wesley had to say of temperance/self-control, "Bear and forbear; sustain and abstain; deny yourself and take up your cross daily. The more knowledge you have, the more you renounce your own will; indulge yourself the less. 'Knowledge puffeth up,' and the great boasters of knowledge (the Gnostics) were those that 'turned the grace of God into wantonness.' But see that your knowledge be attended with temperance. Christian temperance implies the voluntary abstaining from all pleasure which does not lead to God. It extends to all things inward and outward: the due government of every thought, as well as affection. 'It is using the world,' so to use all outward, and so to restrain all inward things, that they may become a means of what is spiritual; a scaling ladder to ascend to what is above. Intemperance is to abuse the world. He that uses anything below, looking no higher, and getting no farther, is intemperate. He that uses the creature only so as to attain to more of the Creator, is alone temperate, and walks as Christ Himself walked." The Apostle Peter next tells us in 2 Peter 1:6 to add to temperance 'patience' and this English word is translated by the Greek word hupomonē which means cheerful (or hopeful) endurance, constancy: - enduring, patience, patient continuance (waiting). Our English definition of patience is good-natured tolerance of delay or incompetence. This is what we must add to our self-control. We can certainly see why they are paired together because self-control requires tolerance of delay and constancy. There is no real self-control without the willingness to wait for something even though it is eagerly desired; for example praying for someone's salvation in our Lord Jesus Christ, yet we never see any evidence that it has come to them by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8). There has been no change in their lives whatsoever for years upon years. The devil will whisper to us 'Stop wasting your time ⌚, this person will never be changed.' However, patient continuance and endurance in prayer on our part must be done and we must wait patiently on our Lord knowing that He hears us. I read of George Mueller praying for the salvation of someone for 36 years then he died and went to be with our Lord Jesus never having seen any evidence that person came to Christ, however, it was recorded that this very person received Christ as Lord and Savior 8 years after Mueller was in Heaven with Jesus. Now here is a great example of adding patience to your self-control. I want this patience in all things, but especially in my prayers for the salvation of the souls I have been praying for now for 21 years. Here is what Vincent's Word Studies had to say of patience, "Literally, remaining behind or staying, from μένω, to wait. Not merely endurance of the inevitable, for Christ could have relieved Himself of His sufferings (Hebrews 12:2-3; compare Matthew 26:53); but the heroic, brave patience with which a Christian not only bears but contends. Speaking of Christ's patience, Barrow remarks, 'Neither was it out of a stupid insensibility or stubborn resolution that He did thus behave Himself; for He had a most vigorous sense of all those grievances, and a strong (natural) aversation from under going them;...but from a perfect submission to the Divine Will, and entire command over His passions, an excessive charity toward mankind, this patient and meek behavior did spring.' The same writer defines patience as follows: 'That virtue which qualifieth us to bear all conditions and all events, by God's disposal incident to us, with such apprehensions and persuasions of mind, such dispositions and affections of heart, such external deportment and practices of life as God requireth and good reason directeth (Sermon XLII., 'On Patience')." Now the Apostle tells us to add to patience 'godliness' and this English word is translated by the Greek word eusebeia which means piety, that is, reverence to our God and Father in Heaven; specifically the Gospel scheme; godliness/holiness. We have learned that the Gospel of Grace is meant to bring forth or to produce godliness in all who have ears to hear and so are born again. In the introduction of Peter's first letter (Bible by Olive Tree) to those early Jewish believers and to us who have come to Christ long after them these words are declared, "In writing to Jewish believers struggling in the midst of persecution, Peter encourages them to conduct themselves courageously for the Person and program of Christ. Both their character and conduct must be above reproach. Having been born again to a living hope, they are to imitate the Holy One who has called them." Before we were still dead in our trespasses and sins, but now we have been born again to a living hope, that is, we have been resurrected from spiritual death and made alive to God and His love for us and to us and thus He intends to make us what we are not without Him and that is godly. Godliness/holiness of all of God's adopted children is the goal of the Gospel of Christ, for it is written, "Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord:" (Hebrews 12:14) (NKJV). If we are to make our election and calling sure to ourselves and to those in the world 🗺who are still not yet 'in Christ' we must be diligent to add the overwhelming desire, direction, and determination to live a life of godliness by the grace of God given to us and by our yielding our will to the Spirit of God and being always in the Word of God feeding on it even more than we feed on food for our tents/houses 🏘/bodies. Amen!!! Here is what the Expositor's Bible Commentary had to say of godliness, "The mystery of godliness-that is, Godlikeness-was made known by the Incarnation. The Son of God became man, that men might through Him be made sons of God. And godliness in the present world is Christ made manifest in the lives of His servants. Toward this imitation of Christ the believer will aspire through his patience. He takes up the dross and bears it after his Master, and thus begins his discipleship, of which the communion with Christ waxes more intimate day by day. Such was the godliness of St. Paul. It was because he had followed the Lord in all that He would have him to do that the Apostle was bold to exhort the Corinthians, 'Be ye imitators of me'; but he adds at once, 'as I am of Christ'. (1 Corinthians 11:1) And when he sends Timothy to recall his teaching to their minds he says, 'He shall put you in remembrance of my ways which are in Christ.'" If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...

Jesus’ Resurrection from the Dead: What does it Mean?

Matthew 28:6-7 "He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you.” NKJV The Bible for some people is just a great book written with a lot of wonderful stories in it that have made for some good entertainment at the movies and on television. Other people view the Bible as a book with very good proverbs or principles that one can govern their lives with in order to live a successful life down here on the earth. Sadly there are some who claim to believe the Bible, but their purpose is to use this book to gain earthly wealth by giving carnal people what they want to hear from this book about living a great and prosperous life on earth and so they appeal to the emotions and fear in people and use great swelling words flattering people to gain financial advantage with them and build their own earthly kingdom and not the spiritual Kingdom of God. Also there are some who flat out believe this book the Bible is only a book of lies written through the mind of men to instill fear in people about @#!*% so that they could lord over them and also gain political, social, and financial advantage over people. Lastly and gloriously there is a tiny remnant of humanity that believes every word of this book the Bible to be the only truth directly from the mind of the One True God and it is because they have encountered the Man this book is written about and the One and only Man to rise or come back from the dead, Jesus Christ. Death is the certain conclusion for every human life (as we documented in the article entitled, “Jesus Explains Man’s Death and Resurrection”) though most human beings try to block out the thought and so as to make death disappear. However, no one can make that reality disappear no matter how much money they have or how much they eat healthy foods or how much they exercise their body or how much of the best earthly medicine they ingest into their body. The first man Adam sinned against God and in so doing he passed that very same corrupt sin nature to every human being that came from him. All human beings are the product of this one man and his wife Eve. God told Adam earlier that he would die immediately if he rebelled and so he died instantly spiritually (meaning he was separated from fellowship with God) and later he died physically. We are all made from one blood and so we all have the disease of sin which leads to death as the Scripture says, “The soul that sins shall surely die.” Therefore, if death is certain for every person, then what happens after death is the most important question to be asked and answered by every living soul. Some will say well after death there is nothing and the person no longer exist. Others will say that the person goes on to a better place and some will say all will go to Heaven if they lived a good life. Well, the Bible says, “It is appointed unto man once to die and after that the judgment.” The Bible also says, “There is none good no not one.” History clearly gives evidence of the Man Jesus Christ to have lived in the region of Galilee as the Scriptures testify of Him. The human arguments arise about who He was and what He did during the course of His life. Some continue to believe the Man Jesus was a good Man and a great Teacher and nothing more. Jesus too many was just a man and not at all the God-Man that His followers claim Him to be. But God did intervene into man’s sin dilemma with His great and awesome love for man though man rebelled against Him. God because He loves man so much did become a Man in the person of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Jesus Christ then lived a perfect sinless life for 331/2 years and laid down His life in death as a sacrifice or substitute for every sinful person to receive His sin payment and thereby making a way for every person to get back into fellowship with God. Jesus died on the cross shedding His blood and it is His blood that cleanses the sinners heart from wicked works to serve the living God. Finally, Jesus Christ proved that He was not just man but the God-Man by becoming the first ever human being to be resurrected from the dead and in so doing He has defeated death for every soul that comes to Him with a contrite and broken heart over their sin. Once the person cries out to God acknowledging themselves to be a sinner and turns from their sin to Jesus Christ, then at that moment the same Holy Spirit that raised Jesus Christ body from death immediately raises their dead spirit (disconnected from God) to life in Christ and they receive Resurrection Life and are forever made new creatures in Christ Jesus. See article entitled "The Highest Form of Life", http://www.faithwriters.com/article-details.php?id=87758). John 11:25-26 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” NKJV Acts 10:39-41 And we are witnesses of all things which He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem, whom they killed by hanging on a tree. Him God raised up on the third day, and showed Him openly, not to all the people, but to witnesses chosen before by God, even to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead. NKJV Acts 13:29-30 Now when they had fulfilled all that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the tree and laid Him in a tomb. But God raised Him from the dead. NKJV Acts 17:30-31 “Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.” NKJV Acts 26:23 “That the Christ would suffer, that He would be the first to rise from the dead, and would proclaim light to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles.” NKJV Romans 1:3-4 Concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. NKJV Romans 8:10-11 And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. NKJV Romans 10:9 That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. NKJV 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you --- unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures. NKJV 1 Corinthians 15:20-22 But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. NKJV Colossians 1:18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. NKJV Colossians 2:11-12 In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. NKJV 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10 For they themselves declare concerning us what manner of entry we had to you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from Heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come. NKJV Hebrews 13:20-21 Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. NKJV 1 Peter 1:3-5 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. NKJV “On what does the Christian argument for Immortality really rest? It stands upon the pedestal on which the theologian rests the whole of historical Christianity--the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.” Henry Drummond 1851-1897 “Immanuel, God with us in our nature, in our sorrow, in our lifework, in our punishment, in our grave, and now with us, or rather we with Him, in resurrection, ascension, triumph, and Second Advent splendor.” Charles Spurgeon 1834-1892 “Let us consider this settled, that no one has made progress in the school of Christ who does not joyfully await the day of death and final resurrection.” John Calvin 1509-1564 “The truth of the resurrection gives life to every other area of gospel truth. The resurrection is the pivot on which all of Christianity turns and without which none of the other truths would much matter. Without the resurrection, Christianity would be so much wishful thinking, taking its place alongside all other human philosophy and religious speculation.” John MacArthur “In his life, Christ is an example, showing us how to live; in his death, he is a sacrifice, satisfying for our sins; in his resurrection, a conqueror; in his ascension, a king; in his intercession, a high priest.” “Our Lord has written the promise of resurrection, not in books alone but in every leaf of springtime.” Martin Luther 1483-1546 “The risen life of Jesus is the nourishment and strengthening and blessing and life of a Christian. Our daily experience ought to be that there comes, wavelet by wavelet, that silent, gentle, and yet omnipotent influx into our empty hearts, this very life of Christ Himself.” Alexander MacLaren 1826-1910 If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen... Sincerely in Christ, Clifford D. Tate, Sr. Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reader, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…