'How To' Instructions in Righteousness                    printer-friendly

Lesson 43: Have...
faith
virtue
knowledge
temperance
patience
goodliness
brotherly kindness
love


Key verse:  2 Peter 1:1-8
Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.  And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. 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.
 

Overview
It is not meant in this verse and the following that we are to endeavor particularly to add these things one to another "in the order" in which they are specified, or that we are to seek first to have faith, and then to add to THAT virtue, and then to add knowledge to virtue rather than to faith, etc. The order in which this is to be done, the relation which one of these things may have to another, is not the point aimed at; nor are we to suppose that any other order of the words would not have answered the purpose of the apostle as well, or that anyone of the virtues specified would not sustain as direct a relation to any other, as the one which he has specified. The design of the apostle is to say, in an emphatic manner, that we are to strive to possess and exhibit all these virtues; in other words, we are not to content ourselves with a single grace, but are to cultivate ALL the virtues, and to endeavor to make our piety complete in all the relations which we sustain. The essential idea in the passage before us seems to be, that in our religion we are not to be satisfied with one virtue, or one class of virtues, but that there is to be

(1) a diligent CULTIVATION of our virtues, since the graces of religion are as susceptible of cultivation as any other virtues;

(2) that there is to be PROGRESS made from one virtue to another, seeking to reach the highest possible point in our religion; and,

(3) that there is to be an ACCUMULATION of virtues and graces-or we are not to be satisfied with one class, or with the attainments which we can make in one class.

We are to endeavor to ADD ON one after another until we have become possessed of all. –Barnes
 
Have faith
Faith, perhaps, is mentioned first, because that is the foundation of all Christian virtues; and the other virtues are required to be added to that, because, from the place which faith occupies in the plan of justification, many might be in danger of supposing that if they had that they had all that was necessary.  –Barnes

Your faith-That faith in Jesus by which ye have been led to embrace the whole Gospel, and by which ye have the evidence of things unseen. –Clarke

See study on Mark 11:22
virtue
[Virtue] Areteen (NT:703). Courage or fortitude, to enable you to profess the faith before men, in these times of persecution. –Clarke

Add to your faith virtue. "In your faith provide an ample supply of basic (Christian) excellence." This excellence is the quality of one who diligently practices the basic rudiments and implications of his calling.  –Wycliffe

Virtue-moral excellency; manly energy answering to the virtue (energetic excellency) of God (2 Peter 1:3). –JFB
 
knowledge
[And to virtue knowledge] The knowledge of God and of the way of salvation through the Redeemer, 2 Peter 1:3. Compare 2 Peter 3:8. It is the duty of every Christian to make the highest possible attainments in "knowledge." –Barnes

[Knowledge] True wisdom, by which your faith will be increased, and your courage directed, and preserved from degenerating into rashness. –Clarke

To virtue, the Christians are urged to add knowledge. Here is growth in awareness through study and experience.
–Wycliffe
 
temperance
[And to knowledge temperance] On the meaning of the word "temperance."  The word here refers to the mastery over all our evil inclinations and appetites. We are to allow none of them to obtain control over us.  Everything is to be confined within proper limits, and to no propensity of our nature are we to give indulgence beyond the limits which the law of God allows.  –Barnes

temperance (self-control). This is the Spirit-aided discipline of the Christian soldier.  –Wycliffe
 
patience
Let it be fairly developed; let it produce its appropriate effects without being hindered. Let it not be obstructed in its fair influence on the soul by murmurings, complaining, or rebellion. Patience under trials is fitted to produce important effects on the soul, and we are not to hinder them in any manner by a perverse spirit, or by opposition to the will of God. Every one who is afflicted should desire that the fair effects of affliction should be produced on his mind, or that there should be produced in his soul precisely the results which his trials are adapted to accomplish.  –Barnes

Patience, the quality of a veteran's ability to see beyond current pressures in view of known resources.  –Wycliffe
 
godliness
[And to patience godliness] True piety [Religious devotion and reverence to God].  Compare 1 Tim 2:2; 3:16; 4:7-8; 6:3,5-6,11–Barnes

Godliness (Gr., eusebeia), a spirit of reverence and deference to God in all matters. –Wycliffe
 
brotherly kindness
Brotherly Kindness (Gr. philadelphia). Deference to God and enduement with his love is the only basis for genuinely altruistic kindness to fellow men.  –Wycliffe

See study on Eph 4:32
See study on Col 3:12-14 - "kindness"
charity [love]
Charity (Gr. agape, "divine love," as in 1 Cor 13) is the Christian's quest.  –Wycliffe

See study on Matthew 22:37-39
See study on Col 3:12-14 - "put on love"
See study on 1 Peter 3:8 - "love the brethren"


Lesson 43: Instructions –

Overview
1. Seek excellence in all of these areas simultaneously.
2. Diligently cultivate these principles.
3. Understand that all the principles below are developed and made a part of one's character by the power of the Holy Spirit; Christ living in us.
 
faith
1. Have the same faith God has. 
2. Understand this is a lifelong process to attain this level of faith.
 
virtue
1. Have courage in your faith.
2. Have moral excellency.
3. Diligently practice the basic rudiments and implications of your calling.
 
knowledge
1. Immerse yourself into the Word of God continually.
 
temperance
1. Develop and maintain self control.
2. Have mastery over all evil inclinations and appetites.
 
patience
1. Remain calm and patient in trials and sorrows.
2. See far beyond the trial and sorrows to the Kingdom of God.
 
godliness
1. Have religious devotion and reverence to God [piety].
 
brotherly kindness
1. Be kind to the brethren, even if you have ought against a fellow brother or sister.
2. Review the instruction on this subject in study on Eph. 4:32
3. Be polite to everyone.  Have real benevolence or a desire to make others happy.
4. Treat everyone with kindness, understanding they are individuals made in the image of God.
 
love
1. Allow divine love to flow through you.
2. Review instruction on Love Your Neighbor in study of Matthew 22:37-39
3. Review the text on Love the Brethren in study of 1 Peter 3:8
 

 
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