'How To'
Instructions in Righteousness
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 |