This morning I’m going to ask you to use your unpacking skills. There are a few verses we will be examining closely and we’ll need to unpack them phrase by phrase to understand the depth of their meaning.
“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Glory be to him, now and forever! Amen.” II Peter 3:18 ERV
We grow in knowledge of Christ the same way we grow in all our relationships. Dave and I will be celebrating 49 years of marriage next week. Oh my! Has it really been that long? When we first met, I was eight years old. I have certainly grown in my knowledge of all things Dave over those years but there is still much more to learn.
When we love someone we want to know all about them. Our relationship with God should be no different. The Apostle Peter, in his second letter, is encouraging us to do just that.
“From Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ. To everyone who shares with us in the privilege of believing that our God and Savior Jesus Christ will do what is just and fair. 2 I pray that God will be kind to you and will let you live in perfect peace! May you keep learning more and more about God and our Lord Jesus.”
This book of II Peter is written to everyone who shares the privilege of believing that God and Jesus are just and fair. If you believe that then this book is written to you. God, our Father, is kind and gives us peace.
These are the first things we learn about Him. This was the message the shepherds heard when Jesus came to earth. The angels gave a proclamation of the Father’s intentions – Peace had come to the earth in the form of a babe and the Father’s good will, kindness, would be revealed through Him.
There is so much to learn about our relationship with the Father and His Son.
I realized when I embarked on this teaching that it will take a couple of days to unpack these verses. I hope you don’t mind.
“We have everything we need to live a life that pleases God. It was all given to us by God’s own power, when we learned he had invited us to share in his wonderful goodness.” II Peter 1:3 CEV
Our Father wants us to understand Him. He wants us to know Him better. He isn’t trying to be mysterious and aloof. In fact, the verse above tells us that God has given us everything, not just partial information, but everything we need to live a life that is pleasing to Him. If we aren’t sure if He’ll be pleased by a certain action, all we have to do is ask and He’ll provide the answer.
“And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19 NKJV
I once told a young woman that if she would like I would teach her to cook. I invited her to our home. She came and I supplied everything. We worked together, side-by-side. I shared my knowledge and she shared in the goodness.
We learn from the Father by His invitation. He has invited us to share in His goodness. He has supplied all we need.
Enough unpacking for today, we’ll do more tomorrow. Ask the Father to share something new about Himself. He will – He wants us to share in His goodness.