2 Peter 1:6

2 Peter 1:6

and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness,

Now this is where we truly run into a disadvantage of a verse by verse study of the Bible. Thought by thought would be a much better way to approach this passage of scripture instead of fragmenting it the way we have but this is what we have chosen so we will continue on. I will simply have to keep referencing the previous verses so we do not lose sight of what is being said or the power that allows us to do these things. So before we begin lets remember that all of this is through God’s divine power and not passed on our own actions. This is also not for the purpose of earning God’s favor, these actions are our response to what God has done for us. This is the outpouring of His divine nature in us.
The true knowledge of God’s word better equips us for self-control. While we know that the divine nature has been granted to us and that it is more powerful than our human nature we still control who is victorious. It is our corrupted human nature to sin. I say corrupted because I believe that true human nature is to glorify God. When God created Adam and Eve He created them with only the knowledge of good. There was no concept of evil or wrong in the original human nature. It was human nature to want to be like God. This is the aspect that the serpent appeals to in his discussion with Eve in the garden. When Adam and Eve eat of the fruit they do become like God. Now instead of only knowing good they are not introduced to the issue of evil. As we have seen throughout human history is the fact that while God is able to comprehend good and evil and remain good man cannot. At the point where Adam and Eve became more like God their human nature was corrupted. The issue of sin and evil are now ingrained in the human nature. James shows us the different ways the divine and the human natures react to this issue of evil. James 1:13b God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. James 1:14 But each one is tempted when He is carried away by his own lust. We see here that God’s divine nature is able to withstand the knowledge of evil but the human nature cannot. We were designed by God to be blissfully naïve to the idea of evil. So how do we balance this corruption of our natures? It must be balanced by the true knowledge in God’s word and if we apply that knowledge we will be able to exercise self-control. If Eve had trusted in the knowledge she had in God she would not have eaten the fruit and If Adam had trusted in the knowledge he had he would not have let her eat of it in the first place! Self-control is founded in our knowledge of God’s mind because ours has been twisted and skewed by our unintended knowledge of evil.

Once we start the exercise of self-control we will see perseverance begin to take place. Look back at James 1 and see what he encourages us to do, consider it JOY, when you encounter hardship! How do we do that? Remember that everything you have pertaining to life (joy) and godliness has been granted to you. Because trials come to test our faith and to see if we can exercise self-control. We practice self-control by following Romans 12:1 where we daily offer up our human nature in exchange for the divine nature. The more we do this the easier it becomes. The truth is that we will never arrive at our destination here on earth so all we can do is persevere through life.

As we push on and persevere people will start to notice something changing in our lives. The bystander will see something and that is godliness. Without watching the process of transformation people would be intimidated. Live your live openly so people can witness what God is doing. You are not here on earth to just get by! You are here as a beacon of light shining out in the darkness for the world to see Jesus Christ. We need to live consistent God honoring lives. The Christian life is not about perfection it is about progress. We are already perfect in God’s eyes now we need to show people what it looks like to live in that truth. It would be a shame if people looked at us Christians and came away thinking that we are better than them. We are not, Christ is through us! We were all sinners we just happened to admit it and ask for help! Self-control is caging your nature and unleashing God’s! This is how you persevere! The beauty of living a godly life is that we do not do it God does it for us but we have to stop putting ourselves in the way.