2 Peter 1:5
For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge;
Truth to Learn
No matter where we are in our Christian experience today, we need to be growing and maturing in our relationship to God.
Behind the Words
“Every” is translated from pas which means “all” or “every,” but it includes the idea of oneness, a totality or the whole. Hence Peter is telling us to use all of our effort. Today we might say “every ounce of effort.”
The word “effort” is from the Greek word spoudē, which refers to “speed, earnestness, diligence, or zeal.”
The word translated “add” is from the Greek word epichorēgeō, which means “to abundantly furnish.” It is not a mere adding a little more of what you already have, rather it is an intensive and abundant addition. It is expressed in the imperative mood, indicating a command, not a suggestion.
“Goodness” is a translation of the word aretē, which means “manliness” or “valor.” It denotes that which is good or worthy in a moral sense.
Meaning Explained
“For this very reason” is a connective phrase so we need to see what it is referring to. In this case, the reference is to the preceding two verses. Because He has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness, because of His exceedingly great and precious promises, because one day we will be partakers of His divine nature … we need to do the following:
We need to be using all of our effort to grow in goodness and knowledge. In other words, don’t take these promises and the saving faith that you have for granted, and don’t just meander through life knowing you now have your “ticket” into heaven. Rather, apply yourself with earnestness and diligence to add some things to your faith.
Peter uses words of force here to communicate to the Christians of his day, and to us today, the need to work long and hard at growing as a Christian. Simply being a committed Christian by itself is a difficult assignment for anyone, but Peter is saying that we need to work hard at developing our Christianity. We need to be growing!
He says that there are several areas where we need to apply that effort. The first is improving our faith and developing goodness. In other words, Peter is telling us in addition to growing our faith, we need to grow in our morality (something that is rapidly slipping away in the world today). And along with this, Peter tells us that we need to be diligent in growing our knowledge of God and His promises. That doesn’t simply mean listening to a sermon once a week. We need to be doing a lot more! We need to be reading the Bible regularly, attending Bible studies or studying on our own, and applying the things we learn to our relationship with God.
Application
I heard a preacher once say that in out Christian life we are never standing still, we’re either charging ahead or we’re sliding back. Which direction is your Christian life going today?
In God’s service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2009 Will Krause. All rights reserved.
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