kjv@2Peter:1:1@ 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:
kjv@2Peter:1:2@ Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,
kjv@2Peter:1:3@ 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:
kjv@2Peter:1:4@ 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.
kjv@2Peter:1:5@ And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
kjv@2Peter:1:6@ And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;
kjv@2Peter:1:7@ And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
kjv@2Peter:1:8@ 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.
kjv@2Peter:1:9@ But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
kjv@2Peter:1:10@ Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:
kjv@2Peter:1:11@ For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
kjv@2Peter:1:12@ Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth.
kjv@2Peter:1:13@ Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance;
kjv@2Peter:1:14@ Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me.
kjv@2Peter:1:15@ Moreover I will endeavour that ye may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance.
kjv@2Peter:1:16@ For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
kjv@2Peter:1:17@ For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
kjv@2Peter:1:18@ And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.
kjv@2Peter:1:19@ We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
kjv@2Peter:1:20@ Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
kjv@2Peter:1:21@ For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
Reprobate Mind - This sums up what our mind is attempting to do. It brings the glory of God down to improve it's outlook upon itself. It seeks to deceive its own self. Peter put it as "the corruption that is in the world through lust kjv@2Peter:1:4".
Peter kjv@2Peter:1:4 described this world as a corruption that is in this world because of lust. Corruption can mean death and decay as it does for the sons of the lusting to be wise Adam/Eve. The thought of this death makes us to lust for all that we might have and make out of this short time which brings us to a corruption of all that is good and intended; lust upon lust and it's many other corruptions. What God has done by putting us through this is to be looked at in terms of forever that men should fear Him; a tremendously good and righteous work of making us righteous within the righteousness of His Son; raising us up from this corruption much as His Son a new spiritual creature. From this nothing can be put to nor taken away.
Solomon has spent a great deal of time considering the ends of things. Sure they seem right to us here and now but, what of it in the end? He concludes that while somethings are better, some are wiser, all things are temporary, that they all end as vanity. Not everyone goes as far as to consider these things, the thought being "what does it matter?". It matters to the life to come and the abundant entrance ministered unto us into Christ's eternal kingdom kjv@2Peter:1:11.
We see the effort and attitude that the Apostles team took on to plant the Church of Thessalonica; the burden that they had, the focus, the care and diligence. Peter's team may have had a similar framework as described in kjv@2Peter:1:5-8.
The necessity of maintaining good works; all of us. It is not just having an intention to do them, it is not just us studying to know how they might be done, it is us stepping forward into them and adapting within them to get them done. It is not just beginning them, it is us maintaining them for the long run. Notice how many people Paul has involved in his good works. They are part of his, he is part of theirs, we are part of the Lord's; small works, large works, works we don't even know are being done we are striving to be fruitful in. Peter shared a similar vision of being fruitful in the knowledge of Christ kjv@2Peter:1. See also kjv@Romans:12. In fuller context, these works are to be done yet with an eye on reasonable subjection to the civic and legal principalities that govern all.
Idols don't speak, men hear what they want to here from them and over the years they have heard plenty, all of it vanity. The signs are plain for all to see, but, what the diviners take from it is a lie, they see what they want to see, all of it vanity. Men are troubled because there is no shepherd or so they think, they comfort each other in vain. These were the shepherds they thought missing and the Lord's anger was kindled against them. Shepherds must stand for what is true, often a most difficult and sacrificial task. Instead, as a whole they lead the flock away and so the Lord dispersed them. Faithful leaders need to add to their faith virtue (Valor/Excellence), knowledge (revealed), temperance (physical/spiritual), patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and charity (agape) in order to be fruitful in the knowledge of Christ kjv@2Peter:1:5-8 . There are leaders amongst us today that need much of the same. We have one Shepherd but several pastors.
2012 - pBiblx2 Field Wise Bible System Version 2.0.9d - GPL3
