HOW TO INCREASE IN GRACE AND PEACE
Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.'
(2 Peter 1:2-3)
As we become Christians, God has already given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of Him. Grace and peace are also given through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
Contrarily to wrongful popular opinion, Grace is not mercy. Grace is a form of empowerment allowing us to do things in Christ and to live godly. Mercy (too often confused with Grace) is the withholding of a deserved punishment.
The abundance of grace and peace is ours through the knowledge of our God and of Jesus our Lord.
This means that an increase in grace and peace can occur as we increase our knowledge of God and of our Lord Jesus.
This makes 'our knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord', the multiplying factor.
As we become Christians, we are all given basic or introductory knowledge of God and of Jesus Our Lord. This basic introductory knowledge is enough to get His Grace and His Peace.
However, Grace and Peace can increase. As a matter of fact, as we remain in the Lord, life and circumstances will present situations that will only be dealt with a level of Grace and Peace either superior or proportionate to those circumstances.
In order to increase the original Grace and Peace received, we also have to increase our knowledge of God and of Jesus Our Lord. What we knew of God and of Jesus ,on Day 1 of our conversion, must be increased.
Notice that Peter did not write: 'the knowledge about God and about Jesus.' He wrote:'Our Knowledge of God and of Jesus Our Lord.'
He first mentions the word 'Our' as implying that the knowledge must be personal and not borrowed. There is a difference between relying on other people's encounters with God and our own encounter. In this case, a person must be able to know God and Jesus for himself/herself. After hearing from a preacher, a Christian must still go and meditate the Scriptures and pray on his/her own.
Peter makes a specific mention of the 'knowledge of Jesus Our Lord.' He did not just write ' the knowledge of Jesus'. He emphasised on 'Jesus Our Lord'.
There is a difference between 'knowing Jesus' and 'knowing Jesus Our Lord'. In the first expression, there is an implication of casualness, but in the second expression, Jesus is acknowledged as Lord (the boss, the owner in authority). When a person knows of Jesus as Lord, he/she recognises His authority and he/she acknowledges that he/she must obey Jesus.
'Our knowledge of God and of Jesus Our Lord' is personal and implies obedience to Our Lord.
(2 Peter 1:2-3)
As we become Christians, God has already given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of Him. Grace and peace are also given through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
Contrarily to wrongful popular opinion, Grace is not mercy. Grace is a form of empowerment allowing us to do things in Christ and to live godly. Mercy (too often confused with Grace) is the withholding of a deserved punishment.
The abundance of grace and peace is ours through the knowledge of our God and of Jesus our Lord.
This means that an increase in grace and peace can occur as we increase our knowledge of God and of our Lord Jesus.
This makes 'our knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord', the multiplying factor.
As we become Christians, we are all given basic or introductory knowledge of God and of Jesus Our Lord. This basic introductory knowledge is enough to get His Grace and His Peace.
However, Grace and Peace can increase. As a matter of fact, as we remain in the Lord, life and circumstances will present situations that will only be dealt with a level of Grace and Peace either superior or proportionate to those circumstances.
In order to increase the original Grace and Peace received, we also have to increase our knowledge of God and of Jesus Our Lord. What we knew of God and of Jesus ,on Day 1 of our conversion, must be increased.
Notice that Peter did not write: 'the knowledge about God and about Jesus.' He wrote:'Our Knowledge of God and of Jesus Our Lord.'
He first mentions the word 'Our' as implying that the knowledge must be personal and not borrowed. There is a difference between relying on other people's encounters with God and our own encounter. In this case, a person must be able to know God and Jesus for himself/herself. After hearing from a preacher, a Christian must still go and meditate the Scriptures and pray on his/her own.
Furthermore, it matters that, as ministers, we meditate on the Scriptures and that we spend private prayer time with God for ourselves and not only for others. There are ministers who are very good at meditating and prophesying and seeing things for others, but they never meditate nor see anything for themselves. In 2 Peter 1:2-3, the Bible does not talk about knowledge we acquire for others but it speaks about a personal knowledge cultivated for ourselves. Added to revelational knowledge we get for others, we also need to add personal knowledge for ourselves. As much as you may be feeding others as a minister, God also wants you to be fed for yourself.
Peter makes a specific mention of the 'knowledge of Jesus Our Lord.' He did not just write ' the knowledge of Jesus'. He emphasised on 'Jesus Our Lord'.
There is a difference between 'knowing Jesus' and 'knowing Jesus Our Lord'. In the first expression, there is an implication of casualness, but in the second expression, Jesus is acknowledged as Lord (the boss, the owner in authority). When a person knows of Jesus as Lord, he/she recognises His authority and he/she acknowledges that he/she must obey Jesus.
'Our knowledge of God and of Jesus Our Lord' is personal and implies obedience to Our Lord.
As we live in Him, the same knowledge must increase. As such knowledge increases, Grace and Peace will proportionally increase as well.