Take 5!: How to Know God

Take 5! New jpeg 
” as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, 4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 5 But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.”
2 Peter 1:3-7

Please take a moment to empty your heart of sin and self and ask God to fill you with His Holy Spirit. If you haven’t already, please read 2 Peter 1:3-7.

 According to verse 3, what has God given us?

Did you notice that God has given us everything we need to live a highly effective successful Christian life? Have you ever thought you were unable to bring a certain area of your life under the control of the Holy Spirit? I know I have. But, God has given us divine power to overcome our flesh and live by the Spirit. An untamed area of sin is no match for the power of God.

How can we begin to unleash the divine power God made available to us (verse 3)?

 By knowing God. The original Greek word for knowing used in this verse is epignosis which means precise and correct knowledge, to become thoroughly acquainted with, to know accurately, to know thoroughly, to perceive, ascertain, to understand (BLB). How do we acquire this kind of knowledge of God? By studying His holy word; a cursory glance at a few verses each day won’t cut it. We need to dig in deep, investing our time and ourselves in order to know God.

What else has been given to us (verse 4)?

 

“Exceedingly great and precious promises”  have been given to us, which are recorded in the Bible, enable us to partake of the divine nature of God.

Please list everything we are to add to our faith mentioned in verses 5-7.

 

Now let’s take a quick at what each of these concepts mean in the original language.

 Virtue: a course of thought, feeling and actions concerning modesty, purity and moral excellence.

Knowledge: knowledge of lawful and unlawful things for Christians, right living.

Self-control: “the virtue of one who masters his desires and passions, esp. his sensual appetites” (BLB).

Perseverance: the characteristic of a man who is not swerved from his deliberate purpose and his loyalty to faith and piety by even the greatest trials and sufferings.

Godliness: reverence, respect, to be well off, to prosper, acting well, to revere, to worship.

Brotherly kindness: love or affection between friends

Love: the love of God, love that always acts for the best interest of the recipient.

 

Which of the above virtues do you need God to develop in your life?

 

If you feel discouraged by lack of progress in one of the above areas, remember you have access to His divine power. And He is greater than your sin. Power up and press on!

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