Supplementing Our Faith

Day 331: 2 Peter 1:1-21

“For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.” - 2 Peter 1:5-7 ESV

First of all, this chapter is a headful. Scholars say that the Greek in 2 Peter is earthy and clumsy compared to 1 Peter, but that doesn't mean that the application is any less powerful when it comes to us in English.

Peter is adamant about us being intentional in putting our faith to work. Being a Christian is not a passive exercise. We now have the power of God (verse 3) within us, charging us into territory we never thought we'd reach. Maybe we deemed ourselves unworthy because of sin or unpreparedness. Still, Peter sees our lives as a chance for progression.

So, we "supplement" faith with a barrage of growth-steps. Interestingly, many of us look at growth as a means of being well-known. What is the purpose of growth if we can't make it to the top?

Apparently, faith's pinnacle is a stronger love for fellow Christians and those who have yet to say yes to Jesus, and it all starts by placing our meager trust (faith) in a Mighty God.

For those interested in going deeper, below you'll find the progression defined below:

  • Faith pistis - trust, persuasion, or confidence in Jesus for salvation

  • Virtue arete - excellence of character, it was used in verse 3 of today's reading to describe Jesus

  • Knowledge gnosis - seeking to know, inquiry, investigation

  • Self-control enkrateia - to exercise complete control over one’s desires and actions

  • Steadfastness hypomone - capacity to bear up under difficult circumstances

  • Godliness eusebeia - word for religion, 10 out of its 15 appearances in the New Testament happen during Paul's pastoral letters to Timothy and Titus (how to run a local church), it is appropriate religious beliefs and practices

  • Brotherly affection philadelphia - brotherly love, family love, affection for another believer in Jesus (only used 6X in the New Testament)

  • Love agape - word used to describe how God loves us, the highest standard of sacrificial love, always does what is spiritually best for someone else

Kathy GarnerComment