Partnering for Growth - Preached at GGC, January 2, 2011

Partnering For Growth
2 Peter 1:1 – 11


Introduction:

“Partner”. It is a word that we are all familiar with. According to the dictionary, a partner is a person who takes part in an undertaking with another or others. The word is often used in business. We have a kind of business ownership called a partnership where two or more people contribute their assets and skills and are willing to share risks and profits. Some of the great business partnerships include William Procter and James Gamble (consumer products), Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield (Ice Cream), Bill Hewlett and David Packard (personal computers and printers), just to name a few. People who are in the legal or accounting profession often form partnerships such as Sycip, Gorres and Velayo (SGV – Accounting firm) or the Chan Robles Law firm. Sometimes, two separate corporations will enter into a partnership agreement in order to enhance both businesses. A good case in point is Apple computers' partnership with Intel Corporation.

The word “partner” is also used when referring to groups or people working together for a common cause. For example, when Evangelical churches in a certain community work together for a common cause, that is called a partnership. When the United Nations work with countries for causes such as poverty alleviation, that is called a partnership. When an aid agency like World Vision invites you to become a child sponsor and you agree to it, it becomes a partnership. When you help build a house for a poor family with Habitat for Humanity, you are considered a partner of that family as well as with Habitat.

What the word “partner” strongly implies is that when two or more people come together for a common cause or goal, they are bound to achieve much more than when they go about it alone. Sometimes, without a partner or a strategic alliance, nothing much can be achieved.

In the spiritual realm, partnership is very important to ensure spiritual growth. If you want to grow spiritually, you cannot do it alone. Jesus has already said it in John 15:5, “Apart from me, you can do nothing.” Every true believer and follower of Jesus Christ should desire spiritual growth, and growth comes not solely on our own effort but it comes by partnering, by cooperating with the Triune God, as well as with other believers. Our focus however for this morning will be on partnering with God.

This morning, we will be examining 2 Peter 1:1 – 11. This passage contains so much content that I do not think I can cover everything; however, we will look closely at the partnership between God and us. What does God bring into the relationship that will help us to grow spiritually? What do we bring into the relationship that shows we are serious about spiritual growth?

Let's get right into our study of 2 Peter 1:1 – 11, and my prayer is that, after the message, we will all have a clearer understanding of the dynamics of our partnership with God in spiritual growth, and that we will strive to grow spiritually because that is what God wants for us, and what would be a better time to make a commitment to grow spiritually than now, the very first Sunday of 2011?

As mentioned, the partnership for spiritual growth involves God and each believer. In today's passage, we find that God has already done his share to help us grow spiritually. What exactly did God do? If you look at verses 1 to 4, you will find a particular word that appears five times. It is the preposition “through”. As I looked into the use of this preposition, I find that there are three things that God has given us that enables us to grow spiritually.

God's Work:

(1) Through His Righteousness . . .

In verse 1, we read that we have received a precious faith through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ. What this simply means is that we have received the precious gift of salvation, and it was God himself who enabled us to have the faith to receive the gift of salvation. This is consistent with Paul's writing in Ephesians 2:8, 9 where he wrote, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast.” We received this salvation through His righteousness, meaning, he gives all believers an equally privileged faith. No believer receives more privilege than others; in God's plan, we are all equally privileged with the gift of salvation.

You may be wondering, what does salvation have to do with spiritual growth? Well, it has EVERYTHING to do with spiritual growth! Without salvation, we would all be spiritually dead. Dead people don't need to grow. They just decompose! If we are not regenerated or made alive by the Lord Jesus through His work of salvation, no amount of effort on our part to become better or closer to God will matter because, in God's eyes, we are dead. This is the problem with many people today; they are trying to become better Christians by attending worship service every Sunday, by giving their offerings, by joining every known activity of the church, in the hope that God will find their good works acceptable and that they will be allowed to enter into heaven. Now, I am not saying that these things are unimportant, but we need to be reminded that these things will not give us salvation. Unless we be born again, no amount of effort to do good will yield anything positive. You can't grow if you're dead. Therefore, it is very important that we be saved through Jesus Christ.

If you have already been born again, having experienced the forgiveness of your sins and the newness of life in Christ Jesus, then you have the potential to grow spiritually. It is because you are now alive in Jesus Christ.

(2) Through Our Knowledge of Him . . .

In verse 2, Peter shows us the second aspect of God's work in helping us to grow spiritually. Here, it involves our knowledge of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. What exactly is this knowledge? Peter here is looking at a balance of both information knowledge and personal knowledge. Information knowledge is where we objectively know about God through the Word of God, by understanding Bible passages, reading good books that explains the Bible, and by being well taught. However, information knowledge is of no use to anyone if he does not have a personal knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ. Personal knowledge is that aspect where we don't just know about a person but we truly know him, we have a relationship with him. I can tell you a whole lot about Jesus Christ based on what I've read, but such information is of no use if I do not have a personal relationship with him. Peter is telling us that our knowledge of him should be both information and personal. We must know the Word of God, but we must also know the Author himself through a relationship.

Now, because the readers do have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and they do have understanding of Scripture, then they stand to receive the following from the Lord: Grace, peace and everything needed for life and godliness. What exactly did Peter mean when he mentioned grace here? Grace is a word most often associated with salvation, and that is correct, but that is not the whole picture here. Grace is also manifested by the giving of spiritual gifts which we are to exercise. Grace is the sustaining power that God gives when we go through trials, in order that we can bear them. Through our knowledge of Jesus Christ, God bestows grace abundantly to each of us.

Peace also came about because of our knowledge of Jesus Christ. As a result of our faith in Christ, our sins have been forgiven, and we are no longer enemies of God but instead, we have become his beloved children. We have peace with God and will continue to have peace with Him. We also have the peace of God wherein we can trust God for everything and not worry.

Our knowledge of Christ also becomes the key for God to use his divine power to give us everything we need for life and godliness. Many believers feel that being a disciple of Jesus Christ is difficult, and honestly, it is. Consider the list of virtues from verses 5 to 7; these are difficult to live out. However, the Lord Jesus who calls us to follow Him is the same Lord who equips us thoroughly in order that we can follow Him faithfully. He not only gives but he gives generously to all who belong to Him.

Because we know him, we have God's grace, peace and everything we need for life and godliness. What we need to do is to believe and to confidently ask for his help in our time of need.

(3) Through His Glory and Goodness . . .

Finally, God, through His glory and goodness, gave us his great and precious promises which would enable us to participate in the divine nature and to escape the corruption of the world. That sure sounded long and we probably got lost as to what Peter actually meant. Let's break Peter's statement down so that its easier to understand. First of all, Peter said that it was through God's glory and goodness that we received his great and precious promises. What this simply means is that God revealed his splendor and goodness to us through the work of salvation. That splendor shone brightest when Jesus conquered the grave. His goodness is best seen in how he called unworthy people like you and I to become his children.

Now, what were the promises that he gave us that are great and precious? I believe Peter had in mind the great promise of Christ's return to earth and the promise of deliverance from wrath. We find these ideas in chapter 2. Because Jesus is coming soon to bring us to be with him, we will surely be partakers of the divine nature when we are changed to our glorious bodies. Because Jesus is going to deliver us from wrath, we will surely experience the final escape from the corruption of the world. These promises may seem to be for the future, but they should affect the way we live now. Right now, Jesus has already enabled us to participate somewhat in the divine nature as we are now called children of God and we are now seated with Christ in the heavens. Because we belong to Jesus Christ, we are not condemned people but we have already escaped the wrath of God and will surely escape the final wrath when God judges the world. These should give us confidence in how we live as followers of Jesus Christ.

So, we see God at work. Through His righteousness, we have salvation which makes us alive in Christ and it becomes possible for us to grow spiritually. Through our knowledge of Him, we have grace, peace and everything needed for life and godliness. We do not lack anything at all in order to live a pleasing life for the Lord. Finally, through God's glory and goodness, we have the promise of his second coming as well as the promise of deliverance from wrath, which means we will surely be partakers of the divine nature and we will someday escape completely from this corrupt world. God has truly done so much for us!

However, what I've just presented is God's part in bringing spiritual growth to us. If the apostle Peter had ended here, it would seem as if we need not do anything after trusting in Jesus as Lord and Savior. But that is not the case here. Every believer has his responsibility in growing spiritually. Now, let us look at what we need to do to grow.

Our Work:

According to Peter, what we must do is we must make every effort to add essential Christian virtues to our faith. Faith is our starting point; this is where we came to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ; however, we do not end with faith. We are told to build upon that faith, to add to it.

The word “add” in the Greek actually means “to make a rich or lavish provision”. It means that one must make great effort to improve one's spiritual life. It implies zeal and seriousness. You want your spiritual life to grow? Then you have to be committed, you have to serious.

I mentioned that we are to add essential Christian virtues to our faith. We do not have time to look at each of them, but if you look carefully at the list, you will see that spiritual growth is not necessarily determined by how busy you are in ministry or how often you are in church; instead, spiritual growth is best seen in the development of your character. Doing ministry is easy; developing virtue is hard, yet it is virtue that Peter tells us to develop with great zeal and seriousness, ministry is the outflow of the development of these virtues. We learn of these virtues from the Scriptures, thus studying the Bible is important. However, it is equally important that we apply what we know about the virtues in our everyday relationships, in everyday life. Example, how do we show brotherly kindness? We know we're supposed to do it, but who in our life needs it the most right now? How can I show that brotherly kindness to him? Or, let's take self-control. We know the Scriptures teach us about self-control, but we must also look at where we can apply it; what are those areas in my life where I truly need self-control? As we try to build up our faith by adding on these virtues, you will also realize that you need God's help. Thus, not only will you study the Word but you will also express your dependence on God by praying to Him for help. Example, one of the virtues is love. You know that you're supposed to love your enemies, but it is difficult to do. What should you do then? You pray and ask for God's help.

What are the results of enhancing one's faith? Peter mentions three things. First, we will make ourselves effective and productive. It means our lives will cause a positive impact in others. It means God can and will use us mightily for his work. It means God will trust us with bigger responsibilities. Why? It is because we are developing in our Christian character. Second, we will make sure our calling and election. What this simply means is that, as we progress in our spiritual growth, we become more assured of the salvation that we have received at the very start of the our Christian life. Finally, there will be a rich welcome into God's kingdom. When we are growing in our walk with God, it translates to effective and faithful service, which then yields great reward and commendation from Jesus himself, when he welcomes us and says, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

Conclusion:

This morning, we've learned that every believer should make it their aim to grow spiritually. Thankfully, the call to spiritual growth is not something we do on our own; instead, God supplies with everything we need so that we can grow. What we must do is to play our part, by constantly adding to our faith the Christian virtues.

As we start 2011, I would like to issue this challenge to all of us: Let's grow spiritually. Let us not be content being a Sunday Christian. Instead, let us strive to become like Jesus Christ, by growing in character and virtue, exercising these in our relationships and in ministry.