Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord,—2 Peter 1:2
This verse reminded me this morning of what the LORD said to Abram in the 15th chapter of Genesis.
After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”—Genesis 15:1
Our Father in Heaven is truly a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Grace and peace are multiplied in our hearts and in our lives as we abide and grown in our knowledge of Him. The word for knowledge here, according to John MacArthur, implies a strengthened, larger, more intimate form of knowledge. I love that my precious faith is based on KNOWLEDGE....on objective, historical, rational and revealed truth. God WANTS us to know and understand what we believe.
And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.—John 17:3, ESV
Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ (Philippians 3:8, ESV)
Verse 3 tells us that we have received through HIS divine power all things necessary pertaining to life and godliness THROUGH the knowledge of Him! Christ is the source of our sufficiency and our ability to persevere. Every spiritual resource is ours. In Christ, we have everything we need. In Christ, we are eternally secure. In Christ we have been given exceedingly great and precious promises (OUR SALVATION!!) through which we are partakers of the divine nature. John 14 spells this out beautifully.
even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him." Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, "Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?" Jesus answered him, "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.—John 14:17-23, ESV
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