As you get into your study of the Word of God, particularly of the New Testament, you should keep in mind these thing:
- The Gospels tell of the life and ministry of Jesus on the earth, Who walked according to the Old Covenant, and spoke primarily to the Jews.
- The Epistles were letters written by born again, Spirit-filled ministers and were written to the churches, made up of born again, Spirit-filled believers.
- The entire Word of God is profitable for instruction (2 Timothy 3:16), but the Epistles contain specific direction and guidance for the Church, who operate under the New (and better) Covenant (Hebrews 8:6).
With that in mind, I want to share this with you today from 2 Peter 1:1-4:
1 Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:
2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, 3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: 4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. KJV
How are grace and peace multiplied unto us? In the same way that we receive "all things that pertain to life and godliness"! It is through the "knowledge" of God! This is the Greek word "epignosis", which means recognition; full discernment; acknowledgement. This comes from the Greek word "epiginosko", which is a compound word from "epi", meaning: superimposition, and "ginosko", meaning: to know absolutely in a great variety of applications; to learn to know; come to know, understand, perceive, have or get knowledge of. "Superimpose" means to layer one thing over another, over another, over another. The picture I get in mind is of those sections on the human body found in anatomy books or encyclopedias, where each layer goes over the original skeletal page until the entire human body is show. Every layer is needful and add to the whole. THAT is the picture of the knowledge of the Lord growing in us, from the very basics, through layer upon layer of accumulated knowledge as you build to the deep things of God (1 Corinthians 2:10)! Don't ever allow yourself to be satisfied with how much you now know! There is SO much more to know about the One, True, Most High, Living, Almighty God of the Bible! THAT is why Paul made it his determined purpose to KNOW Him more (Philippians 3:10), even though Paul knew more about the Lord and His Word than any other of the disciples that we know of! Let's look at these verses in 2 Peter in the Amplified Bible:
1 SIMON PETER, a servant and apostle (special messenger) of Jesus Christ, to those who have received (obtained an equal privilege of) like precious faith with ourselves in and through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: 2 May grace (God's favor) and peace (which is perfect well-being, all necessary good, all spiritual prosperity, and freedom from fears and agitating passions and moral conflicts) be multiplied to you in [the full, personal, precise, and correct] knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. 3 For His divine power has bestowed upon us all things that [are requisite and suited] to life and godliness, through the [full, personal] knowledge of Him Who called us by and to His own glory and excellence (virtue). 4 By means of these He has bestowed on us His precious and exceedingly great promises, so that through them you may escape [by flight] from the moral decay (rottenness and corruption) that is in the world because of covetousness (lust and greed), and become sharers (partakers) of the divine nature. AMP
AMEN! Let's make THAT our goal! Here is Hillsong with an older sing called "I Live To Know You":
Shalom in Him!
