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2 Peter 1:1-2 ESV
What would be a faith of equal standing with the apostles? Well, first of all I want to define “equal standing.” And this is what I found: “If two things are equal or if one thing is equal to another, they are the same size, number, standard, or value” (Collins Dictionary). So, this would be about having a faith that is the same as the apostles’ faith, that is of the same standard and value as their faith by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.
So, to find out what that is, we have to read the Scriptures, and we must read what Paul and Peter and John and James, etc. described as their faith and/or the faith that we are all to have. And we need to read the words of Jesus, too, for he described the kind of faith we are to have in him, and then his apostles taught and lived those truths, though not necessarily in all the same words as what Jesus said, unless they were quoting him.
So, Paul taught that coming to faith in Jesus Christ means we die with Christ to sin, not just once, but daily, and that it means walking in obedience to our Lord, in righteousness and holiness, and not in sin. For if sin is what we obey, it will lead to death, but if obedience is what we obey, it will lead to righteousness and sanctification, and its end is eternal life with God. For by the Spirit we must be putting to death the deeds of the flesh.
And John wrote that if we say we have fellowship with God, but we walk in darkness (sin, wickedness), we lie. And if we claim that we know God, but we do not obey his commandments (New Covenant), we lie. And if sin is what we practice, and if righteousness is not what we practice, then we are not of God, and we are not born of God, but we are of the devil. For no one who abides in God, and God in them, makes a practice of sinning.
And Jesus taught that if anyone would come after him that he must deny self, take up his cross daily (daily die to sin and to self) and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to (try to save) our old lives of living in sin and for the flesh, we will lose them for eternity. But if we lose our lives, i.e. if we die with Christ to sin that we may live to him and to his righteousness, then we have salvation from sin and eternal life with God.
[Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Ephesians 4:17-24; Titus 2:11-14; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23]
2 Peter 1:3-4 ESV
Okay, so the “us” here, as we apply it to our lives today, must coincide with “To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.” We are to be those who are walking by the Spirit and not by the flesh, and who by the Spirit are in the practice of putting to death the deeds of the flesh so that we can walk according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh.
And we are those who are walking in obedience to our Lord, and not in sin, for whom righteousness, godliness, and holiness are what we practice, and sin is not our practice. For Jesus died on that cross that we might die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness. And he died to put our sins to death with him so that we will no longer be enslaved to sin, but so we would be slaves of God and of his righteousness.
[Romans 8:1-14; Romans 6:1-23; 1 Peter 2:24; Titus 2:11-14]
Our Lord has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence. In other words, the faith that is required of us for salvation from sin and for eternal life with God is authored and perfected by Jesus Christ, and so it comes from God, and it is gifted to us by God, and it is not of our own doing. And we can’t even come to faith in Jesus Christ unless God the Father draws us to Christ. So we can’t, of our own accord, decide to believe in Jesus.
[Hebrews 12:1-2; Ephesians 2:8-10; John 6:44]
But then we have to take hold of that faith, and walk by it, in the power and strength and wisdom of God via obedience to his commands, and via willingly dying with him to sin and living to him and to his righteousness – all in his strength and power and not of our own flesh. For, according to the Scriptures, faith = obedience, and disobedience = unbelief. So, faith and obedience are inseparable. And you can see this in the context of Hebrews chapter 11, which is regarded as the faith chapter of the Bible.
[1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 11]
And so when it says here “by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire,” please understand that if you continue living in sin, making sin your practice, that you don’t have these precious and very great promises. For all of God’s promises to us are conditional upon us doing what he says to do.
[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]
Jesus is All the World to Me
By Will Thompson, 1904
Jesus is all the world to me,
My life, my joy, my all;
He is my strength from day to day,
Without Him I would fall.
When I am sad, to Him I go,
No other one can cheer me so;
When I am sad, He makes me glad,
He’s my Friend.
Jesus is all the world to me,
My Friend in trials sore;
I go to Him for blessings, and
He gives them o’er and o’er.
He sends the sunshine and the rain,
He sends the harvest’s golden grain;
Sunshine and rain, harvest of grain,
He’s my Friend.
Jesus is all the world to me,
And true to Him I’ll be;
Oh, how could I this Friend deny,
When He’s so true to me?
Following Him I know I’m right,
He watches o’er me day and night;
Following Him by day and night,
He’s my Friend.
Jesus is all the world to me,
I want no better Friend;
I trust Him now, I’ll trust Him when
Life’s fleeting days shall end.
Beautiful life with such a Friend,
Beautiful life that has no end;
Eternal life, eternal joy,
He’s my Friend.
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“Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,
“To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:
“May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.”
What would be a faith of equal standing with the apostles? Well, first of all I want to define “equal standing.” And this is what I found: “If two things are equal or if one thing is equal to another, they are the same size, number, standard, or value” (Collins Dictionary). So, this would be about having a faith that is the same as the apostles’ faith, that is of the same standard and value as their faith by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.
So, to find out what that is, we have to read the Scriptures, and we must read what Paul and Peter and John and James, etc. described as their faith and/or the faith that we are all to have. And we need to read the words of Jesus, too, for he described the kind of faith we are to have in him, and then his apostles taught and lived those truths, though not necessarily in all the same words as what Jesus said, unless they were quoting him.
So, Paul taught that coming to faith in Jesus Christ means we die with Christ to sin, not just once, but daily, and that it means walking in obedience to our Lord, in righteousness and holiness, and not in sin. For if sin is what we obey, it will lead to death, but if obedience is what we obey, it will lead to righteousness and sanctification, and its end is eternal life with God. For by the Spirit we must be putting to death the deeds of the flesh.
And John wrote that if we say we have fellowship with God, but we walk in darkness (sin, wickedness), we lie. And if we claim that we know God, but we do not obey his commandments (New Covenant), we lie. And if sin is what we practice, and if righteousness is not what we practice, then we are not of God, and we are not born of God, but we are of the devil. For no one who abides in God, and God in them, makes a practice of sinning.
And Jesus taught that if anyone would come after him that he must deny self, take up his cross daily (daily die to sin and to self) and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to (try to save) our old lives of living in sin and for the flesh, we will lose them for eternity. But if we lose our lives, i.e. if we die with Christ to sin that we may live to him and to his righteousness, then we have salvation from sin and eternal life with God.
[Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Ephesians 4:17-24; Titus 2:11-14; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23]
2 Peter 1:3-4 ESV
“His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.”
Okay, so the “us” here, as we apply it to our lives today, must coincide with “To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.” We are to be those who are walking by the Spirit and not by the flesh, and who by the Spirit are in the practice of putting to death the deeds of the flesh so that we can walk according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh.
And we are those who are walking in obedience to our Lord, and not in sin, for whom righteousness, godliness, and holiness are what we practice, and sin is not our practice. For Jesus died on that cross that we might die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness. And he died to put our sins to death with him so that we will no longer be enslaved to sin, but so we would be slaves of God and of his righteousness.
[Romans 8:1-14; Romans 6:1-23; 1 Peter 2:24; Titus 2:11-14]
Our Lord has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence. In other words, the faith that is required of us for salvation from sin and for eternal life with God is authored and perfected by Jesus Christ, and so it comes from God, and it is gifted to us by God, and it is not of our own doing. And we can’t even come to faith in Jesus Christ unless God the Father draws us to Christ. So we can’t, of our own accord, decide to believe in Jesus.
[Hebrews 12:1-2; Ephesians 2:8-10; John 6:44]
But then we have to take hold of that faith, and walk by it, in the power and strength and wisdom of God via obedience to his commands, and via willingly dying with him to sin and living to him and to his righteousness – all in his strength and power and not of our own flesh. For, according to the Scriptures, faith = obedience, and disobedience = unbelief. So, faith and obedience are inseparable. And you can see this in the context of Hebrews chapter 11, which is regarded as the faith chapter of the Bible.
[1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 11]
And so when it says here “by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire,” please understand that if you continue living in sin, making sin your practice, that you don’t have these precious and very great promises. For all of God’s promises to us are conditional upon us doing what he says to do.
[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]
Jesus is All the World to Me
By Will Thompson, 1904
Jesus is all the world to me,
My life, my joy, my all;
He is my strength from day to day,
Without Him I would fall.
When I am sad, to Him I go,
No other one can cheer me so;
When I am sad, He makes me glad,
He’s my Friend.
Jesus is all the world to me,
My Friend in trials sore;
I go to Him for blessings, and
He gives them o’er and o’er.
He sends the sunshine and the rain,
He sends the harvest’s golden grain;
Sunshine and rain, harvest of grain,
He’s my Friend.
Jesus is all the world to me,
And true to Him I’ll be;
Oh, how could I this Friend deny,
When He’s so true to me?
Following Him I know I’m right,
He watches o’er me day and night;
Following Him by day and night,
He’s my Friend.
Jesus is all the world to me,
I want no better Friend;
I trust Him now, I’ll trust Him when
Life’s fleeting days shall end.
Beautiful life with such a Friend,
Beautiful life that has no end;
Eternal life, eternal joy,
He’s my Friend.
