Saturday

Related Verses
2 Pet. 1:3-8 (3, 5-7)
3 Seeing that His divine power has granted to us all things which relate to life and godliness, through the full knowledge of Him who has called us by His own glory and virtue,
4 Through which He has granted to us precious and exceedingly great promises that through these you might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption which is in the world by lust.
5 And for this very reason also, adding all diligence, supply bountifully in your faith virtue; and in virtue, knowledge;
6 And in knowledge, self-control; and in self-control, endurance; and in endurance, godliness;
7 And in godliness, brotherly love; and in brotherly love, love.
8 For these things, existing in you and abounding, constitute you neither idle nor unfruitful unto the full knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Rom. 13:8
8 Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves the other has fulfilled the law.

2 Tim. 3:15-16
15 And that from a babe you have known the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise unto salvation through the faith which is in Christ Jesus.

16 All Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for conviction, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,

1 Pet. 3:8
8 And finally be all of the same mind, sympathetic, loving the brothers, tenderhearted, humble-minded;

Related Reading
All things which relate to life and godliness” are the various aspects of the divine life, typified by the riches of the produce of the good land in the Old Testament. They are the substance of our faith’s substantiation allotted to us by God as our portion for our inheritance. Life is within, enabling us to live, and godliness is without as the outward expression of the inward life. Life is the inward energy, inward strength, to bring forth the outward godliness, which leads to and results in glory.

Through the precious and exceedingly great promises, we, the believers in Christ,…have become partakers of His divine nature in an organic union with Him. We have entered this union through faith and baptism (John 3:15; Gal. 3:27; Matt. 28:19). The virtue (energy of life) of this divine nature carries us into His glory (godliness becoming the full expression of the Triune God). (Life-study of 2 Peter, second edition, pp. 14-16)

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In 2 Peter 1:7…the Greek word rendered “brotherly love” is philadelphia, composed of phileo, “to have affection for,” and adelphos, “a brother”; hence, brotherly affection, a love characterized by delight and pleasure. In godliness, which is the expression of God, this love needs to be supplied for the brotherhood (1 Pet. 2:17; 3:8; Gal. 6:10), for our testimony to the world (John 13:34-35), and for the bearing of fruit (15:16-17).

The Greek word for love in 2 Peter 1:7 is agape, the word used in the New Testament for the divine love, which God is in His nature (1 John 4:8, 16). It is nobler than phileo, human love. It adorns all the qualities of the Christian life (1 Cor. 13; Rom. 13:8-10; Gal. 5:13-14). It is stronger in ability and greater in capacity than human love (Matt. 5:44, 46), yet a believer who lives by the divine life (2 Pet. 1:3) and partakes of the divine nature (v. 4) can be saturated with it and express it in full. Such a love needs to be developed in brotherly love to govern it and flow in it for the full expression of God, who is this love…Faith can be considered the seed of life, and this nobler love, the fruit (v. 8) in its full development.

In 2 Peter 1:5-7 we have the development from faith to love. This development includes virtue, knowledge, self-control, endurance, and godliness. Eventually, we have the full development and maturity from the seed of faith, through the roots of virtue and knowledge, the trunk of self-control, and the branches of endurance and godliness, to the blossom and the fruit of brotherly love and love.

In verse 8 Peter goes on to say, “For these things, existing in you and abounding, constitute you neither idle nor unfruitful unto the full knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” The words these things refer to all the virtues covered in verses 5 through 7, from faith to love. Faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, endurance, godliness, brotherly love, and love should all exist in us. Nevertheless, these are only some of the “all things” that have been granted to us by the divine power. We need to see that all these things are included in the seed. This seed contains the root, the trunk, the branches, the blossom, and the fruit.

The divine virtues not only exist in and are possessed by the believers but also abound and multiply in them in the development and growth of the divine life. All the virtues already exist in the seed, and now they are waiting for the opportunity to abound. In order for the virtues in the seed to abound, the seed needs to be sown in the soil and then grow and develop until it blossoms and bears fruit. (Life-study of 2 Peter, second edition, pp. 47-50)

Further Reading: Life-study of 2 Peter, msgs. 2, 6

Further Reading:
The Life-Study of Exodus, chapter 130;
The All-inclusive Christ, chapter 6

Hymn: #1161
1 Christ will make His seeking lover
  Pillar, couch, and palanquin,
E’en a crown, His boast and glory;
  He will do it all! Amen!

  His beloved—how He loves her,
  So attractive, His delight.
He is captivated wholly;
    She is comely in His sight.

2 But there still remains a shadow;
  Christ is still not satisfied.
He must have a growing garden
  To become His loving Bride!

3 Paradise of pomegranates,
  Pleasant fruits, and henna flowers,
Spikenard, saffron, myrrh, and aloes:
  His enjoyment now—not ours.

4 He has come into His garden,
  Gathered myrrh and spices there,
Eaten honeycomb and honey;
  Wine and milk He’ll drink fore’er.

5 From the garden comes the city,
  All materials thus supplied;
God is satisfied completely,
  And the foe is terrified.

6 “Thou art fair, my love, as Tirzah,
  Comely as Jerusalem.”
O Lord Jesus, Hallelujah,
  Thou wilt do it all! Amen!