2 Peter 1:2
“May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the
knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.”
I’ve never been greeted in this manner, with the exception
of Peter, and his greeting to the churches of Asia Minor, but in this part of
the greeting we should pay very close attention. I know of no one who would not desire to have grace and
peace multiplied in their lives, do you?
Now Peter is not referring to elegance, and smoothness of form or
movement, no, he is addressing an act of God, where a person’s life is changed
and they are free from the penalty of sin. It is the infinite love, mercy, favor, and goodness of God
shown to mankind that is the grace Peter is referencing. Peter also addresses peace, and the
peace is beyond the freedom from war or conflict, he is not referring to a
peace that has no suffering or heartbreak, no it is so much greater than the
human mind can understand. It is
peace in the midst of chaos, in the midst of suffering and heartbreak.
First and foremost we would like the infinite love, mercy,
favor, and goodness of God, we want to be free from the penalty of sin, and
peace, sure we want peace. But the
short answer is we do not want conflict, we do not desire to suffer, and many
of us have not experienced what Peter is referring to as suffering for the
gospel of Christ. Most Christians in the American church
have no understanding of 1 Peter 4:1, “Since
therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of
thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to
live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for
the will of God.” Not
only has the majority of the American church not signed up for suffering to
promote the gospel, they have little or no knowledge of what Peter is referencing
in his greeting. “May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the
knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.”
The knowledge being referred to is spiritual knowledge, we
find these words spoken by the prophet Jeremiah 9:23-24, “Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his
wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast
in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and
knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and
righteousness in the earth. For in
these things I delight, declares the Lord.”
Once we apply this kind of spiritual knowledge to our life,
we are able to bask in both the peace and grace we find in Christ.
From the Back Porch,
Bob Rice
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