We are able to richly enter into the eternal kingdom of our Lord because we have received from God’s divine power all things which relate to life and godliness. Second Peter 1:3 says, “His divine power has granted to us all things which relate to life and godliness.” In this verse, divine denotes the eternal, unlimited, and almighty divinity of God. Hence, the divine power is the power of the divine life, which is related to the divine nature. Granted means “imparted, infused, and planted into.” All things which relate to life and godliness have been imparted, infused, and planted into us by the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit, who regenerates us and indwells us (2 Cor. 3:6, 17; John 3:6; Rom. 8:11).
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 (2 Pet. 1:1). Life is within, enabling us to live, and godliness is without, as the outward expression of the inward life. Life is the inward energy, the inward strength, to bring forth the outward godliness, which leads to and results in glory.
Our rich entrance into the eternal kingdom of the Lord is also related to our receiving precious and exceedingly great promises through which we partake of and enjoy the nature of God. Second Peter 1:4 says, “He [God] has granted to us precious and exceedingly great promises that through these you might become partakers of the divine nature.” According to this verse, God has granted to us precious and exceedingly great promises for a specific purpose. His purpose is that through these promises we might become partakers of His divine nature. Through the precious and exceedingly great promises, we, the believers in Christ, have become partakers of the divine nature in an organic union with Him. To partake of the divine nature is to enjoy all that God is. In order that we may enjoy all that He is, God has done many things for us according to His promises. This enables us to enjoy His nature, His being.
To partake of God’s nature is to partake of the elements, the ingredients, of God’s being. God’s nature denotes the riches of what God is in His nature. Hence, when we partake of the nature of God, we partake of the riches of God. For example, when we partake of His righteousness, holiness, kindness, love, and mercy, we partake of the constituents of God’s nature. God’s purpose in granting to us precious and exceedingly great promises is that we may become partakers of His divine nature. As believers in Christ, we have the position, the ability, and the provision to become partakers of the divine nature. As we enjoy God’s nature, His holy nature becomes our holiness, and the nature of His virtues, such as humility, love, and kindness, becomes ours. These excellent virtues eventually consummate in glory. As 2 Peter 1:5-11 reveals, the enjoyment of the divine nature and development of the excellent virtues provide us a rich entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Second Peter 1:5 says, “For this very reason also, adding all diligence, supply bountifully in your faith virtue; and in virtue, knowledge.” Adding literally means “bringing in beside.” Beside, along with, the precious and exceedingly great promises given to us by God, we should bring in all diligence to cooperate with the enabling of the dynamic divine nature for the carrying out of God’s promises to have a rich entrance into the kingdom of the Lord.
In verse 5 the apostle Peter urges us to supply bountifully in our faith virtue. What the divine power has given us in verses 3 through 4 is developed in verses 5 through 7. To supply virtue in faith is to develop virtue in the exercise of faith. This principle applies to all the other items. The word supply in verse 5 actually means “develop.” Here, Peter is telling us to develop what we already have. We have faith, and now in our faith we need to develop virtue. This faith is the equally precious faith allotted to us by God as the common portion of the New Testament blessing of life for the initiation of our Christian life (v. 1). Faith needs to be exercised so that the virtue of the divine life may be developed and reach maturity.
Faith in 2 Peter 1 may be compared to a seed. In 1 Peter 1 the seed is the word with the life of Christ as its content (v. 23). In 2 Peter 1 this seed becomes our faith, which is the equally precious faith. This faith is one with Christ as the seed. After a seed has been sown into the soil, it needs to develop. The principle is the same in regard to the development of the seed of faith. We need to develop our faith with virtue. Literally, the Greek word for virtue means “excellency.” It denotes the energy of the divine life, which issues in vigorous action. If faith is regarded as a seed, virtue may be considered as a root that grows out of the seed.
The word virtue in verse 5 refers to the virtue mentioned in verse 3, in which Peter speaks of the One “who has called us by His own glory and virtue.” Furthermore, virtue is related to the divine nature, which denotes the riches of what God is. The virtue spoken of in verse 5 is the issue of the experience of the divine nature. When we partake of the divine nature, the different aspects of the riches of what God is, these riches become our virtues. For example, God is love, light, holiness, righteousness, and kindness. All these are God’s attributes. Each divine attribute is also a virtue. When we enjoy what God is, we enjoy His holiness. His holiness then becomes a virtue in us and with us. The principle is the same with the enjoyment of all the other divine attributes.
The essence or element of virtue is contained in faith as a seed. This seed is actually Christ Himself, and Christ is God in all that God is. Because all that God is, is in Christ, Christ is the embodiment of God. It is this Christ who has become our inheritance. The response to, or reflection of, this embodiment within us is faith. All the divine attributes, all the riches of what God is, are included within faith as a seed. Because we possess the seed of faith with the divine nature, we must go on to develop this seed. The first result of the development of this seed is virtue.
In verse 5 Peter also tells us to supply “in virtue, knowledge.” Virtue, the vigorous action of the divine life, needs the bountiful supply of the knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord (vv. 2-3, 8) regarding all things that relate to the divine life and godliness and the partaking of the divine nature (vv. 3-4) for our enjoyment of the development described in verses 5 through 7. The knowledge that we should develop in our virtue includes the knowledge of our God and Savior, of God’s economy, of faith, and of the divine power, glory, virtue, nature, and life. Actually, this knowledge is the knowledge of all things related to life and godliness. Without such knowledge, we have no way to have the development described in verses 5 through 7. Therefore, we must develop this knowledge in our virtue. This knowledge is the primary root that develops out of the seed of faith. Both virtue and knowledge indicate the growth of the seed.
Second Peter 1:6 continues, “And in knowledge, self-control; and in self-control, endurance; and in endurance, godliness.” Self-control, or temperance, is the exercise of control and restraint over the self in its passions, desires, and habits. This needs to be supplied and developed in knowledge for the proper growth in life. Once we have acquired knowledge, it is easy for us to become proud. For this reason, we need to develop in our knowledge self-control. Self-control implies restriction. Along with the development of virtue and knowledge, we need the restriction that comes with self-control.
Then in our self-control we need to develop endurance. Self-control is related to the self, but endurance is related to others and to our circumstances. In order to live a proper Christian life, we need endurance to bear with those around us and also with our environment and circumstances.
Following this, in our endurance we need to develop godliness. Godliness is a living that is like God and expresses God. As we exercise control over the self and bear with others and with circumstances, godliness needs to be developed in our spiritual life so that we may be like God and express Him. The Christian life should be a life that expresses God and bears God’s likeness in all things.
In verse 7 Peter concludes, “And in godliness, brotherly love; and in brotherly love, love.” The Greek word rendered “brotherly love” is philadelphia, composed of phileo, “to have affection for,” and adelphos, “a brother”; hence, it is 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 verse 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). This love is nobler than 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 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 in its full development (v. 8). The six steps of development in between are the stages of its growth unto maturity.
In verses 5 through 7 we have the development from faith to love. This development includes virtue, knowledge, self-control, endurance, godliness, and brotherly love. Eventually, there is 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 of brotherly love and the fruit of 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. The Greek word for existing denotes that certain things exist in and belong to a person from the beginning, thus becoming his rightful possession to the present. This indicates that all the virtues mentioned in verses 5 through 7 are the possession of the believers and exist in them eternally through their experience of partaking of the divine nature in all its riches.
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 into the soil and then to grow and develop until it blossoms and bears fruit. If these virtues exist and abound in us, they shall constitute us neither idle nor unfruitful unto the full knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. This indicates that the virtues of the divine life, the divine virtues, are the constituents, the elements, of our spiritual constitution, our spiritual being, that constitute us persons who do not have the element of idleness and unfruitfulness. Idleness and unfruitfulness are constituents of our fallen being; working, the energizing of life, and fruitfulness are the constituents of our being as we grow in the divine life. Peter’s use of the word unfruitful in verse 8 indicates that what is covered in verses 5 through 7 is the development of the growth of the divine life unto its maturity.
Second Peter 1:9-10 says, “For he in whom these things are not present is blind, being shortsighted, having forgotten the cleansing of his past sins. Therefore, brothers, be the more diligent to make your calling and selection firm, for doing these things you shall by no means ever stumble.” To be diligent is to develop the spiritual virtues in the divine life, to advance in the growth of the divine life. This makes God’s calling and selection of us firm.
If we are diligent to develop the virtues mentioned in verses 5 through 7 and are constituted with these virtues, we shall confirm, verify, our calling and selection. Hence, we shall never doubt that we have been called and selected by God. Furthermore, in developing these virtues we will not stumble, because we will have been thoroughly constituted with them.
Verse 11 indicates that the development of the divine seed unto its maturity will bountifully supply us a rich entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In this eternal kingdom we will not be subjects; rather, we will be kings. To be kings in the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we need maturity in life.
According to Peter’s word in verses 5 through 11, to grow unto maturity is to develop what we have already received. We have been allotted equally precious faith, and this faith is an all-inclusive seed. All the divine riches are in this seed, but we must be diligent to develop them into virtue. Then we need to develop in our virtue knowledge; in knowledge, self-control; in self-control, endurance; in endurance, godliness; in godliness, brotherly love; and in brotherly love, love. By developing these virtues, we grow and eventually reach maturity. As a result, we shall be full of Christ; that is, we shall arrive at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (Eph. 4:13). Then we shall be qualified and equipped to be kings in the coming kingdom; that is, we shall have a rich entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.