His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.** 2 Peter 1:3-8 (NIV)**
We do not want to be ineffective or unproductive in our knowledge or our work for the Lord, Amen? His desire for all His children is to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord and He equips us for this great task. We are to grow up in Him and not remain in a childlike faith. This is pleasing to Him in every way as we bear fruit and continue to grow in the knowledge of Him. We go about doing His work - in His power – and for His glory -trusting Him to equip us to do things too hard for us to do. Much of this is by overcoming the biggest obstacle in our walks and that is ourselves. Deny self was our Lord Jesus’ mantra and example. And our faith trusts God without seeing results. Always, always our ultimate reward is Jesus.
God is the giver of every good and perfect gift – gifts not only for us but also for the body of Christ. He places His people strategically to do His bidding through His power and for His glory and for our good. It is He Who gives us the ability to produce good works for the kingdom and therefore it is He Who gets the glory. Moses writes in Deuteronomy 8:18 (NIV): “But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today.” True wealth is further knowledge of Him and we never get to the end of that great goal. All of eternity will make that clear.
The life promised us when we walk in a manner worthy of the Lord is both fullness of life in the here and now and life eternal in its total completeness. God promises this life to those who love Him and serve Him with wholehearted devotion and a willing mind. It is the life that is truly life and has no regrets. It is life in its fullness and completeness. All that we need is an intimate knowledge of the Lord Jesus. As the Apostle Paul so eloquently espoused in Philippians 3:10-14 (NIV): “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Like Paul, believers are to seek to know Jesus – and there is always further still – conforming more and more to His image through His power until He takes us home to be with Him forever and ever.
And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ--to the glory and praise of God. Philippians 1:9-11 (NIV)