“Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained like…” 2 Peter 1:1

Peter clearly knew that he was a bondservant of Jesus. He was certain that he was an apostle, the one who was sent by God.

“…Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:” 2 Peter 1:1

And he wrote the letter to those who received precious faith like him. He fully understood the value of this precious faith. Though he briefly referred to it as “precious faith,” indicating that it was received through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ, this word carries deep meaning.

“Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord,” 2 Peter 1:2

“Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.” This signifies that God does not repay us according to our sins, but instead, He deals with us graciously, leading to our reconciliation with God. Therefore, such peace is attained through knowing God and our Lord Jesus.

To receive abundant grace, we must seek knowledge. To obtain peace, understanding is necessary. Knowing God and our Lord Jesus is essential. It all comes down to the same word. Knowing God means knowing Jesus, and knowing Jesus means knowing God. We are aware of this. Thus, ultimately, we must know Jesus. In essence, we should understand the picture of God’s will, which is also to know the truth. We must comprehend the will of God, or, in other words, understand the work God has accomplished.

“as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness,…” 2 Peter 1:3

Then, who is He? “as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3). He has given us all things related to life and godliness. Life, which is God’s life, signifies eternal life. Godliness refers to the eternal relationship between the one who serves and the one who is served. He has given us everything concerning the eternal life of God and our relationship with Him, all through His divine power.

“…through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue,” 2 Peter 1:3

To pertain to life and godliness, we should know Him. And He is “the One who called us by glory and virtue” (2 Peter 1:3).

God is the One full of glory. That glory belongs to God. With that glory, He has called us. In other words, He, who is full of glory, has called us.

Additionally, what has He called us with? By virtue. He possesses not only glory but also understanding. Consider this situation: a person has a lot of money but is also very selfish. What would you think of such a person? However, He, being full of glory, is also abundant in virtue. So, what is His purpose? He is willing to give. He aims to give His glory through His virtue.

He intends to give His glory to the Son and to all humanity within the Son. Yet, the Son questions, “Father, is such an extent necessary? Salvation alone would suffice for them. Do you truly intend to bestow upon them Your own glory, to those who misuse Your name and scorn You, even to the point of having Your Son crucified?” Even Jesus, the Son of God, could not understand this situation. Thus, Jesus cried out, “Why have you forsaken me?” but He obeyed Father’s will, saying, “Yet not what I will, but what You will.” Jesus carried out Father’s will according to the virtue of the Father. Jesus truly admires the Father and sincerely loves Him, thinking, ‘Why is the Father willing to give?’ As He observes what the great Father does, He absolutely obeys and surrenders Father’s will and carries it out.

So, it could have been displeasing for Him, as the glory was originally His, and everything from the Father was meant for Him. However, He was to share it with others. He obeyed the Father’s word, made all people blessed, and He loves. He determined, “I have not lost one of those that Father gave me.”

He resolves, “On the last day, I will resurrect everyone because I am not just a shepherd but one who sacrifices my life, not a hired hand.” He has a purpose to save all the sheep entrusted to Him by the Father. Such nature was first observed in David, who, when a lion seized a sheep, did not simply give up. Instead, David chased the lion, fought it, tore open its mouth, killed it, and rescued the sheep. Even more fervently, he would recover the sheep’s carcass to return to his father. God looked closely at David’s attitude. And He considered him as the parable of Jesus Christ. Therefore, Jesus came to be the Son of David. Jesus carried out this work to save the Father’s sheep to the end.

Everything begins with the virtue of the Father. So, since such God has bestowed upon us His Spirit, what kind of character should we possess within us?

Add to Your Faith Virtue

Firstly, we receive glory through faith.

How do we receive the glory of God? We receive it through faith. Then, after you are saved, what is the next? There are knowledge, self-control, and godliness. However, what enables them before anything else is a virtue. Therefore, 2 Peter 1:5 says, “But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge.” When we receive glory through faith, then we should have virtue. It means we enjoy good things with others after receiving them. It is natural to think that we should deliver them fast when we have good ones.

Even lepers consider others after being satisfied, so we should not be worse off than lepers. Therefore, we are willing to give what we have received. If you have something good, continuously share it with others. If you receive grace, extend that grace to others. If you are healed through prayer, spread the news and pray for others’ healing as well. When the word is good, it should not end there; we should let more people know. In doing so, we should embody virtue.

Add to Virtue Knowledge

If we are full of virtue, then we are willing to give something we have received. However, when we know nothing, how can we share? We should first know in order to give. Therefore, we strive to learn and acquire knowledge.

Of course, no matter how much knowledge we accumulate, it is in vain without virtue. It is like a tree without roots. Without virtue, knowledge can be misused for personal gain, harm others and spread anything as they please.

Therefore, if someone starts the Berea Academy solely focused on accumulating biblical knowledge or building up their own ministry without any heart to convey good things for souls, fleshly desires including the desire for honor or self-achievement arise. There is no virtue, but knowledge is entered into it, good fruit cannot be borne. Consequently, the knowledge acquired from the Berea Academy with such a mindset can be useless.

Likewise, without virtue, even abundant knowledge is of no use. However, it should not be that we only have virtue without knowledge. We should strive to learn.

Add Self-control to Knowledge

As much as we know through learning, self-control should follow. If we become aware of deceiving spirits, we should be cautious even in small matters. Without knowledge of deceiving spirits, one might think, “It’s okay to miss worship once in a while or to be ten minutes late.” However, after understanding deceiving spirits, we should not take such matters lightly. Why? Because once deceived, temptations will grow larger. Just as a thief who steals a needle will eventually steal an ox, so too must we restrain ourselves. If you acquire knowledge, practice self-control. If you realize the importance of prayer, pray fervently. If you understand the significance of angels, seek angels to God. If you recognize the importance of the Holy Spirit’s power, pray in tongues and seek His fullness.

Add Perseverance to Self-control

Practicing self-control is indeed challenging; it is not something that comes easily. There are many elements to endure. Therefore, patience is essential. Perseverance is an indispensable element of faith life. We must be patient to exercise self-control and to maintain it.

Add Godliness to Perseverance

If a person continues to practice self-control, they can develop self-discipline. For example, they may set goals like “I should read one chapter of the Bible,” or “I should pray for an hour.” With patience, they diligently pursue these goals. However, as they do so, a sense of self-achievement may arise. This can lead to a religious life centered on personal effort, rather than a relationship with God. They may focus solely on their own actions, such as attending early prayer meetings, without considering their true fellowship with God. Similarly, when they pray in tongues, they may become preoccupied with meeting a set time requirement rather than genuinely communing with God. This shift in focus leads away from true fellowship with God and towards self-discipline. As a result, the emphasis should be on adding godliness to perseverance.

Godliness always has an object. In the Bible, godliness refers to being cautious of that object. Why should we be cautious? When we are alone at home, we are not cautious. However, when someone else is present, we become cautious. Moreover, if there is someone difficult, we become even more cautious, especially in our speech. There are people who feel at ease in their manner and people who are always nervous. So, is it possible to be at ease before God? At home, we are at ease before our family, but how can we be at ease when there is a guest or an elder? We immediately become cautious and speak carefully. Therefore, if we are mindful of God, we will always be cautious. Be cautious and possess godliness.

Add Brotherly Kindness to Godliness

And add brotherly kindness to godliness. Because if we only focus on God, it can be easy to disregard relationships with people, saying, “Serving God is the best, and nothing else matters. I will only serve God.” However, if we love God, we will love one another. When we love one another, we treat each other well. For example, suddenly, someone new may join the group. Then, some might say, “Oh, I don’t like it. It was fine as it was. When there were fewer people, we used to go out and enjoy delicious meals, but now we can’t.” Due to such situations, they start to dislike. The overseer also expressed a similar situation. When there were only 50 church members, they enjoyed each other’s company, but as the number of members grew, some began to complain that the past was better. In the past, they were close to the pastor, shared meals, and felt like family, but as the members increased, they had fewer opportunities to interact with the pastor, leading to dissatisfaction. This should not be the case. With open hearts, we should possess virtue.

Add Love to Brotherly Kindness

Thus, it is said, “add love to brotherly kindness.” And this love refers to love for everyone.

“For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.” 2 Peter 1:8-9

Therefore, “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. But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins” (2 Peter 1:8-9). This means we forget the grace that we have received. Since we forget how much grace we have received, we lack these qualities. However, those who remember well always recall that they have been cleansed from their past sins.

“Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 1:10-11

Consequently, “make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:10-11). When we possess these qualities, we do not need to worry about whether we can be saved or not. We will abundantly enter into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This means we will abundantly enter into the glory.

Virtue is the Foundation

We should possess all these qualities, but what is the root? Instead of calling it a root, it is more akin to the bottom joint of a single tree. If the bottom joint breaks, the entire tree above it will break and disappear. So, what is the bottom joint? It is a virtue. There must be virtue to obtain glory. Only then can knowledge arise, perseverance be practiced, self-control be exercised, brotherly kindness be shown, and love for many people be done. That is how it works. Therefore, there must be a virtue that desires to share and distribute what good things we have received.

Possessing Virtue

My grandparents were rich in their town. When I was young, there were many fields. I did not live in prosperity but there were many fields in my house. At that time, there were ancestral rites more than once a month, all people in that town came here to share the food. On the traditional day, when we made food, all people came to my house. My grandparents called all of them and shared food. Thus, my parents were called virtuous people. For that reason, most sons went well and they did not have any difficulties. They were virtuous.

Be Filled with Virtue

Comparing it with God’s virtue may seem awkward, but if God is full of virtue and His Spirit dwells within us, then virtue will be abundant. Let us pray to be filled with virtue so that we do not become boastful or hesitant to share something good with others, regardless of the situation.