BIG IDEA:
GOD HAS CALLED US AND EQUIPPED US FOR GROWTH IN THE TRUE KNOWLEDGE OF JESUS CHRIST
INTRODUCTION:
We live in a Madison Ave. media-dominated society that bombards us with images of what it means to have “the right stuff.”
– cf. the Movie with Tom Cruise
– cf. the problems girls have with eating disorders as they struggle with attaining that mythical body of the ultra thin models that grace the covers of our magazines
I. WE ARE CONNECTED TO GOD’S POWER
“seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.”
5 Dangers to Avoid in Trying to Tap Into God’s Power for Your Spiritual Growth:
A. Don’t Try to Rely on Your Own Resources (Limited / Finite)
“seeing that His divine power”
B. Don’t Try to Grow By a “Works” Mentality
“has granted to us”
Wuest: “‘Hath given’ is doreo, a stronger and more expressive word than didomi, ‘to give.’ It means ‘to grant or bestow.’ Strachan says that ‘this word and its cognates always carry a certain regal sense describing an act of large-handed generosity.’ It is a perfect participle, speaking of the past completed act of presenting the gift with the present result that it is in the possession of the believer with no strings tied to it. It is his permanent possession, having been given by pure grace.”
C. Don’t Question the Sufficiency of God’s Resources
“everything pertaining to”
1. All Circumstances / All Time — “life”
emphasis probably on eternal life (which we already possess)
2. All Character — “and godliness”
D. Don’t Get Duped by Counterfeit / Powerless Knowledge
“through the true knowledge of Him”
E. Don’t Lose Sight of Your High Calling
“who called us by His own glory and excellence”
Piper: “God’s grace is a free power that works in us for our good. And the way it becomes active in our day to day life is through our knowledge of God, and one fact about God in particular: that ‘he called us to his glory and excellence.’
II. WE ARE CONNECTED TO GOD’S PROMISES
“For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises”
A. Search Out the Promises that Pertain to Your Area of Need
B. Appreciate the Value of These Promises
1. “precious”
2. “magnificent”
C. Cling to These Promises with the Expectation of Spiritual Growth
Nieboer: “What is a Promise? One has defined a promise as an assurance on the part of another of some good for which we are dependent on him. The promise is of no value if the promiser is not able to give. A promise is not compulsory beyond that the promiser is expected to be a man of his word.”
III. WE ARE CONNECTED TO GOD’S PERSON
“in order that by them you might become partakers of the divine nature”
opportunity to experience what it means to be growing in Christlikeness
How can we grow from being a possessor of the divine nature (positional) to being a partaker of that same divine nature (experiential)?
Luther: “But what is the nature of God? It is eternal righteousness, wisdom, eternal life, peace, joy and happiness, and everything good that can be named. Now whoever becomes a partaker of the nature of God, receives all this, namely, he lives forever, possesses endless peace, pleasure and joy, and is sincere, pure, just and almighty against Satan, sin and death.”
IV. WE ARE DISCONNECTED (DELIVERED) FROM SINFUL CORRUPTION
“having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.”