multiplied

2 peter 1: 2-9

grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue,  by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

but also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. 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.

this verse makes me super pumped “His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue”

knowledge – information, and skills acquired by a person through experience or education

multiply – increase or cause to increase greatly in number or quantity.

by simply growing in experience and education (knowledge) of Him, grace and peace are greatly increased in quantity (multiplied). this amazes me because it is the simple answer to all of life, it makes it so clear, that all we have to do is have an understanding of Jesus, a revelation of Him.

in matthew 16:15-18, we learn even more about the knowledge of Him. it says that Jesus asked, “Who do you say that I am?” Peter answered Him  through His experience and education that he had come to know that, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” Jesus quickly told Peter that you are blessed because you have come to the knowledge of who I am! He then made it clear that “flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father which is in heaven.” knowledge is more than basic education, it is about seeing Him for who He says He is.

we can see clearly that the knowledge of Him comes by Him and through His word. this is where everything is multiplied. it’s exciting to see that everything comes from the revelation of Him, which comes from God and  the Holy Spirit. it’s also exciting to know we don’t even have to work at the education of who He is. God is never about works, He’s always about just knowing Him. Jesus even went on to say that on this revelation knowledge of who He is that, “I will build my church”, and nothing can stop us. when we start understanding Jesus, we understand the magnitude of what he has done for us. on the cross, and in the resurrection.

in the basics of christianity we all start with faith in Him, but then we can become multiplied and add virtue and it just keeps multiplying and multiplying and adding and adding to the point where we actually act like God (love) and have what He has promised us (blessing).

this is the 2nd verse that makes me pumped “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.”

how simple is this? become experienced in Jesus and you will never fail. i think the goal for this april should be to grow in the knowledge of Jesus. focus on his teachings, his life, his death and resurrection. adding to our faith virtue and knowledge, and out of that, our lives will multiply in grace and peace.