{"id":90673,"date":"2021-03-11T11:31:00","date_gmt":"2021-03-11T16:31:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/keriritenour.com\/grace\/godly-discipline\/"},"modified":"2023-10-06T22:18:27","modified_gmt":"2023-10-07T02:18:27","slug":"godly-discipline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/keriritenour.com\/grace\/godly-discipline\/","title":{"rendered":"Godly Discipline"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">2 Peter 1:3-8: <strong><sup>3<\/sup><\/strong>According\nas his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and\ngodliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and\nvirtue: &nbsp;<strong><sup>4<\/sup><\/strong>Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and\nprecious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature,\nhaving escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. &nbsp;<strong><sup>5<\/sup><\/strong>And beside this, giving all\ndiligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; <strong><sup>6<\/sup><\/strong>And\nto knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;\n<strong><sup>7<\/sup><\/strong>And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly\nkindness charity. &nbsp;<strong><sup>8<\/sup><\/strong>For if these things be in you, and\nabound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the\nknowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Spiritual growth is the process of becoming\nmore and more like Jesus Christ. &nbsp;When we\nplace our faith in Jesus, the Holy Spirit begins the process of making us more\nlike Him, conforming us to His image (Romans 8:29). &nbsp;But what does this look like?&nbsp; What is the process?&nbsp;&nbsp; What are the milestones?&nbsp; What are the results?&nbsp; The answer may be found\nas we look to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><li>Historical\nContext: 2 Peter 1:1 specifically states that the apostle Peter was the author\nof 2 Peter. Peter\u2019s authorship has been challenged more than that of any other\nbook in the New Testament. However, the early church fathers found no good\nreason to reject it.&nbsp; &nbsp;The book of 2\nPeter was written toward the end of Peter\u2019s life. Since Peter was martyred in Rome during the reign of\nNero, his death must have occurred prior to A.D. 68. He very likely wrote 2\nPeter between A.D. 65 and 68.&nbsp; Knowing\nthat his time was short (2 Peter 1:13-15), and these churches faced immediate\ndanger (2 Peter 2:1-3), he called upon the readers to refresh their memories (2\nPeter 1:13) and stimulate their thinking (2 Peter 3:1-2) so that they would\nremember his teaching (2 Peter 1:15). He challenged the believers to become\nmore mature in their faith by adding to it specific Christians virtues, thereby\nbecoming effective and productive in their knowledge of Jesus Christ (2 Peter\n1:5-9).&nbsp; Peter was alarmed that false\nteachers were beginning to infiltrate the churches.&nbsp;He called on\nChristians to grow and become strong in their faith so that they could detect\nand combat the spreading apostasy. He strongly stressed the authenticity of the\nWord of God and the sure return of the Lord Jesus.<\/li><li>Grammatical Usage:&nbsp; \u201cFaith\u201d in the Greek is \u201cPistis\u201d or \u201ca firm\nconviction\u201d; \u201cvirtue\u201d is \u201careten\u201d meaning moral excellence; \u201cknowledge\u201d is\n\u201cgnosin\u201d or spiritual understanding; \u201ctemperance\u201d is \u201cenkrateian\u201d translated as\nself-control; \u201cpatience\u201d is \u201chupomone\u201d and literally means staying under or\nabiding in the midst of; \u201cGodliness\u201d or \u201ceusebian\u201d is devoted to God\u2026actions\nand reactions characterized with a Godward attitude; \u201cbrotherly kindness\u201d or\n\u201cPhiladelphian\u201d in the Greek refers attitude one to another of the faith;\n\u201clove\u201d or \u201cagapen\u201d is the highest good toward others.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><li>Literal\nApplication: \u201c<strong><sup>3<\/sup><\/strong>His divine power has given us everything we need for life\nand godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and\ngoodness. <strong><sup>4<\/sup><\/strong>Through these he has given us his very great and\nprecious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine\nnature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. &nbsp;<strong><sup>5<\/sup><\/strong>For\nthis very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to\ngoodness, knowledge; <strong><sup>6<\/sup><\/strong>and to knowledge, self-control; and to\nself-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; <strong><sup>7<\/sup><\/strong>and\nto godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. <strong><sup>8<\/sup><\/strong>For\nif you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from\nbeing ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.\u201d<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><li>Contextual\nInterpretation: Spiritual growth is perhaps best described in 2 Peter 1:3-8,\nwhich tells us that by God&#8217;s power we have \u201ceverything we need\u201d to live lives\nof godliness, which is the goal of spiritual growth. Notice that what we need\ncomes \u201cthrough our knowledge of Him,\u201d which is the key to obtaining everything\nwe need. Our knowledge of Him comes from the Word, given to us for our\nedification and growth.&nbsp; Out of such\nknowledge comes the evidence of a strong faith which Peter takes the time to\npainstakingly list \u2013 a checklist as it were which is as valid today as it was\nin Peter\u2019s: faith in Jesus Christ is what separates Christians from all other\npeople \u2013 it is the foundation upon which the other elements are built.&nbsp; To his faith, each believer is called to add\nvirtue or God\u2019s \u201cconvictions\u201d \u2013 absolutes as to what God indicates are \u201cright\u201d\nand \u201cwrong\u201d in relation to our conduct (as opposed to morals which shift with\nevery ensuing generation).&nbsp; As a result\nof this, comes knowledge \u2013 specifically not from intellectual acumen or\npursuits, but spiritual knowledge via the Holy Spirit who very specifically\nfocuses the Word of God upon the person.&nbsp;\nYet faith, goodness and spiritual knowledge are not enough for the\nChristian\u2019s walk.&nbsp; Every believer must\nexercise self-control \u2013 to have passions in check.&nbsp; In short, reject the \u201canything goes\u201d social\nconcept for the commands of God detailed in Scripture from which we are in\nconstant unity with God as individuals and a body.&nbsp; Added to these is perseverance, specifically\nreferring to the constancy or steadfast endurance under adversity that ever\nbeliever will experience \u2013 not giving up in the face of great pressure to\nrenounce one\u2019s faith.&nbsp; Godliness is the\nability to remain reverent toward God, circumstances not withstanding \u2013 they\njust don\u2019t matter and are unable to alter our view and therefore devotion to\nGod.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">The first five virtues pertain to one\u2019s inner\nlife and his relationship to God.&nbsp; The\nlast two relate to others: brotherly kindness is a fervent, practical caring\nfor others.&nbsp; Whereas brotherly kindness\nis concern for other\u2019s needs, love is desiring the highest good for\nothers.&nbsp; This is the kind of love that\nGod exhibits toward sinners (Jn 3:16; Rom. 5:8; 1 Jn 4: 9-11).&nbsp; These are the seven milestones of being\nconformed in God\u2019s image.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><li>Scriptural\nComparison: There are two lists in Galatians 5:19-23. Verses 19-21 list the\n\u201cacts of the flesh.\u201d These are the things that identified our lives before we\ncame to Christ for salvation. The acts of the flesh are the activities we are\nto confess, repent of, and, with God\u2019s help, overcome. As we experience\nspiritual growth, fewer and fewer of the \u201cacts of the flesh\u201d will be evident in\nour lives. The second list is the \u201cfruit of the Spirit\u201d (verses 22-23). These\nare what should characterize our lives now that we have experienced salvation\nin Jesus Christ. Spiritual growth is identified by the fruit of the Spirit\nbecoming increasingly evident in a believer\u2019s life.<br>\n<br>\nWhen the transformation of salvation takes place, spiritual growth begins. The\nHoly Spirit indwells us (John 14:16-17). We are new creatures in Christ (2\nCorinthians 5:17). The old nature is replaced with a new one (Romans 6-7).\nSpiritual growth is a life-long process that depends on our study and application\nof God&#8217;s Word (2 Timothy 3:16-17) and our walk in the Spirit (Galatians\n5:16-26). As we seek spiritual growth, we should pray to God and ask for wisdom\nconcerning the areas He desires us to grow in. We can ask God to increase our\nfaith and knowledge of Him. God desires for us to grow spiritually, and He has\ngiven us all we need to experience spiritual growth. With the Holy Spirit\u2019s\nhelp, we can overcome sin and steadily become more like our Savior, the Lord\nJesus Christ.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size has-medium-font-size\">When we are born\nagain, we receive the Holy Spirit who seals us for the day of redemption\n(Ephesians 1:13; 4:30). Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would lead us \u201cinto\nall truth\u201d (John 16:13). Part of that truth is taking the things of God and\napplying them to our lives. When that application is made, the believer then\nmakes a choice to allow the Holy Spirit to control him\/her. True Christian\nspirituality is based upon the extent to which a born again believer allows the\nHoly Spirit to lead and control his or her life.<br>\n<br>\nThe apostle Paul tells believers to be filled with the Holy Spirit. \u201cDo not get\ndrunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit\u201d\n(Ephesians 5:18). The tense in this passage is continual and therefore means\n\u201ckeep on being filled with the Spirit.\u201d Being filled with the Spirit is simply\nallowing the Holy Spirit to control us rather than yielding to the desires of\nour own carnal nature. In this passage Paul is making a comparison. When\nsomeone is controlled by wine, he is drunk and exhibits certain characteristics\nsuch as slurred speech, unsteady walk, and impaired decision making. Just as\nyou can tell when a person is drunk because of the characteristics he displays,\nso a born again believer who is controlled by the Holy Spirit will display His\ncharacteristics. We find those characteristics in Galatians 5:22-23 where they\nare called the \u201cfruit of the Spirit.\u201d This is true Christian spirituality,\nproduced by the Spirit working in and through the believer. This character is\nnot produced by self effort. A born again believer who is controlled by the\nHoly Spirit will exhibit sound speech, a consistent spiritual walk, and\ndecision making based on the Word of God.<br>\n<br>\nTherefore, Christian spirituality involves a choice we make to \u201cknow and grow\u201d\nin our daily relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ by submitting to the\nministry of the Holy Spirit in our lives. This means that, as believers, we\nmake a choice to keep our communication with the Spirit clear through\nconfession (1 John 1:9). When we grieve the Spirit by sin (Ephesians 4:30; 1\nJohn 1:5-8), we erect a barrier between ourselves and God. When we submit to\nthe Spirit&#8217;s ministry, our relationship is not interrupted (1 Thessalonians\n5:19). Christian spirituality is a consciousness of fellowship with the Spirit\nof Christ, uninterrupted by carnality and sin. Christian spirituality develops\nwhen a born-again believer makes a consistent and ongoing choice to surrender\nto the ministry of the Holy Spirit who directs our words, actions and reactions\nto reflect the very nature of God.\n\nConclusions: The same prescription for growth in faith\nthat Peter gave (2 Peter 1:5-11), when applied to our lives, will assure us\nalso a rich reward \u201cinto the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus\nChrist\u201d (2 Peter 1:10-11). The foundation for our faith is and always will be\nthe same Word of God that Peter preached.\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>2 Peter 1:3-8: 3According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: &nbsp;4Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[532],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Godly Discipline - Grace Evangelical Free Church<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Godly Discipline - 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