I invite you to turn with me as we continue to look together at God's Word in 2 Peter chapter 1. We'll read verses 2 through 9, and we'll look particularly at verse 4 and one phrase of verse 5. And so we have a very particular focus in these two verses, and I believe that in God's providence you will see how these truths so clearly interact with the celebration of the Lord's Supper as well. People of God, hear the gracious gospel, the glorious, magnificent promises that God gives us in His holy, infallible Word. 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. perseverance, godliness. To godliness, brotherly kindness. 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 short-sighted even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. people of God. This passage of God's Word, as we continue to look together at 2 Peter, in this passage we come to verse 4 in the context of verse 2 and 3, of course, of this text, and of course the broader context of all of Scripture. And in this declaration, in verse 4, we have this declaration, by which have been given to us the exceeding great and precious promises. So there is this overall theme in the paragraph that we increase godly qualities. We increase godly qualities. That we grow. And that's a great theme of this whole passage. It is growing in grace and in knowledge. It's a theme that we see in the book of 2 Peter itself. Verse 2, grace and peace be multiplied to you. And in the final declaration concerning at the benediction of this book of the Bible in chapter 3 verse 18 we have, but grow in the grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. That kind of theme of growth that is emphasized in both the greeting and the benediction of the book is now focused on as one of the first themes that is looked at in the context of the book itself. increase, grow in godly qualities, grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, add to your faith. But once again, before we get to that point, that even this declaration, we once again note that As scripture always does, the command is something that follows the promise. The command is something following the mighty work of God that has to already happen in your lives, even to hear the command, even for the possibility of growth, something has to have life. And it is that life that has been focused on in verse 2 and 3 and 4. And so we come to verse 4, by which have been given to us great and precious promises. Well the first thing that we note here is that the promises of God in God's Word are precious. They're great. these promises of God. And that preciousness, that word precious, reminds us and is actually used in Matthew chapter 13, Matthew chapter 13, beginning with verse 44, where we have a short parable of Jesus, Matthew 13, 44. Again the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field which a man found and hid and for the joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls who when he found one pearl of great price went and sold all that he had and bought it. the precious treasure, the pearl of great price. People of God, are you willing to sell your house for the preciousness of the gospel? Think, if you were going to lose a promise of God If you were to lose that and you would say, I need to find it. I'm willing to sell everything because that promise, that gospel good news is more precious than anything else I have. And Peter declares the promises of God The promise of God is precious. It is great. Is it great and precious to you? The promises of God. Well, one of the great promises of God is that we won't lose the precious gift of salvation that God has given us. but His glory and virtue by which we have been given. We have been given the promises, the great promises. And what are those promises? People of God, those promises are on every page of Scripture, ultimately every verse of Scripture, although there are many passages that are more clearly defined as promise. the promise of the Messiah, of Jesus, of Savior, Mediator, Liberator, Lord, Friend, Brother, God, Christ, Kinsman, Redeemer, Lamb of God, sacrifice for sins, all promised in the Savior. There is the promise that God would supply everything that we need for life and godliness in the text. Just look at this first few verses of 2 Peter chapter 1. In verse 1 we have a promise that we have obtained a like precious faith. When you're reading Scripture, one of the primary questions that you need to ask yourself is, what is the promise that I claim by faith in this text? What is it that God has promised me? Now that all goes back to the promises God made with Abraham, which we call the covenant or the promises of God, the covenant of grace. The nature of covenant is a covenant is a promised filled oath. from God to His people. So in verse 1 we see the promises of precious faith. In verse 1 we see that this faith is given to us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ. We see in verse 2 a promise of grace and peace and multiplied knowledge. In verse 3, the promise and gift of everything we need that pertains to life and godliness. This is a promise. God has promised to give us and He has given us everything we need for life and godliness. That's His promise to us. In verse 4, we have a promise that He has given us promises. I give to you a promise. I have given to you the promises you need for your life. That's a promise. By oath confirmed, signified and sealed in the Lord's Supper, which is like the confirmation of the promises. God has the promise of partaking of the divine nature in verse 4. We have the promise of a fruitful life very clearly declared in verse 8. We have that promise. And in verse 9, the great promise he has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. The promise of the forgiveness of sins, which we will see is so central to every aspect of our growth in Christ in the coming weeks. We can't get to that verse yet. but we see the context. There is the promise of the forgiveness of sins. It's all wrapped around and the scripture is full of promises, the promises of God, the vastness of the promises, all given in and through Jesus Christ. And so these are great and precious promises that have been given. that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature." Well, it's been some time since I specifically listened to, read about those television evangelists who declare such a thing as this. You are gods. You are God. Therefore, you can do anything. and everything that's there, everything that's available is available to you because you are gods. They probably get that from, well, they get that from the sinful rebellion of their own heart, but they would claim to get it from a text like this that says you are partakers of the divine nature. What does that mean? Well, it does not mean that a preacher can get up or a false prophet and declare to you that you are gods. It does not mean that. The most fundamental distinction that began in Genesis and it goes to the book of Revelation to the very end is this. There is a huge line between God and his created creatures. And you are a creature, not a creator. You are not God. But here's a promise. You can have fellowship with God. You can have communion with God. this declaration in this verse certainly ought to remind us that of 1 Corinthians chapter 10, 16 and 17. 1 Corinthians 10, verse 16 and 17. The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a communion of the body of Christ? For we though many are one bread and one body, and we all partake of the one bread." Now you have the word partake in 1 Corinthians chapter 10. You have the word partake in 2 Peter chapter 4. However, the word partake in 2 Peter chapter 1, 2 Peter 1 verse 4 is that you may be partakers of the divine nature. It's not the same word as the word partake in 1 Corinthians chapter 10, and this is an important thing. The word partake of the bread is an external action. You all partake of the one bread. You all eat the one bread. You all take it and you partake in the one loaf and you take and you eat. That's partake. Take. But what do we call the supper? We call it communion. because we reflect on the Word in 1 Corinthians chapter 10 which says that is it not a communion of the body of Christ? Is it not a communion of the shed blood? Is it not fellowship with Christ Himself? And the Reformed declaration concerning this biblical nature of sacramental activity, that it is a true spiritual participation in and through Christ. It is a fellowship with Christ by faith in the promises, the promises declared, visibly declared, signed and sealed. And so we take. But in 2 Peter verse 4, the word partake is the word communion. It's the word communion. It's the word that's translated in 1 Corinthians chapter 10 as, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ, or fellowshipping with the blood of Christ, which means a fellowshipping with Christ Himself. Is it not of communion with God? And in 2 Peter, it is a declaration that our life is one that is lived in communion with God, in fellowship with God. The Hebrew word, many of you may even recognize, koinonia, fellowship. It's the word that describes intense, close fellowship of the relationship between brothers and sisters in Christ. It is that most intimate word that describes our personal relationship with Jesus Christ, with God the Father, and the power of the Holy Spirit. It is that passion for God, love for God, that is declared to be ours as a gift, as a promise. Through the promises you partake, you have fellowship with the very divine nature, which itself is an almost unbelievable promise. How can mere man, even man who was dead in sin and now is raised in Christ, how can such a man, how can such a person have fellowship? with the one, only, holy, almighty, everlasting, all-powerful, all-knowing, everywhere-present God. So many in our world would look at that and say, well, that's, of course, everybody has fellowship, everybody knows God, everybody has fellowship with God. That's no big deal. That is an impossible deal that is made possible through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, promised by God, and now we have fellowship with Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, a great and precious promise, a great and precious revelation of reality of the child of God, communion fellowship, interactional, interaction, personal relationship between God and His people. And we come to experience that through His Word and in the Lord's Supper. We experience that kind of fellowship in prayer, We experience it in the hearing of the Word. We experience it as we worship corporately. We experience that we teach and train our children. We can experience fellowship certainly in a blessed and set-apart way in the Lord's Supper, but it's not the only way. And God would declare it in this text that this is something of our daily experience as a child of God—communion. with God. Sweet fellowship. Through faith in the promises, as the promises, as we embrace them by faith, become a reality of experience. Because you have been freed. You have been freed, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. It's still all about God in this verse four. Verses one through four, there's not a command to be found. there's only the blessings of God declared. And here too is a blessing of God, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. That escape is a one-time activity, partaking of the divine nature. We've been given great and precious promises, but we've also been freed from the world described in 1 John, just a page or two ahead, 1 John chapter 2 verse 16, this way, for all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life is not of the Father but is of the world. And every child of God has escaped that. some children of the congregation may have grown up. And we pray that they do. You children, that you will grow up. And if you grow up loving, trusting, embracing Christ, if you grow up learning more about Him, having a passion for Christ, thinking Christ is more important than anything else, know this. Even though you may not have experienced in its totality the world, you have escaped from it by God's grace, by God's power. Because the only way you can escape the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the boastful pride of life, the only way you can escape this world is because God frees you. A world of misery and pain and suffering, a world of the judgment of God, a world of the deadness of sin, a self-destructing world. a world that you and I were born as a part of, because we were born in sin. One of my favorite commentators over my ministry is a I was a preacher in England in the last century, Martin Lloyd-Jones, and he wrote this, the gospel makes me see that I am in a dangerous condemnation, that I am corrupt within, and that there is a corruption without, that I am far away from God and separated from God. All of that is in this phrase and more, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. You're in a different environment. You're in a different setting. You have a different mind. You have a different heart because of God's work. And you come to see and know that because of the gospel, the promises of God. It's like escaping out of the tomb. being dead and buried in the grave and you escape it. It's like escaping being in chains and impossible to escape. In the maximum security system, though there it still might be possible to escape, the world is impossible to escape on your own. It is God who brings you out. There is a rescue mission that sets us free. You escape the most powerful creature in the world, apart from God, named Satan. You are sheep caught in the briar with no hope of escape. You cannot get out, and the shepherd finds you. and the shepherd releases you, and the shepherd saves you. Therefore, for this reason, verse 5, for this reason, add, give all diligence, add to your faith virtue. It's for that reason. You see, the reason is the theme of verses 2 through 4. In some translations, long sentences in the Greek are broke up into several sentences, and it makes sense. It's sometimes clearer. But I think it's good that we see that verse 2, 3, and 4 are all one sentence in the Greek, and they're one sentence in this translation, New King James as well. And that's good because in that you see that when we get to verse five and it says, for this very reason, the reason is singular, but it refers to the whole sentence and everything that's in it, which is one big gospel glorious promise of grace. And for this reason. And only for this reason. And if there's any other reason, you'll fall flat on your face. And for this reason. You grow in grace and in knowledge, but only for that reason. And so once again, verse 5a, but also for this very reason, refers you back to the reality of verses 2 through 4. It is all of God. It is God's grace. It is God's power. It is God's rescue. It is God's Savior, Jesus Christ. It is God's Holy Spirit being poured out on you for this reason. giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue. You see there are two extremes that happen when you come to people who falsely follow a path of growth that will never work. There are two extremes. One extreme is I'll do it. I can do it. If I think I can, I can. And all I have to do is think I can, and then I can. And it's all about my attitude. It's all about my will. It's all about me. For this reason. Not you, God. For this reason. God's work, not your work. For this reason. Because God has given you everything you need in order to do this. Now you can do it. Never before you couldn't do it in the world. in Christ, grow in grace and in knowledge. For this reason, giving all diligence, you're not going to be—the other extreme is, one is self-salvation, self-growth. The other one is, ah, look at all these promises. I'm going to grow. I'm going to sit back. I can relax. I don't do anything. It's all God. I don't even have to think. I just sit. I just sit like a sponge. Maybe absorb some things here and there. I just meditate. And my meditation is going into a state of nothingness. And that will really get me there. It's total passivity, being totally passive. And that's not what we see here. Giving all diligence. Embracing the precious promise. Knowing that it's more precious than anything. Giving all diligence. Diligence in prayer. Diligence in sacramental activity. Diligence in the hearing of the word. Diligence in the reading and the studying and the family devotions. Diligence I am going to be diligent, not because my works are the foundation, but because I am responding to God's glorious work of salvation in my life that has been given to me by grace and I am thankful and I want to know Him more and grow in Him more. And so with all energy, with a total devotion, with a passion, I give all diligence to add to faith." Now we have a command. Finally, verse 5, add to your faith. The first command in the book. But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith. Add to your virtue. Add to your knowledge. Add to your self-control. Add to your perseverance. Add to your godliness. Add to kindness. Add to Christian love. Add. Grow. It is a command by grace, by the power of God, a power signed and sealed and symbolized in the proper administration and participation and communion in the table of our Lord. Add. Add. As you are nourished and refreshed and strengthened and blessed by God, add. As you remember your sins are forgiven, add. People of God, Colossians chapter 3, would declare it this way, 8 through 11. Colossians chapter 3, 8 through 11. But now you yourselves are to put off all these anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and put on the new man, who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all in all. Amen." Gracious God and Heavenly Father, May You open our eyes so that we may see ever more clearly that we have escaped the corruption and that we are in fellowship with You. O Lord, may we be strengthened, nourished, blessed as we hear Your Word, as we partake of the Lord's Supper, as we embrace by faith the promises And as we then, O God, go forth, adding to our faith and all the other characteristics of faith that you have set before us in the knowledge and in the love that we have for Christ. Lord, bless us in these things, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.