What would you do with the “keys” to the kingdom of the heavens?
Whether you chose to peddle them to the highest bidder or loan them to your friends, one thing is certain: Your life would never be the same.
Of course, if the apostle Peter were still alive, you could ask him what he did. But a more workable alternative might be to actually read what he wrote after the Lord Jesus Christ gave them to him. [see: Matt.16:13-19]
So what kind of a guy was Peter?
Aside from some Biblical narratives which record his behavior to have been impulsive on occasion, I can understand why Jesus chose him [and his letters] to be the foundation [or rock] on which He would build disciples in His church.
In his letter that he wrote “…to those [of] you who secured [an] equivalent faith [as us] by [the] righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ,” Peter affirmed that everything needed for godliness had been granted to both him and the reader through the true knowledge of Him who had called them to His own glory and excellence. [2Pet.1:3]
It had?
[ἐπίγνωσις: knowledge, understanding, insight]
I used to stop reading here and ask myself just how I might be able to gain more of this knowledge or insight into the character of God. Ironically, when an answer didn’t appear to float down from above, I’d just keep reading…
Then it’d start to sink in.
As a means to achieve the Lord’s “glory and excellence” I’ve been called to, He granted to me His precious and magnificent promises, so that, through those promises, it’s possible for me to share in His divine nature, after escaping the corruption which is in the world with respect to lust. [vs.4]
I was all for that.
But not until I learned to recognize the impact of the word often translated as “supply” was I able to grasp the significance of the sentence that followed:
“Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, by your faith, supply moral excellence, and by your moral excellence, knowledge, and by your knowledge, self-control, and by your self-control, perseverance, and by your perseverance, godliness, and by your godliness, brotherly kindness, and by your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” [2Pet.1:5-8] [my emphasis]
The Greek verb ἐπιχορηγέω [supply, give, provide; support; add to] was recorded in the Imperative Mood. This particular form of grammar was an author’s tool for motivation and galvanization. Its presence in the text called for forcefulness and confidence in the commission of that action being described.
These passages signify the essence of the role of discipleship in Jesus Christ.
The tools needed to gain an understanding of how to reflect His glory and excellence and to be a partaker of His divine nature by actually realizing the promises He made are available to me through knowledge. In order to use that knowledge, I need to first actively engage my faith by demonstrating moral excellence, then knowledge, then self-control, etc.
The “Rock” certainly lived up to his name. Maybe that’s why he thought it was necessary to continue to remind his readers about the things they already knew. [vs. 1:12]
Or maybe they just didn’t realize how rewarding it could be:
“Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.” [2Pet.1:10-11]
It sounds like he did. After all, he held the keys