While reading
2 Peter 1, one day, I realized what Paul meant by perfecting holiness in
2 Cor 7.
There are seven things Peter told us that we must add to our faith once we are saved. We HAVE faith when we are saved. Peter said we obtained like precious faith in verse 1. And from verse 5 we are told to ADD seven things to that faith.
We are CALLED TO glory and virtue. In fact, VIRTUE is one of the things we must add to our faith (See verse 5). And when I think of this understanding of having need to ADD to our faith, I think of having escaped Egypt and now in the wilderness in need of going on to Canaan. Canaan always represents spiritual maturity.
We have escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust (EGYPT), and now must become partakers of his divine nature (Canaan).
This is perfecting holiness.
His divine nature is altogether holy. But the things we add to our faith in order to partake of His divine nature are listed as follows:
1) virtue;
2) knowledge;
3) temperance;
4) patience;
5) godliness;
6) brotherly kindness;
7) charity.
It is interestoing that many who tout the term "holiness" do not really know what some of these elements listed above even are!
Virtue is sort of described as getting a backbone and standing for truth. The others are pretty much self explanatory. But these things make us solid and sure.
They make our CALLING AND ELECTION
sure. They make us so we never fall. They make us so we are not barren nor unfruitful. And they make us so that we obtain an abundant entrance into the Kingdom of God.
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