“BECOME PARTAKERS OF the divine nature. For this very reason make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these things are yours and abound, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 1:4–8).
It is possible to become “partakers of the divine nature” and yet be “ineffective and unfruitful” in the knowledge of Christ, or in Him. Why? Because while we are rooted in Him, we are not built up in Him. “Rooted” means taking divine resources; “built up” means human disciplines. Here Peter emphasizes the necessity to make every effort to supplement your faith. That is our part. To your basic faith you are to add seven things: virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, and love. Love is the capstone. It begins with faith and ends with love. Faith and love are the two slices of bread of the sandwich; the rest are the filling. Without faith and love all the Christian virtues fall to pieces. A great faith applied by love—these are the two things that make you fruitful as a Christian.
To be in Him and yet to be ineffective and unfruitful is to be empty amid plenty, to be ignorant amid knowledge, to be weak amid strength, to be lifeless amid Life, to be nothing amid everything.
These seven things must not only be in us, but must abound; there must be an overflow. We must not be half-full vessels trying to run over. In Christ there is not only life, but life abundant. To be in Him is to be in divine abundance, making it possible for us to live abundantly.
O Lord Jesus, Thou dost not give the Spirit by measure. Thy giving is a measureless giving. Yet our life and our love are so measured, calculated, small. I have the cup, give me rivers. Flow in. Divine Love, flow out, human gratitude. Amen.
AFFIRMATION FOR THE DAY: If I am to be fruitful and effective, I must abound in Christ.
