Dear Lifespring Family,
Sometimes I go through periods of feeling ineffective or unfruitful in my life. That my faith is weak and my knowledge of the bible is not adequate. My self-control is not very controlled. That love and brotherly affection in my life is lacking. This reminds me of the verse in 2 Peter 1:5-8. And maybe this is why I feel “ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” The Holy Spirit reminded me that in the moments when I feel ineffective or unfruitful, there is a lot of “me, myself and I” in my thought process and to “make every effort.” Which is opposite to what Dr. S.Y. Tan was teaching us this past weekend. My focus was not much on the “knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” part of the verse.
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 qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Peter 1:5-8
Before 2 Peter 1:5-8 comes 2 Peter 1:1-3:
Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:
May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
2 Peter 1:1-3
The Apostle Peter explains to us that being effective and fruitful in our Christian life is made possible and practical by two factors – the power and the promises of God. The power of the righteous blood of our Lord Jesus Christ shed for us and our inadequate self-effort. The promises of God our Father to always be with us and bless us to be effective and fruitful. With this truthful and correct “knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ,” we can live not a sinless life but a life where I sin less and less as I make every effort to be more and more like our Lord Jesus Christ. This is living a more and more effective and fruitful life.
Be encouraged by the truth in Ephesians 1:3.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.
Ephesians 1:3
You are richly blessed, highly favoured and deeply loved with “every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.”
Grace upon grace.