2 Peter 1:5-9, “And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and had forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.”

These 5 verses say a lot about who we are (or are supposed to be) as followers of Christ. Let’s take a closer look.

You all know me; I always like to start with simple definitions as a foundation to better understanding. 

Faith: complete trust or confidence in God.

Virtue: behavior that shows high moral standards.

Knowledge: facts, information, and skills acquired by a person through experience or education; the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject. Awareness or familiarity gained by experience of a fact or situation.

Temperance: moderation or self-restraint. (SELF CONTROL!)

Patience: the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset. (I would add to this – without complaining).

Godliness: the quality or practice of conforming to the laws and wishes of God. Devoutness and moral uprightness.

Brotherly kindness: (brotherly love) is the love for one’s fellow man as a brother. (Kindness) is selfless, compassionate, and merciful. Compounded together: to love our fellow man and a brother and to be selfless, compassionate and merciful in our treatment of them.

Charity: the highest form of love, signifying the reciprocal love between God and man that is made manifest in unselfish love of one’s fellow man.

Wow! When we take the time to view this scripture in the light of these inherent meaning, it allows us to see the love that God has shown to us!

The bible says to every man is dealt a measure of faith (Romans 12:3). We all may not have the same amount, but we all have some. It is our job to exercise our faith and growth it (Romans 10:17, Romans 1:17). We do this my hearing the word of God, believing it by faith, and stepping out on that word. This brings experience and increases our knowledge. **Please refer to the definitions above as we travel through this lesson.

Notice that from our foundation of faith – which every person has, we are to add virtue. This is a standard of behavior. We were all taught as children – no matter how you were raised, or who raised you – a standard of behavior. What was and was not acceptable. No mater the home life, you were given some inclination as how to successfully navigate through to make it to the next day. This is your moral standard. No matter the quality of the standard you were taught as a child, when you receive salvation and become a follower of Christ, your standard must change and elevate. Hebrews 12:2, lets us know that renewal of our mind is required to prove (know or demonstrate) what is the good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God. This is virtue.

Moving on to the next building block, we need to add knowledge. We are trusting God (faith), our behavior is lining up with his will (virtue), and now we need to gain experience of him so we can truly know him (knowledge). We touched on this briefly, earlier. It is a benefit gained as we exercise our faith to grow it. Also, through the reading, hearing, and endeavoring to understand the word of God.

As we learn more about him, we understand the necessity of Temperance. Excess will kill you or lead you to places (naturally, emotionally, and spiritually) you do not want to go. God has equipped us with necessary tools to practice self-restraint. It is our duty to do it. Fasting will bring this flesh under subjection to the Holy Spirit. Consecration will bring your mind to a place where God can speak to you. But again, these are steps we must take to possess self-control.

I find it amazing how each quality noted in this text needs you to master (or at least work on mastering) the quality before.

Next, we have patience. I personally, need Godly self-control to patiently deal with the things that pop-up in my life. Patience takes a lot of practice, and trust in God! It is recommended to smart on small things that test your patience.

Mindfully, make it your daily goal to exercise your patience a little more each day. You will find, when that big fish comes along, you are ready to patiently wait for God to work out the situation. Godliness goes together with patience. The bible says, “in patience, possess ye your soul” (Luke 21:19). Patience makes it possible to conform to God’ will and follow him. God’s timing is not the same as our own. We must patiently wait on him. But be encouraged, for is on time and will not fail.

The last 2 qualities are all about love. And how God’s love will constrain us to treat those we meet. It is truly impossible to exhibit brotherly kindness and charity, without having first experienced God’s great love toward us. When we see the depth of his love toward us, by dying on the cross for a people despised and rejected him (brotherly kindness) and giving himself as a ransom for us (charity). We can then have an inkling of what these characteristics are and see them in operation.

Barren or Unfruitful?

So, the initial question, are you or do you feel that you are barren or unfruitful?

Barren (unfruitful): to be incapable of producing offspring.

Abound: existing in or providing a great or plentiful quantity of supply.

If you feel this is you, look at the remainder of this scripture text for help…

“For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and had forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.”

When we find lack, or barren places in our lives, it is necessary to repent (ask God for forgiveness) and make changes. The scriptures plainly tell us how to fix our barrenness. We must abound – have an abundance of the characteristics found in this text. When we forget who we are (in Christ), and whose we are, we tend to fall back into the things God has already freed us from.

Shake yourself, get your mind back, and follow God. Then begin to rebuild your foundation: to your faith, add virtue…all the way until you are standing in that place of love toward yourself and everyone you meet.

Have a blessed day,

If you need prayer, please feel free to email your prayer requests to: OTP.Ministries1@gmail.com