BY Argie Simonis
"Grace and peace be multiplied to you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,
According as his divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that has called us to glory and virtue:" 2Pet. 1:2-3
What Peter is telling us here overturns the traditional practice of praying to God to give us peace, emphasizing that peace is directly related to the knowledge and revelation we have in His Word.
How much peace would you have to make a dangerous overtaking with your car without having visibility but also not knowing what is coming behind the turn?
The same goes concerning our fellowship with the Lord. When we are close to Him, the knowledge and wisdom He gives to us drives away all fear and anxiety and thus His peace comes to our hearts, regardless of what is happening around us.
Peter tells us that everything we need comes from the knowledge of God. The actual greek word that is used here is "epignosis" which means revelation knowledge, or deep knowledge. This includes faith. This is because Jesus has already given us everything we could ever need from the moment we got born-again. We do not need anything new. We just need a revelation of what we already have in Christ. Faith is the fruit of the Spirit that dwells in us (Gal. 5: 22-23). The Spirit of life and Resurrection already lives in us (Ephesians 1: 19-20). We do not need extra strength. We just need to recognize what we have and then learn how to use it:
"That the communication of your faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus." Philemon 1:6
There are two main reasons why many people find it difficult to function in faith. Either because they do not know the Word of God, or they have allowed the knowledge of the world to choke the Word of God within them. Just as faith comes through hearing the Word of God (Rom. 10:17), the same way fear comes through hearing the world. So the problem is not a lack of faith, but rather a lack of the knowledge of God.
Have you ever seen an orange tree being forced to produce oranges? It is its nature to produce oranges and as long as it is in a well-protected environment with the right fertilizer, it will definitely bear fruit. The same thing happens with us. Faith will be the fruit of our fellowship with the Lord and with the knowledge of His Word which is Jesus:
"Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can you, except you abide in me." John 15:4
I believe one of the reasons that the first humans that walk the earth lived for over 900 years is because they did not know how to die. They did not know that seasonal flu comes every year and that it was normal to be sick at that time. It took the devil many years to implant such thoughts in the human mind. We could have avoided many pointless battles if we could be wise in good, and simple in evil, as Paul tells us (Rom. 16:19).
Our mind is like a computer. It acts on the information with which we supply it. The wisdom of the world brings fear, but the wisdom of God brings faith, which is why Paul gives so much importance to the renewal of our mind through the Word of God:
"And be not conformed to this world: but be you transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." Rom. 12:2
There are many who try to ridicule the message of the faith we preach. I have heard the expression "If God intended man to fly, He would give him wings".
Of course, we now know that this has been proven wrong.
The laws of aerodynamics have existed since Creation, but man did not know them until recently.
It was not God who prevented us from flying, it was our ignorance of the laws that govern flight. We have all been given the measure of faith (Rom. 12:3), but God's people are lost because they do not know how that faith works.
I wish this message spoke to your heart. I will close with Paul's beautiful prayer:
"Μay the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:
The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,
Which he worked in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,
Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:
And has put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,
Which is his body, the fullness of him that fills all in all." Eph. 1:17-23
Amen!
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