Oct. 01, 2025

Dear Friends,

I hope you can join us tonight as we look at 2 Peter 1:5-9—a rich instruction for Christian character and living. Notes are attached.

LIVING THE CHRISTLIFE

WAYNE BARRETT

OCTOBER 1, 2025

2 Peter 1:5-9

5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with

knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness

with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 8 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. 9 For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind,

having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins.

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v 5 – “For this very reason …” [that we are partakers of the divine nature]

“make every effort” – more lit. “having applied all diligence”

diligence – spoudé, “haste, diligence, forwardness” (Strong’s)

“supplement” – epichorégeó – abundantly supply, go overboard!

“For this reason, having applied all diligence, abundantly supply virtue into [en] your faith …”

Before we go further:

This passage is action-based encouragement. It has a tone of urgency, of “get on with it!”

The obvious assumption is that we each have agency (and therefore responsibility)—we are able

to take actions that accomplish these things.

“Strive for … the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.—Hebrews 12:14

This literary formula is a way of presenting multiple qualities that the Christian should attain. It

does not mean, for example, that we do not exercise self-control until we have gone through

the previously outlined stages of supplementing our faith! On the other hand, there does seem

to be a certain sensibility to the order, culminating as it does in “brotherly affection” and then

“love.”

virtue – areté, moral excellence, valor.

This is godly quality.

and into virtue …

knowledge – gnósis

This does not mean “book knowledge”—although that type of knowledge is involved

The verb form, ginōskō, means applied knowledge, a working knowledge

The knowledge that comes from learning from and walking with God

By contrast, we are not called to be ignorant

and into knowledge …

self-control – egkrateia

This applies to our appetites and our disposition, including in how we react and in how we

respond to things. We are responsible for our actions and our dispositions.

In the Christian life, we are empowered in this area by the Holy Spirit.

and into self-control …

steadfastness – hypomoné. endurance, perseverance, “remaining under”

A major teaching of the New Testament, one that may be particularly neglected in our culture

and into steadfastness …

2

godliness – eusebeia

eú "well" + sébomai "venerate, pay homage" - reverence, piety, Christlikeness, holiness

It might seem unusual to say that a Christians should be characterized by “godliness”—but is it?

It needs perhaps to be spelled out that we are not to be irreverent, impious, un-Christlike

A Christian should be a “godly man” or a “godly woman.”

and into godliness …

philadelphia – brotherly affection

from phílos "loving friend" + adelphós "brother"

This should characterize Christian relationships

and into brotherly affection …

agapé – love

Not an emotion, but an attitude and intention combined with action, proactive and selfless—even

sacrificial

This is the love of God

v 8 – “For if these things are in you …”

These are qualities to a person’s character and living—not “deeds”

But these qualities being in you and abounding prevent a person from being

ineffective – argos – idle

or unfruitful. The two things we do not want to be in Christ’s service

This might be considered a promise that we accept by faith—both as to a lack of idleness and as

to fruitfulness

v 9 – “For whoever lacks these qualities …”

more lit. “For in whomever these things are not present, he is blind …”

Peter puts it bluntly and directly

Not just “he is wrong” or “he needs correcting” – he is blind

then, lit. “being shortsighted” — myópazó

“having forgotten”—Peter puts this in an interesting way: lit. “forgetfulness having received”—

describing a willful, participatory act—not just something that happened, as in “he just

forgot”

“of the purification of his former sins.”

The person in whom these things are not present:

Has forgotten where he came from

He has forgotten what Christ did for him

He has forgotten the sins for which he was forgiven

This is not so much a sin of commission; it is a great sin of omission

To be a deadbeat Christian, not seeking the Lord, not learning, not allowing the Spirit to develop

his character and correct his errors, not growing in faith …

God has not called us to such idleness and blindness