To know Jesus
Part 8 of the series
“Stairway to Heaven”
Previous posts are
published on this blog.
What
are these virtues of life? How can I
live like Christ with godly character when I am just me—flesh and
bones? There is nothing divine about
me! These may be your questions and
response, and you may be a bit concerned.
However, Peter—the apostle transformed from a character of anger,
brashness, and pride to one of compassion, brotherly kindness, and
humility—provides this encouragement, “As we know Jesus better, his
divine power gives us everything we need for living a godly life. He has called us to receive his own glory and
goodness!” 45 Peter, tells us of the next step on God’s stairway to
heaven: knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord! 46 Peter’s character was transformed as he
experienced fruitful growth through knowledge:
to
virtue knowledge.” 47
“Add to
your faith virtue,
On your climb of sanctification are steps that are
built on the knowledge of God’s Word, His instructions for daily living found
in the gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—and the book of Acts written by
Luke as a sequel to his gospel, and the collection of letters written by the
apostles Paul, Peter and John, and Jesus’ brothers James and Jude. Men of faith, inspired by God Himself, wrote
God’s Word after Jesus returned to His Father’s home in heaven.48 God’s
home has many rooms, and Jesus is preparing a dwelling for you because you have
chosen Him as your Savior and Lord49 and because you are building
His Stairway to Heaven, fruitfully growing in the faith, the Christian system
of belief and lifestyle described in God’s Word.
When
you accepted Christ Jesus as your savior, God opened your eyes, ears, and mind
to see, hear, and understand His teachings.50 Before your salvation,
His words may have been meaningless, lacking the significance of how to apply
them to your life. It is knowing His Word
and believing in them that will transform and renew your mind.51 This knowledge and the embodiment of His Word
in your life has divine power, and it is your weapon to attack the belief
systems of this world, the systems designed by Satan, the ruler of this world.52
Satan, the Devil, is Lucifer the fallen angel, cast out of heaven by God
because he, a being created by God, demanded to be equal to God.53 God’s
Word, as your weapon of spiritual armor—the knowledge of Truth, the
understanding of godly values, and the wisdom of principles for virtuous
living—is described in Scripture as the “sword of the Spirit.”54
“For the word of God is full of
living power. It is sharper than the
sharpest knife, cutting deep into our innermost thoughts and desires. It exposes us for what we really are. Nothing in all creation can hide from
him. Everything is naked and exposed
before his eyes. This is the God whom we
must explain all that we have done.”55
The
knowledge of God’s Word will expose who you are, and the Spirit of God will
instruct you in what you must do to build up the step of virtue in your life,
the moral excellence that will set you apart from the “goats” of this world.
“But when the Son of Man comes
in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious
throne. All the nations will be gathered
in his presence, and he will separate them as a shepherd separates the sheep
from the goats. He will place the sheep
at his right hand and the goats at his left.
Then the King will say to those on the right, ‘Come, you who are blessed
by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the
world. For I was hungry, and you fed
me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a
drink. I was a stranger, and you invited
me into your home. I was naked, and you
gave me clothing. I was sick, and you
cared for me. I was in prison, and you
visited me.’
“Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever
see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty
and give you something to drink? Or a
stranger and show you hospitality? Or
naked and give you clothing? When did we
ever see you sick or in prison, and visit you?
And the King will tell them, ‘I assure you, when you did it to one of
the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’
“Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away
with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal life prepared for the Devil and his
demons! For I was hungry, and you didn’t
feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t
give me anything to drink. I was a
stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me no
clothing. I was sick and in prison, and
you didn’t visit me.’
“Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry
or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’ And he will answer, ‘I assure you, when you
refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing
to help me.’ And they will go into
eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.” 56
As a child of God, the Good Shepherd will instruct you
through which gate you should go—the gate of God’s will. You will know His will, because when you
accepted Christ as your Savior, you where given ears to hear His voice—God’s
Spirit within you—that will bring to your mind all that you have learned from
studying to know His Word.57
a
Praise
to Our Father for the words He has given me. ~Jeff Cambridge
Written
June 10, 2004
Copyright
© 2004, 2005, 2016 by Jeff Cambridge, Stellar Rhema Ministry
Footnotes
All
Scripture quotations unless otherwise noted are from The Holy Bible, New
King James Version, copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc.,
Publishers.
Verses
marked NLT are Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New Living
Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by
permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
Verses
marked NIV are Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International
Bible Society. Used by permission of
International Bible Society. “NIV” and
“New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States
Patent and Trademark office by International Bible Society.
Stairway to Heaven -8
45.
2 Peter 1:3 NLT italics added
46.
2 Peter 1:3
47.
2 Peter 1:5
48.
1 Thessalonians 2:13, 2 Timothy 3:16
49.
John 14:2
50.
Ephesians 1:17-18
51.
Romans 12:2, Ephesians 4:20-24, 1 Peter 1:13-16
52.
John 14:30, Ephesians 2:1-3, Colossians 2:8-10, 1 John
4:4
53.
Isaiah 14:12-15
54.
John 1:1, 14,17; 3:21; 8:31-32, 51; 14:6; 16:12-15;
17:17; 18:37; Ephesians 6:17
55.
Hebrews 4:12-13 NLT
56.
Matthew 25:31-46 NLT
57.
John 10:1-10, 14:26
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