The Letters of Peter

by T. Austin-Sparks

Chapter 7 - God's Responsibility and Ours

Reading: 2 Peter 1:1-11.

That portion is very full, and provides a ground for much consideration. I just point out one or two things, without touching details.

God's Faithfulness in Calling

There are three aspects of the section. The first is the aspect of God - "have obtained a like precious faith with us in the righteousness of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ". That word 'righteousness', as used there, would be better translated faithfulness, for that is the sense in which the word is used here. Peter, as you know, is writing to Jewish believers of the dispersion, and in so doing he is saying in effect, that the Jews, as such, rejected God in Christ and in so doing rejected their own interests and cut themselves off from all prospect in the Divine purpose in this dispensation. But God is faithful, and if the nation has done that, wherever He finds in the nation those who repudiate the nation's attitude and turn in faith to His Son the Lord Jesus, He is faithful to them to bring them into the good of the specific purposes bound up with this dispensation. So Peter says that those amongst Jews, the rejecting nation, who have found like precious faith with us because of the faithfulness of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ, that is the basis of everything: "like precious faith". On the basis of His faithfulness we come into the sphere of all these Divine blessings which are mentioned after this: "has granted unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness", "precious and exceeding great promises". All that inheritance is because of God's faithfulness to those who put faith in Him.

God's Provision to Make Good the Calling

The second aspect in general is according to two things: the knowledge of God and the power of God. "Grace to you and peace be multiplied in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord"; "all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that called us". That is one aspect.

And then the power - "seeing that His Divine power hath granted unto us all things"; knowledge and power Divine for making good all the inheritance, all the heritage in Christ. He has given us the knowledge and He gives us the power.

Our Response

Firstly His faithfulness in calling, in letting in, then being within the knowledge and the power available for all that is there, the Divine provision for making good. This follows the whole matter of making good which is summed up in that phrase in verse 10: "give the more diligence to make your calling and election sure". God's faithfulness in calling; God's provision to make good the calling. Our response: "give the more diligence". Peter used that word twice, for it is also in verse 5: "adding on your part all diligence". This should be our response because of God's faithfulness and God's provision. There is laid upon us a responsibility because the Lord has made every provision, has done everything from His side. We are not put under responsibility to find our way in or to find the resources for making good, God has taken full responsibility for that. Our responsibility is to give diligence, more diligence, and to make our calling and election sure.

That is the broad outline of that section. The details we leave for the time, and those details are in diligent application - adding, adding, adding, this and that and that. We hold that over for the moment. We are brought in by the faithfulness of God; we are provided with all that is needed by the faithfulness of God; now, what are you going to do about it? The call is, "Give diligence, give the more diligence, make sure!" It will not just happen, after all that God has done, there is to be a strong response on our side to the call, to all that the Lord has gathered around us.