JESUS ADDS HIS KNOWLEDGE TO MY FAITH

"For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith virtue; and to virtue, knowledge..."

2 Peter 1:5

Jesus completes my faith with His virtue, changing my outlook to an eternal perspective. When Jesus adds His knowledge to His virtue and my faith, He changes my identity by helping me understand who I am: a child of God.

What Is Knowledge?

Knowledge comes from the Greek word gnosis, meaning "to know."

But the knowledge Peter is describing is more than knowing facts about God. It is divine knowledge: knowing God Himself.

Proverbs 2:1-5 teaches me:

My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.

God wants me to know Him.

And the more I know Him, the more I begin to understand who I am because of my relationship with Him.

His Knowledge Changes My Identity

Jesus has already added His virtue, His excellence and praiseworthiness, to my faith. Now, as He adds His knowledge to His virtue, I begin to understand who I truly am.

I am a child of God.

This divine knowledge is at the very heart of the gospel. Jesus Christ died so my sins could be forgiven and I could be brought into a relationship with the Father as His child.

My identity is no longer determined by my past, my failures, my weaknesses, or what someone else says about me.

My identity is determined by my relationship with Jesus Christ.

His Divine Power Gives Me All I Need

Peter explains this in the verses immediately preceding his instruction to add knowledge to our faith:

His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory and excellence, by which He has granted to us His precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. 2 Peter 1:3-4

Notice what Jesus gives me:

His divine power gives me what I need for life and godliness through the knowledge of Him.

His excellence gives me His promises.

His promises allow me to escape the corruption of this world and become a partaker of His divine

nature.

Jesus is not simply teaching me something new; He is changing who I understand myself to be.

Knowing Who I Am Because I Know Who He Is

The knowledge of Christ tells me that Jesus lives in me.

His knowledge tells me that I am His child.

As I begin to understand who I am, I begin to experience the virtue and excellence He has already added to my faith.

My new understanding is: Knowing who I am. Knowing who He is. Knowing the relationship we now share.

As Jesus changes my outlook from the temporary things of this world to eternity, I begin to know Him more intimately. And the more I know Jesus, the more I understand my relationship with Him.

What Have I Learned?

Faith gives me confidence and trust in God.

Virtue changes my outlook to an eternal perspective.

Knowledge changes my identity by helping me understand who I am because of Jesus Christ.

I don't have to allow my past to define me.

I don't have to allow my failures to define me.

I don't have to allow other people to define me.

Jesus defines who I am.

I am forgiven.

I belong to Him.

I am a child of God.

That is who I am because of who He is.

Reflect

• Am I pursuing the knowledge of Jesus each day?

• What voices influence the way I see myself?

• Has God's truth become the foundation of my identity?

• How has knowing Jesus changed the way I see myself?

Prayer

Father, thank You for revealing Yourself to me through Your Son, Jesus Christ. Help me grow in the knowledge of You each day. Give me a hunger for Your Word and a desire to know You more intimately. When my past, my failures, or the voices of others try to define me, remind me of the truth: through Jesus Christ, I am Your child. Help me live each day with the confidence, security, and joy that come from knowing who I am because of who You are.

In Jesus' name, Amen.