Do You Have The Real Thing?

Truth gets blurry fast when every voice claims authority and every new idea promises a shortcut. We start a new series from 2 Peter 1:1-11 by going back to Peter’s grounding point: real safety comes from knowing God, not just knowing about God. Peter uses “knowledge” again and again, and we unpack why he means a living relationship with Jesus Christ that changes the way we think, choose, and endure. 

We walk through Peter’s opening affirmations about the Christian life: it begins with like precious faith, and that faith is anchored in a Person. Jesus is not only a helper but our God and Savior, the One who secures what nobody else can: righteousness, grace, and peace. We also talk about how God’s divine power gives believers everything needed for life and godliness, pushing back on the constant pressure to chase “something more” as if Christ left us incomplete. 

From there, we follow Peter into the practical road of discipleship and spiritual growth. God’s exceedingly great and precious promises shape our appetites and help us live as partakers of the divine nature, escaping the world’s corruption. Then Peter calls for diligence: virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love, not as a checklist but as connected graces that mature together through obedience, trials, and steady discipline. 

If you want clear biblical teaching on knowing God, spiritual growth, and discernment in a world of error, listen now and share it with a friend. Subscribe, leave a review, and tell us what area of growth you’re asking God to strengthen this week.

Transcript

Foundations Of Truth Welcome

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You're listening to the foundations of truth. The Bible-teaching ministry of Dr. Timothy Mann. Our mission is to help you build your life on the unspeakable foundation of God's Word. Rooted in Scripture, anchored in the grace of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Each week, Dr. Timothy Mann opens the Bible to prosperity, conviction, and encouragement for everyday life. Welcome to Foundations of Truth.

Truth In A World Of Error

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Today we begin a new series of truth in a world of error from 2 Peter chapter 1, verses 1 through 11. Pastor Timothy Mann begins today's message talking about Peter and knowing and growing as a follower of Jesus.

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He was courageous, yes. But he was also careless. Courageous but careless. But I'm glad to say that it appears by the time he writes 2 Peter that it learned his lesson. And he wants to help us learn it too. In 1 Peter, you saw that Peter emphasized the grace of God and the hope that we have as a result of that. That's really what 1 Peter was all about. But in the second letter, the second book, the small epistle, he emphasizes the knowledge of God. Now the word know or knowledge is used at least 13 times in this short letter. The word does not mean, don't get the idea that it means this alone. It's not just some mere intellectual understanding of some truth, although that is included. It's not just that. It means a living participation in the truth, in the sense that our Lord Jesus used it over there in John 17, verse 3, when he said, This is life eternal, this is eternal life, that they may know you, that they may know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. That's really what it's about. And so the Apostle Peter, he opens this letter, and we're going to look at the first 11 verses today. He opens this letter with a description of the Christian life. And before he describes the counterfeits, he describes the true believers. The best way to be able to identify a counterfeit is to know the real thing. People who have that responsibility as it relates to money and those kinds of things, they don't spend all of their training studying the counterfeits. They know every intricate detail about the genuine thing, the real article, true money. That's how they can spot counterfeit. And so the best way to detect falsehood is to understand the characteristics of truth. Peter made three very important affirmations about the true Christian life, knowing and growing as a follower of Jesus Christ, this truth in a world of

Reading 2 Peter 1:1-11

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error. So let's begin reading, verse one. Simon Peter, a bondservant, apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our Lord, of our God and Savior Jesus Christ. Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, and to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance or patience, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these things is short-sighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure. For if you do these things you will never stumble, for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Alright, let's stop there. That's a good place. That's really where the unit of thought ends. As we talk about knowing and growing as a follower of Jesus Christ in the midst of a world of error all around us, and how truth is so important, these affirmations that the Apostle Peter makes about the Christian life is very practical and very applicable to us as we think about what it means to know and grow as a Christian, as a follower

Faith Begins With Jesus

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of Christ. What's first? Well, first of all, the first four verses of this chapter instructs us and tells us that you begin the Christian life, you begin being a follower of Jesus with faith. You say, well, that sounds very simple. Well, it's very important, it's foundational that you understand that you begin the Christian life with faith. It's interesting, the apostle Peter in verse 1 called it like precious faith. To those who have obtained or received like precious faith, that means that our standing today, if you're in this place today and you're a follower of Jesus Christ, our standing with the Lord today is the same as it was with the apostles centuries ago. He's saying, Those who have received the same faith that I have, same precious faith, they had no special privilege over us simply because they were privileged to walk with Christ, see him with their own eyes, and actually see and experience his miracles. It is not necessary at all to see our Lord with our human eyes in order to love him and trust him and share his glory. It's not necessary. As a matter of fact, the Lord Jesus Himself said, Blessed are you because you've seen and believed, but even more blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe. And so, this like precious faith. Well, what about this like precious faith? This Christian life that begins with faith. Some things I think it's important that he points out to us. First of all, about this faith, this faith is in a person. This faith is in a person, verses 1 and 2. This is that person is Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Savior. From the very onset of his letter, the Apostle Peter affirms the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. Do you see what he says? In verse 2, he says, our God and our savior. That's not two different persons that he's referencing here. They describe one person. That's what he says, Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul uses similar expressions. And it's interesting, you're going to notice this as we walk through this letter. Peter reminds his readers over and over that Jesus Christ is the Savior by repeating this exalted title in chapter 1, verse 11. He does it in chapter 2, verse 20, chapter 3, verse 2, chapter 3, verse 18.

Righteousness Grace And Peace

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When you hear the word savior, what do you think of? You might have different ideas in your mind. Savior. This word savior literally is one who brings salvation. And the word salvation was very familiar to the people of that day. Because in their vocabulary, it meant deliverance from trouble, particularly the idea of deliverance from the enemy. It also carried with it the idea of health and safety. A physician was one who was looked upon as a savior because he helped deliver the body from pain and limitations. A victorious general was a savior because he delivered the people from defeat. Even a very wise official was a savior because he kept the nation in order and delivered it from confusion and decay. Now it doesn't take a lot of insight. It takes very little insight to see how the title Savior applies to our Lord Jesus Christ. Even when you look at it through the lens of how the people then would have understood, because he is indeed the great physician who heals the heart from the disease of sin. He is the victorious conqueror who has defeated our enemies, sin, death, Satan, and hell, and he leads us to triumph. He is our God and Savior. He's our Lord and Savior. He's the Lord and Savior. And in order to be Savior, he had to give his life on the cross and die for the sins of the world. That's what he did. Now, our Lord Jesus Christ, according to these verses that we're looking at, has three spiritual commodities, if you will, that can be secured by nobody else. You see what it said? We see righteousness in verse 1. This those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ. Verse 2, grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and our Lord Jesus Christ. These commodities, righteousness, grace, and peace. You understand what happens when you trust Him as Savior, your righteousness bec or His righteousness becomes your righteousness, and you are given a right standing before God. That's what takes place. You could never earn this righteousness. It is a gift to those who believe. The Apostle Paul said in Titus 3, verse 5, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us. Grace. Grace is uh uh you probably heard all kinds of different definitions related to grace, but really grace is God's favor to the undeserving. That's what it is. God's favor to the undeserving. God in his mercy does not give us what we deserve, and we ought to be very thankful for that this morning. However, even better than that, God in his grace gives us what we don't deserve. That's the blessing of grace. Our God is the God of all grace, and he channels that grace to us through Jesus Christ. And the result of this experience is peace. Peace. Peace with God, peace of God. And in fact, God's grace and peace are multiplied toward us, that's what he uses the word, multiplied toward us as we walk with him and trust his promises.

Support The Teaching Ministry

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Thank you for joining us today for Foundations of Truth, the biblical teaching ministry of Dr. Timothy Mann. The message you're hearing today is possible because listeners like you believe in the importance of faithful biblical teaching. At Foundations of Truth, our desire is to help people know what God's Word says, understand what it means, and apply its truth to the realities of everyday life. If you'd like to help us continue this work, we invite you to prayerfully consider supporting this ministry with a financial gift. Your generosity helps us bring back your teaching of scripture to more listeners and encourages believers to stand firm upon the truth of God's word. You can give securely today at foundationsoftruth.net. That's foundationsoftruth.net. And thank you for your prayers, your encouragement, and your faithful partnership with Foundations of Truth. Now let's return to today's message with Dr. Timothy Mann.

God’s Power Makes Us Complete

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So when you understand that this Christian life begins with faith, it's faith in a person, first of all. Secondly, this faith involves, according to verse 3, God's power, as his divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness. The Christian life begins with saving faith, faith in the person of Jesus Christ. But when you know Jesus Christ personally, you also experience and can experience God's power. And this power produces life and godliness, it says here. See, you need to understand this. The unsaved person, the unsaved sinner, is dead. And only Christ can raise him from the dead. He's the one who does that. Just like when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, he said, loose him and let him go. Get rid of the grave clothes. Loose him and let him go. And when you're born into the family of God by faith, according to what this verse teaches, you are born complete. God gives you everything you need for life and godliness. There's nothing that has to be added from somewhere else. And in him you're complete, it says in Colossians 2.10. Now it's interesting, and we'll see this as we move along, the false teachers that are impacting and propagating error and falsehood, they claim that they had some kind of special doctrine that would add something to the lives of Peter's readers here. But Peter knew that nothing could be added. Not one thing could be added. He, everything that God that we need, God gives, just as a normal baby that's born healthy is born with all the equipment he or she needs and only needs to grow, so the Christian, the believer, has you have everything you need and you only need to grow. I'm grateful that God never has to call back any of his models. There's never a recall. I had to go to John Hall the other day and have a recall done for my equinox. There's never a recall on God's models. He gives you everything. There's nothing that's lacking or faulty. And just as a baby has a definite genetic structure that determines how he or she will grow, you as a believer in Jesus Christ, you are genetically structured, if you will, spiritually speaking, to experience glory and virtue. That's what it says at the end of verse 3. He's called us by glory and virtue. One day you're going to be like Jesus Christ. Completely. We shall be, we've been called to eternal glory, and we're going to share in his glory when Jesus Christ returns and takes his people to be in heaven. It's interesting. We're also called, it says, to virtue. Not just glory, but to virtue. We've been saved so that we might, in the words of Scripture, so that we might show forth the praises or the virtues of him who has called us out of darkness into his marvelous light. And we shouldn't wait until we get to heaven to become like Jesus. The idea is in our character and our conduct, we should reveal his beauty and his grace today. This faith involves God's

Precious Promises And Divine Nature

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power. It's faith in a person, it involves God's power, but it also this faith that we begin the Christian life with involves God's promises, verse 4, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. God has not only given us all that we need for life and godliness, but he's also given us his word to enable us to develop this life and this godliness. See, these promises are great. These promises are great because they come from a great God and they lead to a great life if we live by these promises. They're precious, he says, because they're a value beyond calculation. If we lost the word of God, we could never replace it. Nothing else would ever take its place. God's word. Peter must have liked the word precious, by the way, because as I was beginning to study for this book, I noted that he wrote several times about this word precious. He talked about this precious faith, precious promises, precious blood, the precious stone, and the precious Savior. He likes this word precious. He sees the inestimable value in all that God is and what he does. And what happens is when a sinner believes upon Jesus Christ, the Spirit of God uses the word of God to awaken and bring that life and that nature of God within. And just as a baby shares the nature of his or her parents, a person who is born of God shares the divine nature of God. As I said, the lost sinner is dead. But the Christian is alive. Why? Because you share in that divine nature of God. The lost sinner is decaying because of his corrupt nature. But the Christian, the believer, you can experience a dynamic life of Christ-likeness, of godliness. Why? Because you have God's nature within. Mankind as a whole is under the bondage of corruption, but the believer, you as a follower of Jesus Christ, you share the freedom and the growth that is a part of possessing the divine nature of God. Now, the idea that we possess the divine nature of God is a concept that's hard for us to put our minds around sometimes, I think. It's difficult for us to grasp. But how is it seen? How do we see it? Well, nature determines appetite. For example, the pig wants slop, right? The dog will even eat its own vomit, it says in the text. But the sheep desire greener pastures. So nature determines appetites. Nature, divine nature also determines behavior. An eagle flies because it has an eagle's nature. A dolphin swims because it has the nature of a dolphin. Nature determines environment. Squirrels climb trees, moles burrow underground, a trout swims in the water. Nature also determines association. Lions travel in pride, sheeps and flocks and fish in schools. So here's the deal. When you think about divine nature, it's hard to get our mind around that, that we have the divine nature of God. But here's how this works. If nature determines appetite and we have God's nature within, then we ought to have an appetite for what God would desire. What's his will? What's his purpose? Our behavior ought to be like that of the Father, and we ought to live in the kind of spiritual environment that's suited to our nature. We ought to associate with that which is true to our nature. And so the only normal fruit-bearing life for the child of God is one that's in accordance with the nature of God, our divine nature. That's how we see that. Lived out. And because we possess the divine nature, we have, he says, we have complete, we have escaped. In verse 4, we've escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust, the defilement and the decay of this present world. If we feed, if we feed the new nature, the nourishment of the word of God, then we won't have we'll have little interest in the things of the world. That's how that works. But if we make provision for the flesh, as it says in God's word, and what happens then as we make provision for the flesh, our our old sinful nature will lust after the old sins and will disobey God. And so godly living is the result of cultivating the new nature that is within. And so the Christian life begins with faith. Faith in a person, faith that has God's power, faith that has to do with his promises. Knowing and growing as a Christian, as a follower of Jesus Christ, all starts with this faith that Peter's talking about. But what else?

Diligence That Produces Growth

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Well, verses five and seven takes it a little bit further for us. Five through seven. This faith, your genuine faith, results in spiritual growth. It starts with faith, but your genuine faith results in spiritual growth. See, where there is life, there must be growth. He says, also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to your virtue to virtue knowledge, to knowledge, self-control, to self-control, perseverance, to perseverance, godliness, to godliness, brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness, love. The new birth is not the end, it's the beginning. God gives his children all that we need to live the kind of lives that it would be his purpose to live, but his children, we have to apply ourselves and be diligent to use these means of grace that he has provided. Spiritual growth is not automatic. You don't put it on cruise control. It just doesn't work that way. It requires cooperation with God, it requires the application of spiritual diligence and discipline. That's why the apostle said, Work out your own salvation, for it is God who works in you. Now, the Apostle Peter listed seven characteristics of this godly life. And here's the thing is I've seen this in a number of ways through the years, and maybe you've heard it taught this way, or you've heard this description. I've heard seven beads on a string, or even seven links in a chain, or seven stair steps, seven stages of development. Don't think of it like that. I'm not saying that was wrong, but I'm just saying it was wrong. Don't think of it that way. Okay? And the reason is this because the word that's translated add, verse five, add to, it really means to supply generously. In other words, we develop one quality as we exercise another quality. That's what he's talking about here. These graces relate to each other much the way a branch relates to the trunk of a tree and the twigs relate to the branch. That's how this works together. It's like the fruit of the Spirit. These qualities grow out of a life and out of a vital relationship with Jesus Christ. Sometimes you'll hear somebody very well-meaning say, Well, you just need to let go and let God. Well, that's not enough. It's not enough for the Christian to let go and let God as though, as though spiritual growth were God's work alone. That's not what the apostle Peter is teaching here. As a matter of fact, literally, literally, Peter wrote, when he says, to this very reason, giving all diligence, literally, he's saying, make every effort to bring alongside. In other words, the father

Virtue Knowledge Self-Control Perseverance

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and the child must work together. The first quality that Peter lists was virtue. We met this verse, this word in verse 3 just a moment ago. Virtue. It basically means excellence. Excellence. To the Greek philosophers, it meant the fulfillment of a thing, the fulfillment of something. In other words, when anything in nature fulfills its purpose, whatever that is, then that is virtue. That is moral excellence. The word was also used in Greek language to describe the power of the gods that did heroic deeds in mythology. The land that produced crops was excellent because it was fulfilling its purpose. The tool that worked correctly was excellent or had virtue because that tool was doing what it was supposed to do. How does that apply to me? Well, it applies this way a Christian is supposed to glorify God. A believer is supposed to glorify God. Why? Because I have God's nature within, just like Like what it said here. And so when you do this, what you're doing is you're showing forth virtue, you're showing forth excellence. Why? Because you're doing what you're supposed to do. That's what's happening here. And so true Christian or true virtue in a Christian life is not just the polishing up of human qualities, no matter how fine they might be, but actually producing divine qualities that makes a person more like Jesus Christ. Now, faith helps us develop virtue, and virtue helps us develop knowledge. It says in verse 5. This means full knowledge. This is knowledge that is growing. It suggests practical knowledge or discernment. It refers to the ability to handle life successfully. To handle life well. It's the opposite of being so heavenly-minded you're of no earthly good. It's the opposite of that. And this knowledge does not come automatically, it comes in obedience to the will of God. Jesus talked about that. And in the Christian life, we don't separate the heart and the mind. We don't separate character and knowledge. Not only that, self-control, or it might say in a translation, you're reading temperance. Temperance, self-control. The Bible says in Proverbs 16, 32, he that is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he that rules his own spirit is better than he that takes a city. Proverbs 25, 28 says, He that has no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down and without walls. This idea of self-control. And then perseverance or patience. Patience. Perseverance. What that's talking about specifically is the ability to endure when circumstances are difficult. The ability to endure when circumstances are difficult. See, self-control has to do with handling the pleasures of life, but perseverance relates primarily to the pressures and problems of life. That's the difference. Oftentimes the person who gives in pleasures is also not disciplined enough to handle the pressures either, so they give up as well. And again, how many of you know patience is something that does not develop automatically? It doesn't just happen. We have to work at it. And God allows trials to come. As we've studied in 1 Peter already, and without those trials, we could never learn patience. And so we must by faith let our trials work for us and not against us, because we know that even in the midst of those trials, God is at work in the midst of those trials. And if we need wisdom in making decisions, God will grant that wisdom if we ask Him. Let me see a show of hands. How many of you in this room this morning like trials? Raise your hand. I don't see anybody. Nobody likes trials. Not one person likes trials. But we can enjoy the confidence. We can enjoy the confidence that we can have in trials that God is at work, causing everything to work together for our good and his glory, according to Romans 8.28.

Resources Next Time And Sponsors

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Thank you for joining us today for Foundations of Truth, the biblical teaching ministry of Dr. Timothy Mann. If you'd like to hear this message again or get more biblical resources, or you'd like to give a financial gift, you can do so at foundationsoftruth.net. That's foundationsoftruth.net. We hope you'll join us next time as Foundations of Truth continues the series Truth in a World of Error. Until then, may God richly bless you as you walk faithfully with Christ. Foundations of Truth with Dr. Timothy Mann is supported in part by Luther Rice College and Seminary, equipping men and women for ministry through biblically faithful theological education. As a leader in online learning, we're thankful for AMN Plumbing, a local ministry partner serving the Ormond Beach, Daytona Beach, Fort Orange, New Smyrna Beach, and surrounding areas with defendable plumbing service. Foundations of Truth with Dr. Timothy Mann. It's supported in part by Cat Care Clinic, located in Ormond Beach, and serving families with thoughtful and compassionate veterinary care for cats.