The Bible says in 2 Peter 1:5-7, and 9:
“(5)Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in you faith supply moral excellence, in your moral excellence, knowledge,(6) in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love… (9)for he who lacks these qualities is blind or short sighted…”
Now in verse five, Peter (the writer of this book) begins to name these ‘qualities’ that we’ll be looking at. We get that they’re qualities from verse nine which states that ‘he who lacks these qualities is blind’ and the like. Therefore, verse five could be read as, ‘Now, for this very reason, applying all diligence to these qualities’… The word ‘diligence’ means ‘a constant effort to accomplish what is undertaken’. So what this verse is saying is that we should be in constant effort to these qualities. That means working them out and cultivating them. Therefore, we should be in ‘constant effort in cultivating these qualities’, to paraphrase this verse. With that said, let’s dig more.
In this passage of scripture, Peter names eight ‘qualities’ that we’re to be ‘diligent’ to ‘cultivate’. So let’s take a closer look at these eight qualities.
In Your Faith, Supply Moral Excellence
Notice, if you will, that before we’re to ‘cultivate’ moral excellence, that we’re to have faith. Faith in what? Faith in Jesus Christ, or in other words, be a Christian. So keep that in mind throughout this study.
Now once we have ‘faith’, we’re to supply to our moral excellence. What does ‘moral excellence’ mean? I believe it means many things. For example, when we become a Christian and start to follow God, people will take notice. Now, if we’re ‘following God’ and saying one thing and doing the opposite, people will see that and say that we’re being hypocritical. Once we become a hypocrite, we’re no longer ‘morally excellent’ are we? So, moral excellence could mean not being a hypocrite. It could also mean that we shouldn’t support things that make God and Christians look bad. It could mean standing up for what is right, and living the life that God wants us to live, and not otherwise. So, once we have faith, we’re to seek to be moral.
In Your Moral Excellence, Knowledge
Now after we have become ‘morally excellent’ , we’re to ‘cultivate’ our knowledge. Knowledge of what? Knowledge of what we might be staying away from in order to be ‘moral’. For example, say you don’t watch much TV because of what it supports. Once you decide to do that, you should have knowledge about how TV can possibly be destructive, not constructive. Also, have knowledge about what is on TV, so when someone asks you why you don’t watch much TV, you can show them why: because of the wrong things of TV, like premarital sex, cussing, homosexuality, and degrading of God and other religions. Knowledge also means knowledge in your Bible. We should know what the Bible says about the topic that you’re not supporting in order to be moral. Weather it be cussing, drinking, sex, and the like, know what the Bible says about these things. For example, the Bible says ‘stay away from all appearances of evil’ (1 Thessalonians 5:22).
In Your Knowledge, Self-Control
Once we have knowledge, how do we ‘cultivate’ self control? Like I stated, we’re to have Biblical knowledge as well as knowledge in what we might be staying away from. Once we start acquiring Biblical knowledge, then God will begin to show us how to live our lives based upon His Word, and in turn, walk in the Spirit. If you recall, ‘self-control’ is one of the ‘fruits of the Spirit of God’ (Galatians 5:16-24). When we start to read our Bible and obey God’s commands, we will begin to give God full reign of our lives. When we do that, God’s Spirit will begin to produce ‘fruits’ in our lives, such as having self-control. However, apart from God’s Spirit , it’s absolutely impossible to have self-control all the time because we’re no longer ruled by God and His Spirit, but by our carnal and angry flesh. Therefore, once we begin to acquire Biblical knowledge and listen to God’s commands, we’ll begin to ‘walk in the Spirit ’ and in turn cultivate self-control.
In Self-Control, Perseverance
Now, once we have cultivated self-control, we’re to ‘cultivate’ perseverance. I believe that these two things go hand in hand. You see, when we as Christians have control over our emotions, and ourselves that means we’re walking in the Spirit. And since God’s Spirit is the One controlling us, we’ll have no problem persevering in the hard times. Why? Well, because we know God is in control of our lives. I mean, if God is ruling our lives, why would He let us worry about the trails and tribulations in our lives, when He know that once we persevered, that the trails will be over? So, once we let God control our life, we’ll have no problem persevering in the hard times because God, through His Spirit, is in control.
In Your Perseverance, Godliness.
Now, once we’ve ‘cultivated’ perseverance, through God’s Spirit, how can we become godly? Once again, if we let God’s Spirit control our lives and our emotions, we’ll be noting buy godly in the way we walk, our actions, and our speech. Also, in James 1:4, the Bible says that once we let perseverance have it’s perfect work, that we’ll be perfect, complete, and lacking nothing. Lacking nothing and being perfect refers to being everything God wants us to be in our Christian walk. Only after we’ve gone through God’s ‘fires’ and have been refined, only then will we be what God wants us to be and what we’re supposed to be in our life. A good example of this is Job. Only after Job persevered through God’s ‘fires of refining’ did he become what God wanted him to be. So therefore, once we persevered in the hard times, only then will we be ‘perfect’ in Christ.
In Your Godliness, Brotherly Kindness
Once again, kindness is a ‘fruit of the Spirit’. Do you see the pattern? Once we let God have control of our lives, God’s Spirit will begin to produce certain characteristics in our lives. First, He’ll ‘cultivate’ self-control, then perseverance, and then brotherly kindness. So you see, to really cultivate these ‘qualities’ in our life, we need to be walking in the Spirit. Nevertheless, how can we be ‘kind to our brother’ (‘brother’ in this verse refers to everyone in general, not just your brother or Christian brother in Christ)? Well, whenever your at school, if you see someone needing help, take the time and help them out, or maybe you could share your lunch with someone. If you just do the little things by being kind, people will begin to take notice. They’ll begin to recognize your selflessness (not selfishness), and maybe want to know why you’re always so kind. Who knows, maybe by just being kind God might use you to get someone saved. Hey, it happens everyday. So, once we’re ‘godly’ we’ll begin to walk in the Spirit and in turn be kind.
In Your Brotherly Kindness, Love
After we’ve cultivated brotherly kindness, then we’ll begin to cultivate love. You see, once we’re in the Spirit, being kind to someone just won’t be enough anymore. Rather, instead of just being kind to someone, we’ll want to love them. Not a mushy romantic love, mind you, but a Christ-like love. A Christ-like love means that you’ll be willing to be there for that person in a time of need, wanting to sacrifice your time for that person, and love them so much that you’ll just have to tell that person about how Jesus Christ, your Savior, has revolutionized your life. So, once we’ve cultivated kindness, God’s Spirit will just begin to ooze love in our hearts and lives for our friends, family, and schoolmates.
So therefore, Peter tells us to ‘cultivate’ eight qualities: moral excellence in our lives, knowledge in the Bible and what the Bible says on certain things and knowledge in general, self control, knowing that God’s in control, perseverance during the trails and sufferings in our life, godliness in every aspect of our lives, brotherly kindness to everyone, and love, no matter how hard it may be.
In conclusion, I hope this Bible study has helped show you a few qualities that we as Christians should begin to cultivate. But some of you out there might see these qualities and want them, but you’re not saved. There’s no way you’ll ever have all of these qualities without God’s help, so if you would like to come and know Him as your personal Savior, e-mail me or call this number: 1-888-Need-Him.
May God bless you all as you seek to ‘cultivate’ these qualities. But remember:
“…he who lacks these qualities is blind and short sighted…” (2 Peter 1:9)
