Life Abundantly

We are going to II Peter, chapter 1, but what I am going to give you is something I feel is very, very important. The way most Christians think about it is they repent of their sins, Jesus becomes their Savior, and they are ready to go to heaven, and they haven’t even started yet. That is just the first step. The whole Bible is talking about what we are supposed to become in the Lord, what He wants us to be, what He wants to be in us. But too much of Christianity is missing on that and this scripture in the first chapter of II Peter is so plain you wonder how have we missed it?

II Peter 1:2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord …

Peter isn’t saying, “We wish you to have a little grace and peace.” No, he said, “Multiplied to you.” You know what multiply means. If you have something and you multiply it by two, you have twice as much. If you multiply it by three you have three times as much. Now, Peter didn’t put a limit on this. We put the limit on how much grace and how much peace that we have. The Lord is saying that He wants His grace and His peace multiplied to you so you can multiply it by whatever number you want. Would you like to multiply by two and have twice as much? Would you like to multiply by a million? We determine how much of God that we’re going to get. Jesus says, “I have come to bring you life and that more abundantly.” He doesn’t want you to have just a little bit of Himself or just a little bit of His life. He wants you to have abundantly, that you be filled with His presence.

We hear a lot about being filled with the Spirit. I’ve heard that so much. People say, “I’ve received the Holy Spirit. I have been filled with His presence.” But I have never seen anybody really filled, not completely. We don’t want to be a filled half-pint or a filled gallon. How about a filled ocean or something? We limit God too much. Let Him be all that He wants to be to you. We are the ones who limit Him.

During His ministry Jesus did some wonderful things. He healed some lepers, healed the sick, raised the dead, and cast out demons. But in Capernaum He could hardly do anything. He healed a few sick folk, and that was about all. Because of their unbelief, Jesus was limited in what He could do. He said, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country” (Matthew 13:57).

I don’t understand anybody digging their heels in and saying, “You know, I’ve got enough of God. I don’t need any more.” You do not realize how much you need. We need far more than what we even know about. This is what Peter is talking about here: Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God. How much do you want to know about God? How much do you want to know Him? I dare say that far, far too many Christians, even though they go to church all their lives, they know very little about God. It is not what you know about Him that counts. It is how much of Him, of His life, that you are experiencing within you. That is the difference, because Christians will have many different concepts of what they think the Lord is like. That’s why we have so many different denominations today. They have their opinion of what He is and what He wants. I can tell you what the Lord wants. He wants His peace, His blessings, and His grace to be multiplied to you. He wants you to experience His life. God is not interested in you learning things about Him. He is interested in you experiencing who He is, because in your experiencing of what He is, that is where the change comes in. You are changed and you become as He is.

II Peter 1:2-3 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,
3 According as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge [Greek: true knowledge] of Him who hath called us to glory and virtue…

Through the true knowledge – That is important because there is a true knowledge of the Lord. Why? Because there is also a false knowledge. All these people who say, “I know what He is. I know what He’s like. This is what He’s like,” and they are missing it. That is the false knowledge.

His divine power …authority …has given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness. That means you don’t have to pray to receive any of that because God says He has already given it.

“Well, if He has given it why don’t I have it??”

The Lord gives in the way of provision. It is left up to us to receive. I’ll give you an example that you can relate to very easily. At the end of His ministry, Jesus Christ went to Jerusalem. They crucified Him there; He shed His blood for our sins that we might be saved, that we might have forgiveness. That was a provision, but how many do we have walking around on the earth today who have never taken advantage of that provision? It is for them. He died that you might have life and have it abundantly, but the majority of the population on earth today do not have it because they don’t believe and do not accept it. But it is a provision that has been made and that is what this scripture says. All things pertaining unto life and godliness have been given to us as a provision. It’s a matter of us receiving that that has already been given.

Now, the first chapter of I Peter talks about the same thing.

I Peter 1:3-4 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to His abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
4 To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you.

What’s Peter talking about here? The same thing as he was talking about in II Peter, but he says, “It is in reserved in heaven for you.” That does not mean that it is up there somewhere and once you get there it is yours. It is reserved in the heavenly realm, or in the spiritual realm. You can receive it right now; it’s reserved for you. Now, how long is it going to be in reserve waiting on you to receive it?

II Peter 1:2-3 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,
3 According as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who hath called us to glory and virtue.

“Lord, let this be written upon our hearts that we always remember that according to Your divine power You have given unto us all things – not just a few – but all things that pertain unto life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who has called us to glory and virtue.”

II Peter1:4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding …

Peter keeps emphasizing that there is more than what you imagine.

II Peter1:4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these you might be … forgiven of your sins? No! ... that you might be partakers of the divine nature …

When Jesus said He was the Son of God, the Pharisees said, “Blasphemy! That is blasphemy!” because to be a son means that you are the same as. “He makes Himself to be equal to God!” That’s blasphemy they said, but that is exactly what the Lord is. He has given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these you might be partakers of the divine nature. He is the divine nature! He doesn’t want us to know ABOUT Him. He wants us to KNOW Him because we are experiencing His life.

A young man and a young woman gets married and they have some romantic love for each other, but they don’t really know each other. But let them live together for 30 or 40 years. During that time he is experiencing her life and the world that she lives in and she’s experiencing his life and the world he lives in. The two worlds are becoming one world, one life. Now that is love. That is oneness. Now they know each other. That’s the way it is with God. God says, “You just know a little about Me. You’ve read the Scriptures and you know a little, but I want you to experience My life, and I have given these exceeding great and precious promises that by these you might be partakers of the divine nature. Take advantage of it, sons and daughters.” What did Peter say? Grace and peace be multiplied unto you. God really does want to give you life and to give you that life more abundantly.

Now, there is one example from the Old Testament that I like to use in closing this. In Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5 you will find the Ten Commandments listed. About in the middle of those commandments is one that says, “Thou shalt not steal.” You may wonder why in the world God would put that as one of the Ten Commandments. Thou shalt not steal. Anybody knows that it is not right to steal something that belongs to someone else. If someone steals something that is yours, you don’t like it and you know it’s wrong. We do not really need a commandment to tell us “Do not steal.”

We understand the Scriptures are very mystical. Jesus gave parables and He taught using spiritual examples. Many times, like in Matthew 13 after He gave that parable of the sower, the disciples came and said, “Master, they don’t understand what You are talking about. They don’t get it.” Jesus said, “I know. It is not given for them to understand. It is given for you to understand” (Matthew 13:1-11). Those who really have a heart, who really want to know the Lord, He opens the way for them to get it. So we understand that the Scriptures are very mystical and sometimes they are not easy to understand.

Sometimes it is necessary to check the original writings. The Old Testament was written in Hebrew and is translated into English. The New Testament was written in Greek. Very often when you go back to the original Hebrew or Greek, you will find that the word order is a little different because, lo and behold, sometimes the translators would translate leaning more toward the way they believe it than the way it really is. When you check the Hebrew on “Thou shalt not steal,” you find out that in the Hebrew it is talking about man-stealing.

“Oh, you shouldn’t steal a person.”

It’s more than that. Israel was a covenant community. They were considered as God’s people. So, we understand that the scripture was speaking of something more than kidnapping somebody or stealing something that belongs to someone. Today, there is a lot to be said about abortions, a big argument. Some people think abortion is okay; some are very much against it. You are killing a life that could be born.

That’s kind of what God is talking about when He said, “Thou shalt not steal.” Thou shalt not steal the man. Thou shall not steal what God wants him to be. So when a person repents, he becomes a Christian but he is in a church that doesn’t minister the fullness, the grace and peace is not multiplied unto him. He is getting some life, but he’s not getting it abundantly and he does not grow and become what God wants him to be. What has happened? The life that he could have in God has been stolen. There are a lot of churches today that are guilty of stealing lives by not allowing the people to become what God wants them to be.

What does God want you to obtain to? What does He want you to become? Well, He says, Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, according as His divine power hath given unto us…or made a provision for us, it has all been done. Now, you say, “Well, Jesus shed His blood for me, I accept that and I’m forgiven of my sins.” If that is all you are getting you are cheating yourself because there is a whole lot more given in provision through that one sacrifice than just a little forgiveness. You can be forgiven of your sins, but do you not know that your human nature is sin and everything that comes out of it is sin? Just because you have been forgiven doesn’t mean your nature has been changed.

Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these you might be partakers of the divine nature. So how much of God do you want in your life? He is not limited with what we can have. He is only limited by how much we want. Not only can churches that you attend steal what you are to become, but you can steal it yourself. You can be guilty of not appropriating and not receiving that that God has laid up for you. It has been laid up for you, it is waiting for you. All you have to do is say, “Lord, I want You. I want You in my life. I want to know You fully. I want to experience Your life. I want to go all the way with You, whatever that is. I don’t want to think like a human anymore. I want to start thinking like You do.” Amen.