Today I am reprinting a post I read yesterday by John Ruso. His passion for the Word gushes out of this post. I was getting ready to write a blog on 2 Peter 1:3-11 when I read what John wrote from 2 Peter 1:2-4. After I read it I knew I needed to share it before writing mine. I pray this impacts you like it did me.
John wrote…
“Realizing the goodness of God is the highest prayer…” Julian of Norwich
Once you realize there’s nothing left to ask God for, you can start enjoying what he’s already given you….
I’ve selected a portion of scripture with massive implications that we hardly get a glimpse of.
It’s 2 Peter 1:2-4 which carries so much juicyness which says:
“Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.” – 2 Peter 1:2-4 NASB1995
I’ve copied out the Greek words used as well as their possible meanings and updated the semantics to draw out the insane greatness of this thing we call the Gospel. Enjoy looking through the Greek and exploring Papa’s profound implications waiting to be found below the surface.
“May goodness and wholeness fill you to bursting as you uncover first-hand the experience of God’s unending embrace of you through our Living Salvation Jesus, Who holds and sustains you completely.
Recognizing that, through His inherently divine capacity, He has already freely given you every piece of the puzzle you’ll ever need to once again find yourself intimately co-existing in His eternal life and producing in you an overflow that reflects having a heart divinely influenced and set in awe toward Him. As you continuously respond to His personal invitations He will shed light ever-freshly and deeply on the reasons that compel Him to offer you His most precious and greatest promised gifts, which He offers to you before you think to ask.
With His aim being that you may come back into the realization that He always intended you to be a companion and joint-participant in the originality and uniqueness of His divine nature. The result of this dynamic fellowship and elevation of your consciousness back to the root-cause of your origin is what empowers you to fully break away from the corruption and decay influencing the world systems that misprioritize their focus to work passionately for the very things that your Father has already planned to give you, through relationship, in the right due time.”
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Zeh text….
grace | and peace | be multiplied:
charis: (a) grace, as a gift or blessing brought to man by Jesus Christ, (b) favor, (c) gratitude, thanks, (d) a favor, kindness. preeminently used of the Lord’s favor – freely extended to give Himself away to people (because He is “always leaning toward them”).
eiréné: one, peace, quietness, rest, peace of mind. wholeness, i.e. when all essential parts are joined together; peace (God’s gift of wholeness).
pléthunó: to increase, to be increased. made full, especially to maximum capacity (potential); hence, “multiplied; to increase, multiply”
to you in the knowledge | of God | and of Jesus | our Lord:
epignósis: knowledge of a particular point (directed towards a particular object); perception, discernment, recognition, intuition. “knowledge gained through first-hand relationship”) – properly, “contact-knowledge” that is appropriate (“apt, fitting”) to first-hand, experiential knowing.
theos: God. the Creator and owner of all things
Iésous: Jesus or Joshua, the name of the Messiah, Jesus, the transliteration of the Hebrew term, Lṓt (“Yehoshua”/Jehoshua, contracted to “Joshua”) which means “Yahweh saves” (or “Yahweh is salvation).
kurios: lord, master. a person exercising absolute ownership rights; lord (Lord).
seeing | that his divine | power:
hós: as, like as, even as, when, since, as long as
theios – divine, manifesting the characteristics of God’s nature.
dunamis – “Ability to perform”; for the believer, power to achieve by applying the Lord’s inherent abilities. “Power through God’s ability”
has granted | to us everything:
dóreomai – I give, grant, donate. to give as a gift (give freely).
pas – (“each, every”) means “all” in the sense of “each (every) part that applies.” The emphasis of the total picture then is on “one piece at a time.”
pertaining:
pros – motion towards to “interface with” (literally, moving toward a goal or destination). indicates “extension toward a goal, with implied interaction or reciprocity with “presumed contact and reaction”, pros naturally suggests the cycle of initiation and response
to life:
zóé – life, both of physical and of spiritual existence. All life throughout the universe, is derived – i.e. it always (only) comes from and is sustained by God’s self-existent life. The Lord intimately shares His gift of life with people, creating each in His image which gives all the capacity to know His eternal life.
and
godliness: eusebeia – someone’s inner response to the things of God which shows itself in godly piety (reverence). “godly heart-response”.
through | the true knowledge:
dia – by the instrumentality of, through, on account of, by reason of. (“thoroughly,” literally, “successfully” across to the other side).
epignósis – knowledge gained through first-hand relationship”) – “contact-knowledge” that is appropriate (“apt, fitting”) to first-hand, experiential knowing.
of Him who called | by His own | glory | and excellence:
kaleó – I call, summon, invite
idios – uniquely one’s own, peculiar to the individual to his emphatic adjective means ‘private, personal’
doxa – an especially divine quality, the unspoken manifestation of God, splendor. Doxa conveys God’s infinite, intrinsic worth (substance, essence).
areté – goodness, a gracious act, virtue (“moral excellence”) which is displayed to enrich life.
for by these | He has granted | to us His precious | and magnificent | promises:
hos – that
dóreomai – I give, grant, donate. to give as a gift (give freely).
timios – of great price, precious, honored. valuable as having recognized value in the eyes of the beholder. the value (weight, honor) willingly assigned to something.
megistos – greatest, the superlative (“-est form”) of 3173 (mégas) meaning (the) “very greatest” (ultimate).
epaggelma – a promise, (epággelma) focuses on the result(s) of God’s promise. “In Classical Greek, 1862 /epággelma (“promises”) are “voluntarily or spontaneously made,” as opposed to hyposxeseis (‘promises made in response to a petition’)”
so | that by them you may become:
hina: in order that, that, so that. for the purpose that (in order that), looking to the aim (intended result) of the verbal idea.
ginomai: to come into being, to happen, to become. to emerge, become, transitioning from one point (realm, condition) to another. (gínomai) means to come into being/manifestation implying motion, movement, or growth” (at 2 Pet 1:4). Thus it is used for God’s actions as emerging from eternity and becoming (showing themselves) in time (physical space).
partakers | of the divine | nature:
koinónos: a sharer, partner, companion. a participant who mutually belongs and shares fellowship; a “joint-participant.” /koinōnía (a feminine noun) stresses the relational aspect of the fellowship. /koinōnós (a masculine noun) more directly focuses on the participant himself (herself).
theios: divine, the Deity. manifesting the characteristics of God’s nature.
phusis: nature, inherent nature, origin, birth. inner nature, the underlying constitution or make-up of someone (something).
having escaped | the corruption | that is in the world | by lust:
apopheugó: to flee from, escape. underlines the previous (undesirable) connection – hence, also the need to move on “escaping by flight”, emphasizes separation – a full breaking away from the previous situation.
phthora: corruption, destruction, decay, rottenness, decomposition. destruction from internal corruption (deterioration, decay); “rottenness, perishableness, corruption, decay, decomposition”
kosmos: the world, universe; worldly affairs; the inhabitants of the world; adornment. “something ordered”, an “ordered system” (like the universe, creation); the world.
epithumia: desire, eagerness for, inordinate desire, lust. from /epí, “focused on” and /thymós, “passionate desire”) – passion built on strong feelings (urges). These can be positive or negative, depending on whether the desire is inspired by faith (God’s inbirthed persuasion).
Thank you John for allowing me to share your heart and insights in…
…Eric’s Life Lesson # 147: “There is so much more available.”