Bible Verse: ” According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue”– 2 Peter 1:3.
Bible Passage: 2 Peter 1:3-7.
Introduction
There are two root words in Greek translated virtue. The first is “dunamis” as in Luke 6:19; 8:46 meaning “miraculous power”. The second is “arete” meaning “moral excellence” or “goodness”. A virtue is a right inner disposition, and a disposition is a tendency to act in a certain way. It is not a sudden impulse but a settled habit of mind. Virtues are general character traits that provide inner sanctions on our particular motives, intentions and outward product.
Lesson Outlines
1. How to achieve virtue (Excellence)
2. The desire to excel
Our God is excellent in all ways (Ps. 76:4; Matt. 5:48). He expects His children to be like Him. (Gen. 17:1; 1Peter 1:15-16). Hence, the main aim of a Christian should be to walk to please God. Virtue is attainable only I’d we follow the divine guidelines (Phil. 4:8).
2Peter 1:5-7 tell us how to achieve virtue. It is like a ladder;the attaining of one leads to the next, and so on. The sequence begins with faith and ends with love. Without faith, nobody can have virtue. Faith supplies moral excellence as taught in the Bible (Heb. 11:6). After we have attained some knowledge, we add self control, or self discipline. This is the opposite of the excess of the world.
Perseverance means to view the unfolding of time with God’s eyes. (2 Peter 3:8-9; Heb. 12:2; Matt. 6:33). Godliness means that we have a very practical awareness of God in every aspect of our life (1 Timothy 6:6: 2 Peter 1:3). Kindness is described here as ‘philadelphia’, the kind of love that we have for brothers and sisters. The most magnificent virtue of all: Christian love. These love is ” agape” abd results in self-sacrificing action for another (1 Cor. 13; John 3:16; 1 John 3:16).
The Desire To Excel
The desire to excel comes with the recognition of excellence and the consciousness of falling short of it. The goal is to be like Jesus Christ because He is the glory of God revealed ( Heb. 1:3; John 17; Romans 3:23 ). This desire to excel also involves a willingness to work hard towards perfection (Luke 10:17-20; Matt. 17: 15-21). There must also be a willingness to be taught, not only by those who are in a higher position but by anyone regardless of position or age (1 Cor. 1:19-29).
CONCLUSION
Now we see that if we indeed have these virtues as an integral part of our being, and if they continue to increase as we apply them, then we lead a useful, fruitful life for Christ.
QUESTIONS
1. What is the will of God for his children?
2. How would you recognize the desire to excel in yourself?
Action Point
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I know you might agree with some of the points that I have raised in this article. You might not agree with some of the issues raised. Let me know your views about the topic discussed. We will appreciate it if you can drop your comment. Thanks in anticipation.
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