“Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
“His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire” (2 Peter 1:1-4 ESV).
Does it strike you as interesting or unique that Peter described this faith in Jesus Christ in the way that he did? Now, different translations say it in different ways, but the meaning of the word is “equivalent, equal, having the same (equal) value deserving equal respect; equal in honor; of a consistent value” (source: biblehub.com interlinear). So, why do you think that he made that distinction? Why call it a faith of “equal value/standing”?
But before we answer that question, I would like to ask, “What is faith?” The word means to “be persuaded.” And we read in the Scriptures that Jesus is the author and the perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:1-2), and that our faith is gifted to us by God, and that it is not of our own doing (Ephesians 2:8-10; John 1:12-13). And we read that we can’t even come to faith in Jesus Christ unless God the Father first draws us to Christ (John 6:44).
And what does it mean “to draw us to Christ”? It has a similar meaning to the word “persuade.” For it has to do with our Lord influencing, convincing, inducing, and appealing to us to put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ to be Lord (Owner-Master) and Savior of our lives. But even that is not the totality of the persuasion. For he persuades us as to his holiness and righteousness, and of our sinfulness, and of our need to repent of sin and to obey him.
Therefore, a faith of equal standing, of equal value as that of the NT apostles is a God-persuaded and a God-gifted faith which is aligned with God’s will and purpose for our lives, and it is not of our own doing, nor of the will and the flesh of man. So we don’t get to define this faith, and we don’t get to determine what this faith looks like, in practice, either. God does, and his word does, and so we need to know what his word teaches on “faith.”
So, what is this “faith” that the NT apostles and Jesus taught? It is submission to God’s will and purpose for our lives. It involves death to sin, not just once, but daily, and it involves us walking in holiness and in righteousness, in obedience to our Lord, in the power of God, by his Spirit, in daily practice, not necessarily in absolute perfection. But lack of perfection is never to be used as an excuse for continued willful, deliberate, and habitual sinning against the Lord and against other humans.
[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]
And, thus, it is critical that we distinguish this faith from man-created faith which does not submit to God’s will and purpose for our lives, and which does not forsake sinful practices, and which does not walk in holiness and in righteousness in obedience to our Lord, in practice, but which gives its adherents free license to continue living in sin while promising them heaven as their eternal destiny, which is a lie straight from hell.
For we cannot claim the promises of God intended for those of God-persuaded faith in Jesus Christ if what we are believing is that we can continue living in sin, only now without having to feel guilty about it, and while claiming heaven as our eternal home. For the Scriptures make it quite clear that if sin is what we practice, and not righteousness, and not obedience to God, we will NOT inherit eternal life with God.
But to those of us of this “equal faith” as that of the NT apostles, God’s divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence. And there you have it right there! We who are of “equal” faith with that of the NT apostles are called to godliness and to holy living in the power of God. How we live our lives is to be for the glory of God, and not for self.
And by this he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them we may become partakers of the DIVINE NATURE, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. How can that be more clear? It can’t! This “equal faith” is a faith that leads us to forsake our lives of sin to now follow our Lord in obedience to his commands and to live holy lives, pleasing to the Lord (see verses above).
Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer
Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897
Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897
Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.
Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,
Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,
Seeking the wandering sinner to find.
O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,
Holy and harmless, patient and brave;
Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing to suffer others to save.
O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,
Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;
Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
Fit me for life and Heaven above.
Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,
Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrYhiK2nQBg
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