[Know This] Promises of a Precious FaithSýnishorn

My Precious

Peter addressed his second letter to a special group of people. He wrote to “those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.”

The phrase translated as “have obtained” literally means, “having received something by divine gracious will.” This conveys the idea that we didn’t earn it. It was given to us because God chose to endow it to us.

And what is it we have obtained? A faith of equal value, kind, and nature as the apostles’ faith, the same precious faith that Peter had. We don’t exercise our faith as well as the apostles did, but we have been graced with the same faith as the guy who walked on water, saw the transfiguration, was forgiven on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, and preached at Pentecost.

Peter is the only writer in the New Testament who used the word precious. He used it five times in this letter and five times in his previous letter.

There was a group that said they had a secret faith nobody else had. They were called the Gnostics. But Peter was saying, “No, in Christ, we all have it, and there is nothing secret about it.” He said we get this as a gift by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ, pointing out His divinity and work.

There are certain things that little kids enjoy doing with their fathers that they will never do with strangers or even with their grandparents because they don’t trust them as much as they trust their fathers. For example, a father can play rough with his daughter. He can hold her in the most uncomfortable positions, upside down, hanging by one leg, throwing her up in the air, no support, no net underneath her, and she's laughing and screaming because she trusts her father implicitly.

The faith that we have obtained is faith that trusts our Father implicitly.

When we receive the work of God in Christ Jesus, we are promised a precious faith. A precious faith of equal standing with the disciples, which no one can take away.

Father, I thank You that You haven’t made it difficult or a secret to know You and have a close relationship with You. You love us so much, and You made yourself easy to find. Thank you for giving us freely the same faith the apostles had.