1. 2 Peter 1 1 Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Savior Jesus Christ: 2 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 that hath called us to glory and virtue: January 6, 2010

2. 4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the Divine Nature , having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; 6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; 7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.

3. 4 Whereby -- by the Power of God that has given us all that we need to live a blessed and godly life. are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: -- all the Promises of Scripture are ours for a purpose in God's Plan. that by these ye might be partakers of the Divine Nature , -- through the Word by the Holy Spirit, receiving the Promises of God in faith, we take on God's Nature. having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. -- all the pleasures and riches of the world are rotton; we succumb to their temptation because of the lust of our carnal nature; we escape by the Power of God .

4. 5 And beside this (in addition to all that God has done for us and in us) , giving all diligence (making every effort) , add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; 6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; 7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. We grow into spiritual maturity as we add to our God-given faith the attributes of godliness .

5. 5… giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue ; manly courage and excellence We are taught, yea commanded, to make every effort to grow in the Lord. To your God-given faith, you add virtue. Have the courage and the will to live such a life as God would have us to live.

6. And (you add) to virtue knowledge; After we have the courage and the will to live a life of excellence , we must know God's Will according to His Word, as revealed by His Spirit. Know excellence Hearken

7. 6a And (add) to knowledge temperance ; Discipline and control to live in godly moderation. This is the opposite of self-indulgent.

8. 6b and (you add) to temperance patience ; to cheerfully continue and endure in doing right. It's not all duty; it's not a burden. 1 John 5 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His Commandments: and His Command-ments are not grievous .

9. 6c and (add) to patience godliness ; living life God's Way; godly mindset : Pleasing God is our only concern. "Not my will, but Thine be done." If the Bible teaches us to do, we strive cheerfully to do it with our whole heart. If the Bible teaches us to avoid it, we cheerfully avoid it with our whole heart.

10. 7a And to godliness (add) brotherly kindness; philadelphos -- fraternal affection; friendship … with tender affection to all fellow Christians, who are children of the same Father, servants of the same Master, members of the same family, travelers to the same country, heirs of the same inheritance. Matthew Henry Concise Bible Commentary. This is the opposite of harsh and critical, skeptical, condescending or ridiculing. We are to live in this family in an understanding way .

11. 7b and to brotherly kindness (add) charity . agape Agape is the highest level of love, And the highest level of Christian living . 1 Corinthians 13 4-8a Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth: …

12. This has been a brief look at what it means to grow into spiritual maturity . We could spend weeks and months on it. In fact, we will spend the rest of our lives striving with all diligence to grow into these godly traits. You think you're a man, measure yourself by this. Never lower the standard. Strive for excellence.