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The Connecting Point

The Connecting Point

Words of Faith 2-27-2020

Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2020

Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com

Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL

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Introduction - The brief second letter of Peter was written to Christians to whom he had written before.  The letter was intended for a mixture of Jewish and Gentile churches of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia.  Peter was both a concerned pastor and a champion of theological orthodoxy. This final impassioned plea to grow in Christian maturity and guard against false teachers was precipitated by the fact that His time was short and that these congregations faced immediate danger. He desired to refresh their memories and stimulate their thinking so that they would remember his teaching. He carefully described the characteristics of mature believers. He challenged them to make every effort to grow in grace and knowledge. Credentials of true teachers were given to help the readers be discerning students of God's Word. Peter cautioned them against false teachers and exposed their evil characteristics. And he encouraged his readers with the certainty of Christ's return.

The purpose of 2 Peter is to call Christians to spiritual growth so that they can combat apostasy as they look forward to the Lord's return.

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2 Peter 1

    Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,

    To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours: [2] Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

 

       How do you build a bridge to greatly varied people?  Peter was writing to Hebrew believers and Gentile believers.  Both were vital to the church and part of the expanding Body of Christ. He wanted to make a connection with both, but not to the exclusion of either.  Peter seems to have reached for this connection in an interesting way.

       The most reliable manuscripts of 2 Peter have the direct transliteration of the Hebrew 'Symeon' instead of the common Greek spelling of his name 'Simon.'  Peter combined these distinctly Hebrew and Greek names in an unusual way, perhaps as an effort to connect with this mixed audience of Hebrew and Greek Christians.

        But we also don't want to miss the fact that Peter also added the term 'servant' - doulos, literally "slave" to his title apostle of Jesus Christ.  Near the close of his life, at the apex of his apostolic authority, he was Christ's servant first, and His apostle second. 

        This towering Apostle addressed his readers as those who have received a faith as precious as ours through the righteousness of our God and Savior.  He expressed a commonality among those who had recently come to faith and those, like himself, who had walked with Jesus during His earthly ministry.  The Greek word translated "precious" actually means of equal value or honor.  Peter did not see himself in any way as greater or more honorable or valuable than any other believer.

        To this, Peter added a word of blessing-- Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.  This was not a mere formula.  Grace and peace found only through the knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord. 

        How do we build a bridge in a world that is exceedingly diverse?  How do we connect with believers in a Body of Christ that has many different sorts of people?  

        Perhaps we do so in much the same way.  We search for commonality.  How are we more like each other than different?  What are the common experiences in life that we share?  In what ways are even our names a connection between diverse cultures that appear so very different?  Can we make the connections?

         A second point has to be in taking on the humility of Peter, which is the humility of Christ.  We share a common hope and faith that is precious.  Our hope and faith come through the righteousness of our God and Savior.  None is above another. 

         And so also, we share blessing.  We bless one another-- Grace and peace be yours, dear friend, in great abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.  This is the connecting point.

 

         Father God, teach me how to connect.  Teach me to reach those who are quite different from me and to find the commonality with my brothers and sisters with whom I share such a precious faith.  Teach me how to bless others, not curse them, or ignore them.  Teach me the way of connection.  In Jesus' Name.

 

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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, and our website, and our church app, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2010 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.  

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