2 Peter 1:5-7 "For this very reason, you must make every effort to support your faith..."

Comment:

Dear Friend,

Your request is simply for "Peter 1:5-7." I'm going to assume you mean 2 Peter, since the corresponding verses in 1 Peter don't stand alone. In 2 Peter 1:5-7 we read: "For this very reason, you must make every effort to support your faith with goodness, and goodness with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with endurance, and endurance with godliness, and godliness with mutual affection, and mutual affection with love" (NRSV).   Since the letter, or testament, was apparently written in the final years of the first Christian century or the early years of the second, there is no reason to assume that it was by the disciple known as Simon Peter. Writing in the name of, and after the teachings of, a well-known Church figure was a very common practice at the time.   It is written at a time of great persecution for followers of Jesus Christ, and it shares with the Revelation to John an apocalyptic sense that the world is an inherently evil place and salvation from its snares and pitfalls is challenging. It begins with the affirmation that Lord Jesus has, through his teachings and life, given us everything we need to "escape from the corruption that is in the world because of lust" (2 Pet. 1:4). Still, it requires more than simple faith in Jesus to "become participants of the divine nature." We must put the teachings into practice in our lives, constantly adding to our faith-based repertoire of spiritual choices as our consciousness expands to encompass goodness, knowledge, self-control, endurance, godliness, mutual affection and love.   What seems clear to me in reading through the progressive list is that the author is defining the power and strength of spiritual community. We may begin with a sense of individual faith. But the more advanced we become in spiritual expression, the more we need the support of a spiritual community to help us practice and develop the qualities that culminate in mutual affection and love. This is the essence of why we come together in Unity centers – not out of a belief that there is “more God” in the center than elsewhere in our lives, but so that together we can progress through the challenges, ultimately extending to others the unconditional love that will bring into expression the kingdom of heaven.   Blessings!

Rev. Ed