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. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
These are not my words. I agree with them and I would like to share them but I am not in a position to claim them for myself.
I send out greetings to a list of believers I hope are of equal standing as stated in the opening sentence. I hope but I do not know. These words were sent to a people the author knew and ended up in a bible that anyone can buy and read.
The author knew those who received his message and could make claims about those he knew. This bible is shared with anyone and everyone who can read for a reason which no one but the reader can understand.
The comment; having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire, may not apply to every reader. I hope that it does, but that is not for me to know. Some words bless and those same words can convict depending on the reader.
“For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
So often we copy and paste scriptures because we wish to extend brotherly love to the lost and then I remember these words were sent to believers, not the lost. As I read all these characteristics I find brotherly love as the last attribute listed.
Did the author forget that Jesus told him personally Matthew 5:44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
Little did this author know his fine words would reach out to people he did not know and who had no knowledge of those precious and very great promises. Perhaps someone reading this would like to know about those promises. I can only hope. That is in God’s control, not mine.