Where is the explosive dunamis power seen in the New Testament today? When will the Church be established in the "multiplied" "grace & peace" of God? Have you set your sights too low?
Receiving Sustenance vs. Fulfillment of Promises: There is a Difference
We are by the Lord: "Your heavenly Father knows your need. First pursue the kingdom of God & His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you. So don't worry for tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself" (Mt.6:32b-34a; 21CLV). This is Christ calling us to "trust" God in childlike faith (Pro.3:5-6; Mt.18:4-5). For Jesus to emphasize "first pursue the kingdom of God & His righteousness" makes it clear: constant provision & oversight from Father God is guaranteed to those whose heart & life prioritizes Him above all else. Period. Whatever "today" may hold, God will freely move with you as you move with Him (Heb.3:5-4:7).
Although walking with God daily is certainly what it takes to stay in place in order to progress into promise fulfillment, the power for them to be accomplished is something different altogether. Such power goes far beyond that of a grace to be sustained & continually cared for. Manna in the wilderness was one thing; it kept the children of Israel going. It did not defeat their enemies. For them to see Jericho fall in conquest took an act of God which otherwise would have never, ever been accomplished.
Supplying Your Need so You can Follow God's Lead
Clearly, being "added unto" is the way God keeps us supplied with what we need. Yet, when it comes to the promises we receive, believe & stand on, we must use that provision to walk forward & possess them by following His direction. Most of what God specifically promises us is designed to bring about revolutionary changes to our lives. Patterns of the past & perhaps many present ways of life must be abandoned in order to attain them. Settling for a framework of simply being "added unto" is insufficient to address such changes, too low a level, actually to live visionless (Pro.29:18). True, being "added unto" is a dimension of God's movement-economy in our lives, but it is only ours to function by in order to arrive at another, one which takes us past just continuing as we have.
"Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ: Grace & peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God & of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life & godliness through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious & magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature…" (2 Peter1:2-4a)
Simon Peter reveals Christ's apostolic blessing to move beyond surviving into thriving, from striving to arriving (see also verse 5-13). We see something here far beyond trust for the "dailies." This "grace" & corresponding ability to have "peace" enables you to move into "everything pertaining to life & godliness." It enables you to actually obey the command "don't worry for tomorrow" that being "added unto" is intended to assure you of. Instead of fighting the flesh by the Word, there is a "grace & peace" God has for us in Christ to become "multiplied," to fully subdue these concerns. This is another dimension of life in God altogether.
This is so that we can see what God has in store: "His precious & magnificent promises." These are not to be compared with the "daily bread" (Mt. 6:11). Instead, these "precious & magnificent promises" invite, require & then elevate us to a new stature in the Lord through "the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence." It is no longer a matter of just continuing as we are. To make the shift, we must move with "Him who called us" into a "knowledge" of Him deep enough to "recognize," "fully discern" & "acknowledge*" Him in all aspects of life (epignosis, Strong's #1921 *see Pro. 3:5-6). It is a call not only "by" but also to "His own glory and excellence."
The Lord's call through the apostle is very clear. Father God does not just commit to providing & sustaining us as we are; He has "called us" to something greater: a "multiplied" dimension of knowing Him in heart & trusting Him to live & work through our very lives. Whereas at the "daily" level of being "added unto" we must be told not to "worry," such anxiety & fear is no longer even "on the table" when we are "multiplied." Through this God fully establishes the "assurance" which moves us past an unbelieving self-focus rooted in personal cares (Heb.11:1).
Not Just "God can," but "He is" & Will not Fail
The "multiplied" dimension of "grace & peace" is the gateway to become "persuaded" about the promises we receive. These grab ahold of our hearts & know them to be true because they (1) witness to our spirit in the Spirit & (2) always point far beyond being secured as we are. They call & then lead us to our unique place as members of Christ's Body to Abraham's descendency to "be a blessing" (2 Tim. 1:12; Gen.12:1-3; Gal. 3:6-29).
How is all this accomplished? It takes place by actually receiving the "grace & peace…multiplied" through "His divine power" (dunamis). It is only through the supernatural power of the Spirit we find that "His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life & godliness through the true knowledge of Him." Without that "true knowledge" of the Spirit in "divine power," we are left only with a God of principles, doctrines & methods in matters of Christ's salvation given for improving our skills & increasing our performance.
Using Paul's language of Christ's DNA as corollary, it is establishing you as the "new creature" in Christ as the reality of your everyday life (2 Cor. 5:17). This means walking in a "grace & peace" being "multiplied" restores actual integrity to you possessing the "image of God" (Gen.1:26-27; 5:2; 9:6). Today, the common reference to this refers to being a "human being." According to the Word, however, the "image of God" restored applies to those who can "be conformed to the image of the Son" (Ro. 8:29). And through Peter we are helped to see that this is inseparable from participating in "His divine power," which is what enables us to become "partakers of the divine nature" (Ro. 8:29).
Through the "grace & peace" being "multiplied," promises will "dwell in your hearts by faith," not just spark your natural creativity only to find it ultimately confounded by circumstantial impossibilities & personal inabilities (Eph.3:17). The "precious & magnificent promises," "living & active" within, actually change us, because through them we take on "the divine nature" (Heb. 4:12; See also Hab. 2:1-4). Then, it is no longer about what we can't do that must be first overcome, it is a matter of what has been set in place for us to walk with Him into.
Bill Click
