APPLES OF GOLD

Second Peter.1:1-2 Salutations, The Faith of Jesus Christ  saves. Transcription of an informal study

Saint  Peter, prior to his departure from this world,  penned his last pastoral address to his struggling Christian communities in Asia.

He was fulfilling the pointed charge given to him by Christ, “feed my sheep.”  Indeed ,as a good shepherd,  he would soon be laying down his life for his sheep,  being crucified,  tradition  says,  for his belief in Christ.

What particularly occupied him  was that  after his departure wolves would enter into the Christian  community and disrupt them by bringing in  heresy, that is false teaching,  encouraging loose living, thereby causing Christians to fall  from grace,  denying Christ and therefore bringing judgment upon themselves and a multitude of many other errors which we will look at.  In a short letter of three chapters of 61 verses  he attempts then  to establish  his flock  one more time before his departure.

And so, the Apostle  begins following the standard epistle greeting desiring  God’s blessing  upon the readers.

“Simon Peter  a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ,  to them that have obtained like precious faith  with  us by the righteousness of God and Jesus our Savior.  According as his divine power has given unto us  all things that pertain unto life and godliness through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue.”

His readers  have  been  given the gift of faith , a faith he notes which is given  by  God’s righteousness. 

  “En dikaiosune  tou Theou”  Faith  finds it’s source in  God’s righteousness.  Righteousness is a term misunderstood.  Dikaiosune is the greek  word usually translated as righteousness.  In  the Septuagint,  the Greek version of the OT,  it’s the equivalent of God’s steadfastness to fulfill His promises. For instance. David cries in Ps. 142:11 En th  dikaiosunh  sou  eisakouson mou.  In your righteousness hear me.

The Hebrew text  says in your  steadfastness,  b-amunah(the same root  for the word amen), hear me.

God’s  righteousness is His steadfast faithfulness.

Peter is saying then that we have  faith,  we trust God,  because  God   has been faithful  in  manifesting His love to  us.  We love Him because He first loved us (I Jn).  We believe because  He is faithful  to us,  and desires us to enter into  covenant with Him,  to enter into communion.  

Now st Paul  mentions this several times in his epistles. The famous verse on justification.

“Now the just shall live by  faith”  quoted in Romans 1:17.  This is a quote from  Habbakuk  2:4.  I want you  to notice the precise septuagint rendering.

“O de dikaios ek pistews  mou  zhsetai”

The righteous  are delivered,  they  live  from  God’s faith.  Ek  pistews  mou.

We are saved by God’s faith, more accurately, His faithfulness.  I am saved because God  faithfully intervenes and grants  deliverance.  Not because I in myself (note  the key phrase in myself) perform  anything.  What is from  flesh  is flesh,  what is born  of Spirit is Spirit.

This  was Paul’s argument in the epistle to the Romans. 3:3-5

God’s promise was that Israel  would be saved. Yet the ethnic  Jews did not believe. They were blinded.  So how is God faithful then?  Notice this quip.

“What then?  If  some did not believe,  shall their  unbelief  make the faith  of God without  effect? God forbid let God but true and every man a liar.”

We are saved by God’s faithfulness not our own. Although, I will address synergy in another post seeing Peter does abundantly here as well.

This underscores a truth  Peter is making  which  he will state later in this opening.    The idea that this faith  comes from  God’s energy or activity.  

Notice Peter says, “God has given  unto us all things that pertain to life and godliness through  the knowledge of Him that called us  through  glory and virtue.”

Faith  is a manifestation (phanerosis) of His divine energy.

Paul  argues it this way  in his letter to the Corinthians.12:5-10

“Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. 6And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. 7But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. 8For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; 9To another faith by the same Spirit;...11But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will”  After all, faith is a fruit of the Spirit.

Faith  is specifically  said to be an  energy of God, a manifestation of His presence and work  within us. 

But while  faith  is a manifestation  of God’s Spirit this gift, like all others,  is dependent upon our  synergy,  our cooperation  with God (Which  we will address later).

Faith is a fruit of God’s Sprit.  It is something  uncreated. We must reach  out and take of the tree of life, of Jesus Christ, and taste this grace.

We may object and say  reaching out is the act of faith.

Did the Master say  in vain to seek gifts?  And yet faith is a one of the three main  gifts given (and told to be sought after)-  faith , hope and love being preeminent.  When  we touch  Christ we can  share in His faith  love and hope  and go beyond ourselves.  Men  in this world  have a belief-  devils  even believe and tremble.  But they do not have the faith of Christ.  That is proper to the Lord Himself  and He will  grant it when  we seek  Him.

Is our  faith weak?  There  is a remedy.  There is a balm in Gilead to  assuage us. 

Christ has promised, “ask and you will receive.”  Let us  remember that St.  Paul  tells us,”Covet the best gifts.”  We can  desire the gift of faith,  we can  by grace take the kingdom  of heaven  by violence and beg the Master for the crumbs from His table.

Is our faith  wavering? Let us not abandon  our first hope. And let us fear of not entering His kingdom.  For  “with many of them -the Jews who did not believe-  God was not well pleased, but overthrew them in the wilderness.”

Above all, let us fear of not pleasing the Master.

“For without faith  it is impossible to please Him.”  There is not greater loss than  the grace of His glance,  His satisfaction  expressed to  us.

May the Lord God strengthen the holy and pure faith of devout Orthodox Christians, and of His Holy Church, this city and parish, from all ages to all ages. Amen.