“But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.
For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
II Peter 1:6-8
The Puritan preacher, Jonathan Edwards, says that if people wants to enjoy salvation and if they want assurance that they are saved, they should look at their lives to see if they are becoming more like Christ. Peter now tells us the pinnacle of becoming like Christ – we show love to all men. Brotherly kindness shown first within the family of God does not, cannot, stop there. Just as Christ loved the rich young ruler who turned his back on Him, we are to look on all people who Christ came to save, even our enemies, with love and compassion.
Peter is discussing in this section our spiritual growth, our sanctification. He gives us areas that we should give all diligence to. If we want to become like Christ, (true Christians should have that desire) then we will make an effort, give our consent and time, to focus on the characteristics that Peter describes.
While we can produce none of these in our own strength, only God can do that, we are involved in the process by making the time and effort to read God’s word, to pray for these characteristics in our lives and to repent when we do not demonstrate them.
This last characteristic of brotherly love can only come from God. This love is agape love, the love that sacrifices for others. It is the love of the cross. It is interesting to note that the first time this word, agape, is used in the New Testament is in the Lord’s great prophetic discourse delivered a few days before the cross in Matthew 24. There he warns the disciples that in the last days, “and because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold”. Just as in the days before the flood and in Sodom and Gomorrah, in the last days before the Tribulation and the return of the Lord, people will become self-centered. Agape love will be almost gone from earth.
We know that the way we allow others to see Christ through us is by agape love. “By this shall all men know you are my disciples, if you love one another.” Remember the Jews marveling at the love of the Lord for Lazarus at his death? “How he loved him!” This is the kind of amazement God wants to show the world through us. How does that manifest itself in our lives? This is so important Paul gives us a detailed description of the facets of agape love in I Corinthians 13. When we see ourselves living that way, powered by the Spirit
of God, we know we are growing in grace to become what God wants us to be – like Christ.
What can we learn? Agape love is the highest standard of our behavior. First it is universal in nature. There is absolutely no one God does not “agape” love. (Phileo love which is deep fellowship is never used of God with sinners. They cannot abide with Him until they respond in humility and repentance to His agape love.) Second agape love is never based on how we are treated or the response we receive. Agape love continues to demonstrate itself despite the other person’s reaction or series of reactions. Third agape love is the culmination of spiritual growth. We won’t, can’t show agape love consistently if faith,
virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness and brotherly kindness are not being pursued with all diligence. So Peter ends the process of spiritual maturity with love while Paul begins the list of fruit of the spirit with love.
What is the point? Paul speaks to the love we express in getting to know and adore our Savior. Peter discusses what God creates
as we become spiritual mature. It is through studying God’s word, getting to know and love Him and obeying His commandments that we grow to be able to love the unlovable. That is the state we were in
when Christ reached out to save us. It is the highest level of evidence of Christ in us.