5 Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, 6 and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, 7 and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.
The term, “for this reason,” means in view of all God’s blessings (from the previous verses); that after one becomes a Christian and a partaker of the divine nature, and having precious promises (in the word of God), so that we may escape the corruption in the world, we also must apply “all diligence—that is, give our best effort to the following things: 1) in our faith (the Christian’s gift from God) supply moral excellence. We are to live a good life of godly excellence; and since this excellence is only the first level of virtue, I think it may be a behavior that has not yet changed the heart completely 2) In this godly excellence we are to produce knowledge (the knowledge of God). That is, we are to take time to study the word of God in a pursuit of the knowledge of God, and to apply it. 3) Then, if the Christian is guided by knowledge he will learn to control his bodily desires—getting rid of lustful thoughts and habits. 4) This self-control ought to continue on, which is perseverance. 5) If your moral perseverance is strong it will produce godliness—always being obedient to God. 6) In your godliness, God will lead you to be kind toward other believers. 7) And then you will grow to have genuine love for everyone, always putting their need above your own. I see this list of virtues (or qualities) as levels of Christian growth—all of which are necessary in order to produce spiritual fruit that God desires (look at verses 8-9).
1 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:
Peter is writing to the same people as in his first letter—to those scattered… (1Pt. 1:1); to those who are believers like himself; to those who received faith by God’s righteousness. Hence, when God gives us His righteousness, He also gives us faith to believe in Him for salvation. Therefore, faith, along with His grace, is God’s gift to us for salvation (Eph. 2:8-9).
4 In all this, they are surprised that you do not run with them into the same excesses of dissipation, and they malign you; 5 but they will give account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.
Any time a believer who is living by faith mixes with non-believers, they will be surprised at his different lifestyle—that he does not indulge himself (in words or actions) as they do. Most of them think it is odd behavior. But a suppose some, secretly, wish they could be as he is. Peter gives this warning: that all will give an account to God for what they do (Rev. 20:11-15).
8 and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9 obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.
Peter correctly expresses every dedicated Christian’s attitude: though we can’t see Jesus we love Him, believe in Him and rejoice in Him—because of the salvation we have that is based on our faith.
It seems that the older I get the more my mind is on heaven. This is true especially if we have been diligent to walk in holiness. Then whenever you feel the pains of your old life you may be reminded that the new life is ahead.
But our assurance of heaven should not only be based on how we feel or on how we regard our holiness. We should base our assurance mainly on the promises of God. In 1 Peter 1:3-5 Peter speaks of our heavenly inheritance as a living hope.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
If you have been born again into a new life, your inheritance is heaven. It is God’s promise to you.
God has given us a down-payment on heaven. He has transferred our citizenship there. We ‘are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God’ (Eph. 2:19).3
In Philippians 3:20-21 Paul writes,
For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; 21 who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory…
Again, in Ephesians 2:19-21 Paul writes,
So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord.
It feels good to be a citizen of heaven. Here are seven blessings, and also responsibilities, that come from our heavenly citizenship.
As heavenly citizens we are welcome to sample all of the delights of heaven.
As citizens we are part of the family of God (Jn. 1:12; Eph. 2:19).
As citizens we have the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16).
As citizens we have new heavenly affections (Col. 3:1).
As citizens we are to be holy and without blame before Him in love (Eph. 1:4).
As citizens He has begun a good work in us (Phil. 1:6; Eph. 2:10).
As citizens He is conforming us to the image of His Son and making us fit for heaven (Rom. 8:30).
On a personal note, I like the idea of being a citizen of heaven because I feel that I am locked in—in a good way. I mean, nobody can take heaven away from me. I am a member. I am a legal citizen with full rights.
3 John MacArthur, The Glory of Heaven (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Books, 1996), p. 64.
So far, in previous posts, we have seen that we have the assurance of a heavenly inheritance; and we live now in the kingdom of God, which mysteriously is in us; Christ rules and reigns in our heart. And because we are born again spiritually we have a new life in Christ.
In 2 Corinthians 5:17 Paul writes, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”
I would like to take some time now to break this verse down. What does it mean that we as Christians are new creatures? I think it just means that we, being born again spiritually, are a new creation of God. Or we could say that we are regenerated—which means to give new life to. Here are a few verses that may shed some light on this.
In John 3:3 Jesus said to Nicodemus, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Yes, when we are born again it is only then that we can see and understand anything of God. By our new spiritual birth, we have a new understanding and a spiritual sight.
In Ephesians 2:1-5 Paul writes that we were dead to God in our sinful nature; we lived in sin. But God made us alive together with Christ. He gave us a new life.
In Titus 3:5 it says that we were saved by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit made us New creatures.
In 1 John 2:29 and 3:9 it tells us that all who practice righteousness are born of God; and all who practice sin are not born of God. Hence those who are born again and have a new regenerated life will love to do what is right; but those who do not have this new life in Christ are more prone to sin and follow their sinful nature.
The result of having this new self is that the old things of our past life are passed away—gone, and new thing have come. Now we still sin, but sin does not dominate or control us anymore. Our new nature is more dominate. We no longer live just for ourselves; we live for eternity and to please God. And we now have a spiritual mind—the mind of Christ. Let’s take some time now to list a few more things of our old life that are passed away.
Worldly values
Priorities that are worldly and selfish
Plans and ideas that are self-centered
Material thing that promote my popularity
And here are some things that have become new.
Values that are according to God’s word
Priorities that put God and others first
Belief that are in line with biblical truth
Plans and ideas that are according to what I think God would approve of
According to 2 Corinthians 5:18-20, I now have a new ministry of reconciliation and of proclaiming the gospel to others. I am now an ambassador for Christ.
Every believer when he is born again and is assured of an everlasting inheritance, is also miraculously, by the power of God, rescued from the domain of darkness and is transferred into the kingdom of God and of His Son. Paul in Colossians 1:13 writes, “For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son.”
This kingdom, though it is grand and glorious, is not visible; it is a spiritual kingdom and it is within us—within every believer (Lu. 17:21). Christ sits on His throne in our hearts, and He will lead us and instruct us in right living; but only if we allow Him to. Hence, all who are obedient sons of God are led by the Spirit of God (Rom. 8:14).
Now from time to time we will fall into sin; for we still have our sinful flesh. But we remain children of God who live in His kingdom, and because Christ has come into our heart and changed us—given us a new nature—we have His mind. Paul has written in 1 Corinthians 2:15-16,
But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one. 16 For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, THAT HE WILL INSTRUCT HIM? But we have the mind of Christ.
And with our new mind and by the powerful strength of God in us and around us we are protected from the devil and all evil—but only if we use that protection. Paul, in Ephesians 6, speaks of this Christian protection as the armor of God. It is available to us if we put it on every day. It is the Christian’s daily and life-long attire.
One of the most powerful pieces of armor available to us is prayer. Paul writes that we are to “pray at all times in the Spirit” (Eph. 1:18). James also writes about prayer. He said, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him” (Ja. 1:5). But then he goes on to say that we must ask in faith without any doubting. And this is the key to living victoriously in the kingdom of God—having faith in God and in Christ without doubting. It is a life of trust in Him.
that for the Christian there are two avenues to heaven: one is through death and the other is through the Rapture. And since death is what we see now, we will start there.
Entrance into heaven through death. Some would say that when the body dies the soul goes into a time of sleep until Jesus comes. They call if “soul sleep.” But that is a false teaching. In 2 Corinthians 5:8 Paul tells us that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. In death the body dies but the soul lives on in heaven with the Lord.
But what happens to the soul at death? Is there any need for a change to the soul? To make it pure and holy? Yes. Since the soul is the entire nature of man and is his entire personality, the soul as well as the body is sinful. When we are saved, salvation comes to our soul (Ja. 1:21), but even after our conversion, the soul is affected by sin the same as our body is. Hence, the soul of the righteous, entering heaven needs a full cleansing. According to the Westminster Confession of Faith,
The bodies of men after death return to dust, and see corruption; but their souls, (which neither die nor sleep,) having an immortal substance, immediately return to God who gave them. The souls of the righteous, being then made perfect in holiness, are received into the highest heavens, where they behold the face of God in light and glory, waiting for the full redemption of their bodies.”2
Now, there is also the question of the intermediate state, or the intermediate heaven.
The intermediate heaven.This state is the state of the soul without the body, from the time between the death of the body to the point at which the body is raised and transformed at the Rapture. There is much false teaching on this subject, such as soul sleep—as previously mentioned. And there is also the Catholic doctrine of purgatory: that after death the soul goes to a place to be purged from sins by much pain and suffering, so to be purified for heaven. But this is such a slam to God, teaching that the sufferings of Christ were not sufficient to atone for our sins, that we must add our own sufferings to His. Really, we can add nothing!
However, aside from false teaching, there are some things that we can consider a bit regarding the intermediate state. I say “a bit” because Scripture in not clear on the subject; and it gives us no definite teaching. Nonetheless, here are two passages we could examine for maybe a small bit of truth.
Luke 9:30-31. Here is the Mount of transfiguration, where while Jesus was praying (with Peter, James and John present), His face was changed and His clothing became white and gleaming. And then suddenly, Moses and Elijah appeared and they were talking to Jesus about His departure (His death). Now we know that both of these men died a long time before this; but here they stand in some kind of a glorified body. I would say that this is definitely an example of the intermediate state of heaven.
Here is what we may observe from this passage regarding what the intermediate state is.
It is having some kind of a glorified body.
It is being able to speak in a normal language. They did not use any kind of heavenly language.
It is having friendly communication with Jesus. They were talking with Jesus as a close friend; they were discussing His departure. This suggests that we may have regular communion with Jesus and will be discussing whatever is on our heart.
Revelation 6:9-11.Here is a passage revealed to us as the Lamb (Christ) broke the fifth seal during the Tribulation. It opens up to us the conversation of certain people who were martyrs for their faith. In verse ten we have a portion of that conversation—a prayer to God. They cried out to Him with a loud voice, “How long, O Lord, holy and true will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”
And then in verse eleven is the response by God. “There was given to each of them white robes and they were told that they should rest for a little while longer…”
Here is what we may observe from this passage regarding what the intermediate state is.
There will be prayer in the intermediate state. These martyred souls were waiting on God to avenge their blood and were crying out in prayer to Him. We may also conclude that there will be a sense of anticipation for God to make all things right.
They will know what is happening on earth. These martyrs seem to know what is happening on earth—that God was refraining from judging (v. 10). It may be this way for all who die before the Rapture.
They will have bodies that are able to wear clothing. They were given white robes.
They are holy and pure—cleansed from all sin. The white robes are symbolic of purity; Jesus will give them these garment to remind them of their holiness and of His shed blood for them.
We will be at rest in the Lord. They were told to rest for a while longer. This state of rest is confirmed to us in Revelation 14:13 of what this intermediate state basically is—that we will rest from our labors; the labor of keeping the commandments of God and having faith in Jesus. So, here in this state we will have glorified souls perfected in God, and we will no longer have a need to persevere in the faith. We will be at rest in the Lord and waiting for our new glorified body.
Entrance into heaven through the Rapture. When God sees that the time is right for the dead to be raised, and for their souls to be united with new bodies, and for the living to be rescued from what is to come on this earth, then He will…
descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord (1 Thess. 4:16-17).
This passage (above) pretty much lays it out, but let me summarize it in chronological order.
1. All believers from all ages of history who have died, they will be raised up and their decayed bodies will be transformed into imperishable, new bodies (1Cor. 15:53-54).
2. And the souls of those resurrected dead will merge with their new transformed bodies, so they will at last be souls with new bodies. Hence, this will be the end of their intermediate state (as previously discussed).
3. Then those who are alive will be changed (transformed) very quickly— “in the twinkling of an eye” (1 Cor. 15:52). And they will be caught up (snatched up) together with those previously dead.
4. And then we will all meet the Lord in the air; and we will from then on, and always, be with the Lord in heaven.
2 John MacArthur, The Glory of Heaven (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Books, 1996), p. 71.
Stephen Nielsen 