Today we will continue our series entitled “God’s Grace & Our Faith.” We are looking at The Law given under Moses vs. the Grace provided by Jesus. Our primary scriptures are John 1:14 & 17. Yesterday we also looked at 2 Peter 1:1-4. We will look at these again today.
(John 1:14 New International Version)
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
(John 1:17 New International Version)
For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
(2 Peter 1:1-4)
Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
For the past couple of days I have been focusing on this line: “According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him…” I will flow in this same vein today.
So what does this mean to you today? A few things.
1. Knowledge of God leads to knowledge of self.
— When Peter told us that “God has already given us all things that pertain to life and godliness… though the knowledge of Him who has called us“, he was not just referring to your knowledge of who God is. That is part of it. But Peter’s point was that when you discover God, you discover yourself. The more knowledge of God you receive, the more knowledge of self you walk in.
— The continual revelation of who Jesus is, provides you a continual revelation of who you are.
— When you discover Jesus, you discover yourself. You get to the point where you can look at yourself in the mirror and see Jesus. At that point (when you see yourself “As Jesus is, in this world“), you are ready to get to DOING because you know who you are.
— As God revealed to Peter who he was, he was then in a position to do what he was called to do. Your BEING must precede your DOING. Divine identity must precede purposeful function.
— I will explain in a minute how Peter did not know who he was or what he was called to do until he got a revelation of Jesus. The same happened with me. I will give you some more details on this as we walk through the message.
— Your divine Identity and your divine assignment are inextricably linked. Although it is true that you should not jump into function before you have a revelation of who you are, you should also not leave out performance once you do. Meaning that far too many Christians spend years discovering who they are. But they foolishly allow their journey to end at identity. The purpose of knowing who you are is so you can do what you are called to do. The purpose of getting a revelation of who Jesus is is so you can then spend the rest of your life DOING what Jesus did! If you discover your identity, but you then fail to walk in the function of it, you have failed God.
2. When Peter discovered Jesus’ true identity, he discovered his as well!
The Bible says, “When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
God used Simon, the son of Jonah, to properly identify Jesus. God used a fisherman to point out the fact that while Jesus had been known as the Son of His parents, His true identity was connected to Him being a Son of God. Jesus, in turn, did the same for Simon. Simon had been known as the son of Jonah. He was “Simon the fisherman” to all who knew him. But Jesus let Simon know that he, too, was a son of God. As a son of God, Simon, too, had a divine identity. Simon’s identity was “Peter.” Jesus said, “You are blessed, Simon son of Jonah. No one taught you that. My Father in heaven showed you who I am. So I tell you, you are Peter.” God’s plans for Simon involved him taking on a new name and a new role. “Simon the fisherman” went on to spend the rest of his life as “Peter the Apostle.” He became the leader of the first-century church.
— When you discover Jesus, you discover yourself!
— When you get a revelation of who Jesus is, He will give you a revelation of who you are!
— The person who wrote the passage we have been studying (2 Peter 1:1-4), kept driving home “the knowledge of God” because it was “the knowledge of God” that changed his life. When Peter received knowledge of Jesus, Peter then received knowledge of self!
— When you properly identify Jesus, he will probably identify you!
3. I can identify with Peter’s experience of discovering himself when he discovered Jesus.
I can identify with Peter. When I gave my life to Christ at 23, I really had no idea what I was going to do with my life. But at that point in my life, I certainly had no idea that my life would turn out the way that it has. Within days of giving my life to Jesus, I had an insatiable desire in my heart to preach, teach and become a pastor. This desire came from God. The revelation of who Jesus is led to the revelation of WHO I AM!
God has called me to do lots of things. I am “identified” in this world by many roles. When I gave my life to Jesus, I was a Soldier. Later was identified as an Army officer. Some call me an IT professional or expert. I am a son, brother, husband, and Father. I lead a non-profit, oversee a church, sit on boards, provide counsel, and do many things. But with all the “hats” I wear, the dominant “role” I operate in is that of a Minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I am a Man of God first!
When I gave my life to Jesus in the back of the chapel on Camp Doha, Kuwait, I had no idea that I would be known as a Man of God. I had no idea that God had called me to preach the gospel. But within days of me giving my life to Jesus, God put a desire in my heart to preach the gospel, and this has become the predominant desire and passion of my life.
When I discovered Jesus, I discovered myself. When I discovered Jesus, I discovered what I would be doing for the rest of my life. The revelation of who Jesus is led to the revelation of who I am. What happened to Peter happened to me.
4. You have a divine identity, but you are ignorant of it until you get the revelation of who Jesus is.
The day Jesus looked at Simon (which means unstable) and told him that he was actually Peter (which means rock), I can only imagine what was going through his mind. He had lived his entire life with one identity, and now Jesus was revealing to him the identity planned for him to have, by God, from the foundations of the world.
For you, the names may not be Simon and Peter. Actually, for you, the names may not change at all. But the point remains the same. You lived your life, all your life, with a certain identity before you came to Christ. After being Born-Again, the Lord reveals to you the person He called you to be. That is your Divine ID.
— God’s grace is connected to that ID.
— Your success is connected to that ID.
— The impact you were born to make is connected to that ID.
— The question is: will you accept your divine ID and walk in grace-based success, or will you choose to continue to live as the person you were before coming to Christ? If you choose the latter, you will live in the flesh and miss out on God’s best.
That’s enough for today. I will discuss this more tomorrow.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I thank You for teaching me about Your grace and my requirement to live by faith. In order to live effectively by faith, I must accept the plans You made for me by grace.
I was born with a destiny I was ignorant of. I was born with a calling I was oblivious to. But the revelation of who Jesus is has led to the revelation of who I am.
I am who You say I am. I can and will do what You birthed me to do. I see myself the way You see me. I believe what You believe about me.
I lived all my life with one identity, but You have revealed to me who I truly am. I believe it. I embrace it. I become it. I spend the remainder of my days walking out the plans You made for me before the world began.
I know who I am because I know whose I am. And I shall not be moved by people or circumstances. GREATER IS COMING FOR ME! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
