your copy of God's Word. First of all, to Isaiah chapter 41. Isaiah chapter 41. We're reading these words because they They contain very great promises. And this section that we're going to read of Isaiah 41, you'll find it, the hymn that we're going to sing in a bit, that hymn refers to these these words that we're going to read. And they're very great promises, a promise of the Lord's presence and a promise of the Lord's providence. Romans 8, 28, all things work for good that are called according to God's purpose and whom God loves. So let's read together these words to the old church that are also written to the New Testament church. This is the word of the Lord. Listen to me in silence, O coastlands. Let the peoples renew their strength. Let them approach, then let them speak. Let us together draw near for judgment. Who stirred up one from the east, whom victory meets at every step? He gives up nations before him so that he tramples kings underfoot. He makes them like dust with his sword, like driven stubble with his bow. He pursues them, passes on safely by paths his feet have not trod. Who has performed and done this, calling the generations from the beginning? I, the Lord, the first and with the last, I am he. The coastlands have seen and are afraid. The ends of the earth tremble. They have drawn near and come. Everyone helps his neighbor and says to his brother, be strong. The craftsman strengthens the goldsmith, and he who smooths with a hammer, him who strikes the anvil, saying of the soldering, it is good. They strengthen it with nails so that it cannot be moved. But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham, my friend, you whom I took from the ends of the earth and called from its farthest corners, saying to you, you are my servant. I have chosen you and not cast you off. Fear not. For I am with you. Be not dismayed. For I am your God. I will strengthen you. I will help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. And now let's turn over to 2 Peter. 2 Peter chapter 1. If you're using one of our church Bibles, this reading is at 1018. This will be our study this morning. As we come to the Lord's Supper, we're going to be reminded of some important things. 2 Peter 1, verses 1-4. This is the word of our Lord Jesus Christ. Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ. to those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ. May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and in excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them You may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. This is the word of the Lord, and we give thanks to him for it. Let's pray together. Lord, we pray now again for the Holy Spirit We pray, Holy Spirit, to you because we want to know the Lord better. We pray to you because we want to know the truth and to stand in the truth and on the truth. We pray to you because we want to embrace Jesus. So we pray, keep your promise. fill us anew with the Spirit Himself, so that we who have been made partakers of the divine nature and have been enriched with the treasures of God, that we will live lives that prove that we have escaped the corruptions of this world. So bless Your Word to these ends. So we ask in Jesus' name, Amen. So Peter is writing, second Peter, he's writing it to people who are prone to forgetfulness. You know, people who need reminding. People like me, who need to be, who are prone to forget and who need to be reminded of things that must never be forgotten. Look with me at chapter 1, but now not those four verses we just read, but look at verse 12 with me. Look what he says. Therefore, I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have. I think it right as long as I am in this body to stir you up by way of reminder, since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. And if you look at chapter 3 verse 1 and scan your eyes there, you'll see that he says the same thing. His intent in writing 2 Peter is to encourage people who are prone to forget to remember. So it's like he's saying this, I do not want you to neglect vital truths. I know you know them. I know you're established in them. Great cardinal truths of the gospel. I want to make sure that you never forget them. I want you to remember them and to keep on remembering them. So I'm trying to stir you up by this reminder so that when I'm gone, you keep on recalling them. Why is recollection so important? Why is bringing these truths out again and again and again? In a sense, that's exactly what we're doing with the Lord's Supper, right? Remembering his death until he comes. Why constantly do that? Well, I think there are a multitude of really good reasons. I'm just going to give you two right now. The first is that you never outgrow the gospel. There is never a point at which, well I've got the ABCs down, now I can start innovating. Innovation is so cool, isn't it? Progress, moving on from these ABC little bitty things. That's for Sunday school. What I need is some new stuff. But listen, loved ones, Peter is going to say, right, it's the old stuff. It's the gospel. It's the cardinal truths. It's that that make you grow. You don't come to maturity by innovation and progress. You come to maturity through the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. That's the first thing. But the second thing is that the gospel is like weed and feed. You know weed and feed, right? You know that stuff you go to Lowe's or Home Depot and there you've got your green little trolley thing and you go up and down the garden spreading this stuff, right? And what does it do? Well, it makes your grass grow and it kills weeds. The gospel is weed and feed for the soul. Right? The gospel, yes, it causes you to grow, but it also kills error. You see, you don't just say what the gospel is, you've also got to say what it isn't. The gospel works, you see, remembering the truth and constantly reminding yourself of it, but seeking to understand it more and grow in the God who gave us the gospel and your knowledge of him. That enables you to grow and it also protects your soul from error. Error that will damage your heart and your life. So. That's the point, that's the pastoral heart of Peter in this letter of 2 Peter. It's a wonderful letter. But these first four verses, he's starting as he means to go on. And he's saying to them, essentially this, all truly good things come from outside of us. All truly good things, they don't come from inside of us. They come from God himself, outside, to us. And I want us to look at three good things that come from outside of us, that do us real good, that you'll not find inside of you, but they're given to you by God himself. Three of them, the righteousness of Christ, the knowledge of Christ, and then lastly, the promises of Christ. So three things, the righteousness of Christ, the knowledge of Christ, and the promises of Christ. So four verses, and we'll look at these three things as we look at these verses. The first, the righteousness of Christ. Look at verse one. Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ. What's the first word off the pen of our writer? We see it, the word Simeon. Not Simon. But Simeon Peter, why is that? Peter is writing to churches that are, I think, 100% Gentile. There's not a Jew among them. But Peter, right, he's using Simeon Peter, which is the Hebrew form of his name, where Simon is the Greek form of his name. So here he is, right? What does he emphasize as he begins his letter? His Jewishness to a bunch of Gentiles. Why is he doing that? Is he sort of creating some distance between him and them? You know, I'm a Jew, right? We've been around forever. You know, God and us, we're like this, not like you guys. No, exactly the opposite. His intent when he starts out Simeon Peter, a servant, an apostle of Jesus Christ, is to say the opposite, that there is no distance between us. There was, but in the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, right? We're one. That there isn't this distance, right? There is a difference of ethnicity. but in the Lord Jesus Christ they are made one. If you think about it, that is a massive change in this apostle. If you read Galatians 2, there was a time at which Peter, when when he was with with Paul, right, he he hung out with Gentiles and then some crowd of guys came from Jerusalem and they were Jewish and they, you know, looked down their nose at what he was doing and he stopped hanging out with the Gentiles. But now here he is. to those Gentiles who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours. That's so important. What is he saying? What does he mean by speaking like this? Is he congratulating them, right, on the strength of their faith? I've never found faith as strong as mine. So well done, guys, that you got up to. Is that what he's saying? Or is he saying, right, your faith is so deep. Congratulations, or mature. Is it any of those things? No, it isn't. It's equal standing with ours. What is he emphasizing? I want you to notice there are certain words that are used that emphasize the point that Peter is trying to make. Look at verse, That is right, obtained it, right? It wasn't theirs inherently. It was given. Or look here at verse three. His divine power has granted to us. And again, verse four. He has granted to us. He has given to us. We have become, we have been made partakers of the divine nature. We didn't become this all by, so what is he emphasizing? when he says, obtained a faith of equal standing with ours. It's very simply this. He's emphasizing that the faith that they have is a gift. It's a gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. Faith is a gift of the Holy Spirit. And Peter had received that faith. And as he looks at these Gentile Christians, he sees that they have also received that faith. The way that they came into right relationship with God was equal, the same. It was by the gift of faith. So Peter is rejoicing here that these Gentile Christians have taken hold of Jesus Christ in the same way that he did. that by faith they have received Christ's righteousness, just like Peter did. I want you to notice something. It's just to simply point out the clear, unmistakable assertion of the deity of Jesus Christ. Do you see what it says? with a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ. I realize that some translations have the righteousness of God and our Savior Jesus Christ. But loved ones, the best manuscripts, this translation that we have in the ESV, is the right one. This is a clear assertion of the deity of Jesus. Do you see it? By the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ. And we need the righteousness of God to be able to stand in the presence of God. The righteousness of a prophet, a mere prophet, a mere man, isn't enough. Jesus Christ, His righteousness, He is both God and our Savior. And therefore we have right standing with Almighty God. So Peter, you see, is rejoicing that they are clothed in the righteousness of God Himself. Now, do you see the point? You can be the newest baby Christian. Or you can be the oldest, wisest, most mature Christian in this room. But when it comes to status and standing before Almighty God, you have an equal faith. There may be differences of degree because of growth, but in its essence, in its status and standing before God, faith is exactly the same because you get exactly the same righteousness. So it doesn't matter if you're a Jew or a Gentile. Doesn't matter if you're Scottish or a Mainer. Doesn't matter if you're white, black, young, old. Doesn't matter if you're male or female, rich or poor. Doesn't matter if you're churched or unchurched. See, before God, all are equal in this faith that holds, lay holds on Jesus Christ. You see, that's what happens when we come to the Lord's Supper. This is that place where you and I, we come, sinners who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours. It's where we get to sit down together. And be fed by a gracious Savior. The Lord's Supper is not a place to strut. It isn't. You know, it isn't, you know, stick in my thumb and pull out a plum and say, you know, what a good boy I am. It isn't a place for that. It isn't a place for self-congratulations. It's not a place for divisiveness or prejudice or looking down on others. It's a place where we rejoice that you and I, sinners as we are, have obtained a faith of equal standing, that we are welcomed by the same Jesus. And that we are loved by the same Jesus and that all we have in him is the same. So that's the first thing Peter says, the righteousness of Christ. All good things come from outside of us, you see. Righteousness like this isn't found in you or in me. But then secondly, there's this knowledge of Christ. So the first thing, Christ's righteousness. But secondly, the knowledge of Christ, look at verses two and three. May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ, our Lord. His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence. So we've seen already that faith is not something that occurs naturally in us, but is rather something that is given to us by God. And therefore, in light of it, we have right standing with God. But what about spiritual life? What about the Christian life? Right? Okay, Jesus and the cross and, you know, coming to God. That's all done. But what about the life that you're supposed to live in the light of the cross and accepting Jesus in your heart and all those things? Is that down to you? Right? Living the Christian life. I've got to kind of work it out, right? Come up with a plan. I'm going to do this this day and I'm going to do this and this and this and so on and so on. You've got to live the Christian life. God has done his bit. Now it's your turn to do your bit. Well, listen, it could not be more clear. Look what he says. Verse 3. His divine power has granted to us all things, not a few things, not some of the things, all things that pertain to life and godliness. The word godliness there is a word that means right worship. It points in that so that, right? A divine power granted to us all things that pertain to life and right worship so that our whole life is lived out to love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, and strength. Think about it, loved ones. You know that God is the source of all life. Anything that's living in this world of ours is made alive because God made it alive. You know that, right? That's like, you know, doctrine of God 101. But is that also true? Of the Christian life. Of spiritual life. Of life lived. In light of the calling. of Jesus. Now listen, think about it. You were dead in your trespasses and sins. And you would still be dead in your trespasses and sins if God in divine power and grace had not interposed his power into your life. You'd still be dead in trespasses and sins. It was only when he said to you, live, that you began to live. and you began to live out faith and call on the name of the Lord. It wasn't until God intervened, right, and said, hey you, live! That now, right, you begin to do the things that the Christian life is called to do. Now think about it. There are wonderful examples in the New Testament. There's a woman In Luke's gospel, she's called a great sinner. Not by Jesus, but by some Pharisee type guys. Was she a prostitute? Adultery? We don't know. We're not told. She's just simply a great sinner. But she meets Jesus. And she hears Jesus. And she comes to Jesus. And she finds forgiveness from Him. Is she still the same person, the great sinner? Oh, we see her, right? Cannot be because life has begun. Jesus has said to her, live. And what does she do now? She comes and she washes his feet with her tears and cleans them with the hair on her head. Because why? Because she loves the one who has forgiven her. Because he said, live. She responds with, or take Saul of Tarsus. Saul of Tarsus is a zeal, a zealot for Judaism. So much so that he's doing all he can to ensure that Christians are either are either executed or imprisoned. He's on his way to Damascus to do the same thing. And he's stopped in his tracks. The Lord Jesus Christ comes to him and in the great mercy of Jesus, he's led to put his trust in Jesus Christ. So is he still a persecutor? No, because Jesus has just said life. And now the guy who is the persecutor, he begins to tell the good news of Jesus, not Judaism, but Jesus all around the Mediterranean world. And Peter, Paul himself says this, right? First, Timothy. He says these famous words, the saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am the foremost. But I receive mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ, my display is perfect patience as an example to those who are to believe in him for eternal life. See, so Saul of Tarsus becomes the poster boy, the proof of divine power. Divine mercy and grace. And many of us in this room know this. Some of us were foul mouthed, blasphemers. Some of us were hot tempered. Some of us had unrighteous hands. Some of us were proud or malicious. Some of us were all these things. But we were washed. We were sanctified. We were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. I notice that all this, this divine power granted to us all things pertaining to life and God, that it happens through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence. See, you will never have this divine power or this life without knowing Jesus. It's not merely, you know, facts about Jesus. I know that he lived then and he did so-and-so and so-and-so, but it's an intimate, it's a relational knowledge of Jesus. So today, let me ask you, do you know Jesus? Not do you know about Him, but do you know Him? Do you love the Lord Jesus? Are you learning what pleases the Lord Jesus? Are you learning to trust His promises and to keep His commandments? Are you learning to adore Him and growing in clinging to Him? I noticed this is a calling. He calls you to this. He invites you to it. He's not standing aloof, making it hard for you to know him. He is an open book. Asking you to come to him that you may find, find rest. And one last thing, the promises of Christ. So we thought about the righteousness of Christ that is given, the knowledge of Christ that is granted. And now, lastly, the promises of Christ. Look what it says in verse four. By which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desires. Now, do you know what the privilege of faith is as a Christian? That as a Christian, you have high privileges. Do you know what it is? Peter tells us right here. The privilege of faith is this, that we have been granted precious and very great promises. They're precious because they're divine promises. They're very great because they're infinite promises. And we are given not only the Lord Jesus Christ. But the treasures of heaven in him and with him. The promises of of God. As we come to the supper together, I want to remind you of some of these, some of this treasure that God has given to you. What are the privileges of faith? What has God given to you? These precious and very great promises. Peter doesn't list them right now. He does in the letter. Things like this. The promise of forgiveness. coming to the Lord's supper together, the body broken and the blood shed. We're reminded, aren't we, at the supper, that if you have faith in Christ, you have no sin that could rise up and curse you. Because your sins, he has caused them to be taken as far as the east is from the west. They have been blotted out. They have been thrown to the bottom of the deepest ocean. They have been cast behind the back of God. He remembers them no more. You see, the point is this. Your sin demanded a costly ransom. The precious promise is as great as the demand. That's what Peter is saying. So we have the promise of forgiveness, but we also have the promise of righteousness, not only that we're pardoned, but that we are positively righteous. God himself has worked out a righteousness for you. The holy life of Jesus. He gives it to you as a gift. It's not a righteousness that you make. It's a righteousness that he gives or think about the promise of reconciliation with God. You are hostile towards God and God was hostile towards you. But the Lord Jesus Christ has made peace or the promise of adoption that you are a son of God or the promise of of his providence, that God makes all things work together for the good of those who are called. The promise of a bodily resurrection, that one day you will be raised. Your family members, your friends, they will be raised incorruptible in the Lord Jesus Christ. And the promise that we will reign with Christ. I was wondering one other question. It's simply this, why is it that God would give treasures like this to people like you and me? What's the design of God in doing that? Why is He giving us these promises, these treasures? He said, let me show you my heart for you, my people. I give you my son. I give you these promises. Why? He tells you in the text. So that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature. having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. Now, what on earth does he mean by partakers of the divine nature? Not that you become God. That's not possible because there is a gulf, a fixed gulf between creature and creator. So we don't become God. But we do partake of the divine nature. How? You partake of the divine nature through your union with the Lord Jesus Christ. your union with the Lord Jesus, we become members of the body of Jesus. You think about a branch, right? A branch that is in the vine, that is one with the vine. They're not separate. There's not the branch over here and the vine here. No, they're together. They're one. And just as the branch is with the vine, you are with Christ. And you partake of the divine nature in that union with him. But we also partake of the divine nature by the indwelling spirit. Because the Holy Spirit is in you, right? You were made in the image of the first Adam. But today, you're being made into the image of the last Adam. The Lord Jesus Christ himself shaping you, making you like himself. Now, what's the purpose that God would do something like that for you and I? Not only give us these promises, but also make us partakers of his nature. What Peter says. So that having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. It's very simple. Peter is saying, it's not right the divine life dwell with corruption and death. It's not right that the life of God that he's given to you, that it continue to hang around with corruption and death and the things of death. So you are given promises in order to live out a godly life, a holy life. And that's his point. Let me try to sum it up in this way. Do you know what a promise box is? You don't see too many of them now, right? A promise box. Have you heard the phrase a promise box? Some have. A promise box is an old Scottish thing. I remember seeing some of these. But it's literally what it is. It's a little plain wooden box. with promises in them, right? And every day you get up and you take out a promise and you read the promise. Spurgeon has an equivalent of it, right? The checkbook of the bank of faith, a book that he gives a little daily reading, right? A promise and then a brief explanation so that every day, right? You take out a promise and you remind yourself that for every challenge you're gonna face on that day, there's a promise that grace gives to address the challenge of the day. See, there is promised grace every day. And it's a call, you see, it's a reminder, a little promise box. It's a reminder to live by faith in the promises of God. But here's the point, and it brings together these thoughts. There's what God has done and how you respond. And there's some famous words of Augustine. Augustine says this, Lord, command what you will and give what you command. Right? God supplies what he requires. God doesn't just tell us what to do. He gives us the wherewithal to do what he requires. He gives us the divine power that grants us to live pertaining to life and godliness. You see, he's the one that gives it to us. He promises whatever he demands. That's how good he is. That's how kind and gracious he is. He doesn't ever simply say, I want you to do this and that's it. He also says, I'm with you in it, I'll strengthen you for it. So the promises of Christ empower every obligation of God. So how do you live the Christian life? You live the Christian life as God has granted you to be a partaker of the divine nature. And as that life, you live that life out in dependence upon Him. You prove having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. So what's he doing? Peter is is encouraging you to depend on grace every day, to take out your promise, your daily promise, be reminded that there's grace sufficient for the troubles of today, and to ask God to fulfill it in your life, that I'll live out the promise, that I'll respond to your command and your call to live a holy life. But Lord, command what you will, but give what you command. So, loved ones, as we end this morning, glory in what God has done for you. That's what the supper is about. It's not something that we give to Him, something that He has given to us. And we rejoice in that. We rejoice in what God has done for us. The righteousness of Christ, the knowledge of Christ, and the promises of Christ. But loved ones, respond. Respond with gratitude. But also love. And respond by living out to His glory and praise. Let's pray. Lord, thank you for your word. We thank you for our Lord Jesus, what you have done for us. And now, Lord Jesus, as we come to the supper, we pray you'd feed us, because we ask this in your name. Amen.