“For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ“
in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ
“In” means into. If we apply the seven building blocks for the Christian life (vv. 5-7) upon the substructure of faith, we will know the Lord better.
“Knowledge” is full knowledge and carries the idea of discernment. “Knowledge” occurs seven times in 2 Peter and is a key word of the epistle. This is knowledge of the person of Christ (John 17:3; Phillippians 3:10; Hosea 6:3). Experiencing setbacks in life such as the valley of deep sorrow help us get to know the Lord better. 2 Peter closes on this same note (3:18).
Principle:
Knowledge of the Lord is one thing, insight-knowledge of Him is something beyond; it is intimate knowledge of Him.
Application:
When people get married they think that they know one another. After all, they courted for six months! However couples get quite a shock a few weeks into their marriage. Few people fully reveal themselves before marriage. He is a bit more mean than he showed before marriage. He was always so polite and nice before marriage. She never showed her selfishness and pride during the courting period. She always put her best foot forward. People discover that they are married to alligators.
The longer we live with each other, the better we know each other. With time comes the knowledge of what pleases her. You also know what bugs her, what irks her, what irritates her and what exasperates her. Naturally you try to refrain from those things, to enhance your marriage. But everyone has marriage problems. It is only normal that we get to know each other better with time.
When we come to Christ as Savior, we are only introduced to Him. We do not fully know Him until we get to know Him better. None of us have ever known a person like the Lord Jesus. There is no dark side to His character. He is not proud or selfish. He is always true, His character flawless.
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).
The more we read the Word the more we will learn the wonder of His character. He becomes more and more precious to us (1 Peter 1:8; 2:7). Eternity is too short for us to plumb the depths of His magnificent person. He is the incomparable Son of God. The longer we fellowship with Him the more we love Him. We will meet Him face to face one day. What a glorious day that will be! In the meantime we get to know Him better and better.
“But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:18). The Spirit of God uses the Word of God to make the child of God like the Son of God.
Carnal Christians do not know the Lord very well. They are “unfruitful” in the knowledge of the Lord. They bear marks of spiritual birth defects. They are Christians but they are limited in the extent that they know the Lord. Jesus can change that fact. He can salvage your Christian life so that you can bear fruit.
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