2 Peter 1:1

2 Peter 1:1 says, 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:  Peter calls himself a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ.  Whatever else God may call us to be, we are all servants of Jesus Christ, if we have obtained the precious faith like Peter had.  We can obtain this faith because of the righteousness of God.  Verse two adds, Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,  Peter asked that their grace and peace be multiplied through their knowledge of God and Jesus their Lord.  When we live under the grace of God, shown to us fully by the sacrifice of Christ, we should live at peace in the world.  If we are not at peace in the world in which we live, it may be that our faith in God's grace is faltering.  Verse three continues, 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:  Peter tells us that God has given us all the things that pertain to life and Godliness through our knowledge of Christ.  Peter does not say that God gives us everything we want in this world, but that He gives us everything we need in order to live by faith for His glory.  Verse four concludes, 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.  God has indeed made great and precious promises to those who follow Christ.  We become partakers of the divine nature of God.  We do not become divine, but our nature becomes shaped by God.  We, through our faith in Christ, escape the corruption of the world brought on by our lusts.  Verse five states,  And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;  Our faith in Christ should change our nature.  We should become virtuous under the knowledge of God.  We cannot accept Christ and not be changed in the way we live and view the world.  Verse six adds, And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;  This is a continuation of the way our nature will be changed by our faith in Christ.  We should be temperate, patient and godly in all that we do.   Verse seven continues, And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.  When we follow Christ, we will be kind to others and have a love for them like God has for us.  To say that we love God but hate sinners is not consistent.  We are to hate the sin, but we are to pray for the sinner.  Verse eight continues, For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  If we have the things just discussed guiding our life, we will be productive in our life for Christ.  We are not promised earthly riches, but we are promised a greater relationship with Christ.  If our faith is barren, we may need to change the way we live out our faith.  Verse nine says, But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.  If we lack the things mentioned, the we have become spiritually blind and have forgotten that we were purged of our sins.  We cannot effectively follow Christ if we feel that we are morally superior to others simply because of who we are in the world.  Verse ten adds, Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:  We need to be diligent in our faith in Christ.  If we put Christ and His will first, then we will never fail in our spiritual walk with Him.  Verse eleven concludes, For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.  If we accept Christ, we have been granted entrance into His everlasting kingdom.  We should follow God's guidance in all that we do because of this great gift of everlasting salvation.