DAY 19: CHARACTER AND CHARISMA II- GROWING IN GRACE

 30 DAYS DEVOTIONALS WITH PREACHER SAM

THE RHEMA WORD FOR TODAY

SEPTEMBER 19, 2022.

TOPIC: CHARACTER AND CHARISMA II- GROWING IN GRACE

BIBLE READING: 2 PETER 1:2-11

VERSE FOR MEDITATION: 2 PETER 3:18 NKJV

But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.

Before you talk about manifesting power, you need to walk in love, and not only that, you need to grow in grace. In fact, without you growing in grace your walk in love won’t be effective. And you grow in grace through the knowledge of God and of Jesus.

There are two Greek word for knowledge used in our Bible reading, “epignosis” (vv. 2, 3 & 8) and “gnosis” (vv. 5&6). In verse 12 and 14 of 2 Peter 1, the Greek word there is “eido”. “Eido” is the lowest form of knowledge which means, “to become aware.” “Gnosis” is the next form of knowledge which refers to a general form knowledge. And “epignosis”, the highest form of knowledge refers to intimacy, like saying, “Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived, and bore Cain…” (Gen. 4:1). It is the same word used in John 17:3, “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”

For instance, a man saw (eido) a woman he wants to marry and befriended her so that he can get to know more (gnosis) about that woman. He eventually got married to her, and just as how Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived, and bore Cain, he also knew (epignosis) his wife and she conceived and bore a child.

So eternal life is birthed through the knowledge (epignosis) of God. And you grow in grace through the knowledge (epignosis) of God.

It is not enough to know about God, you need to know Him. But of course you cannot know Him without knowing about Him first, just as how we’ve explained using the above illustration. To grow in grace is to graduate from knowing about Him to knowing and experiencing Him. Now your experiential walk with God will make your walking in love more effective. Without your growth in grace, your walk in love will become frustrating and religious.

From our Bible reading, we were prescribed some fruitful growth processes in the grace of God. Make every effort to add to your faith moral excellence; for your faith in God is revealed by your good works (cf. James 2). And to your moral excellence the knowledge about God; and you achieve that by diligent study of the Word. To knowledge self-control; the discipline in acting out the Word. To self-control perseverance; because persecution will arise for living a godly live in Christ Jesus (2 Tim. 3:12; Jn. 15:20). To perseverance godliness; that no matter what, you remain devoted to God. To godliness brotherly kindness; at this point you are gradually walking in love. And to brotherly kindness love; that is, you’ve learned to unselfishly seek the best for others and to do things for their benefit- this is the God-kind of love. And it is at this point that you are conceiving the life (the nature) of God through the knowledge (epignosis).

PRAYER:

PLEASE FATHER, HELP MY HEART. AND ALSO HELP ME TO GROW IN GRACE. AMEN!

DECLARATION:

I DILIGENTLY GIVE MYSELF TO GROWING IN GRACE.

JOURNEY THROUGH THE CHRONOLOGICAL STUDY OF THE LIFE OF JESUS CHRIST:

LUKE 14-16