Peter's Paradox

If you've read my blog lately, I think you can guess that I've been reading through Peter's epistles. It's true. So when I got to 2 Peter, I found this interesting beginning.

Peter writes this epistle to "those who have obtained a faith like ours" (2 Peter 1:1). Interesting. "Obtained". Not produced, created, made, built ... obtained. Something given.

You might protest, but we go on to read that "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, 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" (2 Peter 1:3-4). All kinds of good stuff in there. Notice last that the corruption in the world is because of our sinful desires. That's helpful since we see in our world that "sinful desires" are glorified as good.

But the earlier stuff in the text is even more interesting. It says that He has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness. Now, doesn't faith pertain to godliness? Doesn't that mean that He indeed has granted us faith? You know, like it suggests in the first verse?

And how about that fascinating "you may become partakers of the divine nature" line? Wow! Close to the edge, isn't it? But biblical, so true. Because of what God has done in us, we become partakers of His nature in some sense or another.

Now, this whole "obtained" and "granted" thing is fascinating and certainly in contradiction to the suggestions of a lot of people who argue that we produce our faith, etc., but we must not stop there. Notice that God has granted us all things that pertain to life and godliness, and then Peter says, "Make every effort to supplement your faith with ..." and gives a list of things (2 Peter 1:5-7). A rather long list. A list that we are required to "make every effort" to provide.

Now, wait! Didn't he just say that He has provided us with all things that pertain to life and godliness? Don't these things pertain to life and godliness? So ... what?

Clearly, then, we have the paradox. Not a contradiction, but something that appears to contradict and does not. God provides (faith, virtue, knowledge, etc.), and we are commanded to work at it. It's the same thing Paul says when he told the Philippians to "work out your salvation with fear and trembling" because "it is God who is at work in you to will and to do His good pleasure" (Phil 2:12-13). You do because He has. He has provided and you cooperate. Oh, and get this ... you do because He is working in you and you get rewarded for it!

I think our little minds will have some trouble trying to wrap themselves around God's reality. That doesn't mean that it's not real. That just means that the finite can never fully grasp the infinite. And that means that now we may see through a glass darkly, but then face to face. We're stuck in our finite world doing what we're told, not quite clear on how it works or all that it entails, but knowing that He is at work in us, has provided all that is required, and simply asks us to act on it.

Now, go and do thou likewise.