The Good Master Gives Himself
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Editor’s note: This is part two of BCL’s two-part series “The Good Master.”
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 (2 Pet. 1:1).
2 Peter 1:1-4 stresses how much believers receive from Christ, and, yet, here we find the apostle Peter describing himself as a servant—a slave (δοῦλος; “doulos”)—of Jesus Christ. This is surprising because we would expect that if “slave” was a defining term for a relationship, we would hear first about all the demands of the master for his slave. We would expect a list of commands and duties to be performed for the master. Yet Peter completely flips this concept of slave on its head, instead stressing the gifting nature of Jesus, the greatest slave of all.
The same beautiful Christianity that the apostles had has also been given to us.
Peter speaks first of the faith believers have received from God. This faith is of the same status as the apostles. So, even if you were a poor, uneducated, suffering believer, you had the same beautiful Christianity given to you that the apostles had. Even now, a present-day Christian’s faith is not inferior to the faith of the apostles.
And this faith that was gifted to believers was provided “by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ” (v.1). This emphasizes the true nature of the gift. God does not give the gift because he saw that we were worthy in any way. We do not stand before God because we were able to do anything good or would do anything good in the future, but only because of Jesus’s work on our behalf.
Jesus gives us the gift of increasing blessedness.
Then, Peter, speaking for Jesus Christ, proclaims a wish for the believers, “May grace and peace be multiplied to you” (v.2). For those bought by Christ Jesus’ precious blood, this wish is a possible and powerful reality. These blood-bought slaves have possession of God’s favor and instead of being at war with God are now at peace with him. But they also have the privilege of experiencing more grace and peace in their life. The Creator of the universe smiles down upon them, loves them, and cherishes them. They have peace with God— no fear of condemnation from the righteous Judge of heaven and earth.
These slaves stand before a holy God, assured that they have favor with him and forever possess a relationship of peace (i.e., harmony) with him because of what Jesus Christ did.[1] With this status, they stand in the position of growing in their relationship with God by growing in their knowing of God and their salvation in Christ. This is the call to show forth the fruit of our union with Christ. This gift is the call, in the words of C.S. Lewis, to move “further in and further up,”[2] so that we might have an even more abundant experience of God’s favor and peace.
Jesus gives us the gift of God himself.
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 Pet. 1:4).
Next, we take heart that this master desires a personal relationship with his people. Those who belong to Jesus belong to a master who desires us to know him in a personal way. Second Peter 1:2-3 stresses that knowing God and Jesus is the means by which spiritual growth happens. God has “granted” to us all spiritual necessities to live a godly life as we face the obstacles of everyday living in a way that glorifies God and loves our neighbor.
This spiritual growth and the spiritual necessities for life do not come from our own reason or wisdom. We do not bolster ourselves up but find that our spiritual strength only comes from knowing and walking with God. He has called us to “his own glory and excellence” (v. 3).
God is calling us to be in his presence.
God’s glory is related to the light associated with him (think of the cloud full of light in the Exodus narratives in the Old Testament).[3] God’s excellence speaks to God’s moral character. God is calling us to be in his presence. The apostle John writes:
This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. (1 John 1:5-7)
God is therefore not a far-off overlord who commands from a distance. Rather, he is a master who descends to us, becomes close to us, serves us, and encourages us to draw close to know his loving and kind heart. Our heavenly Father demonstrates his love in sending his son Jesus for us. Jesus is humble and meek, gentle and lowly, compassionate and kind. He speaks to us,
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matt. 11:28-30)
As in any good relationship, people don’t just give information about themselves, but they also give themselves to the other person. So Peter makes clear that Jesus has given himself to us. Believers receive grace and peace and spiritual power to face life and live holy lives only because God the Father has called them, and Jesus has given himself to them in his life, death, and resurrection.
Our Master became a slave for us.
Jesus is a master who has laid himself completely on the line for his slaves. In fact, he became a slave for their sake:
Who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. (Phil. 2: 6-8)
Jesus Christ became a slave so that we might be called children of God (Rom. 8:16-17, 21; Eph. 5:1; Phil. 2:15). Believers are counted as family and are precious in God’s sight. We are even promised that we will become more and more like Jesus, our elder brother:
See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. (1 John 3:1-2)
God desires to be known by those that are his. He gives a precious faith, grace and peace with God, and all the spiritual blessings to face this world with confidence, knowing that he is your provider, guide, rock, and comforter, and Father in all the difficulties of life:
The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. (Ps. 18:2)
Believers possess the beauty of belonging to Jesus.
The Heidelberg Catechism beautifully summarizes how belonging to Jesus is a wonderful thing:
Q. 1: What is your only comfort in life and in death?
A. 1: That I am not my own, but belong—body and soul, in life and in death—to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ. He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood, and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil. He also watches over me in such a way that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father in heaven; in fact, all things must work together for my salvation. Because I belong to him, Christ, by his Holy Spirit, assures me of eternal life and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him.
We belong to such a good and glorious master, who will work all things for our spiritual good (Rom. 8:28). In Christ you have the freedom not to worry, be anxious, or shoulder all your troubles. You have the freedom to take your concerns in prayer to your heavenly Father, to lay your burdens upon Jesus and know your good and kind Master will care for you, guide you, and comfort you forever by his Holy Spirit.
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Notes:
[1] BDAG 1. a state of concord, peace, harmony.
[2] C.S. Lewis, The Last Battle (New York: Collier Books, 1970), 175.
“‘Glory’ in the Old Testament is associated with value, riches, splendor, and dignity. When Moses asked to see God’s glory, God proclaimed to Moses His name; that is, He revealed to Moses something of His nature, character, and power….The glory of God’s presence is often called the 'Shekinah' or the 'Shekinah glory.' It appeared at significant moments as a sign of God’s active presence.” —- New Geneva Study Bible, Theological Note, “The Glory of God” p. 1260.
