‘The Christian life is not lived to the honour of God without effort,’ writes John MacArthur on 2 Peter 1:5, “giving all diligence…”.
Having described what God has done in and for us, Peter is saying that we are to give ourselves to the task of developing Christian character and maturity in Christ Jesus, and that this should be don’t with serious commitment and energy or “diligence”.
God has given us the faith and all the graces necessary for godliness (vv.3-4), but we are to work it out in our lives by pursuing the spiritual qualities listed in vv.5-9, the result of which will be evidence that we really are of the elect (v.11).
To make sure we get the point about doing so with enthusiasm and depth of commitment Peter writes “add to faith”. The word “add” in original usage carried the idea of lavishness and generosity.
MacArthur notes: ‘In Greek culture, the word was used for a choirmaster who was responsible for supplying everything that was needed for his choir. The word never meant to equip sparingly, but to supply lavishly for a noble performance.’
That noble purpose is the development of Christian character that reflects Christian faith which in turn evidences God’s grace to us in Christ Jesus.
As we return to the life of Elijah from 1 Kings 18 we see in vv.1-2 a remarkable picture of the godly character of this man. it is a joy to explore the godly character of the man of faith.
However the real issue is not what was Elijah like as a man of God, but what are we like as the people of God? Are we people of noble character, that character which demonstrates faith, that is Christ-like? Here we see something of what Christian faith looks like in daily life. It is character that is nurtured in the bosom of God’s grace.
John Stasse