6 And to knowledge temperance; and to
temperance patience; and to patience godliness;
First, God gives us faith.
Second, we develop moral courage and power or virtue from that wanting and choosing to do right, and we desire to
know Christ through His word to have knowledge
of Him and His will. Then we come to temperance
or self-control doing all things in moderation and under Christ’s
authority.
Here, Paul uses a form of temperance in using an athlete as
a type of Christian.
1Corinthians 9:24
¶ Know ye not that they which run in a
race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. 25 And every man that striveth for the mastery
is temperate in all things. Now they
do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. 26 I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so
fight I, not as one that beateth the air: 27
But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any
means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.
Temperance is the
last listed in Galatians 5:22,23 and presumably highest of the fruit or proof
or evidence of a Christian having the Spirit of God dwelling in them. Solomon
wrote about this character trait.
Proverbs 12:16 A fool’s wrath is presently known: but a
prudent man covereth shame.
Proverbs 15:18 A wrathful man stirreth up strife: but he
that is slow to anger appeaseth strife.
Proverbs 16:32 He that is slow to anger is better than the
mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.
Of course, temperance applies
to such things, as well, as gluttony and drunkenness.
Deuteronomy 21:20 And they shall say unto the elders of his
city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he
is a glutton, and a drunkard.
Proverbs 23:21 For the drunkard and the glutton shall come
to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.
But it is in the expression of anger, self-righteous
judgment, and paranoia that the conservative Christian will often find the most
danger in intemperance when dealing with his or her own family or the body of
Christ.
Patience is synonymous with longsuffering, one of the fruits
or evidence of a Christian having the Spirit of God in him.
Colossians 1:11 Strengthened with all might, according to his
glorious power, unto all patience and
longsuffering with joyfulness;
Peter will emphasize the Lord’s longsuffering toward us as
being why we have the opportunity for salvation later in chapter 3. We need
faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, and patience. We must be patient to
endure suffering. Many Christians in lands in the Middle East and Africa and
Asia suffer horrible tribulation and persecution and must have great patience
to endure as those in the Great Tribulation at the end of this age must have.
Revelation 14:12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are
they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
To have godliness we must have built on the previous values.
Do you have faith? Do you have the courage of your convictions to do right? Do
you know Christ, and His will for your life? Do you have self-control and have
you brought your flesh into a disciplined state? Do you have patience and
longsuffering in waiting on God and trusting in His promises?
Godliness is the
next listed. To live in a Godly manner
is to possess Godliness. Many
Christians think that Godliness is a
negative trait, based on defining yourself by what you do not do. If they don’t
swear, don’t drink, don’t smoke, don’t watch certain TV and movies, and don’t
do really bad things then they view themselves as Godly Christians. But, Godliness
is defined more by what you do than what you don’t.
Godliness is
manifested in how your religion is expressed.
James 1:27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and
the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and
to keep himself unspotted from the world.
Godliness is
revealed in how you treat others as shown in Jesus’ parable on the Good
Samaritan in Luke 10, in the Sermon on the Mount, and in Paul’s writings in
Romans 12 and other places. In fact, the Bible can almost be said to be a book
on how to live in a Godly manner.
This can be attained on one level by your will but on a deeper level it can
only be attained by letting God speak to your spiritual heart through His
words. Also, you cannot hope to live a Godly
life if you aren’t willing to die for Christ, trusting in Him. Christians
who live in a state of constant fear and paranoia do not trust Christ nor can
they accept His will for their lives.
So, added to the faith God gives, is the moral courage of
your convictions, the knowledge of Christ through the words of His Bible,
self-control and moderation in temper and consumption, patience and a
longsuffering attitude in waiting for Christ’s promises, and then living in a
manner pleasing to God.
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