Lavishing on the Supplements | Sunday December 28th, 2025 (New Years 2026)
As I was praying about a New Years message or continuing on in 1 John I kept coming back to 2 Peter 1. Part of the reason might have been all the new year ads for weight sets and supplements I kept seeing, and I started thinking about the really important supplements we are to supply to our faith. A few years ago God impressed on my heart how important this passage is for all believers. Peter saw it as this important as well.
2 Peter 1:12-15 ESV
(12) Therefore I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have.
(13) I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder,
(14) since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. (15) And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things.
Peter knows His death is close, and with His final letter wants to “make every effort” to remind us of these qualities so that “you may be able at any time to recall these things.” This was so important Peter wanted us to never forget these truths and be able to come back to them once He was gone.
2 Peter 1:1-2 ESV
(1) 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) May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
It is so telling about who Peter is that he describes himself first as a servant then an apostle. He saw serving Jesus as a weightier and more valuable title than the office of being an apostle. Peter is writing to other believers that have a faith that is of equal standing with his own and all other believers. There is not a hierarchy of believers. There is not a difference between clergy and laity. Peter, who can be over elevated today, is saying that every believers faith is equal with each other. Every denomination and group is so tempted to elevate one special group over another. For some that is the pastors, and clergy, for others it is a special grouping of 144,000, for others it is the enlightened ones, or the enlightened ones.
Peter undoes all this thinking by making sure we know that saving faith is based on “the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.” Jesus does not give different levels of righteousness to different groups. When a person has saving faith they receive Jesus’ righteousness. This is the exact same righteousness Peter, Paul, Billy Graham, and every believer receives.
Romans 3:21-24 ESV
(21) But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—
(22) the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: (23) for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
(24) and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
We do not receive God’s righteousness based on the law or based on how good we are. Too often grace is described as God filling in the gaps of where we fail. We try to get as close to God as we can then hope God’s grace will fill in where we fell short. This is a wrong view of Grace. We are not made righteous by our effort at all. We are given Jesus’ righteousness through faith in Him. We trust what He did. There is no distinction, we are all sinners and all need His pure righteousness. His grace to us is a gift. It doesn’t just fill in the gaps but accomplishes everything. Peter is reminding believers of what Jesus has done for each of us.
2 Peter 1:3-4 ESV
(3) 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,
(4) 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.
Verse 3 contains one of the greatest promises for the Christian life. In Jesus’ amazing power as God, He has given to us all things that are needed for life and godliness. The word granted means to give generously, and it emphasizes the enormous generosity of the giver. Meaning through Jesus’ generosity every believer has been equipped with everything we need to glorify God in our lives. There is nothing missing. No secret key, or hidden knowledge we need to figure out. In Peter’s Day many false teachers were offering the special knowledge you needed to have a great walk with God. Nothing has changed, as Christian bookstores are filled with curriculums offering the same thing. Each one has a new metaphor, and a new system but in the end are all trying to offer the same thing.
We have all we need through the knowledge of Him which leads us to His precious and very great promises. We trust and believe in a person, not a theological position or facts. The more we come to know Jesus the more we will trust in His promises. We will learn that He will accomplish and do all He claimed to do.
2 Peter 3:13 ESV
(13) But according to His promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
2 Corinthians 1:20 ESV
(20) For all the promises of God find their Yes in Him. That is why it is through Him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.
We can be assured of a new heaven and new earth, because Jesus promised it. Not because I claimed it, or someone else thinks so. The word of God is filled with promises that Jesus has given to us and each one finds its fulfillment in Him. To know what these promises are we have to know the Word. We do not get to make up our own promises, they are given voluntarily by Jesus. To be able to trust in these real promises we have to know Him. Israel’s largest failures were due to a lack of trust. A lack of confidence that God would fulfill His promises.
Psalms 106:7; 21; 24 ESV
(7) Our fathers, when they were in Egypt, did not consider Your wondrous works; they did not remember the abundance of Your steadfast love, but rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea.
(21) They forgot God, their Savior, who had done great things in Egypt,
(24) Then they despised the pleasant land, having no faith in His promise.
Israel did not stop to consider the wondrous works that God had accomplished. They didn’t know Him well. God’s power shown through the plagues should have given Israel the confidence that God could protect them at the Red Sea. Look at what He had already done, He can take care of this. Then as they went to the promised land, they continued to forget God. They had no faith, no trust that God could give them the land. There is a big difference between thinking God is powerfully in control, and I can trust this good powerful God. The more we come to know Him; His promises become real to us, not abstract. We can trust Him with whatever is next because of who He has shown Himself to be.
2 Peter 1:4 ESV
(4) 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.
Through this knowledge of Him and trusting in His promises we are able to become partakers, of the divine nature. God wants us to have fellowship, to become a sharer with Him. Through Jesus’ righteousness we have escaped the corruption of the world. We no longer belong to this World or its system.
God then desires for us to take full advantage of this. To have intimate fellowship with Him. This is God’s purpose for us. Unfortunately, not every believer will experience this close fellowship. They have escaped the corruption of the world, but they are not walking like it. This is what weighed on Peter’s heart and what He wanted us always to be able to recall. He wanted all believers to know how we could walk in a close abiding relationship with Jesus.
2 Peter 1:5 ESV
(5) For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge,
We are to have an earnest commitment, eagerness, diligence in supplementing our faith. This is not referring to salvation faith, nothing can be added to that. We all have a faith of equal standing. This is referring to our sanctification, our growth as believers. We are called to supplement, which means to lavishly supply. The Greek word is based on the practice of paying for the chorus during a play or gathering. The word meant to not hire the bare minimum, but to lavishly supply and really go above in beyond. Peter is saying faith is the starting point, the bare minimum, now lavishly add on the extras. The author of Hebrews viewed faith as a foundation to be moved on from.
Hebrews 6:1 ESV
(1) Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God,
These verses are not diminishing the importance of saving faith, but they are clearly saying that is just the start. We are called to grow and mature in our faith. To supplement it first with virtue which is an excellence/ uncommon of character, with courage. It is being willing to go against the grain of this world and stand with Jesus. The only way we can take this kind of stand is to add the next supplement, knowledge. If we don’t know Jesus, how can we know what to take a stand on, or what promise to trust in? We must supplement our faith by knowing the Word so we can know Him.
2 Peter 1:6 ESV
(6) and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness,
Each supplement builds on the next. Once we know Him more we know where to have self-control, which means restraint of ones emotions, impulses, and desires. The word literally means to be in dominion, mastery over them.
One thing I want to be clear on, we are called to lavishly supply and grow in these supplements but they do not come from us. Self-control is part of the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:23). We will find the power to live out these supplements the more we walk in the Spirit. When self-control is empowered by the Spirit there is tremendous freedom. When we try to force ourselves to have self-control, we will end up in legalism, and find it hard and exhausting. We are to walk in the power of the Spirit and be able to have dominion over our emotions, and passions.
Living with self-control leads to being able to have a steadfastness in life. Self-control focuses on the passions and pleasures of life, while steadfastness focuses on walking through the pressures and trials of life. The word literally means to remain, or abide under the pressure. This requires a faithful endurance. I have never grown much in a peaceful easy season. We grow during the season we need endurance. We are actually promised to grow as we have steadfastness.
James 1:2-4 ESV
(2) Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,
(3) for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.
(4) And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
We only learn how to endure, how to be steadfast by having to do it. As we supplement our faith and grow, we will learn to be steadfast. God is going to work on us, and refining out anything that does not look like Jesus. He is growing us and bringing us to completion. He is bringing us to the next supplement godliness. The word literally means to worship Him well, to have a holy respect and fear of God and then to reflect that in our life. We will learn to reflect His character, and values. We will learn to reflect His heart.
2 Peter 1:7 ESV
(7) and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.
We have been starting to study this in 1 John. There is no accident that the last two supplements have to deal with love. We are to have a brotherly affection for others and to love them self sacrificially. The closer we are to God and know His heart the more we will reflect His love. An unloving believer shows how immature they are. An unloving believer shows their faith is not being supplemented. These supplements are so important to Peter because of what they lead to.
2 Peter 1:8 ESV
(8) For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
These supplements cannot be approached as a check list with the goal of checking each one off and moving on. When would we ever have enough knowledge or godliness? These supplements are to be ever increasing in our life. This is not a list of the things to go out and do more of. This is a list describing what abiding growth looks like. True spiritual growth cannot be reduced down to actions because growth involves our heart. When these qualities are increasing in our life, they keep us from being ineffective, idle, lazy and unfruitful, useless in our walk. A believer can choose to not lavish these supplements to their faith and the end result of that is tragic.
2 Peter 1:9 ESV
(9) For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins.
A believer who has been cleansed of their sins can become so focused on this world and ignoring growth that all they can see is what is immediately in front of them. They are practically blind, and missing what God has for them. This is a believer who is so focused on the now they do not care about the eternal. I deeply desire for that to never describe my walk or any other believers walk.
2 Peter 1:10-11 ESV
(10) Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.
(11) For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
A believer who is abiding and lavishly supplementing their faith will be rewarded with an amazing entrance into Jesus’ kingdom. This is a believer who has been living for eternity who is thrilled to be there. It is a celebratory entrance. This new year why wouldn’t we go above and beyond in supplementing our faith?
1 Corinthians 9:24-25 ESV
(24) Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it.
(25) Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.
Let’s not be the nearsighted believers who are blind but those who are running to be rewarded with eternal gifts from our amazing Savior who enabled us to be in relationship with Him and grow close to Him.