Bloom: Everything You Need | Week 1 | From Knowing to Growing

In this episode, we kick off our new series Bloom by diving into 2 Peter 1:1–4 and exploring the difference between simply knowing about God and truly knowing Him through a lived, relational experience. It’s possible to have all the right information and still miss the transformation.

Peter writes with urgency, knowing his time is short, reminding believers that we already have everything we need for a godly life through Christ. The question is: are we just hearers of the Word, or are we doers?

Aaron unpacks:

•  The difference between head knowledge and heart transformation 
•  Why your faith is just as “precious” as anyone else’s 
•  How real spiritual growth actually happens 
•  What it looks like to move from hearing God’s Word to living it out 

If you’ve ever felt stuck in your faith or wondered how to grow spiritually, this message will challenge and encourage you to take the next step.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Good morning. It's good to see you. So glad you're here. I hope you and your family had a tremendous Good Friday and Easter. It was fantastic to worship with. So many of you. I'll tell you, as I get older, and I really don't think it's as I get older, I think it's more the more that I grow in my own faith, the more that I grow in my own knowledge of God, like Good Friday and Easter just continue to grow in their significance and meaning in my own life. And my family last week, we we were reading some specific devotionals surrounded by the events of Good Friday and Easter. And then we were watching videos that just talked about the evidence of the resurrection of Jesus. And it was just such a powerful reminder of God's power, of his goodness and his grace to us. It was a reminder of dead things coming to life. And so as I think about Easter, it reminds me of spring. And so while the season of fall might be my favorite season, spring is right there with me. Anybody spring your favorite season? Yeah, some of you. Rest of you, I would say fall, probably. Maybe. I don't know. If you choose winter, questionable. But look, I love spring. There is something, I know parts of our country don't experience the change in seasons, but I feel like for us Midwest folks, like there's something special about coming out of the doldrums of a cold, cloudy, windy, snowy winter and moving into a season of more sunshine and warmth. Like I love spring because I want to be outside more. Like that is that is my happy place. I love being outside. I love seeing the flowers begin to bloom, the trees beginning to bud out, the grass becoming green again. And I know there's things about spring that perhaps we don't love as much, you know, like allergies that can be rough around here, right? Pretty pretty brutal, you know. Um like uh you you mow the grass once, and then it's like game on player, and it's like you're like, okay, slow down a little bit here, right? But uh I I love spring. It is it is good for the soul, and it's baseball season. I love baseball season. I love watching the Cincinnati Reds. My two older boys, Cameron and Cole, are both playing baseball this year. Unexpectedly, they are getting to play on the same team. Uh, y'all, that is a game changer for my schedule. And uh I'm getting to help coach them, which is a whole lot of fun. My youngest son, Casey, he's he's only three, and so he's not quite old enough to play baseball on his own team yet, uh, but he thinks he's old enough to play on a team. And so as he's watching his his older brothers, he is literally grabbing their old cleats and putting them on. He's taking their batting helmets, their bats, uh, his baseball glove, the bag, all of it, and he's putting it on. Check out this this picture of him. So as we as we start going to practice and now games, uh, Casey is regularly found pacing the sidelines, and given the opportunity, he will make his way into the dugout and he'll put on a batting helmet and he will grab a bat. And when I walk by, he's like, it's my turn to bat. And I'm like, son, unfortunately, it's not. And he becomes very displeased at that answer, and sometimes that turns into tears. Uh, he has my kind of stubbornness and my kind of competitiveness. It's funny how the Lord does that to you. But I I love spring, and I share this to you because we are entering into a new series this morning called Bloom. And we're not gonna be talking about uh the growth of grass and plants and trees. We're gonna talk about the spiritual growth. We're gonna talk about the growth of you and the growth of me. You know, spring is a time where things are coming alive so that they can thrive in the way that God has designed them to thrive. And if you were with us for our last series uh called Share on the Book of Romans, we talked about like what does it mean to be made right with God? And now we're gonna talk about what does it look like? What does it mean to be growing in our faith? What does it mean to be spiritually growing? And so as we enter into this new series, bloom, we're gonna be looking at the first chapter of 2 Peter. And really, just for the purposes of this series, we're only gonna focus really on the first seven verses of 2 Peter chapter 1. It doesn't mean that the other chapters aren't important and they're good. They are important, they are good, you should read them, but we're gonna focus really on the first portion of 2 Peter chapter 1. And so before we dive into the scripture this morning, I want to give you a little bit of a little bit of context. You've probably been able to guess, you know, a good educated guess of who the author is. It is Peter. Peter was a disciple of Jesus, he was a follower of Jesus. This letter was likely written from Rome. We can't say with absolute certainty, but it was likely written from Rome. It's not written to a specific audience, meaning it's not written to a specific church in a specific location. This letter, also known as an epistle, would have been circulated amongst Christians, amongst believers. It would have kind of made its way around. But here's something that I really want to note for you this morning so that you can really hang on to this. This letter would have been written about one year after the letter of 1 Peter. But it comes about two years before Peter would be executed, before he would be martyred for his faith under the rule of the Roman Emperor Nero. Now, this execution of Peter, it was not going to be a surprise to him. He might not have known when he was going to be executed, but he knew that that was likely in his future. He knew that his days were likely numbered and coming to a close. In fact, both Peter and Paul at different times were martyred for their faith under the rule of Emperor Nero. And so it's believed that Peter was given the opportunity or the option, I should say, that uh how he would uh be executed. And he chose crucifixion, but he didn't want to be crucified in the same manner that Jesus was crucified because he didn't feel worthy of that. And so it's believed that Peter was crucified uh upside down. And uh I it's brutal, but I I tell you that because I believe Peter wrote this last letter. He knew that this was likely going to be his last words to his brothers and sisters in Christ, and I believe he wrote this letter with a certain amount of passion and urgency for those that would read it. And so as we read these words, as you hear these words, as we dive deeply into these words in this series, I want you to hear them with the kind of passion and urgency that I believe Peter would have written them with. And so this morning we're gonna study the first four verses in chapter one of the book of 2 Peter. And these first four verses, they're fairly short, they're fairly brief, uh, but they're dense, meaning they are jam-packed with some significant insights from Peter. And we're gonna really uh get below the surface on these few verses because it's it's tremendous. And so I'm gonna read the first four verses all together. I'm reading from the NIV and then we're gonna jump back up to verse one. This is what it says, 2 Peter chapter 1, starting in verse 1. And it says, Simon Peter, a servant, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours. Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. Through these He has given us His very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. So let's jump back up. Verse one. It says, Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours. And so these first couple verses seem very introductory, very normal, but there is some tremendous insight that I want to point out to you. I want you to notice how the author identifies himself. He starts out by saying, Simon Peter. And Simon was his birth name. It was his Hebrew birth name. In Hebrew, it is pronounced Shimon, and it means one who listens and hears. And so if you're taking notes, write that down. Simon means one who listens and hears. It's going to be important to remember that as we work through the text this morning. And so Shimon, when it's transliterated into Greek, this letter was originally written in Greek and then translated into English. We get Simon. But then he also says Peter, and Peter was the name that was given to him by Jesus. And we can see this in Matthew chapter 16. At this time, Jesus has already gathered his disciples, meaning he's already called these men to follow him and to learn under him. And he gathers them around, perhaps in a circle, and they are talking, they're conversing with one another. And Jesus asks his disciples, What are people saying about me? In fact, who are people saying that I am? And the disciples have different answers. They're like, Jesus, some people are saying that you're John the Baptist. Others are saying that you are a prophet, like Elijah or Jeremiah. And then Jesus turns the question on his disciples and he says, Well, who do you say that I am? Who am I? And so Simon, a disciple of Jesus, a follower of Jesus, says, No, you are the Messiah. You are the Son of the living God. And so Jesus says, You're right. But you didn't come to that knowledge on your own, Simon. You didn't come to that knowledge by flesh and blood. As in there was no earthly man or woman that revealed that to you, but it was God the Father that revealed this to you. And it's at this point that Jesus gives Simon a new name, another name, and it is Peter. In the Greek it is Petros, and it means small stone. And Jesus would go on to say, and it is on this rock in which I will build my church, and not even the gates of Hades can stand against it. Not even the gates of Hades will be able to overcome it. Now here's what Jesus is saying, because when he says on this rock, it's not the same Greek word Petros as Peter, it's a different word. It means large boulder. Jesus is not saying that it's on the back of Peter himself that he's going to build his church. The church is not built on the back of any one man or woman. Jesus is saying it is upon the confession that I am the Messiah, the Son of the living God, that I will build my church, and not even the gates of Hades will be over, be able to overcome it. It's pretty neat, right? And so he says, Simon Peter, a servant, an apostle of Jesus Christ, a servant. This is the Greek word doulos. It quite literally means slave. In the English, we get it wrong. We try to be too nice, too kind. It is literally the word doulos, which means slave, a willing slave. If that word doulos sounds familiar, it is, because as we entered into Romans chapter 1, all the way back in January, the Apostle Paul also, in his introduction, introduced himself as a doulos, a willing slave of Jesus. And so he is saying, My name is Simon Peter, a doulos of Jesus, a slave of Jesus. Jesus has bought and paid for me in full by his blood. I am his, and he is mine. And an apostle of Jesus Christ. And an apostle means one who is sent. And Peter was a disciple of Jesus. And not only was Peter a disciple of Jesus, but he was within the inner circle of disciples, meaning he was one of Jesus' closest disciples, one of Jesus' closest friends. Peter was there and learned under the teaching of Jesus. Peter was there for many of the miracles that Jesus performed throughout his earthly ministry. As the Roman soldiers and the Pharisees came to arrest Jesus, Peter was present. He was the one that drew his sword in defense of Jesus and cut off the ear of another man. When the women came to attend to the gravesite of Jesus, and they found that the site was empty, they came back to the disciples to let them know. And Peter was one that was literally running to the tomb to investigate it for himself. Peter saw the risen Jesus, and now he is an apostle. He's one that has been sent out to preach and to teach all that he knows about Jesus and preach and teach is exactly what Peter did. The last half of verse 1 says, To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours. He's saying, To those who through the righteousness, meaning to the believers, to the church, to the Christians, through the righteousness of God, talking about the justice of God that have received a faith as precious as ours. I love this. Here's what Peter's saying there are no second-class citizens in the kingdom of God. There are no second-class citizens in heaven. If you have confessed that Jesus Christ is Lord, the Son of the living God, then you have a faith just as precious as Peter's. It does not matter your origin, whether you come from a Jewish background or a Gentile non-Jewish background. It does not matter your race, your tribe, or your tongue. If you have confessed Jesus as your Lord and Savior, the Son of the Living God, you have a faith as precious as that of Peter's and Paul's or any of the other apostles. Think about that. That is incredible. I think so often when we think of the leaders in the early church, men like Peter or Paul or John or you name the men and women who were leaders in the early church, I think sometimes we we place them in a position where we're like, I wish I had a faith like theirs. I wish I had a faith like theirs. And I think we even do this today. We play the comparison game. We look at other men and women in the church, or we we look at uh the pastor, or we look at our favorite Christian speaker or author or musician, and we say, I wish I had a faith like theirs. And I think most often when we say that, we're saying, I hope and I wish that I can follow their example. But what Peter wants you to know is that if you have a faith even as small as a mustard seed, it is precious and it is powerful. Your faith is on equal ground, it has equal standing, just as the faith of Peter. Verse 2 Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. So we say, the grace of God and the peace of God be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. Other translations would say, May the grace and peace be multiplied in you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. Here's what Peter is saying. If you want the grace of God and if you want the peace of God in abundance, it comes through the knowledge of God. And we're gonna pause here and hang out here for a little bit this morning because if we want to know what it truly means to grow spiritually, to grow in Christ, then we have to start with an understanding of what it truly means to know God. Let me illustrate it with you with this example. I told you I'm a big baseball fan. I'm a big Cincinnati Reds fan. So if you were to come to me and say, hey Aaron, do you know Terry Francona? I would be like, Yes, I know Terry Francona. Tito Francona. If you didn't know, that is the manager of the Cincinnati Reds. I would say, yes, I know Terry Francona. I know that his nickname is Tito. I know that he's been a successful manager for teams like the Boston Red Sox and the Cleveland Guardians, that he's won a World Series, and I hope that he can do that here in Cincinnati. I would tell you that when you watch a game, Tito is always chewing bubblegum or chewing on sunflower seeds. I would tell you that after the Reds win and they do like their handshakes at the end, he does this dab thing with Ellie de la Cruz. Like, I would tell you I know Terry Francona. But when I tell you I know Terry Francona, do I really know Terry Francona? The answer is no. I have never met him, I've not spent a lick of time with him. What I know of him is based on what I've seen of him, heard of him, or read about him. I have some head knowledge about him. I know some facts about him. Now, that is one aspect of knowledge, okay? Now, if you didn't know who my wife was, and you came to me and said, Hey Aaron, do you know Elise Adams? I would look at you kind of silly and be like, Yes, I know Elise Adams. But my knowledge of my wife is way different than my knowledge of Terry Francona. Right? My knowledge of Terry Francona is surface level at best. But my knowledge of my wife, it's not knowledge that I've gained because of things I've just read about her, heard about her, or seen about her. It is a knowledge based on experience. It is a lived-out knowledge. Okay, and so when Peter says, May grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, here's what he's really talking about. He's talking about what does it mean to truly know God. In the Greek, and this is where it's important to dive deeply into Scripture, in the Greek there are a couple different words that mean knowledge. The first one is this, gnosis. It's pronounced gnosis. It is intellectual knowledge. It's head knowledge, it's knowing facts about someone or something. And intellectual knowledge, gnosis is important. It's important to have head knowledge. It's important to have intellectual knowledge. But that is not the Greek word that Peter uses when he says, Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. He uses the Greek word pronounced epinosis. And the epinosis is defined as a full, complete, precise. Experiential relational lived out knowledge of God. And so while gnosis is head knowledge, epinosis is an experiential knowledge. It is a lived out knowledge. It's a heart knowledge. And so if you want to have the grace and peace of God, to truly have that, it comes through the epinosis, the lived out, experiential knowledge of God. Let me say this plainly. You can know a lot about God and not know him. You can know a lot about God. You can know a lot of facts about God. You can have a lot of gnosis about God, intellectual knowledge about God and not actually know him on a heart level. You can know a lot about him, but not know him through relationship. And what Peter is challenging his audience with his readers is to truly know God through relationship. You know, I have uh some really good friends in my life, even family members, who they have a lot of intellectual knowledge about God. They have a lot of head knowledge about God, and that is good. That is helpful, and it is needed. They can talk through scripture, they know much about what the Bible says. Sometimes I'm like, you know it even better than I know it. But my fear is they know a lot about God, but they don't really know him yet. And I say yet because my prayer is for them. That their knowledge of God goes from just intellectual facts about God to a lived out, experienced knowledge about God. I say yet because we've been talking a lot about like who is your one person that you are going to intentionally pray for throughout the rest of this year. Like I know who my one is. And my one is an individual who has a lot of knowledge here, but it's not here yet. And so knowing about God is different than truly knowing him via a relationship. And we're gonna continue talking about this. Here's what it says in verses three and four. His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these, he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. Now, this is incredible. Verse 3, his divine power. We're talking about the divine power of God has given us everything, everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge. There's that word, Greek word epinosis again, of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Here's the point: Jesus is sufficient. Christ is truly all we need for every aspect of our life and our pursuit of godliness. As a Christian, that is the goal. It is to truly know God through lived-out experience. And when we truly begin to know God through lived-out experience, it will provide you with everything you need for life and a pursuit of godliness. There is nothing that this world can offer you that you need more than what Jesus gives you. There is nothing that this world can offer, and this world can offer a lot, and a lot what this world offers is very tempting, but there is nothing in this world that you need more than what Jesus gives you. And the word that Peter uses when he says his divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life, it is the Greek word Zoe, and it means every single aspect of life. God can provide for you everything you need in every single aspect of your life, both life here on this earth and life eternal. There is no trial or problem that you cannot face and endure and overcome because of what Jesus provides you. And it comes through a lived out, experienced knowledge of God. Look, this world it is broken. This world is chaotic, it is filled with corruption, darkness, sin, evil, and death. This earthly world is decaying, and this earthly world is dying. But God is above all of that. God is above the chaos of this world, God is above the brokenness of this world, God is above the corruption, above the evil, above the sin. And he has defeated death. And he is calling us to new growth. He is calling us to a pursuit of godliness. He is calling us to rise above the darkness, the corruption, the sin, the evil that we experience in our lives. You are no longer stuck there. And it comes through a true knowledge, a lived out, experiential knowledge of God. It doesn't come from just knowing things about Him, it comes through living out His Word. I love this quote by John MacArthur. It'll be on the screen. I'm gonna read it. I wrote it down in my Bible. It says, to seek something more than what we have been given in Christ is like frantically knocking on the door, seeking what is inside, not realizing you hold the key in your pocket. Sometimes we face uh problems and trials and issues in our life, and we're like frantically knocking at the door, hoping that whatever is inside can fix it and help us through it, and yet you have, as a believer, as a Christian, you have the key in your pocket, and that key is a true lived-out experiential knowledge of Jesus, that is where it is at. And so you might ask the question how do I move to epinosis? How do I move from intellectual head knowledge about God to a heart knowledge of God? What is the role that I play in all of this? And let me encourage you with this. Epinosis is truly the work of the Holy Spirit. It is truly the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer. It is not an instant one-time download of knowledge. It's not like, man, you got it, and then all of a sudden you know everything that there is about God and life. It is gradual, it is over time, but we do have a role to play. And our role is to take God's word for what it is, the word of God, and trust that it is good and true, and then live it out. And so, to answer the question of what is the role that we play in our growth, I want to read to you from the book of James, chapter one. It starts in verse 22. The book of James, I love the book of James because James is just a straight shooter. He's black and white, he just says it like he sees it. And this is powerful. So what he says, James chapter 1, starting in verse 22. Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves, do what it says. There it is. Straight shooting James. Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves, do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and after looking at himself goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom and continues in it, not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it, they will be blessed in what they do. We've got to be Christians who not only hear the word of God, but do the word of God. Hearing the word of God is important. But if it just stays hearing the word of God, that's gnosis. It's here, it's intellectual head knowledge. But when we become Christians who not only hear the word of God, but we act in faith, and when I say act in faith, you hear the word of God and you trust that it is true, you act in faith and then you begin doing the word of God, then God is going to bless that, and the Holy Spirit is going to use that, and then our life becomes a lived-out experience of God. It's no longer just gnosis, it becomes epinosis. We've got to be people that hear the word of God, trust that it is true and good, and then do it at all costs, even when it's hard, even when it goes contrary to what the world says you should do. Hear the word of God and then do the word of God. That is a true, precise, full knowledge of God. He's going to use that at times in your life in ways that perhaps you never imagined him doing. Let me give you this example. Go back to Matthew chapter 16. Jesus has gathered his disciples. And he looks at them and he says, Men, what are people saying about me? Who are they saying that I am? And the disciples answer, Jesus, some are saying you're John the Baptist, others are saying you're you're a good teacher, others are saying you're you're a prophet, like Elijah or Jeremiah, and then Jesus looks at his disciples, his friends in the eyes, and he says, But what do you say about me? And these are men, while they are primarily working class men, they're smart men. They know what Scripture says about God. They have heard what Scripture says about the coming Messiah. And Peter sits there in this circle with his fellow disciples and Jesus, and he's able to look at Jesus and say, No, Jesus, you're not just a good man, you're not just a good teacher, you're not John the Baptist, you're not a prophet, no, you are the son of the living God. Remember what Simon means? It means the one that hears and listens. And God had been working in the heart of Simon. And God had revealed something to Simon extraordinary. That Jesus, the man in front of him, was the Messiah, the one that they have been waiting for, that he was the Son of the living God, even when the world around him said, nope. And so Simon goes from a man who had just heard to a man that is now acting in faith, and he steps forward in faith, and now he is doing it. And that action was professing for the first time publicly, Jesus, you are the Son of the Living God. And that profession, that confession, changed the life of Peter forever. It transformed his heart towards God, and it changed his heart towards man. It went from Gnosis, a head knowledge, to now a lived-out experiential knowledge of Jesus. That's what it looks like. A hearer who acts in faith that is now doing the very word of God. And make no mistake, the life of Peter, the spiritual walk of Peter was not perfect. It was up and down, and there were moments of tremendous victory. And there were moments that would have felt like tremendous failure. But it all starts with faith and putting ourselves in a full utter dependency on God. God, I'm going to trust that your word is true and I'm going to act on it. The goal is to have a knowledge of God that transforms our hearts so that we start looking, acting, talking, thinking more like Jesus. That's the goal. Pray for that this week. That you will have a lived-out knowledge of Jesus that starts to change the way that you think, starts changing the way that you talk, it starts changing the things that you do so that you reflect more and more. Jesus, the Son of the Living God. And so my question for you this morning is what is the area in your life right here, right now, where you need to go from a hearer of God's word to a doer of God's word? Is that your marriage? For you, is that in your parenting? Is it with your finances? Is it with your health? Is it with fear? Is it with anxiety? Is it with your faith? Perhaps you've never gone from that spot of hearing the word of God to doing the word of God. Perhaps you've never said, yes, Jesus is my Lord and Savior. He is the Son of the living God. What is the area of your life right here, right now, that you need to go from a hearer of God's word to a doer of God's word? It starts with faith. It starts with faith. Trusting that God's word is true. It starts with faith even if it's as small as a mustard seed. It is powerful and it is precious. And we will grow from there. If you have your communion, I'd love for you to take it out. Communion is the time for us, the church, the body of believers, to celebrate and to remember God's grace and his goodness to us. You know, as Christian men and women, we're not called to be stagnant in our faith. We're called to be ever-growing. And that is the passion and the urgency of Peter. My Christian brothers and sisters, grow in your knowledge of God. And when you have a lived-out experiential knowledge of God, it will transform your heart. It has to change you. It will change you. It'll change your heart towards God. And it will change your heart towards man. And we take communion as a reminder of the amazing example of Jesus and his sacrifice for us. The body of Jesus is broken for us on the cross. Take and eat. The blood of Jesus poured out for us on that cross. Take and drink. Pray with me. God, I'm so thankful that you invite us into relationship with you. God, you are the creator of the universe, the creator of all things, the sovereign God of this universe, and you invite us into an experiential, relational, lived-out relationship with you. God, I pray that we don't settle just knowing things about you, but we pursue a true knowledge of you. Lord, I pray that you will stir in us a faith to hear your word, to trust that it is good and true, and to live it out. We love you, Lord. It's your name I pray. Amen. I love all of you. Thanks for being here this morning. If you need prayer, men are up front. They'd love to pray with you. Have a great rest of your Sunday.