“Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” 2 Peter 1:1-4
Peter tells us that Grace and Peace can be multiplied unto us and explains how this can be possible. We as God’s children all experience God’s Grace (His undeserved favour) and His Peace (Rest and Prosperity), but here we read that it can be ‘super-sized’ or multiplied toward us. How? He explains that it’s not that complicated really, for its through a knowledge of God the Father and His Son Jesus.
This word knowledge is the key to multiplying our grace and peace. It is the Greek word ‘epignosis,’ that is used often in the Epistles. Paul states that we need this knowledge in his prayer for the Ephesian Church.
“That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling,” Ephesians 1:17-18
This knowledge is not just knowing about someone but actually knowing them personally. I can say that I know about the King of England, but I don’t really know him so to speak and he doesn’t know me. Knowing the King of Kings is something that needs to be developed as its a relationship, and has to be nurtured. Praise God we have been given the Holy Spirit as a gift and His supernatural power aids us in the knowing of God and Jesus Christ.
Knowing God may seem to be a very simple task, but we need to remember that we have a devious enemy who is constantly trying to stop us focusing upon Him. The Devil knows what this relationship with God can do for us, and how it can do a lot of damage to Him. Satan can’t stop us from knowing and loving God but He can distract us into loving other things more than God. This is called idolatry. The Devil knows that where our treasure is, there will our heart be also so He tries to get us to treasure the vanities of this life.
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also,” Matthew 6:21
What we love the most will be that which gets our attention and takes up most of our time and love. The bible says that when our eye is single then our whole body will be full of light.
“The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.” Matthew 6:22 KJV
This verse speaks to me of how focusing more on one thing is like a magnify glass. When used properly the light coming through the glass can cause a fire to break out. The Devil knows the power of focus and wants us to spread our love onto a multitude of things so that we are watered down in our affection of God, and become lukewarm and Laodicean by nature.
God’s promise is that when we focus upon Him making Him our treasure it will enlarge us and enable us to be blessed abundantly. Grace and Peace will multiplied unto us.
On the other said of the coin, I am reminded of a verse that speaks again of multiplication, but this time its not of good but evil. It’s the wrong harvest.
“Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god:” Psalm 16:4
This tells me that sorrows can be multiplied to those who worship idols. We all have sorrows in life, as its all part of the fall, but I think some of us get more than we should because we open up the door to the Devil’s interference through the worship of idols.
You may say that idol worship only applies to non-Christians, but the bible says God’s Children can also worship idols. You might also say that Idol Worship only happened in ancient times when people used to bow down to Baal and Ashtoreth, but the bible makes it clear that we can still worship idols today, for its an attitude of the heart.
“Away then with sinful, earthly things; deaden the evil desires lurking within you; have nothing to do with sexual sin, impurity, lust, and shameful desires; don’t worship the good things of life, for that is idolatry.” Colossians 3:5 TLB
“Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry.” 1 Corinthians 10:14
“Little children keep yourselves from idols. Amen.” 1 John 5:21 (KJV):
Idolatry is putting other things that we love in the place of God, or seeing God as a means of getting the things that we want. Idolatry is a type of greediness, a love for someone or something that is more than our love for God.
There can be all sorts of idols in our lives especially in the areas of man’s biggest weaknesses. Money, Food and Sex for instance. Jesus spoke a lot about money in His parables for He knew that it had a powerful influence on our lives. Money and possessions can become an idol when they take the place of God in our lives. Cheating on our taxes can be an idol as we don’t care what God thinks about it, its all about us getting more money at the end of the day. If you worship money then you’ll end up having more financial problems than you are meant to have. Sorrows will be multiplied unto you. Your life will be filled with the stress of trying to handle finances with no energy left to focus on the Lord.
Personally, I have found that food can be a big idol in our lives. Food means so much to us and it can be all we think about. When food is an idol we hardly ever fast even after Jesus says that’s its to be part of our walk with God. When we pamper our flesh above our spirits it will always come back to bite us. It can also bring a lot of sickness into our lives. We can get more sorrows than we are meant to have by worshipping food more than God. Jesus said that man shall not live by bread alone but every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Paul said that he used to discipline his body, and so should we.
“Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.” 1 Corinthians 9:26-27
There are so many other things that can become an idol in our lives in these last days, from social media, movies, drugs and alcohol, sports and clothing to name a few.
I love how Susannah Wesley, the mother of John and Charles Wesley, once said; "Whatever weakens your reason, impairs the tenderness of your conscience, obscures your sense of God, or removes your desire for spiritual things, that is sin to you."
Let others argue over what sin is and what it's not. You know in your heart of hearts if there's something standing between you and the Lord. Deal with it today, and get back into a right relationship with God.
Praise God Jesus has come to set us free and experience His abundant multiplication in every area of our lives, but we must be careful not to let any of them become an idol. Let’s not take our eyes off the ball and end up with only a partial reward. John said that he wanted a full reward from the Lord and so should we.
“Beware of being like them and losing the prize that you and I have been working so hard to get. See to it that you win your full reward from the Lord.” 2 John 1:8