MORAL EXCELLENCE is next to be added in II Peter 1:5. This is a strong quality. It is some places called “Virtue”. It is a word which comes from the name of Ares, the Greek god of war.
The only other New Testament point of reference to this word is II Peter 1:3.
We all know what worldly excellences are. Guiness records them in their record books. We watch the shows on television that give awards in sports and the arts. Names in the news testify to success in making money. What we are striving for are not worldly, but moral.
The word moral means being able to make a distinction between right and wrong in actions. This distinction is not rooted in our world. It is not even a matter of majority rules in regard to what’s acceptable or not. It is something rooted in God.
What are spiritual excellences?
Prayer.
A grasp of the word.
Freedom from sin.
Being identified as one of God’s people.
The biggest of all is this: we are like Jesus in character. There is nothing to top it.
How can that be? Only through the Holy Spirit.
This is a war like quality in that it is meant to conquer all sin and vice. It matches the character of God, the Father, also, for he is called a Man of War in Exodus 14:3.
He never loses a war!
Green Lizard
10 years ago
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