This episode mostly deals with the believer's response to the gift of divine power in 2 Pet. 1:5-8. Resting on God's divine power, Christians should excel in 9 moral attributes, among them are moral excellence, self-control, and love. Peter concludes that those lacking these qualities are "blind or shortsighted, having forgotten the purification from their former sins." Peter's understanding of the gospel that saves is much more than mere forgiveness of sins, so he likely had much more than mere forgiveness in mind when he refers to "purification." Peter includes the endgame of salvation in both 1 Pet. 1:2 and 1 Pet. 4:1-2, which is obedience and living for the will of God. Believers who apparently see "purification from their former sins" simply in terms of forgiveness, have missed the holistic emphasis of the gospel: God saves us FROM the penalty of sin FOR the will of God. Peter consequently assesses that Christians who only got half the message are "blind and short-sighted." Christians should therefore honestly assess whether their lack of spiritual growth is due to a misunderstanding of the constitution, how things work in the Kingdom: growth in obedience to the will of God is the clear expectation of the gospel.
“Build, with God’s Power”
This episode builds on the first episode, emphasizing that all sanctification is fundamentally drawing on the power of Christ provided in the resurrection. We were born again through the resurrection of Christ (1 Pet. 1:3), and in sanctification, we progressively live out of the power that Christ has made available. "God's divine power has given to us everything pertaining to life and godliness..." (2 Pet. 1:3) The episode exhorts believers not to make the tempting mistake of the Galatians who sought "to be perfected by the flesh" instead of drawing on the divine power. (Gal. 3:2-3) New Years' resolutions often fail because they're based on fleshly resolve and power. The episode closes with the a summary of the numerous qualities that Christians are to walk in, based on abiding in Christ and His power. Even the Christian response is based on God's divine power. So, with respect to the constitutional metaphor, "separation of powers" doesn't refer to a Christian's response independent of God's power, but merely highlights human responsibility to ACT, in response to God's power.
Dump your God-complex and respond to His Power
With a view to beginning the year right, this opening episode calls believers back to the fundamentals, the constitution. Typically constitutions enumerate the powers of government, and our U.S. constitution provides a separation of powers. A successful life in God's eyes is founded on a separation of powers, where believers don't presume on divine prerogatives but only fulfill their responsibilities prescribed in the Biblical separation of powers. Well constitutionally speaking, the Christian life rests completely on the power of God. 1 Pet. 2:3 states that "God's divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life in godliness." The successful Christian life abides in Christ, and out of the power of Christ, bears much fruit. (John 15:5) The fruit enumerated in 2 Pet. 1: 5-8 are all based on the Christian's responsibility to access the power. Well when believers learn to operate in their proper domain, fulfilling their responsibilities through the power of Christ, many of the unnecessary headaches and heartaches that plague believers diminish. Things work better in the kingdom when we let God be God and appropriately respond to His power.