«　WEEK 1　DAY 4　»

　　2 Pet. 1:10-11 Therefore, brothers, be the more diligent to make your calling and selection firm, for doing these things you shall by no means ever stumble. For in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be richly and bountifully supplied to you.

　　The eternal kingdom in 2 Peter 1:11 refers to the kingdom of God, which was given to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (Dan. 7:13-14) and which will be manifested at His coming back (Luke 19:11-12). It will be a reward to His faithful believers, who pursue the growth in His life unto maturity and the development of the virtues of His nature that in the millennium they may participate in His kingship in God's glory (2 Tim. 2:12; Rev. 20:4, 6).

　　In 2 Peter 1:3-11...the development of the kingdom within us is actually our entrance into the kingdom. In verses 3 and 4 Peter speaks of the divine power granting to us all things which relate to life and godliness and of becoming partakers of the divine nature. Then in verses 5 through 11 we have the development through growth in life unto the rich entrance into the eternal kingdom. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, p. 3943)

　　[In 2 Peter 1:5 through 7] we see the development of the divine life in us through a number of steps.

　　The bountiful supply that we enjoy in the development of the divine life and divine nature (vv. 3-7) will bountifully supply us a rich entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord [v. 11]. It will enable and qualify us to enter into the coming kingdom by all the riches of the divine life and divine nature as our excellent virtues (energy) unto the splendid glory of God. This is not merely to be saved but, after being saved, to pursue the growth and maturity in the divine life and thereby receive the kingdom reward.

　　The seed of life is already within us; it simply needs to grow and develop. We enter the kingdom day by day by the growth of the inner life.

　　If we would have the kingdom develop in us, we need to humble ourselves, empty ourselves, and unload ourselves. We should not be occupied with culture, religion, ethics, morality, philosophy, improvement of character, or the effort to be spiritual, scriptural, holy, and victorious. We should care only for Christ and for the growth of Christ within us. All the ground within us should be made available for Him to grow in us.

　　We also can have a rich entrance by losing our soul-life today (Matt. 16:25-28). When we lose our soul-life and its enjoyment, we are undergoing transformation....The more we lose the enjoyment of the soul, the richer an entrance we will have.

　　According to 2 Peter 1:1-4, God has given the seed of faith, the growing power, and He has given the promises that He will send the rain, the growth, and the harvest if we cooperate with Him. With God's giving, we must be diligent to develop the seed of faith by taking the promises, by receiving His word. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 3944-3945)

　　According to Peter's word in 2 Peter 1:5-11, to grow to maturity is to develop what we have already received. We have been allotted the wonderful equally precious faith, and this faith is an all-inclusive seed. All the divine riches are in this seed, but we must be diligent to develop them into virtue. Then we need to develop in our virtue knowledge; in knowledge, self-control; in self-control, endurance; in endurance, godliness; in godliness, brotherly love; and in brotherly love, love. By developing these virtues we grow, and eventually we shall reach maturity. As a result, we shall be full of Christ, and, in Paul's words, we shall arrive at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (Eph. 4:13). Then we shall be qualified and equipped to be kings in the coming kingdom. (Life-study of 2 Peter, pp. 63-64)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of 2 Peter, msgs. 6-7; The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 390; CWWL, 1972, vol. 2, “The Kingdom,” chs. 4-6, 50