Barren, unfruitful or abounding in these things?
English: Icon of Jesus Christ (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ .” ( 2 Peter 1:8 ) In this first chapter of Peter’s last epistle, he refers to “these things” (one word in the Greek ) no less than six times. That they are extremely important things is evident from our text, but if these things are lacking, one is spiritually blind and has forgotten what Christ did for him in salvation (v. 9). However, if he does “these things,” he will never fall (v. 10). What then are the things which Peter stresses so urgently? Verse 8 makes it obvious that they constitute simply the hierarchical catalog of Christian attributes listed in verses 6 and 7—that is, faith, virtue (strength of character), knowledge, temperance (self control), patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and charity (unselfish love). The same word is used in verse 4, where it ex...