2 Peter 1:11 Confirming Our Calling and Election

Confirming Our Calling and Election Through a Heavenly Focus

Finally, this leads us to our third and final point: We confirm our calling and election by keeping our eyes fixed on glory with Christ.

Look with me at 2 Peter 1:11:

“For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

Regarding this verse, John Calvin notes that Peter, as the inspired author, is promising that God, by His continual supply of grace, will lead His people into His kingdom. It is God who provides, for Peter writes, “there will be richly provided for you.” God grants the grace, and by this abundant supply of divine provision, He carries His children through this life—through temptations, afflictions, stumblings, and failures. Ultimately, He will bring us to the entrance of His eternal kingdom and admit us into glory through Christ.

A Foretaste of Glory

Yet, even now, we begin to experience a foretaste of that glory. The eternal blessings we will receive in full are already ours in part. What we have today is but a glimpse—a sweet foretaste—of the life we will one day share with Christ. However, this future life is certain for all who believe in Christ and bear fruit in keeping with that profession.

Why is this so? Because Christ possesses the eternal kingdom. It belongs to Him, and since we are in Him, it belongs to us as well. He will personally introduce us into it.

Consider Revelation 21:1–4: at the renewal of the cosmos, at the end of the age, Christ will welcome His people, wiping away every tear, sorrow, and suffering as He brings us into His kingdom of glory. This is the beatific vision, the perfected life with Christ—the eternal home toward which all believers are journeying.

Longing for Heaven

Everything on this earth reminds us of our need for that eternal kingdom. Daily afflictions, struggles with sin, bodily sufferings, and even the dimness with which we now see Christ should increase our longing for glory. Those whose minds are set on seeing Christ and dwelling with Him in perfection are the very ones who confirm their calling and election.

Only those who are in Christ are willing to forsake every earthly good for the sake of eternal glory with Him. Only those who belong to Him can say, “To live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

And is this not part of the reason God graciously gives us glimpses of heaven even now? To deepen our longing for it? To stir us up to think upon it, pursue it, and treasure it above all things?

Fixing Our Gaze on Glory

Brothers and sisters, we will only pursue the kingdom of heaven if we set our minds upon it. We must spend time:

• Contemplating it
• Meditating on it
• Studying the greatness and majesty of the age to come

We pursue what we love. And this is why Scripture so often directs our gaze to glory—to Christ who dwells there—so that we would:

• Value it more
• Detach our hearts from the fleeting things of this world
• Set our affections daily upon the eternal inheritance that awaits us

When we do this, we will pursue heaven as our greatest treasure.

Assurance for Those Who Pursue

For those who fix their eyes on Christ, what assurance they have! They are not tossed about by doubt but stand firm in the confidence of their salvation. They live boldly and steadfastly, not merely professing Christ but demonstrating their faith in their daily walk.

Such a believer can say with certainty:

• God is my Father.
• Christ is my Brother.
• The Holy Spirit is my Comforter.
• The devil is my defeated foe.
• Eternal life is my inheritance.

Do Not Delay

I implore you today: do not delay in making your calling and election sure. Peter assures us that there is a way to know that heaven is our home. Therefore, let us diligently pursue it:

• By practicing the godly qualities we have in Christ
• By seeing them increase in our lives
• By never forgetting the grace that has been afforded to us in Christ
• By keeping our eyes fixed on heaven

To close, let me share the words of Thomas Adams, which beautifully summarize the apostle’s message:

“We can merit nothing by doing, yet we shall have nothing without doing.”

May this truth remain with us today and throughout the coming week. Amen.