"According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him, that hath called us to glory and virtue. Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust."
2 Peter 1:3-4
Part 1
When we trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior, many wonderful things happened to us and will continue working in us until the day we see Him in glory. Peter here describes for us some of what God does in us at salvation.
“According as his divine power hath given unto us.”
When God saved us, it was His “divine power,” working through the Gospel of His Son, that changed our hearts so that we could put our faith in Christ. Paul spoke of this power in the Gospel when he said,
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16).
God’s power is evident in the life of His redeemed child. The Gospel is the only power on earth that can change the human heart. And having a personal relationship with God the Father through the Gospel of Christ is where that heart change begins. His power in us makes all the difference. He changes the believer from sinner to saint.
“All things that pertain unto life and godliness,”
God, through His power, has given to us “all things that pertain unto life and godliness.” Before a person can become godly, he must have life. We can understand this because, without spiritual life, a man is still “dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1). We need life so that we may become genuinely godly. Here’s where eternal life begins by knowing Jesus Christ personally.
“And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent” (John 17:3).
“It is not by godliness that we obtain life, but by life, godliness.”[1]
What is this, “godliness?” How can I become godly? Come back tomorrow, and we will see what it means to be “godly.”
[1] Jamison, Fausset, and Brown. Jamison-Fausset-Brown’s Commentary, the electronic version in eSword.