II Peter 1:3 – God Has Given Us All Things That Pertain Unto Life And Godliness
II Pet 1:3 reads “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.”
Some may think this verse is talking about how God gives us everything we need informationally through His word, the Bible. II Tim 3:16-17 does teach that, but II Pet 1:3 I think includes more. It is talking about ALL the things that God gives us (using his divine power) that pertain to life and godliness. Let’s name a few (but not all) of those things …
1) God’s word, the Bible. This is such an important gift. Without it we would be groping around in the dark trying to figure out how to please God:
· John 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. – God’s word is the truth. That means it has no errors, and would also mean it encapsulates all the religious truth God intends for us.
· II Tim 3:16-17 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. – So the Bible is the thing we look to for doctrine, for religious instruction, etc. It makes us complete as a Christian. We don’t need anything else such as the Pope or church tradition as a standard of truth.
2) Forgiveness of sins through the death of Christ. There is nothing more important to us than this:
· Rev 1:5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, – Without the death of Christ, we couldn’t be saved (Heb 9:22).
· Acts 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. – Only believers who repent and are baptized will receive the forgiveness of sins.
3) The right to pray:
· I Thess 5:17 Pray without ceasing. – We should take full advantage of the power of prayer.
4) The necessities of life. This probably would pertain more to life than to godliness:
· Matt 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. This context shows that if we will put God first, even before our jobs, he will make sure we get the necessities of life.
5) Parents to guide us in our youth. Without our parents’ good influence, probably not too many of us would be faithful Christians today:
· Eph 6:4 … ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Good parents’ first priority is to teach their children to serve God.
6) The angels to minister to us:
· Heb 1:13-14 … the angels … Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?
7) Other Christians to encourage us to remain faithful:
· Heb 10:24-25 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. – One of the main reasons we should attend church is to encourage others and be encouraged toward love and good works. Maybe that’s why this passage makes it a sin to skip church services.
Conclusion: The last part of II Pet 1:3 says “through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue.” So none of this will work as intended unless we are a faithful Christian. We should be so thankful God gives us (using His divine power) everything we need to survive this life, and especially everything we need to be godly – so we can please him and be saved eternally. Remember, passages like Heb 5:9 say Jesus “became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him,” so we have to please him to be saved.
hear Bible Crossfire Sunday nights at 8:00 central on SiriusXM radio Family Talk 131 or at BibleCrossfire.com