His Divine Power: 2 Peter 1:3-4
A pastor was teaching a Bible study on spiritual maturity to a room full of people from his congregation. He gave them all modeling clay and asked them to make something that would represent where they were in their journey as a follower of Jesus. When it was time for everyone to show what they had made, a man in his eighties came to the front of the room. He sat a baby’s cradle on the desktop and said, “I have been a Christian for over forty years, and I am still a baby.” The man went on to describe why he had never moved from the nursery of faith. Sadly, I am convinced that this is the story of many men and women who became followers of Jesus.
When a baby is born God gives him or her everything they need to grow to maturity. It is remarkable to think about it, but that tiny newborn possesses everything he or she needs to develop and grow into a mature adult; physically, emotionally, and cognitively. When a baby doesn’t develop and grow, we as parents become concerned that something is wrong and we begin to look for answers.
What is true in the physical realm is also true in the spiritual realm. When someone becomes a follower of Jesus, he or she is “born again” as Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3:3. That newborn is given everything he or she needs to grow to spiritual maturity. So, why do so few of the followers of Jesus grow beyond the nursery of faith? I’m certain that there are many possibilities as to why this is true, but I’m convinced that the main reason is because we actually don’t want God to change too much of our lives. We don’t want God to do a complete overhaul of our lives, we only want God to change those parts of us that we don’t like. C.S. Lewis put it like this.
I think that many of us, when Christ has enabled us to overcome one or two sins that were an obvious nuisance, are inclined to feel (though we do not put it into words) that we are now good enough. He has done all we wanted Him to do, and we should be obliged if He would now leave us alone. As we say ‘I never expected to be a saint, I only wanted to be a decent ordinary chap.’ And we imagine when we say this that we are being humble... But this is the fatal mistake. Of course we never wanted, and never asked, to be made into the sort of creatures He is going to make us into. But the question is not what we intended ourselves to be, but what He intended us to be when He made us. He is the inventor, we are only the machine. He is the painter, we are only the picture. How should we know what He means us to be like? …We may be content to remain what we call ‘ordinary people’: but He is determined to carry out a quite different plan. To shrink back from that plan is not humility: it is laziness and cowardice. To submit to it is not conceit or megalomania; it is obedience. (Lewis, C.S., Mere Christianity (New York: Touchstone, a division of Simon & Schuster, 1996), pp. 175.)
Our lack of growth in our relationship with Jesus is certainly not due to lacking what we need to grow to spiritual maturity. Peter, in 2 Peter 1:3-4, reminded the followers of Jesus living under the thumb of the Roman Empire that the Lord had given them everything they needed for life and godliness. Turn with me to our Scripture for this morning and let’s read it together.
3 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, 4 by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. (2 Peter 1:3-4 ESV)
This incredibly exciting truth, that we will study this morning, follows another incredible truth that Peter shared in verse 2, in which he said,
2 Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. (2 Peter 1:2 NIV)
So, in these first three verses of Peter’s letter we learn that the abundance of grace and peace can be ours through our increasing knowledge of the Lord and that He has provided for us everything we need for life and godliness. How gracious and good is our God?! I want us to dig deeper into verses 3-4 this morning. Let’s read verse 3 once again.
3 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, (2 Peter 1:3 ESV)
The first thing I want us to notice is that everything we need for life and godliness are not produced or acquired because of our capabilities, our goodness or efforts, but they are “granted to us” by “His divine power.” What kind of power is it that He possesses? The Greek word translated “power” is the word “δύναμις” (dunamis). This Greek word is the word from which we get our English word “dynamite.” You can gather all of the dynamite in the world and create the largest explosion ever witnessed on the planet and it will not even begin to compare to the power of our God. Paul wrote about God’s power in his letter to the church in Ephesus.
18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. (Ephesians 1:18-21 NIV)
May the Lord open the eyes of our hearts so that we may know “his incomparably great power for us who believe.” What kind of power has He made available to you and to me? Paul tells us it is the same power that “he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms…”
By this same power He has granted to us everything we need that pertains to life and godliness. Some translations say “has given us,” but either way the idea is the same. The Greek word is “δωρέομαι” (dōreomai) and it means “to present, bestow, or grant.” What’s interesting about the word Peter uses is that it is in the “perfect tense” which means God gives us everything we need the moment we turn from our sins and receive Jesus, and what He has given, He continues to provide. These tools, gifts, His supply never grow old, they don’t rust out or fade away. They are presently available to each and every person who is a follower of Jesus. Now, what you choose to do with what He has given you is your choice. Such an important choice is before you and me each and every day. Alexander MacLaren wrote,
We may have as much of God as we will. Christ puts the key of the treasure-chamber into our hand, and bids us take all that we want. If a man is admitted into the bullion vault of a bank and told to help himself, and comes out with one cent, whose fault is it that he is poor? (Alexander McLaren)
Alexander MacLaren ministered at the same time as Charles Haddon Spurgeon, in the 1800s. Spurgeon pastored in London and MacLaren in Manchester. God gave both men incredible insight into His Word. You can tell by reading their sermons that both men shared a deep understanding of God’s Word that led to a deep intimacy with Jesus, an intimacy that went beyond mere head knowledge. The door to the same heavenly storehouse from which Spurgeon and MacLaren drew in their own lives is still wide open this very morning for all of those who belong to Jesus.
Let’s move on to the next thing in verse 3 that is important for us to learn. In the first half of the verse we have learned that God has granted us everything we need that pertains to life and godliness. In the second half of the verse we can learn how God has granted us these wonderful blessings. They come “through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence,” This is the second time in three verses that Peter has used this word “knowledge.” Grace and peace in abundance come to the followers of Jesus “through our knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord.” Here, in verse 3, we learn that everything we need for life and godliness comes “through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence.”
This knowledge that Peter is referring to here is not just Bible knowledge in general, but a specific kind of knowledge. It is the knowledge of “him who called us to his own glory and excellence.” This is knowledge concerning God’s act of salvation for those who will believe in Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
I want us to focus for a moment on that little phrase that is packed with so much meaning, “him who called us.” It is really a mind-boggling thought to contemplate, but it is a biblical truth that we all need to let sink in. The Bible teaches that God calls us. If you are a follower of Jesus the Bible teaches that before God called you, you were lost in darkness, your thinking was futile, and you were separated from God. In that hopeless state, God called you. He sought you out. He opened your eyes, showed you your need, and you turned to Him. Peter put it this way, in his first letter.
9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. (1 Peter 2:9 NIV)
We couldn’t find our way out of the darkness, but He called us out of darkness and into His wonderful light! The apostle Paul was not searching for Jesus. He was searching for Jesus’ followers so he could arrest them and hopefully rid the world of them, but then God called him. Listen to what Paul wrote in Galatians 1:15-16.
15 But when God, who set me apart from my mother's womb and called me by his grace, was pleased 16 to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, my immediate response was not to consult any human being. (Galatians 1:15-16 NIV)
Paul thought he was on the right path when he was opposing Jesus and His followers, but then God called him. God showed Paul that He had a plan for His life and it was a plan that was radically different from the one Paul had mapped out. God, through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection has provided the way for us to be reconciled and restored to a right relationship with the Father. He does not call us to simply save us from an eternity of being separated from Himself, but He calls us so that He might equip us with everything we need for eternal life and to live a godly life, a lifestyle that reflects His character and heart, in the present. In 1 Peter 1:15-16, Peter wrote,
15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy." (1 Peter 1:15-16 NIV)
To be “holy” means to be set apart. It doesn’t mean that you dress like a monk or a nun and move away to some remote desert location so you can escape the lure of the world. Peter says we are to be holy as God is holy. We are to allow the Holy Spirit to produce His fruit in our lives so that we are altogether different from the persons we were before we met Jesus and altogether different from the world around us. We are not called to be weird, but to be holy.
Paul contrasts the life lived in our own power and under our own direction with the life produced by the Holy Spirit in the lives of the followers of Jesus, in Galatians 5:19-23. Read it with me.
19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:19-23 NIV)
All of the characteristics Paul lists, which he calls “acts of the flesh,” are so common in this world in which we live, but they are not to be common in our lives, if we are followers of Jesus. To live the holy life God has called us to live, and which He has provided for us through the work of the Holy Spirit, means that our lives will be characterized by the fruit of the Spirit: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” Let’s move on to verse 4, but let’s read verses 3-4 so we can keep things in context.
3 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, 4 by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. (2 Peter 1:3-4 ESV)
Once again Peter reminds those who first heard this letter, and those of us who are studying Peter’s letter this morning, that God “has granted to us his precious and very great promises…” Going back to the end of verse 3, it is through His glory and excellence that He has granted to us His precious and very great promises. What are these precious and very great promises that Peter is referring to here? Thomas Schreiner writes,
What Peter was saying was that believers inherit God’s promises as they come to know Christ, as they experience his moral excellence and glorious radiance in conversion. Great and precious promises have been given to God’s people through the gospel, a gospel that provides everything believers need. (Schreiner, Thomas. 1,2 Peter, Jude. pg. 293).
Some of these promises have already been fulfilled. The promise that the Messiah would come, which was announced in the Hebrew Bible, the Old Testament, has been fulfilled. The promise that the Messiah would suffer for the sins of others so they might be reconciled to God, which was announced through Isaiah, that promise has been fulfilled. Isaiah wrote, some 700 years before Jesus was born.
4 Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! 5 But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. 6 All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God's paths to follow our own. Yet the LORD laid on him the sins of us all. (Isaiah 53:4-6 NLT)
Seven hundred years before the first blow was delivered to His back, before the first nail was driven into His hands and feet, before they hung Him like a common criminal–God promised that He would deal with His people’s sins through His sinless Son’s sacrifice. Could there ever be any greater promise fulfilled?
There are so many other promises for you, if you are a follower of Jesus, if you have received His gift of forgiveness and reconciliation. He has promised to never leave you or forsake you. He has promised to go and prepare a place for you and that He will come back for you so that you may be with Him in heaven. He has promised to take your anxiety and give you peace that surpasses all understanding. He has promised to never allow any temptation to come into your life that He will not equip you to conquer. I could go on and on if we only had the time. I do need to share one more promise with you because some of us wonder if God is like those around us who are inclined to give up on us if we don’t get our act together. If you are a follower of Jesus you need to know that the work He is doing in your life is His work and He will finish what He has started. Listen to what Paul wrote to the Philippian believers.
6 And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. (Philippians 1:6 NLT)
He is not done with you. He has promised to finish what He has started…that’s His promise! That promise gives me such encouragement because I am more than familiar with how often I stumble and fall, how slow I can be to forgive when He has forgiven me countless times, how often I choose my ways over His, and how often I neglect the One who has given everything for me.
We need to talk about one more thing before we leave here this morning. Let me ask you a question, “Why has God given us these precious and very great promises?” Now before you answer what you think, go back to verse 4 and you will find the answer. He has given us these precious and very great promises for two reasons: So we might “become partakers of the divine nature” and so that we will be reminded we have “escaped the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.” Let’s take a moment to talk about each one.
First, what does it mean to be a partaker of the divine nature? There is a growing and popular teaching in our day that is really nothing new at all, but it is a repackaged ancient philosophy that teaches that there is a “divine spark” inside of every person. Those who hold to this teaching believe that humanity is God or part of God and can achieve a “Christ consciousness” once becoming aware of our divine nature. This is not what Peter had in mind at all.
We are partakers of the divine nature from the standpoint that if you are a follower of Jesus, God has redeemed you in order that He might mold and shape you into the image of His Son, Jesus. We are given the Holy Spirit to produce godly fruit in our life so that we will mirror God’s character in this world in which we live and share life with others. We are to be like Jesus. You say, “That’s impossible! How could I ever be like Jesus? How could His love be evident through the way I love others? How could His ability to forgive be demonstrated through me when I’m inclined to hold grudges and never forgive those who hurt me? How could His passion to serve others be displayed in me when what I really want is for others to serve me? Those are honest questions and important questions. Have you already forgotten? Peter has already told us, “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness…” What you and I are incapable of doing, He is more than willing to do if we will simply allow Him to do His work. If we will yearn for Him to mold us and shape us into the image of His Son.
Secondly, we are given these precious and very great promises so that we can escape the corruption that is in this world because of sinful desire. Peter does not intend to try and convince the early followers of Jesus or us that if we turn to Jesus and follow Him that we will never sin again. What he does intend to remind them of is that they now have a new nature, a new purpose, and a new power to battle the desires that seek to draw us away from the Lord. Throughout God’s Word we are taught that our great battle is the battle with the desires within us, not the world around us. Our desires corrupt us. Martyn Lloyd-Jones wrote,
The characteristic of man’s natural life is that it is a life lived according to desire. Man by nature does not ask, ‘Is this good, is this god-like, is this pure, is this clean, is this elevating, is this spiritual?’ He asks, ‘Do I like it?’ He is governed by his desires, by that which pleases him, and by that which panders to his lower nature. This is what Peter means by corruption–it is the corruption that results from lust or inordinate desire. (Lloyd-Jones, Martyn. Expository Sermons on 2 Peter. pg. 17).
Before I came to know Jesus I had no power to battle the desires that raged within me other than my own sheer willpower. My willpower had almost no power at all. My desires consumed me, drove me, and destroyed me in so many ways. When we come to know Jesus and the Holy Spirit takes up residence in our lives, we are given a new heart and mind and a new desire to help us battle those desires within us. Paul wrote,
2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-- his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:2 NIV)
What will it be for you this morning? Will you continue to be conformed to the ways of this world, to allow your desires to lead you around like a dog on a leash, or will you confess your need for Jesus this morning? God is calling you. If you hear His voice, if you feel that tug, don’t resist, but fall into His arms of grace and mercy. Remember, His divine power is able to do in you and me what we are totally incapable of doing for ourselves. Won’t you come to Jesus this morning?
Mike Hays
Britton Christian Church
February 2, 2025
