2 Peter 1:2-4
2 May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. 3His 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, 4by 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. ESV.
2 May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
There is much grace and peace in knowing God, more specifically, in knowing his son Jesus Christ (c.f. verse 2).
3His 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,
We are called to recognize that God has given us everything we need to live life; all things spiritual and physical. God gives not in the frailty of human power (for we can often fail in our promises and the things we give are perishable) rather, God gives to us in His "divine power". He gives us all things freely, i.e. by grace (vs.2), and the means by which he gives us all things is through knowledge of Jesus Christ (vs.3).
4by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises...
It is the knowledge of Christ that directs to the promises of God( vs.4); it is the knowledge of Christ that directs us to the essential promise: that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). Out of this promise flow all of the other lavish blessings we have in Christ (c.f. Ephesians 1).
...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.
But what are these promises to be used for, or, how are we to use these promises? They are to be used so that we can become "partakers of the divine nature" (vs.4) , i.e. more like Jesus Christ (c.f. Rom. 8:29). We "escaped" sin when we believed in Christ and were regenerated by the Holy Spirit and now we are called to change our character to emulate God's. We must understand the two reasons God gives us from verse 3 as to why He has done all of this:
1) His glory- It is our primary goal in this life to glorify Him and God blesses us in this capacity
2) His excellence - Which I consider to be the sum of God's character; all of his attributes. His love, his mercy, his justice, his holiness, his righteousness, etc... God's character, i.e. God as he has revealed himself to us, has created this plan from before time: His glory is seen in creation, his justice is seen in his judgment of sin through the cross, his love is seen in willingly going to the cross, his holiness is seen in his abhorrence of sin through forsaking his own son, his mercy is seen in his death on the cross, his righteousness is seen in the perfect life of Christ, and we could go on... it is the excellence of God's character that has called us to this glorious plan.
What an amazing truth!Through Jesus Christ we can emulate our heavenly Father and share in his excellent character for His glory and our peace! Who doesn't want peace in this world of busyness, and strife, and labor, and pain? Peace is ours and it is attained through glorifying God in Christ Jesus! What an amazing dichotomy that only could have come from an excellent God!
2 May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
There is much grace and peace in knowing God, more specifically, in knowing his son Jesus Christ (c.f. verse 2).
3His 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,
We are called to recognize that God has given us everything we need to live life; all things spiritual and physical. God gives not in the frailty of human power (for we can often fail in our promises and the things we give are perishable) rather, God gives to us in His "divine power". He gives us all things freely, i.e. by grace (vs.2), and the means by which he gives us all things is through knowledge of Jesus Christ (vs.3).
4by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises...
It is the knowledge of Christ that directs to the promises of God( vs.4); it is the knowledge of Christ that directs us to the essential promise: that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). Out of this promise flow all of the other lavish blessings we have in Christ (c.f. Ephesians 1).
...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.
But what are these promises to be used for, or, how are we to use these promises? They are to be used so that we can become "partakers of the divine nature" (vs.4) , i.e. more like Jesus Christ (c.f. Rom. 8:29). We "escaped" sin when we believed in Christ and were regenerated by the Holy Spirit and now we are called to change our character to emulate God's. We must understand the two reasons God gives us from verse 3 as to why He has done all of this:
1) His glory- It is our primary goal in this life to glorify Him and God blesses us in this capacity
2) His excellence - Which I consider to be the sum of God's character; all of his attributes. His love, his mercy, his justice, his holiness, his righteousness, etc... God's character, i.e. God as he has revealed himself to us, has created this plan from before time: His glory is seen in creation, his justice is seen in his judgment of sin through the cross, his love is seen in willingly going to the cross, his holiness is seen in his abhorrence of sin through forsaking his own son, his mercy is seen in his death on the cross, his righteousness is seen in the perfect life of Christ, and we could go on... it is the excellence of God's character that has called us to this glorious plan.
What an amazing truth!Through Jesus Christ we can emulate our heavenly Father and share in his excellent character for His glory and our peace! Who doesn't want peace in this world of busyness, and strife, and labor, and pain? Peace is ours and it is attained through glorifying God in Christ Jesus! What an amazing dichotomy that only could have come from an excellent God!
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