Abide in Him: 2 Peter 1:3
Happy New Year! I hope you all enjoyed the Christmas season. As with all Christmas seasons, this one seemed to have passed too quickly. Now it’s time to jump back into the normal routine of life and into our verse memorization project.
We will spend several weeks in 2 Peter 1. We’re actually going to work on memorizing verses 3 – 11. I’m sure some of you are thinking there is no way you can memorize that many verses. I’m here to tell you that yes, you can memorize that many verses. I’m not asking you to do all of these verses at once. We will break this chunk of Scripture down into bite-size pieces and work on one or two verses at a time. As we add new verses every two weeks, I recommend adding the new verses to what we have memorized already.
So, why such a large section of verses? I find this section of Scripture to be very helpful in reminding me that my faith is not only active, but it also requires work on my part. It also reminds me why I should confirm my calling as a Christ-follower.
Let’s get started!
The Verse
“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
Definitions
First, let’s look at what some of the key words mean so that we have a clear understanding of what Peter meant when he wrote the text. All definitions taken from Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance.
Divine: The Greek word for “divine” is “theios” and it means “spoken of the only and true God, the trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit).”
Power: “Dunamis” is the Greek word for power. It means “strength, power, ability; inherent power, power residing in a thing by virtue of its nature, or which a person or thing exerts and puts forth.”
Granted: The Greek word for “granted” is “doreomai” and it means “to present or bestow.”
Godliness: “Eusebeia” is the Greek word used and it means “reverence, respect; piety towards God, godliness.”
Knowledge: The Greek word used here is “epignosis.” It means “precise and correct knowledge; used in the New Testament of the knowledge of things ethical and divine.”
Called: “Kaleo” is the Greek word used for “called.” The definition of kaleo is “to call, to invite.”
Excellence: The Greek word used for “excellence” is “arete” and it’s definition is “a virtuous course of thought, feeling, and action, a virtue, moral goodness; any particular moral excellence, as modesty, purity.”
Grammar
Look at the phrase “has granted.” This is an example of the present perfect tense of a verb (action word). The word “has” is written in the present tense, as in it is current, in the present, at this moment. “Granted,” on the other hand, is written in the past tense, meaning it is something that has already happened. Basically, He “granted” to us all the things pertaining to life and godliness sometime in the past (the death and resurrection of Jesus), but we still have access to them now, in this moment. It’s not an opportunity that has passed us by, but rather something we can still obtain.
Context
This is Peter’s second letter. Though he doesn’t specify which church he is writing to, he does open his letter with the following: “To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ…” It seems he wrote this letter to help all Christ-followers, not just a specific church (unlike Paul, who wrote to specific churches (Corinthians, Ephesians, and so on. Though that fact doesn’t diminish what Paul wrote. His words are still applicable to us as well).
Peter explains the purpose of this letter in the first chapter, verses 12 – 15: “Therefore I intend to always remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have. I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way or reminder…And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things.” (ESV)
He writes this letter to encourage others to live a life of righteousness. He reminds them about God’s grace shown through the death and resurrection of Jesus and the power and revelation of the Holy Spirit. He also warns them (us) about false prophets and teachers and the dangers of turning away from the Truth.
Application
This particular verse is the beginning of Peter’s explanation as to why we should add certain qualities to our faith. He explains that through God’s power, He has given us everything we need for life. He has also given to us everything we need to live a godly life.
Once we are saved, we are given correct and precise knowledge of the divine. For example, we know the truth about our condition and what God did for us by sending His Son. We know that we were once sinners, but now we are forgiven and redeemed because of Jesus’ sacrifice for us and His resurrection. He has also given us the Holy Spirit, which is the Spirit of Truth (see John 14:16, John 15:26), as a witness to Jesus and a Helper to us. We are His now – called or invited to His glory and excellence.
Peter is reminding us it is possible to live a righteous life because God has called us to it and has given us everything we need to do so.
Final Thoughts
This verse is just part of one sentence. I didn’t want to overwhelm you with both verse 3 and 4 at the same time because they are lengthy. Even though it is just a partial sentence, the little bit we have studied contains divine truth. It is a reminder that we are called to live a righteous life and that He has provided everything we need to live such a life.
I recommend reading the letter in its entirety in one sitting (the letter is short). Imagine you received the letter from a friend. This will help you understand the purpose of the letter and the context. The more you understand the letter, the easier it will be to memorize the verses.
