Powerful Gifts

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,

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 sentence is packed with good stuff! I sometimes wonder if Peter learned to write from Paul, whose letters contain many powerful run-on sentences like this one!

While there are a lot of ideas to understand here, I’m going to focus on two things today, what God has granted to us and why He has given these gifts.

Peter tells us that we, those who are called by Jesus, have all things for life and godliness. ALL things. To me, this says I have everything I need to live a life that pleases my heavenly father. If I know Jesus, there isn’t anything missing. I can make godly choices in this life because I have His power in me.

We also have God’s precious and very great promises. I not only have everything I need for my life on earth, I also have promises of a home and rewards in heaven when this life is over. These are precious, indeed!

Why would God give us such wonderful, powerful gifts? Well, He’s a good father who delights in His children. But Peter gives us a specific purpose for these gifts: so that we may become partakers of the divine nature. God gives us all we need for this life and promises for our life to come so that we can grow to be more and more like Jesus. We’re not there yet, but one day we will be. (1 John 3:2)

Think About:

• How have you experienced these gifts in your life?

• How can you become more like Jesus today?