All We Need
Father God, I thank You today's Word, our daily bread. I thank You for providing us with the wisdom and understanding of the Word that it may be used to transform our hearts and minds, in Christ Jesus. I thank You for the precious Holy Spirit, who is our Counselor and Teacher, that makes the Word clear to each of us, so that we may know You personally and intimately, for ourselves.
In Jesus' name. Amen.
Let's dive into today's Word, and see what our Heavenly Father has for us today:
'His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. ' 2 Peter 1:3 NIV
'His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. ' 2 Peter 1:3 CSB
'By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. ' 2 Peter 1:3 NLT
'as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, ' II Peter 1:3 NKJV
'For His divine power has bestowed on us [absolutely] everything necessary for [a dynamic spiritual] life and godliness, through true and personal knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. ' 2 Peter 1:3 AMP
This is a verse that is best taken in multiple doses; meaning re-read this verse until we receive different perspectives of it, to create a whole and fuller picture.
The first time I read it, I read it as we have everything we need to live a godly life. Which is beautiful because it means its possible, and that each of us already has everything we need to do it.
The second time I read it, I realized it says "through the knowledge of Him"; meaning the more we learn about our Heavenly Father, the more we realize what we've already received, what has already been done for us, who we are and who we were created to be, and we gain the spiritual access to all that belongs to us, through Christ Jesus.
The next time I read it, I had to look it up and break down each word in the Greek. The word "life" in this verse refers to both the physical life and the spiritual life, yet to come. "Knowledge" here also means recognition, full discernment, or acknowledgement. "Called" means summoned or invited, or name. "Goodness" here also means a gracious act, virtue, uprightness, or excellence.
Putting that together: The Lord, by His divine power, has graciously granted us everything (the whole thing) we need, for a godly (having reverence, holiness, and devotion) life (in the physical, now, and the spiritual, in the glory to come) through the knowledge (recognition [identifying of], acknowledgment [acceptance of], full discernment) of Him [Jesus Christ our Lord] who called us (invited us, summoned us, named us) by His own glory and goodness (righteousness, uprightness, excellence)
This means to me, that the more we receive revelation about God, and who He is, His character, His heart, and how much He loves us; the more we can identify and accept all that we need has already been given to us; because He has called us each by His name, and looks at us in delight. He has already given us rights as children of God to share in the goodness and glory of our Lord Jesus Christ; when Father God looks at us, He sees Jesus; so as we learn about Jesus and learn to see ourselves as Jesus, we can receive all that was done for us and live our lives holy, godly, and with reverent fear of God.
- Closing Prayer -
My Heavenly Father, You have sent Your son to die for our sins, so that we would be made right in Your eyes. So that when You look at us, You no longer see sin, but righteousness. Lord God, You have brought us in right-standing with You, so that we may share in the peace of God, that goes beyond our own understanding. Lord God, You do not give as the world gives; the peace You give is a gift the world can never give us.
Lord God, Your Word says that we have everything we need to forsake sin and our fleshly desires and live godly lives, as our Lord Jesus Christ has showed us. Lord God, I pray for those who are fresh to the faith, that they receive revelation from You on what was done for them, and who they are in You, so that they can walk in the path of righteousness with boldness and confidence and not allow the forces of this world to deceive them. I thank You my Heavenly Father, for your Word has given us all we need. I pray for those who have not yet accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, I pray that they encounter Jesus and that the barriers of the hearts would be removed so that they may receive Truth, and eternal life.
Lord God, I pray for all Your children, that we receive a hunger and passion for Your Word and for prayer, and a burning passion for Your presence, Lord God. I pray that our desires would be aligned with Your desires as we come to know You as our Father and as our Friend. I pray that those who are lost, be found by Your comforting love, and that they would be wrapped in Your warm and abounding grace, as they also accept who You are and what's been done for us.
I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.