WHAT DIVINE POWER GIVES

" . . . 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." (2 Peter 1:3)

IN THE PROVISION of salvational resources, God acted out of His Godhood. Here is an expression of the Divine Nature – "Divine power." This is objective power – that is, it serves Divine purpose. It is authority that cannot be obviated by the enemy. What this power supplies cannot be removed by the devil! Such provisions as are given by "Divine power" will always be accessible to faith. They will not grow old or prove inadequate. They are precisely adapted to our condition, undergirded by Omnipotence, and furnished out of Divine desire! Their supply springs from eternity.

WHAT PLENTITUDE HAS BEEN PROVIDED by this "Divine power!" "ALL THINGS THAT PERTAIN TO LIFE AND GODLINESS!" Not some things, but "ALL things!" There are no spiritual supplies anywhere else! History, science, and philosophy are all impotent to provide anything having to do with "life and godliness!" They are all broken cisterns that can hold no water (Jer 2:13), and bags filled with holes (Haggai 1:6). If God has supplied "ALL THINGS" having to do with "life and godliness," neither man nor angel will be able to find a solitary spiritual resource elsewhere! Those who boast they have found spiritual secrets other places are not telling the truth!

NOTICE THE AREAS OF NEED – "life and godliness." If God has supplied all things concerning these areas, it is because they are needed. Nature is paralyzed and unproductive in the spiritual realm! "LIFE" is spiritual life – being "alive to God" (Rom 6:11). This is "fellowship" with the Son (1 Cor 1:9), walking "in the light" (1 John 1:7), living "by faith" (Heb 10:38) and walking "in the Spirit" (Gal 5:16,25). It is an acute awareness of, and sensitivity to, the Living God. "GODLINESS" is holiness, piety, devotion, or godly living. It is the expression of spiritual life in godly thoughts, words, and deeds. This is Divine life lived out in the people of God. Without this quality, "no man shall see the Lord" (Heb 12:14).

VITAL UNION WITH GOD AND CHRIST, and living a godly life are accomplished by appropriating Divine supplies–"ALL things" God has "given to us" out of His "Divine power." What He has given is appropriated by your faith. Without those resources, neither life nor godliness are possible – and these "things" have been supplied in abundance! If professed believers are not in vital union with God, and if they are not living godly in Christ Jesus, it is because they have not availed themselves of what God has "given." All such people are "in the flesh," and are living in a state of practical alienation from God, profession notwithstanding.

" . . . THROUGH THE KNOWLEDGE OF HIM of Him who called us by glory and virtue." "All things pertaining to life and godliness" are appropriated in the same way as the multiplication of grace and peace! The circumstance of Divine fellowship and intimacy is the place of appropriation! Knowing God, which is "eternal life" (John 17:3), is not only a "gift" (Rom 6:23), it is the appointed means of obtaining Divine resources.

THERE IS A HEAVENLY LOGIC to this required circumstance. Notice, God has called us "by His glory and virtue." This phrase is translated in a variety of ways by various translations. "His own glory and excellence" (NASB,RSV), "glory and goodness" (NRSV,NIV), "glory and worthiness" (YLT). The idea is that the most glorious and beneficent attributes of God constrained our calling – the summons to involvement with Himself. He has poured Himself into every aspect of our salvation! To Moses He revealed His afterglow, or "back" (Ex 33:23). The Law itself contained a foreshadowing, or type, of glorious things to come (Col 2:17; Heb 10:1). Both the afterglow and the type were vague, lacking the clarity revealed in Christ Jesus. But this is not how God has now made Himself known! We were not "called" by an afterglow of the Divine Presence, or by a mere introduction to coming things! We were called by God's "glory and virtue" – by a more thorough exposure to His Person and purpose "in the FACE of Christ Jesus" (2 Cor 4:6). The best and most extensive revelation of God is found in our calling.

THIS BEING THE CASE, availing ourselves of this call will bring to us the best God has to offer – "all things pertaining to life and godliness." Make sure of this: those who live in aloofness from the Living God will obtain nothing pertaining to life and godliness! Those who live close to the world, maintaining a dominantly worldly perspective have, by that very posture, forfeited what they need to live unto God and be godly! Such things cannot be obtained by religious disciplines, seasonable bursts of supposed spirituality, or fulfilling official religious responsibilities! In my candid opinion, this eliminates the validity of the majority of contemporary religion. Those who want what God has provided, must obtain it in the appointed way – through the knowledge of Him.

– Given O. Blakely