2 Peter 1:3

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as His divine power has given 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 (NKJV)

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)

According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue.

2 Peter 1:3 (KJV)

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)

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)

seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.

2 Peter 1:3 (NASB)

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.lockman.org

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)

Scripture quotations taken from the Amplified® Bible (AMP), Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.lockman.org

For His divine power has bestowed upon us all things that [are requisite and suited] to life and godliness, through the [full, personal] knowledge of Him Who called us by and to His own glory and excellence (virtue).

2 Peter 1:3 (AMPC)

Scripture quotations taken from the Amplified® Bible (AMPC), Copyright © 1954, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.lockman.org

Everything that goes into a life of pleasing God has been miraculously given to us by getting to know, personally and intimately, the One who invited us to God. The best invitation we ever received!

2 Peter 1:3 (MSG)

Scripture quotations from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.

New Covenant Meaning

Already Given: The Past Tense of "All Things"

The verb "has given" (dedoretatai) is perfect passive in the Greek, indicating a completed past action with ongoing effect. God's divine power has already granted everything pertaining to life and godliness. It is not being given incrementally as the believer matures. It is not waiting to be earned through sufficient spiritual achievement. It has already been granted, and the granting stands as a present, permanent reality. The believer is not spiritually impoverished, waiting for more provision. They are spiritually complete in what has already been given, even if they have not yet fully appropriated what they possess.

Knowledge of Him: The Channel of the Gift

Peter specifies the channel through which all things pertaining to life and godliness have been given: "through the knowledge of Him who called us." The Greek word epignosis (full knowledge, deep personal knowledge) indicates not merely intellectual information about God but the intimate relational knowledge of the one who has called the believer. Everything needed for life and godliness comes through deepening knowledge of God in Christ. This means the solution to spiritual poverty is always the same: deeper knowledge of the one who has already given everything. What looks like lack is often undiscovered riches in the relationship.

2 Peter 1:3 is the foundation on which the rest of the chapter builds. Verses 4-7 describe the divine nature and the staircase of virtues: add to faith, virtue; to virtue, knowledge; to knowledge, self-control; to self-control, perseverance; to perseverance, godliness; to godliness, brotherly kindness; to brotherly kindness, love. These are not things to be earned from scratch. They are expressions of what has already been given. The growth Peter calls for in verses 4-7 is not the process of acquiring what you lack. It is the process of making effective what you have already received. The foundation is prior gift. The call is to walk into the fullness of the gift.

Application for Your Life

You Are Not Missing Anything You Need for a Godly Life

2 Peter 1:3 directly addresses the common sense of spiritual insufficiency. Many believers feel they need more faith, more power, more of the Spirit, more something before they can live the life God calls them to. Peter says: His divine power has already given you everything pertaining to life and godliness. You are not short-supplied. You may not have fully appropriated everything you have been given, but the supply is complete. The challenge is not to acquire what you are missing. It is to discover and walk in what you already have.

Growth Comes Through Knowing Him More

The practical path to greater experience of what has been given is "the knowledge of Him who called us." Every spiritual discipline, every commitment to Scripture, every investment in prayer, every participation in the community of believers is ultimately about knowing God more. And knowing God more opens access to more of what He has already given. The staircase of virtues in verses 4-7 flows from this deepening knowledge. You are not climbing to God. You are knowing more of the One who has already given you everything you need.

Prayer Based on This Verse

Father, I receive this declaration. Your divine power has already given me everything I need for life and godliness. I am not spiritually impoverished. I am not waiting for something You have not yet supplied. Everything pertaining to life and godliness has already been granted to me through the knowledge of You. I want to know You more. Open the full supply of what You have already given me as I know You more deeply. Let every discipline of knowing You be met with a greater awareness of what You have placed within me and available to me in Christ. In Jesus name. Amen.