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,
Peter opens his last letter with what believers already have. God's own power has given them everything they need for life and godliness. Two questions follow. What does "all things" include? And what does it mean that God calls us by, or to, His own glory and excellence?
Everything Needed, Nothing Withheld
One writer names some of what God has given, and stresses that nothing is left out:
F. B. HoleWe have not only received life. With it we have received all the things needed to show that new life in practical Christian living and godly behaviour... A few moments' thought would remind us of some of the gifts God's power has given us: the Holy Spirit living in us, the Word of God written for us, the throne of grace opened to us, to name only three. We have received not some but ALL things that have to do with life and godliness. So we are sent out fully equipped. Nothing is lacking on God's part.
Another writer counts trial and sorrow as part of that supply:
William KellyThere is no limit at all in what God gives us... Whatever comes, whether trial, difficulty or sorrow, we as believers can never think it is random. It comes from Him... This is part of what He calls "all things that pertain to life and godliness," because trial and difficulty make up the very path where we must live out that life and keep up that godliness.
Life and Godliness: Source and Display
These two words are not a repetition:
Leslie M. GrantLife is of course the living spring of spiritual existence, and only the One who gives it can keep it going. Godliness is the practical showing of that life, and so a reflection of God's own character. The first has to do with God's side of things, the second with our own side.
Another writer traces the order: life first, then likeness:
W. T. P. WolstonEternal life is a life that enjoys God and is suited to God... The first thing is a life that comes from Him, and is taken up with nothing but Him. Then comes godliness, God-likeness.
How the Power Reaches Us
One writer ties this power to what faith knows of God:
J. N. DarbyBut there is a living power with this knowledge — a divine power in what God is to believers, as He is revealed to faith in this knowledge. This divine power has given us all that belongs to life and godliness. Through the real knowledge we have of Him who has called us, this power becomes available and effective for everything that belongs to life and godliness.
Called by Glory and Virtue
Older translations read "by glory and virtue" here. Writers who follow that reading take glory as the goal set before us, and virtue as courage:
J. N. DarbySo we have here the call of God to pursue glory as our object, winning the victory by virtue — spiritual courage — over all the enemies we find in our path. This is not a law given to a people already gathered together. It is glory set before us, to be reached by spiritual energy.
Another writer draws out the practical pull of both words together, noting they were rendered "by God's own glory and by virtue":
William KellyThe glory of God in the future has the most powerful influence among the traps of the present. So God has revealed that glory as our hope, through Christ and with Christ, to lift the soul above everything that attracts it or drags it down. He has called us by His own glory, and by the virtue, or moral courage, that refuses to indulge self, which is against the will of God.
Calling: Not for the Innocent
Adam, the first man, was never called in this way:
William KellyCalling does not apply to an innocent creature, but to a fallen one. Calling means that God speaks to take that creature out of the state he is in, and put him into a better one. Adam was to magnify God by honouring Him where he was, and by enjoying what God had given him all around, not by reaching for something unseen or greater.
Power Against Every Opposing Power
Three powers stand against the believer, and one stands far above them:
Hamilton SmithWe have to face the power of the flesh within, the power of the world around, and the power of the devil against us. But the power of God is far above every power set against us, and it is for us. In this power it is possible to live the life of godliness.
Summary
- Power — the starting point is God's own power, not ours. It works in us and gives us all we need for life and godliness.
- Provision — the gift is all things, not some: the Spirit, the Word, access to God, and even trial as the road where we live that life out.
- Pair — life is God's side, the spring; godliness is our side, the likeness to Him that shows.
- Path — we reach that power by knowing Him; the call comes by glory ahead and courage for the road.
- Purpose — with flesh, world and devil against us, no believer can plead lack. Nothing is missing on God's part.