2 Peter 1:3: "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...”
Gaining knowledge of God’s Word is the impetus for His Children to live differently. As I have grown in my relationship with God, I have become more dependent on Him. Reading that may conjure up some ethereal feelings that have no basis in real life but more on emotions. It may cause you to think, “Yes, she knows who to go to after exhausting every other area when life is hard.” It can also import the idea that a relationship with God denotes some limited religious/spiritual connection. It may be that many of God’s own children have limited dependence on God in spiritual areas without understanding the emotional stability and practical living relationship God desires with His children.
Many of us read daily devotions, go to Bible studies, communicate in “Bible language” as we learn it, and have relegated ourselves to gaining knowledge about God without fully comprehending the depth of the change we should adopt after encountering God through His Word. The work of the Holy Spirit brings the change that God’s Word wants to make, not just give us knowledge that can puff us up. He wants to convict us of sin so that we will turn and repent. He wants to convict of righteousness so we won’t call evil good or good evil. We will understand what God says about any issue and then live it. He brings judgment to help us desire to live mercifully and show grace so we may receive those from The Father. Those are the internal changes that begin so practical actions can follow.
The Bible talks a lot about being “Blessed,” and the reality of it is not just an inward experience but a lived-out experience. God has given His children “all things that pertain to life…” Psalm 119:1 “Blessed are people with integrity, who follow the instructions of the LORD.” As we receive instructions from the Lord from our devotions and Bible studies, our questions should be, “How does this truth pertain to life, and what should change for me to live in the integrity of this reality?” The Holy Spirit is ready to reveal any area of error in our life and then offer us the righteous way to live out God’s instructions. This is not for big decision-making only. These changes should impact areas in our marriages, or singleness, with our children, at our jobs, our opinions, and decisions in every area of life. We will live differently when we submit to change God is doing through His Word and Spirit. A blessed life of godliness follows. We haven’t just done another study without impact on our lives.
I can imagine the passage in 2 Peter 1:3 saying, “… that pertain to life and godliness…” might stir up the idea of some self-righteous person walking around judging others. “Godliness” is the inward work God is doing, while “Life” is how we allow those changes to pour out in every area toward others and areas of personal integrity. “Personal integrity” is when no one is watching. Our thoughts, attitudes, words, and actions align with God’s Word in the depth of our souls first. Being in God’s Word is supposed to start changing there first.
Psalm 119:2 says, “Blessed are those who obey his laws and search from Him with all their hearts.” The second part is being done by most of us; let’s call it our devotional and Bible study time. Whether that is with “all their hearts” or not is the point of this blog. We want more than just an hour or two of chatting, listening, and debating theology; we want to be those who live to obey, be changed, and thus handle life and its perplexities in a God-honoring way. This is where the “Blessed” quality comes from. “Blessed” is an enviable quality given to God’s people because He “has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness.” The world is waiting to see people who aren’t just religious but those who have the answers to life’s challenges. The world only believes us as we practice “the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence...” The knowledge we gain is brought to bear in real-life experiences. For example, David says, “It is good for me that I was afflicted that I may learn Your statutes,” Psalm 119:7. Have you recognized areas like this in your life? Difficulties you can be genuinely grateful for now that you see the benefit for “life and godliness?” I have and can say, “The depression I faced in my 20’s and 30’s was a gift. It taught me how to become dependent on God in a way nothing else was doing.” It was one of the most difficult periods of my life. The godliness that has developed, the counsel it has allowed me to offer, and the dependence on God that it has built-in my life cannot be repaid, but I should live out my life in gratitude towards my LORD. There is nothing that I have gone through wherein “the knowledge of him who called (me) to his own glory and excellence...” hasn’t caused me to understand what He was teaching me about life in Him practically and what his standards were for godliness (spiritually).
I will repeat what I began with; as I have grown in my relationship with God, I have become more dependent on Him. Additionally, I have taken Bible Study and devotional times as opportunities to gain knowledge about Him. There are times when knowledge puffed me up, but God offered His gifts of trials to change those into opportunities to recognize that was not the purpose of His Word. His purpose was to give me what I needed to learn about living my life as one who’d “follow the instructions of the Lord” and live godly, a person of integrity who searches for Him with all my heart. As you go to your next Bible Study, remember it is not only about meeting with sisters and brothers in the Lord. Fellowship is important, but more importantly, God’s “divine power (is) grant(ing) to (you) all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called (you) to his own glory and excellence...”
The expectations have changed!
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