Commentary on 2 Peter 1:3

Key text: 2 Peter 1:3. “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:”

Context

Second Peter is written to believers who have received “like precious faith” and who need to stand firm against false teaching while waiting for the return of Christ. In 2 Peter 1[i], Peter reminds Christians that salvation is God’s gift, spiritual growth is necessary, and Scripture is wholly trustworthy.

2 Peter 1:1–2. “Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,”

Exegetical insights

• “His divine power” points to God’s effective saving power, seen supremely in Jesus Christ. Christian life begins with grace, not self-improvement.
• “Hath given” shows completed divine provision. God has not left believers spiritually under-resourced.
• “All things that pertain unto life and godliness” means everything needed for eternal life and reverent obedience. Peter does not promise ease, wealth, or comfort, but sufficiency for faithful living.
• “Through the knowledge of him” is not bare information. It is personal, covenantal knowledge of God in Christ, producing trust, worship, and obedience.
• “Called us to glory and virtue” joins God’s saving call with God’s holy purpose. Grace brings believers into Christ’s glory and trains them in moral excellence.

Theological teaching

• Grace is sovereign and sufficient. Peter grounds Christian life in divine power. This is consistent with Christian theology: God initiates, sustains, and completes salvation.
• Union with Christ produces holiness. 2 Peter 1:4 says, “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” This does not mean believers become divine in essence. It means they share, by grace, in the renewed life God gives through Christ and the Spirit.
• Faith works through diligent growth. 2 Peter 1:5–7 says, “And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.” Effort is not the cause of salvation, but the fruit of salvation.
• Assurance is strengthened by obedience. 2 Peter 1:10 says, “Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:” Believers do not make election true by works; they confirm its reality as grace bears fruit.

Practical application

• Begin each day with confidence that God has already supplied what you need for faithfulness.
• Seek holiness through deeper knowledge of Christ, not through guilt-driven striving.
• Use the promises of God to resist the corrupting desires of the world.
• Measure spiritual growth by Christlike character: self-control, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love.
• When you feel weak, return to God’s divine power rather than your own resolve.

Meditation guide

• Read: Slowly read 2 Peter 1:3 aloud: “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:”
• Reflect: What does this verse say God has already given? Where am I acting as though he has not supplied enough?
• Repent: Confess self-reliance, spiritual passivity, and any desire that draws you away from godliness.
• Rest: Thank Christ that his power, not your strength, secures your life with God.
• Respond: Choose one virtue from 2 Peter 1:5–7 and practise it deliberately today.
• Pray: “Lord Jesus Christ, by your divine power, grow in me the godliness you have promised. Make me diligent without pride, confident without carelessness, and fruitful in the knowledge of you. Amen.”

---

[i] 2 Peter 1
King James Version
1 Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:
2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,
3 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:
4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;
7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9 But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
10 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:
11 For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
12 Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth.
13 Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance;
14 Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me.
15 Moreover I will endeavour that ye may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance.
16 For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
17 For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
18 And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.
19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.