Power to Live Through a Knowledge of Him

The other day I tried meditating on some of the verses I had memorized. When I came across 2 Peter 1:3 I was pleasantly surprised! God spoke to me through that verse while I tried to think about what it was saying.

“His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.”

- 2 Peter 1:3

I never realized how much is actually in this one verse! I had initially memorized it as an assurance of strength, so that I would have something to call on when I felt inadequate. But I never thought past the first idea. I would think to myself, “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness…”, and I never considered the rest of the verse. Isn’t it encouraging to know that God’s power can provide everything we need to live a life pleasing to God?! I think it’s awesome because I know I can’t do it without His power!!!

However, this last week I’ve been feeling that I’m just not receiving this power the way I should be, and that it’s been really difficult to live a godly life amidst the everyday pressures and stresses. Then, as I was meditating on this verse, the Lord opened my eyes to the next part of the verse.

Like a revelation from the Holy Spirit, I realized that we receive God’s power for life and godliness “through our knowledge of Him…” Whoa! Isn’t that interesting?! We don’t receive the power we need simply because we are Christians. We receive it through our knowledge of God!

How does our knowledge of God grant us the divine power we need for life and godliness? Well, I could write a whole sermon series on this one question. Just kidding! Let me organize this into three basic principles although there are probably a lot more than that.

Principle 1 – Our knowledge of God’s character allows us to trust in His power over our own. The more we come to understand the depths of God’s love, the heights of His mercy, the truth of His faithfulness, the beauty of His grace, the compassion of His heart, and on and on, the easier it will be for us to trust Him and rely on His divine power. If God’s character is something you don’t know about, then how can you trust Him? What allows you to know deep inside that He is a faithful God?

Principle 2 – Our relationship with God is our connection to God’s power in our lives. As we fellowship with God and commune with Him we come to know God better. Through the times in the past that God has personally acted toward us we understand His ways and learn to trust in His power to meet our needs. God’s power is administered to us through the Holy Spirit whom God has given us. If we allow God to define the terms of our relationship with Him by surrendering and listening to His Spirit, His power will flow freely in to our lives enabling us to live a godly life.

Principle 3 – Our knowledge of God’s heart toward us will cause us to open our hearts to Him. Do we consider God’s desires for us? Have we taken into account God’s motivations for sending Jesus to live on this earth, to die on the cross, and to rise up from the dead? When’s the last time we thought about God’s intentions with our lives? There are many wonderful passages in scripture that reveal God’s heart toward us. As God reveals His heart towards us through the relationship that we have with Him, we won’t be able to help but open our hearts to Him. And when we open our hearts to Him, His power will work in us and meet our needs so that we can live godly lives.

Do we earnestly desire to have God’s divine power working in us so that we can live a life pleasing to God? Do we find ourselves needing something from God just to make it by ok? Maybe we’re feeling broken inside. Maybe we’re feeling bitter towards life. Maybe we’re just feeling like living for God is so difficult!

God is saying, “Come to me…”. “Draw nearer to Me and I will draw nearer to you.” “Consider My character and My heart.” “I want to show you who I am.”

And as the verse says, our knowledge of Him will allow His divine power to help us in life and in godliness.

“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 (The Message)