“As His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” (2 Peter 1:3-4).
God never calls us to do something that He doesn’t supply the means to accomplish. When many Christians hear they need to live a holy life, they immediately feel the pressure to try harder to be holy.
Peter says we are to “be holy” (1 Peter 1:16); he doesn’t say we are “to do holy.” In 2 Peter 1:3-4, he tells us something that directly opposes the pressure we experience to “perform” holiness. He says God’s divine power has given us everything that pertains to life and godliness. You don’t receive holiness when you are good and disciplined enough. Holiness was given to you when you received Jesus as your Savior. God’s divine power has given you everything you need to live a godly life. He invites you to draw from the supply He’s already provided.
This supply comes “through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue” (2 Peter 1:3). God called us by His glory and virtue. God is the creator of our holiness. We aren’t. Behavior modification isn’t holiness. Performance isn’t holiness. Holiness is the revelation in our hearts of Jesus Christ living in us. As we deepen our understanding of God and our fellowship with Him increases, He begins to live through us. His life begins to manifest in us.
Peter says that we have been given “exceedingly great and precious promises.” It’s through these promises we become partakers of His divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). We don’t “do” holiness. We partake in His.
Paul writes: “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?” (1 Corinthians 6:19)
Holiness is God flowing through your surrendered life. You’re not your own. You belong to God. You’re the temple of the Holy Spirit, and God is your source. The word “partaker” in 2 Peter 1:4 isn’t passive. It’s intentional. You intentionally draw upon God’s supply. You take part in His nature, and you receive what belongs to Him as your own.
Obsessing over sin will never help you escape its corruption. Your obsession will keep you perpetually bound in it. Praise the Lord, for where sin abounds, His grace abounds much more (Romans 5:20)! Sin loses its hold on you when grace continually fills you. When God’s nature is alive in you, the deceit of the world loses its power. But when you constantly obsess over sin, it becomes your identity (Proverbs 23:7). Instead of living out of God’s grace, you live out of your flesh. Fixation on sin will never overcome darkness. Only grace overcomes it.
The problems we face in life can hinder the flow of God’s grace. Drawing upon His supply protects the life and flow of the Word in us. When we remain grounded in God’s Word—when we abide in Him, and He abides in us— His life, flowing freely through us, quietens the flesh that contends for our attention.
If you get one thing today, please get this. God doesn’t call you to live a holy life by trying to mirror His holy nature. He’s calling you to live from His supply. He’s calling you to stir up the new nature within you. When you quit struggling “to do” holiness and begin living out of His supply, holiness no longer feels like something you can never attain. It’s Christ who lives in you, and the life you live in Him, you live by faith in Him (Galatians 2:20).
God doesn’t ask you to observe Him. He calls you to be a part of Him.
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