We definitely need the full knowledge of the One who has called us for the purpose of bringing us into His glory and virtue. If we have such an experiential knowledge of Him, the divine power will operate in us effectively. Otherwise, the divine power will not be able to work in us. Even though this power is great, it will not be able to work in us if we do not fulfill the conditions for its operation. As we have seen, the condition we must fulfill is that of our cooperation with God’s operation.
Many Christians do not know that God has called them to His own glory and virtue. It seems that in their theology there is no room for 2 Peter 1:3. Although the divine power is present and is working, it does not operate in those who do not render the proper cooperation. If we do not pass through the process to gain the full knowledge of the One who has called us, the divine power will not be able to operate in us.
I can testify that the divine power is working in me and that daily I cooperate with God. In the morning I open to Him and say, “Lord, I am here before You. Go on, Lord. I would not hinder You. Rather, I would give You a free way within me. Lord, whatever You speak to me I will proclaim.” I can testify that the more I cooperate with the divine power within me, the more I am brought into God’s glory, enjoy His virtue, and express this virtue as godliness.
In 1:4 Peter continues, “Through which He has granted to us precious and exceedingly great promises, that through these you might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption which is in the world by lust.” We have seen that the preposition “through” here may also be rendered on account of or on the basis of. The relative pronoun “which” refers to the glory and virtue in verse 3. Through and on the basis of the Lord’s glory and virtue, by and to which we have been called, God has given us His precious and exceedingly great promises.
It is not easy to know the meaning of the words “through which” as they connect verses 3 and 4. In order to have the proper knowledge of this, we need experience and also spiritual understanding. Here Peter is saying that through the divine glory and virtue God has granted to us precious and exceedingly great promises. This indicates that if God had not called us to His own glory and virtue, there would be no need for Him to give us promises. But God has called us to His own glory and virtue. This goal is great, vast, profound. Who is able to reach God’s own glory and virtue? None of us is able to arrive at this goal. Therefore, there is the need of God’s word of promise to assure us, encourage us, strengthen us, and speed us on our way toward this goal.
Suppose Peter had said that God has called us to heaven. If heaven were the goal of God’s calling, there would have been no need for God to give us promises. If heaven were the goal of God’s calling, we could simply be happy and rejoice, live according to our pleasure, and then wait for heaven.
However, Peter does not say that God has called us to heaven. He says that God has called us to His own glory and virtue. When we hear about this, we may wonder how we can attain to such a goal. Knowing our need for assurance, encouragement, and strength, God has given us precious and exceedingly great promises. An example of these promises is the Lord’s word to Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9: “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.” This promise was given to Paul to enable him to suffer the thorn in the flesh. In order to bear with a “thorn,” we need the Lord’s sufficient grace. This is an illustration of the fact that we need many promises to help us reach the goal of God’s glory and virtue.
All the promises of God have been given to us through the glory and virtue to which God has called us. This is the reason Peter begins verse 4 with the words “through which.” God’s promises are words of assurance and encouragement. Through the glory and virtue which are the goal to which we have been called, God has given us the promises we need.
We have pointed out that the Greek preposition translated “through” in verse 4 is dia and that its use here is in the instrumental sense becoming causal. We have rendered this word literally in order to make our translation correspond to the Greek text. It would also have been correct to translate this word “on the basis of which” to indicate that God grants us the precious and exceedingly great promises on the basis of the glory and virtue to which He has called us.
We cannot reach the high goal of God’s glory and virtue by ourselves. For this, we need the Lord. Because we do not know what lies ahead of us, God has given us precious promises. One of these great promises is in Matthew 28:20: “Behold, I am with you all the days until the consummation of the age.” No doubt, this promise was an encouragement to all the disciples.
The Lord’s promises encouraged Peter and the other disciples on their way toward the goal of God’s glory and virtue. When Peter and the eleven stood up to preach on the day of Pentecost, God’s glory and virtue were with them. The disciples manifested divine virtues, not natural human virtues. In Acts 3 a poor man looked to Peter and John for a gift of money. Peter said to him, “Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk” (Acts 3:6). Then Peter took him by the hand and lifted him up, and immediately the lame man was healed. “He leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God” (v. 8). What did Peter and John express on that occasion? They manifested God’s virtue and glory. This was carried out by the promise of the Lord that He would be with them all the days until the completion of this age.
In Matthew 28:20 the Lord seemed to be telling the disciples: “When you go out to disciple the nations, I shall go with you. Wherever you go, you will go with Me. You will be bringing Me with you.” Therefore, on the day of Pentecost the disciples stood up with the Lord to preach the gospel. Furthermore, in Acts 3 Peter and John brought the Lord Jesus to a lame man. This was a fulfillment of the Lord’s promise to be with them all the days until the completion of the age. By means of the Lord’s promises the early disciples were encouraged to press on to reach God’s glory and attain the divine virtues.