Sharing The Gospel? 2 Peter 1:3-4

 

📖 Scripture:
“His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. Through these He has given us His precious and magnificent promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having now escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.”
– 2 Peter 1:3–4

🔎 Examination:
Peter isn’t selling some self-help program or a religious system propped up by our own effort. He starts with God’s action, not ours: His divine power has given... That’s not potential, that’s divine provision. If we truly have been born again, we already have everything we need for life and godliness. So let’s kill the excuse that we’re not sharing the GOSPEL because we lack resources, talent, or opportunity. The problem isn’t that God’s holding out on us—it’s that we’re ignoring what He’s already revealed.

Then Jesus said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few...” -Matthew 9:37

God’s provision comes through knowing Him—not knowing stuff about Him, but actually knowing Him. This isn’t head knowledge, it’s a relational reality. If we’re united to Christ, we share in His death and resurrection. That means we have a whole new identity, and our life can’t help but be radically and supernaturally transformed.

Peter tells us why: so we can become partakers of the divine nature. That doesn’t mean we become gods (Mormonism/LDS). Instead, it means that we share in His divine nature and His glorious mission because we’re joined to Christ. What Adam destroyed in the garden—real relationship with God—is now restored through King Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit.

This blows up a rampant lie in today’s pseudo-Christian cults. Too many people treat salvation like a get-out-of-hell FREE card instead of a compulsion to supernatural rebirth. Christ did not die, and God didn’t give us promises so we could coast through life or chase carnal comforts. It is all so that the ELECT, i.e., true and faithful followers of Christ, we’d actually share in His divine nature (Phil 2:1-11). The goal isn’t safety, security, or more stuff—it’s to die to self, pursue holiness, and get off the sidelines and into God’s mission... advancing the GOSPEL to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8).

Escaping the world’s corruption isn’t about trying harder to behave. If we’re in Christ, we’ve been yanked out of Satan's grip of sin and brought into the kingdom of God. So if you’re still clinging to the world’s desires, you’re not just struggling—you’re living in open contradiction to who you claim to be... bearing the LORD's name in emptiness. That’s not condemnation... that’s a gracious call to test, examine, and ask the God of mercy to expose whether you have truly been born again.

Here’s where the rubber meets the road: the testimony of Scripture is that if ANYONE is in Christ, they are a NEW CREATION. Therefore, sharing in God’s nature always means that our life will show it by being poured out for the Gospel. NO EXCEPTIONS. If the power that raised Jesus truly lives in you, it’ll show up in your living for His mission—to seek and save the lost. If your life has no Gospel witness, it is not a matter of weak faith; It’s evidence that there is no real faith at all.

“No one who abides in Him keeps on sinning… By this it is evident who are the children of God… whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God…” -1 John 3:6-10

Peter’s testimony, in fact, the testimony of all Scripture, leaves no room for lame excuses. The faith the apostles had is the same faith we’ve been given if we truly are in Christ. The only difference is whether we NOURISH it and MAKE EVERY EFFORT to live it out. God’s already given you everything. The only question left is: will you actually walk in it?

🤺 Action:

• Test God’s sufficiency – “My grace is sufficient for you” (2 Cor 12:9). Do you function as though you already possess everything needed for life and godliness, or are you waiting for God to meet your demands before obeying His WORD?
• Examine your knowledge of Christ – “Let us know, let us press on to know the LORD” (Hos 6:3). Is your knowledge relational and transformative, or merely informational?
• Evaluate your identity – “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh” (Gal 5:24). Does your life reflect escape from corruption from worldly desires and corruption, or the justification of ongoing indulgence in it?
• Test your participation – “We are ambassadors for Christ” (2 Cor 5:20). Where and how are you actively sharing in the ministry of the Gospel and witness of the Christ of Scripture versus some cultural version of a false gospel?
• Expose false motives – “You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives” (Jas 4:3). Are you pursuing God’s promises for His glory in the church or for selfish desires?

🧠 Reflection:
God hasn’t held anything back from us. If anyone truly belongs to Christ, Scripture reveals that we ALREADY have everything we need to live for Him and carry out His mission. The same power that connects us to King Jesus empowers us to promote and proclaim the Gospel. Sharing in God’s divine nature isn’t some novel idea—it’s something the ELECT live, show, and speak. So stop waiting for a sign, more power, or different circumstances. Live out the faith in Christ you claim to have by walking in what God’s already given you... today. Share the GOSPEL. The Apostle Paul made it super simple:

Remember: Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel. -2 Timothy 2:8

✝️ Study:
Q1: What does 2 Peter 1:3 say God has already given to His people?
Q2: How does “knowledge of Him” differ from simply knowing about God?
Q3: What does it mean to be a “partaker of the divine nature” without becoming divine in essence?
Q4: How does union with Christ (Romans 6; Colossians 3) shape Peter’s framework of escaping corruption and living in godliness?
Q5: Why is it unbiblical to treat salvation primarily as “hell insurance” or a pathway to personal prosperity rather than transformation into Christ’s likeness by participating in His mission (Acts 1:8)?

Blessings & love,

Kevin M. Kelley
Pastor

BigIslandChristianChurch.com

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