As Peter begins to recognize that his life on earth would soon be over, he wrote a second letter expressing his concern over the growing apostasy he had witnessed and that had been reported to him. The establishment of the church of Jesus Christ weighed heavily upon Peter. He had given his life to see it grow. The attacks against it had been brutal, and had given the old apostle cause for great concern.

It was with those concerns weighing on his heart that he wrote in…

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:

Peter wanted to see the church grounded in faith and in the Word. He had seen the damage done by those who had joined the church, but had not grown substantially. They had been prime targets for the devil’s arrows, and had been taken out one by one. Peter was unwilling to accept any more spiritual casualties.

In this brief verse, Peter identified the sources of strength that were available to believers both then and today. He knew that the attacks could be vicious, but he also knew that ‘greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.’ Those believers could find their victory by accessing what he wrote about here.

First of all, Peter referred to His divine power. The Lord has made His supernatural, victorious power available to His children. We are not left to ourselves to fight spiritual battles. We are given armor and weapons to ward off and defeat the wicked ones that fight against us. The Lord was given ‘all power in Heaven and in Earth,’ and it is in that power that we graciously have access.

Peter declares that all that power that we need for any issue or area of our lives is available to us. That power is to keep us energized, and keep us righteous, reflecting the image of our Leader and Guide. As we access that power, we can be assured of coming through each and every attack victoriously.

Gratefully, we are given the means whereby we can access that life-giving, victory-assuring power. He wrote that ‘all things that pertain unto life and godliness,’ are accessed ‘through the knowledge of Him that called us.’ In other words, as we search the Scriptures to learn more of our blessed Savior, and develop a closer, more intense relationship with Him, we will receive all the power we need for each of life’s trials and hardships. And, we will come through them being made more like Christ along the way.

The greatest source of strength that we can tap into to help us both fight our spiritual battles, and supply the strength for endurance, is found by learning more about Jesus. Though it seems too simple to be true, its application works, and is the most effective tool we have to get through this life for His glory.