“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.”
that pertain to life
“Life” includes not only eternal life but life as we now live it. God provides for our life now. This is divine life, not life that consists of issues, like food, clothing, and shelter. This is the vitality and animation of life with God.
The New Testament uses “life” to refer to the life of God. He has absolute fullness of life, both the essence of life and the ethics that flow from that life. His is the noble life, the highest and best life. Whatever truly lives does so because sin has not found its place in it. This is life in the absolute sense. It is more than nobility and power. It is life as God has it; it is life in the fullest sense.
God’s life is an abiding antithesis to death, a positive, free-from-death living. In other words, this is a life of glory, full of vitality. We can be fulfilled beings with abundant lives. God’s life is the furthest thing from mere existence. The vitality of God rules our entire life.
“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).
There is a corollary between life and holiness. We must have breath before behavior. We cannot live the Christian life without first having spiritual life to live it. We do not get life by goodness. Goodness comes from the life of God.
and godliness
“Godliness” is piety. It comes from two words: well and to worship. Godly people worship well. They direct their worship rightly. They pay their worth to God. We owe this response to God.Ancient Greeks used this word for the function of polytheism (Greek and Roman religions teaching there are many gods). “Godliness” carries a technical meaning in the New Testament; it has the idea of functioning in God’s plan. It is our devotion to God based on His provision for us.
“Godliness” is the opposite of religion. Godliness is having a true spiritual relationship God. Religion relates more to outward acts of religious observance or ceremony. Godliness, on the other hand, cherishes the will of God.
When we put “godliness” with the preposition “that,” we get the idea of living the whole Christian life before God. This includes both the Spirit-filled life and growth in the principles and application of the Christian life. In other words, this involves everything God expects of us in the Christian life. This is the entire structure of Christian living. God provided everything that pertains to living on earth.
Principle:
“Life” and “godliness” come from a real relationship with God.
Application:
When people come to Christ, they receive the highest life possible, eternal life. Eternal life gives us the capacity to live before God. Eternal life is the highest state a creature can have. Eternal life begins at the moment of salvation, not death (John 5:24). Eternal death comes through the sin of Adam and we inherit that death. Eternal life comes through Christ and we inherit His life when we believe in His death as the means of our salvation (Romans 5:12).
The power of God gives us new life (Colossians 2:12-13; Titus 3:4-5) and the ability to live godly lives (Philippians 2:12-13; 4:13).
Do you have a vital spiritual life? Is God real to you? There is no excuse for not living vitally before God because we have His power for “all things.”
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