You have every spiritual resource to sustain and perfect that eternal life that is in you, and every spiritual resource to manifest that life in godly living. The grace that is so powerful to save is equally powerful to sustain and equally powerful to manifest itself. in our conduct. Welcome to Grace to You with John MacArthur. I'm your host, Phil Johnson.
Ever receive a letter saying you'd won some great prize, only to find out you have to make some purchase or attend some meeting? And yes, there's usually a catch to those special offers. Rarely are they as good as they seem. Thankfully, that's not how salvation works. It truly is free, and it's far better than you can imagine.
To see how much you've been given if you're a Christian, and to discover some blessings of salvation that you might not be tapping into, stay here for John MacArthur's current series, Myths About Salvation. And here's John with today's lesson. Verses three and four of 2 Peter chapter 1. Let me read them to you, seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises in order that by them you might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.
Let's talk about the sufficiency of our salvation. We can't say everything that ought to be said. We don't have time for that. But I want to give you a few words to hang your thoughts on, all right? As we look at these two verses, they just literally ought to cause us unending joy.
When we see the immensity of our sufficiency in Jesus Christ. The first word I want you to put down is the word power. Power. These words will just take us through these verses. Seeing that his divine power, now power is the source of our sufficiency.
Whatever sufficiency has been given to us is because of supernatural energy, not because of our power, not because of anything we did, not natural power, not human power, divine power.
So, Peter begins with a well-founded assurance that in our salvation benefits, the power of God is in full operation. Boy, what a thought. The second word I want you to hang your thought on is provision. What has his power granted? Provision.
What provision? He has granted to us, here it is, everything pertaining to life and godliness. Absolutely unbelievable statement. apart from the fact that it's in the Word of God. None of us If we looked at our practical lives, we would assume that we have everything necessary to life and godliness because we stumble and fumble around so much.
But here it is. The word everything is in the emphatic position because what Peter is emphasizing is full sufficiency. We have everything. Related to what? First of all, everything pertaining to life.
Life is the essential reality. Everything related to life. We have. We have new life in Christ. And everything related to sustaining that life.
we have. That's why we have to believe that a Christian is eternally secure. Why? Because you have everything that pertains to that life. That's why we believe that a Christian will permanently persevere.
Why? Because you have everything which is necessary to sustain that life. That's why we believe that in any vicissitude, struggle, trial of life, you have everything you need because all that you need in life you have. You have it in fullness. You have it in abundance.
You have it in perfection. Everything. And then he adds, and godliness, everything you need to be godly, you have. That beautiful word. Eusebia.
means true reverence. Reverence and worship and active obedience, everything you need to be a reverent, holy, pious, godly person, you have. You don't need to be begging for something more. You don't need to be asking for something more, some ecstatic experience, some ecstatic gift, some miracle, some wonder, some sign. You have every spiritual resource to sustain and perfect that eternal life that is in you, and every spiritual resource to manifest that life in godly living.
What a statement. Let me say that again. You have every spiritual resource to sustain and perfect that eternal life that is in you, and you have every spiritual resource to manifest that life in godly living. All you need is there. It is never a question of sufficiency.
The grace that is so powerful to save is equally powerful to sustain and equally powerful to manifest itself. in our conduct. Power. Provision. Third word.
Procurement. How do you get this? Powerful provision. Verse 3. Through The true knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and excellence.
Oh, what a statement this is. How do you get it? Through the true knowledge of Him.
So what does that mean?
Well, what it indicates to me is that You have to know Christ. You have to know Christ. The word here, epignosis, is simply a word that means knowledge. It's sometimes translated the deep knowledge or the true knowledge, but In all honesty, it's used interchangeably with The simpler word gnosis, which just means to know. But what he is saying here is that you have to know Christ.
Not a superficial knowledge. Not some kind of surface awareness of the facts that Jesus lived and died and rose again and that. Not some shallow acquaintance with the story of Jesus, but you have to know him. To know him. You remember Matthew 7, 21?
Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord. And then will I confess unto them, depart from me, I never. Knew you? But Lord, we preached in your name, and we did many miracles in your name, and we cast out demons in your name. I didn't know you.
What do you mean, no?
Well, we're talking about a kind of knowledge that we need to say something about. Not a superficial shallow knowledge, but to know in the deep and intimate sense. Like in the Old Testament when it says Cain knew his wife and she bore a child. That's a deep knowing. That means intimate sexual contact.
It's talking about intimacy. And when it says, That the procurement comes through the knowledge of Him. It means that intimate relationship that a person can have with Christ. By faith. By truly knowing Christ.
In the sense of intimate communion. When one comes to the true knowledge. of Christ He receives the power of God through Christ, which brings into his life every spiritual provision his life could ever need to be sustained and manifest itself in godliness. You say, how does that personal knowledge take place? When I understand that Jesus lived and died as God in human flesh, when I understand that He died for my sin, when I understand that He rose again, when I understand that He is Lord of all, and I come to Him and say, I believe in you, I turn from my sin, and I give you my life to follow you in obedience as my Lord, that Brings one into a true knowledge of Jesus Christ.
And in that true knowledge the power comes and the provision is granted. And it's unnecessary to ask for anything more. We're not born like polywogs. I think most Christians think we are. You know, a polywog is just this little comma.
Or apostrophe. Little round thing with a tail. And I think, you know, some of us think that's what a Christian is. You're sort of born like a polywug, and eventually you. An arm comes out and another arm comes out and a leg comes out and a leg, no.
You're not born like a polywag. When you are born into the family of God, you're born sufficient and self-contained. Nothing new will be added. You're a totally new what? Creation.
Not a polywog, but a fully self-contained, developed, new life. Oh, sure, you need to learn, you need to grow. But all the resources are there. My God. Shall supply All your need.
How? According to his riches and glory, by. Christ Jesus. By means of Christ Jesus come all your needs supplied. It's all personal knowledge of Jesus Christ.
is how you procure. But there's more here. There's a couple of elements to this. Marvelous. True knowledge.
First of all, God initiates it. Please look at verse 3. It's through the true knowledge of him who called us. Who? You can't come to that true knowledge unless God what?
Calls you. That's the sovereign side. How does God call you? How does he do that? First of all, John 16 says, The Holy Spirit begins to convict you of sin.
You see your sin. And then I believe the power of Satan is broken, and you begin to see the light of the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ. And that's God drawing you. The only way you can procure this is through. True knowledge of Christ, the only way you can have true knowledge of Christ is when God calls you.
Jesus put it this way. No man comes unto me except the Father. draws him. draws him. But there's something else.
What about my part? Look at verse 3 again. The true knowledge Starts when we are called. But notice That call. is effected toward us.
by his own glory and excellence. I didn't wake up one day and say, I think I'll be a Christian. I hear God calling. Too bad. I didn't wake up one day and say, oh, I feel drawn, drawn, drawn.
No. What caused me to seek a true knowledge of Christ, watch this, was when I saw his glory and excellence. See that? God calls, but that calling becomes effectual as we are drawn by the glory and excellence of Christ. This is marvelous.
Peter is referring to the revealed majesty of Jesus Christ that made him attractive to us. That's why the only way you can have saving faith is to understand Christ. That's why in John's Gospel, for example, he just presents Christ, the miracles of Christ, miracle after miracle after miracle, the majestic, unbelievable, divine, supernatural words of Jesus Christ. And then at the end, he says, These things are written that you might what? Believe.
That Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and that believing you might have life through His name. You have to see the glory of Christ, you have to see the excellence of Christ. His glory daksa. Always in the Old Testament, glory belongs to God.
So when you're seeing the glory of Christ, you're seeing the deity of Christ. You have to see Christ as God in human flesh. You have to be impacted by the glory of his majestic deity. That's why we must always present Christ, present Christ, present Christ, because it is through that that the call of God to draw men is effected. It's amazing to me how people are.
People today can assume you can lead someone to Christ without a clear presentation of Christ. No man comes to faith except by hearing about Christ, Romans 10 says. And the first thing you want to hear about him is his glory. He's God. And so Yes, people are saved because the Father calls and draws.
But from our viewpoint, what pulls us What attracts us, what the Father uses to draw, is the glory of Christ, His deity.
So, what do we have to preach to sinners? What do we have to preach to people who don't know the Lord? We have to preach the glory of Jesus Christ. We have to preach that he was God in human flesh as proven by what he said, by what he did. And then he says, We are drawn by His Excellence.
Arete is virtue. Not only his person as God, But his Function. is life. as virtuous. When I look at Jesus Christ, I see not only God, but I see a perfect humanity.
I see perfect excellence. I see a display of divine acts and divine words. coming through that God man. The divine nature of Jesus. The moral excellence of his life.
is what draws men Beloved, let me tell you this. That's the only thing that will draw men. to God. Not promising them happiness. not promising them good times.
not promising them heaven. All of those things come. Not promising that, what draws men truly is the vision of Christ becomes clear. They see that he was God and that he was perfect. The manifestation of his glory drew the twelve.
The manifestation of his excellence kept them there. It's still the same thing that draws. That leads us to a fourth word. This is the word Promises. Promises.
Power? gives provision. which is procured and leads to promises. Verse 4. For by these, by what?
What do you mean these? by his own glory and excellence. His glory and excellence is not only what attracts us, but his glory as God and his excellence as perfect. Grants us his precious and magnificent promises. For by these, his innate, divine, holy person.
Because of who he is. That's what that means. Because of who He is, He has granted to us. Again, a perfect tense verb, which means continuous. He gave it, and it has continuing.
Effect. And what did he give us? Look at this. His precious and magnificent Promises. The word precious obviously means valuable.
Costly. Honorable. The word magnificent Megestas. Very great. Superlative, the greatest.
So, by the saving gospel, our glorious, majestic, virtuous, holy Lord Jesus has generously and continually given us promises. Promises What are those promises? He said, He that believes in me shall live. Promise of life. He said, I am come that they might have life and have it.
more abundantly. He said, because I live, you too shall live also, and promised us resurrection life. All of his promises. The promises of Everything. All things, things present, things to come, life, death, everything.
He promised us life. He promised us all blessings in the heavenlies. He promised us abundant grace upon grace. He promised us joy. He promised us strength.
He promised us guidance. He promised us help. He promised instruction. He promised wisdom. He promised the Holy Spirit.
He promised heaven. He promised eternal rewards. It's all ours. All of it. He's not even qualifying it.
Just go through the New Testament and find every promise he gave, and it's yours. Do you have everything? Are you sufficient? Oh, yes. By divine power?
Has come provision. To every person who procures that through faith in Christ. And they then become the possessors of every promise. Every promise. The last word?
Partakers This is too much. Too much. All of this he gives us in order that we might be partakers. Partakers of what? In order that by them the precious magnificent promises.
you might become partakers of the divine nature. Wow. What are you saying? The purpose for the promises. The purpose for God's goodness through Christ.
Was so that you could become a partaker of the divine nature. You mean to tell me that The Father God drew me. Through the attractive glory and excellence of Christ. and gave me all these promises. In the true saving knowledge of his Son.
So that I could partake of his very nature. That's right. When you come to Jesus Christ. You receive everything you need for life and godliness. You receive all the promises of God.
in time and eternity. And you become a partaker of God's nature. That's twofold. First of all, it's here and now. You mean to say that if I'm a Christian now, I am a partaker of the nature of God, yes.
John 1, 12 says, you become children of God. Romans 8:9 says, The Spirit of God dwells in you. If the Spirit dwells within you, you possess the divine nature. Galatians 2:20 says, I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless, I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me. God lives in me.
What? Know you not that your body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit. Colossians 1.27. Christ in you. The word partaker is Koinonas.
We often translate that word fellowship. It means sharer or partner. We partake of God's life in us. We're partners in the same life. How can that be?
End of verse 4. Because We have escaped the corruption that is in the world. By lust. There is a sense in which Our new life. in Christ.
is a new nature. The divine nature And we have escaped. The corruption that marked us prior to our conversion. The word corruption. as the idea of something totally decomposing.
Something decaying, corrupted, ruined. That's what we were. We were rotten to the core, decomposing, decaying, corrupted, ruined. The term implies the stench of decomposing organisms. And we'd escape that.
Isn't that wonderful? You have a new nature in Christ. It's the life of God in you. You're a partaker of the divine nature, having already escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. The corruption that is in the world is rotten, decaying sin driven by lust.
That word lust epithelia means evil desire.
So at the time of salvation We escaped. Yeah. The word depicts a successful flight from danger. We escaped. from the rottenness of our decomposing, stinking, fallen, sinful nature.
And now I'm a new creation. I have a new nature in Christ. The life of God. In my soul. How wonderful.
How wonderful. But there's another sense. Peter also might have the future in mind. He might be saying, the Lord has saved you. And the Lord has dispensed to you all the provisions for life and godliness and granted you all the promises.
In order that in the future You might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. And he might even include the same concept in a. Future dimension in this sense that he's saying someday you will fully partake of the divine nature when your flesh is also redeemed, and you will fully escape the corruption that is in the world through lust when you have a glorified body and you're completely perfect. There's two dimensions here. There's a sense in which we already partake of the divine nature because we have a new heart.
And there is a sense in which we will yet partake of the divine nature when we have a new body to go with the new heart, right? We have already escaped the lusts of the world and the rotting corruption of our fallen flesh spiritually.
Someday we will escape the rotting, decomposing flesh of our bodies, and that day we'll be like Jesus, for we shall see him as he is. We are partakers of the divine nature. Christ lives in us. But we will yet partake of the fullness of that nature when we bear a glorified body like Jesus Christ.
So it has a present meaning? and a future meaning. Is there sufficiency in our salvation? Of course. It is sufficient.
Our God gives More Grace. More than what? More than you could. Could possibly ever Understand. Let's bow in prayer.
Father, We're so grateful. Oh Lord. May we never question that. But may we be thankful for it, and may we understand that it's our own ignorance, eye hasn't seen, ear hasn't heard, and neither has it entered into our heart what you've prepared for us. Lord, open our eyes that we might understand what we have in Christ.
and that we might enjoy those resources to the fullest. and not be so foolish. as to think we must depend on the wisdom of men. War. that somehow we need something more.
when we couldn't even begin to exhaust all that we have. Oh God, thank you. for providing all we need. to live in the way that would glorify You. For Jesus' sake.
Amen. You're listening to Grace to You, the Bible teaching ministry of John MacArthur. Today's lesson is part of John's series titled Myths About Salvation.
Now, in today's lesson, John referred to a number of Greek words, and if you've been listening to John's sermons for even a short time, you know that he often talks about the Greek terms in a given passage. But maybe you're wondering what's the benefit of emphasizing the original Biblical language?
Well, here's a perspective from John that helps answer that. If anybody listens to Grace to You or reads my commentaries or the books that I write, you're going to face the fact that I throw in the original languages, most often a Greek word, occasionally a Hebrew word from the Old Testament. Why is that important? Because uh there are times when the language, the original language, has a nuance or a richness that um is really not conveyed uh in let's say in English. Uh one illustration.
In Europe Bible, your English Bible, you have the words servant. You have that word all over the place in the New Testament. You probably don't know. There are Six. different Greek words.
that are translated servant, in the New Testament. And each of those six Greek words has a distinct nuance of meaning. That gives you A different point of reference in understanding what this kind of servant. was like. That just enriches your understanding.
It all gets blurred in the one English word, servant. There are many such stories that I could tell you about how Scripture is misunderstood because the original is not understood. That's a great perspective on how important it is to get the meaning of Scripture right. And, friend, if you want help digging deeper and discovering the truth of Scripture for yourself, let me suggest you pick up a copy of the MacArthur Study Bible. It's an all in one resource that can help you understand God's Word like never before.
Order a copy when you contact us today. The MacArthur Study Bible has nearly 25,000 notes from John MacArthur. Detailed introductions to each book of the Bible, and more than 100 charts and maps. It's available in the English Standard, New King James, New American Standard, and Legacy Standard versions. If you'd like to order the MacArthur Study Bible, call us at 800-55 GRACE, our number again, 800-55 GRACE, or shop online at gty.org.
Also, when you visit our website, remember you can access any of John's sermons, including all 11 from Myths About Salvation, in MP3 and transcript format. And in fact, there are over 3,600 sermons covering the entire New Testament Available at no cost at gty.org.
So, whether you're preparing to teach God's Word or you simply want to know what a particular passage means, you'll find a helpful verse-by-verse message at our website. The address again, gty.org.
Now, for the entire Grace to U staff, I'm Phil Johnson. Thanks for joining us today. Watch Grace to U television this Sunday on DirecTV Channel 378. And be back next week to find out why some people who should have assurance of salvation. Don't.
It's another half hour of unleashing God's truth one verse at a time. on Grace to You.
