ESTUDIO DEL VERSÍCULO
2 Peter 1:3 — Divine Power Grants All Things for Life and Godliness
2 Peter 1:3 affirms that God's divine power has already granted believers everything pertaining to life and godliness, given through knowing Him who called by His own glory and excellence.
Escritura
- 3.Como todas las cosas que pertenecen a la vida y a la piedad nos han sido dadas por su divino poder, mediante el conocimiento de aquel que nos llamó por su gloria y excelencia,seeing that his divine power hath granted unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that called us by his own glory and virtue;
Qué significa este pasaje
The verse opens a causal clause (seeing that...) that grounds what follows in a prior act of God. Peter attributes the comprehensive gift of 'all things that pertain unto life and godliness' not to human effort but to 'his divine power' — the power belonging to God's own nature. Life (zōē, the quality of true life) and godliness (eusebeia, reverent devotion) are set as a pair: one is the sphere of existence, the other the character of that existence, and both are supplied by God's power rather than produced by the believer.
The means by which this gift comes is 'through the knowledge of him that called us.' The knowledge (epignōsis) here is relational and experiential, not merely informational — it is knowledge of the One who initiated the call. The One who calls is identified by two attributes: 'his own glory and virtue.' Glory (doxa) speaks of the revealed weight of God's presence; virtue (aretē) speaks of moral excellence or active power. The pronoun 'his own' emphasizes that the glory and excellence belong intrinsically to God and are the basis from which the call issues.
Because the call originates in God's own glory and virtue, the resources granted to the believer are guaranteed to be sufficient. Peter does not say God has given us a partial kit that we must complete; he says divine power has granted all things. The believer's task, developed in verses 4–7, is to appropriate what has already been supplied, not to produce what is lacking.
Contexto
In 2 Peter 1:1–2 the apostle identifies himself as a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ and wishes grace and peace to be multiplied in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. Verse 3 then supplies the theological grounding that makes such multiplication possible: divine power has already given the resources. Verses 4–7 form a single sentence continuing this thought, explaining that exceeding great promises are given so that believers may become partakers of the divine nature and then urging them to add a chain of virtues — virtue, knowledge, self-control, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, love — to their faith.
The rest of chapter 1 reinforces the theme that believers are called to confirm their calling (verse 10), grounded in eyewitness testimony to Christ's majesty (verses 16–18) and in prophetic word made more sure (verse 19), so that prophecy is understood as Spirit-borne (verse 21). The divine power and divine nature spoken of in verse 3 are therefore not loose ideas; they frame the entire opening section and flow into Peter's ethical and pastoral imperatives.
Preguntas frecuentes
What does 'divine power' mean in 2 Peter 1:3?
It refers to the power that belongs to God's own nature — the same power operative in creation and resurrection. Peter grounds the entire Christian life in this divine power as the true source of every needed resource.
Has God already given everything needed, or must believers still seek it?
Peter says divine power has already granted all things that pertain to life and godliness. Verses 5–7 then urge believers to actively develop virtues built on this prior gift; the giving precedes the growth, and growth is the appropriation of what has been supplied.
Why does Peter link the gift to 'the knowledge of him that called us'?
The knowledge is the appointed channel through which the gift becomes actual in the believer. Because the call originates in God's own glory and virtue, knowing this God experientially is how believers access the resources His power supplies.