God’s Royal Gifts to His People

In 2 Peter 1:3–4, the apostle tells us that God gives royal gifts to his people.  Royal means generous and precious. So Peter begins, “His divine power has given us everything need for life and godliness” (v. 1). God gives these royal gifts to enable us elect sinners, who by nature are characterized by the corruption of death, which is the wages of our sin, to participate in the divine nature and escape the decay in the world caused by evil desires. What are some of these gifts God has given us?

First, God has given us the royal gift of the holy Scriptures. From the Scriptures, we receive the knowledge of our God and Savior Jesus Christ who made atonement by his death on the cross for the sins of all elect sinners of the whole world. All Scriptures speak of him (see Luke 24:25–27, 45–47).

God has also given us saving faith to trust in Jesus Christ, the only Savior of the world for our eternal salvation. He took all our sin, guilt, and punishment in his substitutionary sacrifice, and he freely gave us believers his perfect righteousness as the basis of our eternal salvation.

God gives his grace and peace daily in abundance (2 Pet. 1:2) to all who obey him. He has enabled us to escape the corruption in the world, the world of sinners, the world of dying people. The condition of every unbeliever in the world is that of dead Lazarus, of whom it was said, “Behold, he stinketh!” (John 11:39). Jesus enabled us to escape this corruption when he called us effectually to follow him through the miracle of regeneration by the Holy Spirit while we were dead in our transgressions and sins. The Holy Spirit gave us the gifts of true repentance and saving faith.

This Holy Spirit, infinite God, indwells every reborn Christian, enlightening, empowering, and guiding us to live holy lives and shine as the light of the world. Jesus called us by his own glory and moral excellence, that we, by faith in his very great and precious promises, may experience godliness now and glory in the future.

Glory is our destiny! For God foreloved us in eternity and predestinated us to conform to the likeness of his Son. In time, he effectually called us through the preaching of the gospel by his true ministers, sent by the Lord Jesus. As a result, we are justified, reconciled, adopted, and being sanctified. And, in the future, when Christ returns, we will be glorified. God has given us already all gifts necessary for our full salvation. Glory be to our triune God—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit!

Our Great Problem

Why do we need God’s royal gifts? We need them because we have a great problem. God gives us his royal gifts so that we may “participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption [the decay] in the world caused by evil desires” (v. 4).

Our problem is sin, which results in death and eternal hell. The Scripture says we are conceived in sin, born as sinners, only to practice sin daily. We are dead in our sins. That is why we lie, we cheat, we connive, and we disobey God. That is why we refuse to confess Jesus Christ as Lord. Sinners are very proud people. They say, “Others can believe in Jesus as Savior and Lord, but I don’t have to. Why? I have money. I don’t need Jesus.” God Almighty rebukes such arrogant people. In fact, in his first epistle, Peter himself says God opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble (1 Pet. 5:5).

When Adam sinned, in him all his descendants became sinners and became subject to death and corruption—spiritual, physical and eternal death. This is true of all people; we all must die, and nothing outside of the blood of Christ can save us. “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 6:23).

Unsaved sinners can only sin. They sin all the time in their imagination, in their words, and in their deeds. They even sin when they sleep. They can do nothing to please God. They are depraved totally. They are perverts; they are twisted. All human beings are perverts until God straightens them out by regeneration.

Throughout the Scriptures we read about our problem of sin, our problem of total depravity.

• Genesis 6:5: “The Lord saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.”
• Jeremiah 17:9: “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can understand it?” Only God can understand it.
• Matthew 15:19–20: Jesus said, “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what make a man ‘unclean’; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him ‘unclean.’”
• Romans 3:10-18: “As it is written: “‘There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.’ ‘Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.’ ‘The poison of vipers is on their lips.’ ‘Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.’ ‘Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know.’ And, ‘There is no fear of God before their eyes.’”
• Romans 6:23. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
• Ephesians 2:1–3: “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.” In other words, every unbeliever is led by the devil. “All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.” This is speaking about the wrath of God.
• James 1:21: “Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.”
• 1 Corinthians 6:9–11: “Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”
• Romans 5:6–10: “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly . . . . God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. . . . For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!” We are worthless, ungodly, sinners and enemies of God. There is a detestation, a hatred for God who created us.
• Romans 8:5–8: “Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the [flesh] sinful nature cannot please God.”

How can the condition of a sinner dead in his transgressions and sins be described? “Behold, he stinketh!” A sinner can put on all the perfume, and the most expensive suit, and live in the most expensive house. But the truth is, he stinketh.

What is sin caused by? Lust. Peter speaks of our “evil desires” (v. 4; see also 2 Pet. 2:10, 18; 3:3). That is what Paul said also: “Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. . . . Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. . . . Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done” (Rom. 1:24, 26, 28).

We find examples of sin caused by lust throughout the Bible. Consider the following:

1. Adam and Eve (Genesis 2–3). Though created perfect, they sinned and died because of their lust. They saw the fruit on the forbidden tree of which God said, “The day you eat thereof, you will surely die.” But the devil said, “Go ahead and eat it. You will not surely die,” and they chose to believe the lie of the devil. This is the reason also why people go to churches that do not preach the gospel. They like being entertained. But in a church like ours, you can come and hear the truth, and the truth will set you free. Adam and Eve saw the fruit, lusted after it, coveted it, took it, and ate it. Then they hid themselves from God. And as a result of their sin, they immediately died spiritually and they later died physically. They gave in to lust. Lust drives most of the economics of this country. We see things on television or in glossy magazines and we order them. It is all based on lust.
2. Achan (Joshua 7). He saw a forbidden robe, a Babylonian robe. He saw a forbidden two hundred shekels of silver. He saw a forbidden fifty shekels of gold. He saw, he coveted, he took, and he hid these things. And God killed him and his family. They were stoned and then burned. Never entertain the idea that God is nice and will hug us, no matter what we do. He kills and he saves. He is not interested in what we think. We are to understand from the holy Scriptures who God is and surrender to him.
3. David (2 Samuel 11). Though it was the time kings went out to war, David did not go; instead, he stayed home to rest, and one night he observed a woman bathing. He saw, he lusted, he coveted, he took, and he committed horrible sins, including murdering her husband, Uriah the Hittite. The Bible said in Exodus 20:17, “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” The man who wrote many psalms ignored this command, and he paid dearly for it.

Lust is a terrible sin. John writes, “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of his eyes, and the boasting of things—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its lusts pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever” (1 John 2:15–17).

Paul writes, “All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath” (Eph. 2:3).

God’s Royal Provision

What, then, is God’s royal provision for our problem of sin? Peter writes, “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us” (v. 3). God has given us knowledge of himself in Jesus Christ and in the Scriptures. The Bible alone is truth about God. It alone tells us the truth about the world, about us, and about our eternal destiny. We will not get truth from unbelieving politicians, philosophers, or scientists. They all are fallen people who hate God.

The Bible alone gives us truth, and I believe everything that the Bible says. Moses said, “Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the Lord your God that I give you” (Deut. 4:2). What does the Bible teach us?

• The Bible reveals the knowledge of our God and Savior. The words “know” and “knowledge” appears eleven times in this short epistle of Peter.
• The Bible gives us knowledge of fallen man and his corruption. It tells us that he cannot save himself. No matter how much money you have, eventually you will be only able to look at the ceiling and die. The dash will be over. Someone said our lives are a dash. He walked in the cemetery and noted that there is a date of birth, then a dash, and then the date of death. Our lives are but a dash. We can have the best medical care; it will not prevent us from dying.
• This true knowledge of God and man is found only in God’s gift, the Bible. Paul writes,

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry. (2 Tim. 3:14–4:5)

• The Bible reveals the only Redeemer, the God/man, the Messiah, who died for our sins on the cross. Everyone who believes in Jesus will be saved. Of Jesus we read, “[Mary] will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21). No other religion has a Savior. Only Christianity has a Savior who died for our sins on the cross. Peter declared, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Paul writes, “He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification” (Rom. 4:25).
• The Bible reveals that our faith is a gift from God (2 Pet. 1:1, Phil. 1:29).
• The Bible shows that Jesus is both God and man (2 Peter 1:1). Paul writes, “We wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ” (Tit. 2:13). What are you waiting for? I am waiting for the Savior, Jesus Christ. He is also the Judge.
• The Bible reveals God’s very great and precious promises, and each promise is true. God fulfills it (2 Cor. 1:20). In Titus 1:2 we read about “God, who does not lie.” We lie. But God cannot lie. Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).
• The Bible reveals that Jesus is our righteousness. We read, “In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: The Lord Our Righteousness” (Jer. 23:6).
• The Bible reveals that we receive grace and peace from God as gifts. Paul writes, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God” (Eph. 2:8). Our entire salvation is a gift of God.
• The Bible reveals that we receive the gift of a new heart through the miracle of regeneration, a divine, direct, monergistic, powerful act of God. Paul writes, “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved” (Eph. 2:4–5). We did nothing; we could not do anything. We were dead like Lazarus: “Behold, he stinketh!” But Jesus came and said, “Lazarus, come forth!” and he came forth. He did not do anything deserving to come out, nor did we. (PGM) Yet because of God’s actions, sons of disobedience (Eph. 2:2) can become sons of obedience. Peter writes, “As children of obedience [that is how it is written in the Greek text], do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.” We were ignorant of God and of his Scripture. “But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy’” (1 Pet. 1:14–16). The purpose of our holy life is to have fellowship with God in this life and in the life to come. He is holy, so we must become holy. And God will make us holy. He gives us all gifts necessary for us to be holy.
• The Bible also reveals God’s gift of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit regenerates a sinner, indwells him, teaches him, guides him, and empowers him to do God’s will with great joy. Paul says, “You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ” (Rom. 8:9). John writes, “But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. . . . As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him” (1 John 2:20, 27). The Holy Spirit is a gift that God gives us. Jesus said, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever” (John 14:16). Even today, Christians are being punished, persecuted, and even crucified. Peter himself, when he was about to be crucified for his faith, wrote, “If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you” (1 Pet. 4:14). The Holy Spirit does not leave us when we are persecuted or about to be crucified. He will rest on us and help us to be crucified for the sake of Jesus Christ. He will rest on us when we are about to die, and he will take us to heaven to be with him forever. Jesus said, “Behold, I will be with you. I will never leave you nor forsake you.” A true Christian will not be afraid of death.
• The Bible reveals that we are also given the gift of the holy church, which Christ builds, so that we belong it. There we worship God in spirit and in truth; there we devote ourselves daily in the apostles’ doctrine, fellowship, breaking of bread and prayers; and there we love one another as God’s holy family, helping one another. Sadly, most churches in this country and around the world are synagogues of Satan, not churches of Christ.
• The Bible also reveals that the ascended Christ gifted his church with pastors and teachers to preach and teach the word. This is a blessed church where men of God declare truth; this is not a synagogue of Satan. The proof is that the primary means of grace is found here in the preached word. Paul writes, “It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up” (Eph. 4:11–12). He also writes, “‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’” (Rom. 10:13–15). Blessed is the church where a man sent by Christ preaches to you the way to eternal happiness.

Our Great Destiny

Peter says God has given us his “very great and precious promises, so that through them [we] may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires” (v. 4). What is our great destiny? It is glory! It is God enabling us to dwell with him forever and ever in a new heaven and new earth.

Dead, corrupt, hell-bound sinners are saved by Jesus Christ and will be glorified to dwell with God in a new heaven and new earth, where there is no sin or suffering or death. John writes,

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (Rev. 21:1–4)

Paul says in Romans 8: “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified” (Rom. 8:29–30).

Glory is our destiny! Saints of God, God in Jesus Christ has given us all things necessary to get rid of our sin, death, and corruption, and to possess the life of God in our souls. He has given us everything we need to live holy lives here and now, that we may be clothed in glory later. Glory is our destiny! This does not mean that we will become deities, but we become like Jesus. We will always remain finite creatures. But God will make us holy. We will be without sin in both body and soul so that we may enjoy eternal fellowship with God. Even now, we have been regenerated, converted, justified, reconciled, and adopted. We are being sanctified and we will be glorified when Christ returns in glory. Jesus said, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory” (Matt. 25:31).

Through Christ, we have escaped the corruption in this fallen world, whose god is the devil, who is a liar and the father of all lies. John writes, “We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one” (1 John 5:19). The elect receive mercy.

Mercy there was great and grace was free,

pardon there was multiplied to me,

there my burdened soul found liberty,

at Calvary.

Paul writes, “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. . . . For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ” (2 Cor. 4:4, 6).

We are favored people. Because of God’s great love and rich mercy, he made us alive with Christ. “Because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God has foreordained that we should do them” (Eph. 2:4–10).

We must examine ourselves. If we are not living holy lives, it may mean that God has not saved us or gifted us royally. But if God has saved us, glory is our destiny. Jesus calls us by his own glory and moral excellence that we may be like him, holy and glorious. Consider the following scriptures:

• Hebrews 2:10–12: “In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering. Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers. He says, “I will declare your name to my brothers; in the presence of the congregation I will sing your praises.”
• Ephesians 1:3–4: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.”
• Ephesians 5:25–27: “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.” Glory is our destiny. Hallelujah!
• 2 Corinthians 3:18: “And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”
• Revelation 19:6b–8: “‘Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.’ (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.)” God is holy, and he will have a holy bride. He is glorious, and he will have a glorious bride.
• Philippians 3:20–21: “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.”
• 1 Peter 5:1, 4: “To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, a witness of Christ’s sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed. . . . And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.”
• 1 John 3:2: “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.”

In view of our destiny of glory, let us not be distracted by the evil desires of the world that is corrupt. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, revealed in the holy Scriptures, who obeyed God always and was filled with the Holy Spirit. Let us therefore say no to sin and yes to Jesus, whom we confessed as our Lord. This Jesus is almighty; he had gifted us with everything we need to live a godly life in this morally filthy world. He called us by his own glory and goodness to make us good and glorious by the Holy Spirit he has poured out on us. So let us say with Paul, “I can do all things through him who gives me strength” (Phil. 4:13). He also says, “To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me” (Col. 1:29).

By grace we are vitally united with Christ, as branches to the vine, to bear fruit, more fruit, and much fruit, even the fruit of the Spirit, as Paul writes: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (see Gal. 5:22–25). Paul also writes, “Don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life” (Rom. 6:3–4).

God has given us his royal gifts that we may live a new life, a godly life, trusting in the very great and precious promises of God, for the glory of God. Every promise of God is true. As we claim them and trust in them, we will receive grace—grace that is greater than all our sins. I present you Jesus Christ who is gracious. Grace flows from him to us. May all of us receive this grace and be saved.