by Paul David Tripp
His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness.
2 Peter 1:3

Notice the two words Peter used in 2 Peter 1:3: life and godliness. Why did he use these two words? Because he knew his audience. If he said just “everything for life,” we’d say, “Well, yeah, we get everything we need for eternal life.” Now, that’s a wonderful thing, but that’s not what he’s really talking about. So he added godliness. By God’s divine power, I’ve been given everything I need—oh, this is glorious!—to be what I’m supposed to be and to do what I’m supposed to do in the place where God has placed me right now.
What’s godliness? It’s a God-honoring life between the time I first come to Christ and the time I finally go home to be with Him. For the rescue of our relationships we must embrace the now-ism of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Second Peter 1:3 tells me that right now I have everything I need for godliness. I don’t look to others for my hope, identity, energy, or acceptance. I already have them in Christ. And I can lift that burden off the shoulders of those with whom I relate. They’re not my saviors—I free them in the name of Jesus. How beautiful is that?
The work of Christ was given to us in an instant—that’s justification—but it is taken on and acquired by us in a process—that’s sanctification. So, in a way, we are both free and in need of being freed. I still have places where I hang on to my defective righteousness and have to be right. There are still places where I make it all about my kingdom and have to be in control, where I still place unrealistic expectations on the people in my life. And so I celebrate the grace I’ve been given and I pray for further liberation.
Welcome to your relational world, a world of the already and the not yet. Thank God that His gospel meets us and works for us at every point on the eternal timeline! That’s the now-ism of the gospel.

Thought to Remember for Today

So here’s what you do: At the beginning of each day, starting today, pray these three things: (1) “God, I am a person in desperate need of help this morning.” (2) “I pray that in Your grace You will send Your helpers my way.” (3) “I pray that when the help comes, You will give me the humility to receive it with joy.”

Fitzpatrick, E. (2016). Grace untamed: a 60-day devotional. Colorado Springs, CO: David C Cook.