The Provisions Of God

In 2 Peter chapter 1, we're going to read verses

2 Peter 1 · chapter mention

3 through 11. 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. and

magnificent promises, so that by them you may

become partakers of the divine nature, having

escaped the corruption that is in the world by

lusts. Now, for this reason, for this very reason

also, applying all diligence in your faith, supply

moral excellence, and in your moral excellence,

knowledge, and in your knowledge, Self -control.

And in your self -control, perseverance. And

in your perseverance, godliness. And in your

godliness, brotherly kindness. And in your brotherly

kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours

and are increasing, they render you neither useless

nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord

Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these qualities

is blind or short -sighted, having forgotten

his purification from his former sins. Therefore,

brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain

about his calling and choosing you. For as long

as you practice these things, you will never

stumble. For in this way, The entrance into the

eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus

Christ, will be abundantly supplied to you. Let's

go to the Lord in prayer. Father, we come before

you this Lord's Day. Father, we thank you that

we can come and worship you. We can come in fellowship

with like -minded believers. Father, as we approach

your word, as we come to your holy word, We ask

for your help. Father, we ask that you would

give us your spirit, that your spirit would illuminate

our hearts and our minds and enable us to receive

these grand realities by faith and to apply them

in our lives and to live unto your glory. Father,

we ask that you would bless the preaching of

your word. Lord, we ask that you would accompany

the ministry of your word. by your Spirit, that

you would accomplish your purposes and your plans

in the life of your people. And, Father, that

you would use your Word to convert lost men to

know Christ, to give them faith and repentance,

Lord. Father, we ask these things in the name

of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. You may be seated.

We've seen in 2 Peter, so far, And considering

the first couple verses that God has given faith

to his people to receive the blessings of salvation,

we've seen that the Lord, that Peter himself,

seeks for the growth of his recipients, the Christians

he's writing to. He longs for them to grow in

peace and grace. That they would grow in the

knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ? Today we're

going to consider verse 3. 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.

It's important for us to understand the purpose.

for which Peter is writing. We've already commented

on this briefly, but Peter is writing to address

false teaching in the church. And the reason

he's writing to address false teaching in the

church is because this false teaching from these

false teachers, these ungodly and these wicked

men, is leading people to live in ungodly, unrighteous,

unholy ways. He's writing to address that issue.

Their wrong thinking about the gospel, their

wrong teaching, their wrong doctrine is leading

to ungodly behavior. And so Peter writes to the

church to address this issue. He's writing to

impress it upon their hearts and their minds

to stir up their conscience and their minds to

the importance of godliness in their lives. Holiness

in their lives as those who are on the road of

eternal life. Those who will enter into God's

eternal kingdom. As we see in verse 11. Surely

questions were arising in the church, and Peter

was having to address certain questions. Well,

has God given us everything that we need with

regards to godliness? Has God really supplied

us with everything that we need to live a holy

life? I mean, what about this sin? What about

this immorality? What about these things I struggle

with? Has God really given me everything that

there is so that I can come out of that, so that

I can live a holy life? Has God given me everything

pertaining to eternal life and to living unto

Christ in this fallen, sinful world, this present

evil age? Is it really possible to live godly?

in an ungodly age? Is it really possible to live

holy lives in an unholy and a wicked world? Is

it really possible to stand firm in the truth

as the whole world is eroding by error and false

teaching? Peter writes to them because he wants

to clarify the fact that, yes, it is possible,

and actually we must, as believers, live holy

and godly lives unto the glory of God in the

midst of ungodliness, in the midst of unrighteousness,

in the midst. of this present evil age. He wants

them to be confident about this. He wants them

to have certainty regarding the reality and the

necessity and the urgency of godliness in their

own lives as they are progressing towards God's

eternal kingdom. So Peter, today, in verse 3,

tells them what God has provided. The provisions

that God has given to those with faith for the

purpose of godliness and eternal life. We also

see in verse 4 that God has given believers magnificent

promises so that by them you may become partakers

of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption.

that is in the world by lust. Today we're going

to consider the provisions God has made for life

and godliness. Next week, Lord willing, we will

consider the promises that God has made for life

and godliness, for conformity to the blessed

and holy character of God. So consider today,

first, God's provisions for life and godliness.

Notice that Peter says in verse 3, seeing that

his divine power has granted to us everything

pertaining to life and godliness. This term life

is referring to eternal life. It's the most natural

way to understand this, especially in light of

verse 11, where Peter says, For in this way,

the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our

Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be abundantly

supplied to you. Especially with Peter's emphasis

on the new heavens and the new earth in chapter

3, the great promise of Christ's coming. And

the new heavens and the new earth, wherein righteousness,

And the believer's participation in that eternal

future kingdom that is to come. We should assume

that Peter means spiritual life as well. But

I believe he's preeminently aiming at eternal

life. But then he says godliness as well. We

hear this term. In the scriptures. Not super

prevalently. But we hear it quite often. We hear

it in Titus. We hear it in 1 and 2 Peter. We

hear it in. 1 and 2 Timothy. We hear it in other

places. In the text of scripture. We hear about

ungodliness. We hear about holiness. And unholiness.

We hear about righteousness. And unrighteousness.

But Peter here is talking in particular about

godliness that goes hand in hand with eternal

life. Meaning, those who have eternal life will

have godliness in some degree. If a person possesses

eternal life, if a person is regenerate and born

again, they've been given faith, if a person

is destined for that eternal kingdom and the

new heavens and the new earth, then that person

will live a godly life in some way, some shape,

and some form to some degree in their life. Now,

God does not give that fully and completely.

There's nobody who's wholly and completely godly

and perfect. But God does give godliness alongside

of and with eternal life. So what is it? Godliness

is that sweet, blessed, vital, inward religion

of the heart that affects every part of a person's

life. Focus on God in their life. It's a life

of devotion. A life of reverence. It's a life

of conscious awareness and understanding that

God is holy. That God has saved me. And that

this God is the God who I live unto as a father

and I want to please Him. I want to honor him.

I don't want to sin against God who sent his

son to die for me. I don't want to displease

the one who has saved me by the blood of the

Lord Jesus Christ. It's a life of reverence and

worship before a holy and a sovereign God. I

do think that when Peter is talking about godliness,

that he's emphasizing the positive characteristics

of the Christian life and Christian virtue. So

when we talk about holiness, typically that would

have with it connotations of not doing certain

things. Crucifying the flesh, not transgressing

the law, not breaking God's commandments. But

godliness is more positive in nature, meaning,

It's the positive action of brotherly love. It's

the positive action of living a godly life and

putting on the Lord Jesus Christ and acting out

and living up and being these virtues that the

New Testament commands us and commends to us

over and over and over. I think that's why Peter...

speaks of these things in verses 5 through 7.

In your faith, supply moral excellence. And in

your moral excellence, knowledge, self -control,

perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness,

love. They're positive realities that believers

do. It's putting on the Lord Jesus Christ, not

so much the putting off of sin. However, we can't

ever really separate those two, can we? If a

person's living a godly life, they're going to

be living a holy life. If we're going to live

a godly life, then we must live in holiness as

well. If we want to be like Christ, then we must

hate sin. We must crucify sin. We must die to

self. But we can't just fight sin. We have to

positively become like the Lord Jesus Christ

and his perfect, holy character. So Peter gives

these two things to us as a pair. Eternal life

and godliness. They go hand in hand. They're

always locked by the arms. They're never... Now

why do we need to emphasize that? Why does Peter

need to emphasize that it's life and godliness?

Because, brothers and sisters, there is great

danger in separating out godliness from eternal

life. That is very, very dangerous. To say that

a person can be... regenerate and born again,

to say that a person can know Jesus Christ by

faith and repentance, to say that a person can

be in possession of these eternal, these wonderful

blessings and realities that Christ has won for

them on the cross, to say that a person can know

Jesus Christ truly and yet have no form of godliness

in their life is the worst kind of heresy. If

you have eternal life, you will possess godliness

in your life. If you have eternal life, you will

be growing in grace, you will be growing in godliness,

you will be growing in holiness in your life.

People want to tear the two apart. Now why do

they want to do that? Because we have those people

that we dearly, Because there are so many people

who profess to be in possession of eternal life,

but their life is not consistent with godliness

or holiness. So what do we do? We tear the two

apart. We cannot do that, brothers and sisters.

This is why our doctrine, Our understanding,

our theology must be informed by the word of

God and not by sentiment and emotion. If a person

is in possession of eternal life, then brothers

and sisters, God will also give that person and

work into them godliness and growth in godliness

in their life. Why do we need to hear this? Why

do you need to hear this, brothers and sisters?

Because our hearts are so easily deceived. Our

hearts are so easily fooled. Well, I made a decision

years ago. I went forward and I had an experience

in church. I got baptized. I went to church.

I was a good church member. It's just not for

me anymore. It's not my thing. But, you know,

I go out into the woods. I'm with God in the

woods. And I go and I walk around the lake. I

go to the park. I'm with God in the park. That's

my form of worship. I read my Bible at home sometimes.

I'm telling you, I love God. But listen to me,

brothers and sisters. If you know Jesus Christ

by faith and repentance, if you are truly in

possession of eternal life, you will have growing

godliness and conformity to the person of Jesus

Christ. Don't let your heart be deceived. You

can't separate the two. You can't rip them apart.

You can't tear them to pieces. They come as a

pair. They always do and they always will. Now,

this blessed pair or this couplet that we've

been given by God are the provisions that God

has made to those who are his people. And notice

that it's comprehensive in nature. He's fully

given us these provisions. The text says everything

pertaining to life and godliness. Not some of

it. Not part of it. Not most of it. Not a piece

of it. Not a side of it. But everything pertaining

to life and godliness. That means that the realities

themselves. Godliness. the reality of godliness,

eternal life itself, is from God, it's provided

by Him, and it's given by Him, but everything

that supports it, strengthens it, encourages

it, brings it about, everything that nurtures

it, everything pertaining to life and godliness.

We think, About the reality that God has given

us his Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit of God. And

all the work and all the influence. And all the

power of the Spirit of God dwelling within the

believer. Dwelling within those who are his people.

The Spirit's work is to make us holy. And godly.

To bring us into conformity with Christ himself.

To make us. into His image, to renew us daily,

inwardly, by the Spirit. He's given us the Spirit

and all His work, all His power, and all His

effective energy in the life of the believer.

He's given us faith to believe and trust these

blessed and these glorious realities, to receive

these promises, to receive Christ's work. That

Christ might sanctify us in and by and through

our faith. That we might grow in grace by that

faith. He's given us repentance and godly sorrow

that leads to salvation. Brothers and sisters,

he's not neglected anything. He's given everything

for the purpose of godliness. Why? Ask yourself,

why does God give us everything pertaining to

life and godliness? What's so significant about

it? What's so important about the reality of

eternal life and godliness? He's given us it

all. We think about the reality that he's given

us all of Christ by faith. All the blessings.

All the privileges, brothers and sisters. We

have the righteousness of Christ. We have the

armor of God. We have the helmet of salvation.

We have the breastplate of righteousness, the

belt of truth. We have the gospel to shot our

feet. We have the sword of the Spirit. He's given

us everything that we might grow in godliness

and grace. Why? What's the significance of it?

Why does God give His divine power? to providing

life and godliness to undeserving sinners? Why

does God give his sovereign power to work in

the life and the soul of those people who don't

deserve it? Of those people who ought not to

receive it, but they do because God is gracious.

Why does God work to provide godliness and holiness

in the life of his people? with the same power

that brought the world into existence. Have you

considered the divine power at work to provide

godliness in your life, growth and transformation,

maturity, sanctification? Have you considered

the work that's at work in you to change you?

Brothers and sisters, it's the same divine power

by which God spoke the world into existence.

It's the same divine power that opened the floodgates

and sent forth the rains. It's the same divine

power that sustains all things, that maintains

the world, the cosmos, the whole universe and

everything that is in it. It's the same power.

that split the Red Sea, that His people might

walk across on dry ground. It's the same power

that provided for His people in the wilderness.

It's the same power that brought the walls of

Jericho down. Brothers and sisters, it's the

same power that will renew the world, that will

bring about the new heavens and the new earth.

That power. Is what is at work in the life of

the believer. To make them more like the Lord

Jesus Christ. But we also have to understand.

That that's the power it takes. To transform

us. Because of the wickedness of sin. Nothing

short of the power of God. can change you, brothers

and sisters. Nothing short of that world -creating,

sovereign, divine, supernatural power can bring

you out of darkness and into light. Nothing short

of His divine, sovereign, supernatural power

can make you to be a new creature and make you

to be more like the Lord Jesus Christ. Your own

efforts will fail every single time. The arm

of the flesh will fall flat. But divine power

will succeed every time it goes forth. His power

is what provides these blessed provisions in

our life. We can turn to Isaiah chapter 40. And

Isaiah 40 · chapter mention

read verses 27 through 31. Why do you say, O

Jacob, and assert, O Israel, my way is hidden

from the Lord, and the justice due me escapes

the notice of my God? Do you not know? Have you

not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, the

creator of the ends of the earth. does not become

weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable

or unsearchable. He gives strength to the weary.

To him who lacks might, he increases power. Though

youths grow weary and tired, and vigorous young

men stumble badly, yet those who wait for the

Lord will gain new strength. They will mount

up with wings like eagles. They will run and

not get tired. They will walk and not become

weary. Isaiah is not talking about physical strength,

brothers and sisters. He's talking about the

fact that the people have grown hopeless and

they're in despair and they need spiritual sustenance,

spiritual strength to preserve them through.

Is God, who is holy and sovereign, whose power

is inscrutable and unsearchable, is He not able

to strengthen our weary souls? Is He not able

to lift up you who are downcast, to sustain you

through the most difficult and the darkest times

of your life? Oh, brothers and sisters, our great,

our sovereign, our divine God can, in fact, grow

us in godliness. Our great God. can in fact preserve

us and cause us to take part in that eternal

kingdom one day. He will provide for us by that

power. And he is more than able, brothers and

sisters, to help us in our times of weakness.

It's inexhaustible power. He's not held back

by the degree and the difficulty of the sin,

is he? There's not a certain trial or temptation

that really thwarts that sovereign power, is

there? Brothers and sisters, he made the world.

Can he not preserve us in our lives? Can he not

preserve our souls no matter the situation? Can

he not? bolster the graces that He has given

to us by Christ? Can He not bring us out of the

depths of the pit and sin and bring us unto righteousness

again in our lives? Can He not strengthen and

grant true repentance that leads to salvation

for believers? He is sovereign. He is good. He

is faithful. And that sovereign power is the

power that provides life. and godliness for his

people. So we see these provisions. But consider

how we come into possession of these provisions.

Or we could say it this way. How God makes us

to participate in these provisions of eternal

life and godliness. We look at the second half

of the verse, and we read this. through the true

knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory

and excellence. These provisions are the result,

godliness in life, life in godliness. They're

the result, brothers and sisters, of God calling

us to know the Lord Jesus Christ effectually.

They come as a result of God illuminating our

minds and our hearts to see who Christ really,

truly is. Giving us eyes to see and ears to hear.

Inducing us to faith by the blessed Holy Spirit

in our lives. It's the moment that God brings

us out of death. Into life. Out of darkness and

into life. And he brings us into union with Christ.

Now this necessarily includes the ministry of

the word. That gives us knowledge of Christ.

Knowledge of the gospel. Knowledge of who God

is. It necessarily includes that. But this is

working. This is speaking of something deeper.

Something. That brings us to God. This is speaking

of something that's effective. Something that's

transformative. Something that changes us. It's

speaking of the effectual call. The reality that

God does in fact call us and he gives us ears

to hear the gospel. Eyes to see Christ. To understand

the glory of God in the face of Christ as 2 Corinthians

4 .6 puts it. It's when God changes us and implants

new life into us. He gives us faith and he gives

us repentance. We are transformed by his divine

call. And as a result of that, he gives us eternal

life and godliness. So there are several implications

to that. That means that godliness proceeds forth,

comes as a consequence of God's work in our life.

His gracious and effectual call. Godliness finds

its inception in the call of God by the Spirit

of God. So we don't seek God, we don't seek out

holiness. We don't seek out conformity to his

law. We don't seek out conformity to the Lord

Jesus Christ. We don't long and hunger and thirst

for righteousness until, brothers and sisters,

God himself has done a work in us to change us

and call us to himself. It's only following that

work that we can grow in grace. So there's nobody

who's growing in grace. There's nobody who knows

godliness who doesn't know grace. If you have

never experienced the grace of God in your life,

if God has never called you outwardly through

the preaching of the gospel and inwardly through

the work of the Spirit, and he's given you ears

to hear, he's given you eyes to see, and faith

to receive Christ, if you've never beheld Christ

in all His glory, then you are not growing in

grace. You cannot grow in godliness. You will

not seek out God. We do not pursue Him until

He first calls us and pursues us. He must work

in us before we go to work seeking to be holy

and godly in our lives. His work is necessary

for that. But Peter also does something here

by connecting godliness and eternal life to the

divine call. What does he do here by connecting

that, brothers and sisters? He connects godliness

to the grander scheme of salvation as a whole.

Godliness and holiness. These two blessed realities

and provisions are an essential part of God's

saving of sinners. They will be in the life of

those saved sinners across the board. If God

calls you, then you will grow in holiness. You

will come to love the Lord Jesus. You will hunger

and thirst after righteousness. You will hunger

and thirst for the things of God. You will have

a desire to please him and to live unto him.

This gives us great comfort and certainty regarding

our salvation, our sanctification, and our growth

and grace in this life. But it also demonstrates,

brothers and sisters, why? God calls us. Or why

God makes these provisions in our life. We have

to understand why he does these things. Why does

God want us to be like Christ? Why does God work

in us? Why does God give his divine power to

work in our souls, to change us and transform

us, to renew us, to transform us from glory to

glory? Why does he do that, brothers and sisters?

He does it so that we will be prepared for the

glory that is to come. And he does it so that

we will be like him. What do we read in the next

several verses? We read in verses 4 through 5.

For by these he has granted to us. His precious

and magnificent promises. And listen to this.

So that by them you may become partakers of the

divine nature. Having escaped the corruption

of the world. It's not talking about the reality

that believers take on divinity. It's not talking

about the reality that believers become gods.

Or do we take part in God's nature in some way

like that? It's talking about that believers

who are called by the ministry of the Word and

by the Spirit of God, believers who are given

godliness and eternal life, those believers are

going to be brought into moral conformity to

the character of our great and mighty God. The

image of God is going to be renewed so that we

rightly reflect the character of God in this

world and we are prepared to live unto God in

glory in that coming kingdom. So there's a connection

between godliness and eternal life and assurance

of that eternal life. It's not that God just

wants good, moral people. Walking around on the

earth doing good things. God made us in his image,

brothers and sisters. He made us to reflect his

character in this world unto men to multiply

and increase his glory in the world. That his

character, his goodness, his mercy, his compassion,

his patience, his long -suffering would be known

by more and more people. It would be seen. It

would be reveled in. It would be enjoyed. But

because of sin, that image has been busted. It's

been broken. It's not been destroyed or shattered

or gone away. But men, by sin, misrepresent or

falsely and erroneously reflect the image and

character of God in this world. So what happens

to believers when they're called and the Spirit

of God dwells within them? They begin to rightly

reflect the character of God in this world again.

They begin to be conformed to His very character

again. As a result of his divine work. This work

which will be perfected in glory when Christ

returns. So we take part in these things. We're

made partakers of these things. By the divine

call of God. Now I want us to consider a few

applications of these for our lives. The fact.

of these realities ought to cause us to pause

for a few moments. These are realities that God

has in fact provided. God has given everything

pertaining to life and godliness for every believer

for all time. So if you know Jesus Christ by

faith and repentance, there's no resource, there's

no divine power that's not been given to you

for the purpose of godliness in your life. God

will bring this work to completion and perfection

by his grace. He will continue this work and

usher us into his eternal kingdom. But knowing

these things, what ought they to do to us now?

How ought they to affect us today? How ought

they ought to affect your life and your living

in this world, in your world, in your life, in

your sphere of influence, in your family, in

your relationships? Knowing the reality that

God has provided these things, we can clearly

see His will for our lives. His will is that

we be godly people. That we seek out and we pursue

the things of God. That we reflect His character

and His goodness in this world. That we live

unto Christ in accordance with the precepts and

the law of Christ. Fulfilling the law of God.

Walking in the Spirit. This is demonstrated and

seen so clearly in this text. And the reality

that God gives is divine power for this purpose.

So what can we say about the death of Christ?

The crucifixion, brothers and sisters. And it's

relation to your godliness in your life. How

do we see the importance of godliness? In the

reality that Jesus Christ had to die on a cross

that you might actually become holy and blameless

before him. Not just in standing through justification,

but brothers and sisters, in reality, in your

hearts, in your minds, in your souls, in practice.

God does actually make us to be righteous and

holy people. There's a stigma about holiness

and righteousness and godliness in the life of

God's people at many, many times. God wants us

to honor Him and live as those who please Him.

And we see this clearly in the text. Brothers

and sisters, how important is this to you? How

important is it to you that you obey the commands

of God when he says, applying all diligence in

your faith, supply moral excellence, and in your

moral excellence, so on and so on. It's important

to the God who saved you that you be these things.

The reason Peter is writing this is because it's

important. As those who are brought, who are

bought by the blood of Christ, how important

is it to you that you live and honor Christ and

that you know him? Do you think about it? Are

you affected by the Scriptures in this way? Does

it stir you? Does it convict you? Does it challenge

you? Is there some sort of confrontation in your

soul? Brothers and sisters, it's important to

the Lord. How important is it to you? How important

is it to me? What did God do to bring about Eternal

life and godliness for his people. He gave Christ.

What did he do to redeem his people, brothers

and sisters? He gave his son. What are we willing

to give for godliness in our lives? What are

we willing to give up in our lives that we might

not live with sin? What are you willing to do?

What are you willing to sacrifice? What are you

willing to cut off? What are you willing to rid

yourself of for the purpose of holiness and godliness

and righteousness in your life? He gave everything

in Christ on the cross. Brothers and sisters,

this ought to be a top priority for the people

of God. To honor Him. To live unto Him. To please

our great sovereign God. Knowing this reality,

that God has provided these things, we can understand

that we are able to pursue godliness. Why does

God command us over and over? Why does he give

this exhortation in verse 5? Why does Peter command

us in chapter 3? Over and over. Because we're

able, as those who have been effectually called,

as those with new hearts, renewed minds, renewed

wills, as those indwelt by the Spirit of God,

as those with new life implanted in them, we

have the capacity as new creatures in Christ

to seek after God. Unbelievers do not have that

capacity, but believers do. You do if you know

Christ by faith. We all as believers can in fact

pursue these things. And we must pursue these

things to be obedient. Paul in Ephesians several

times when he's writing, he says, stop. He tells

his recipients, stop. Stop being deceitful. Why

does Paul tell them to stop? Because they have

the ability to stop. As those who have been transformed

by Christ in hearing the gospel, brothers and

sisters, sin is now the remnant in us. It's alien.

It's foreign. We've been made new creatures in

Christ. We are no longer the old man. The old

man's dead. The old man's crucified. We are new

creatures in Christ. That's who we are. That

means that ungodliness, unholiness, and unrighteousness

are now inconsistent with our very identities

as believers, new creatures in Christ. That means

that ungodliness, unholiness, wickedness, filthy

speech, all kinds of things the Bible talks about

are unfit, inconsistent with your identity in

the Lord Jesus Christ. It's not who we are. They're

inconsistent with who Christ has called us and

Christ has made us to be. So my challenge for

you here today, if you're living in certain ways

that are displeasing to the Lord, if you are

living in an unrighteous manner, if you are living

in open rebellion to God, if you are living in

an antithetical life to the law of God, if you

are transgressing His law openly, plainly, and

clearly, then consider whether or not Christ

has called you by His grace. If you're a Christian

and you're truly a believer, then you will know

that those actions and those behaviors are in

fact inconsistent with who you are. And they

will bother your conscience. They will bother

you. Because it's not who you are. You're a new

creation in Christ. Do away with those realities.

The grace of God teaches us to say no to ungodliness.

Put on Christ and these blessed qualities and

these blessed virtues that Peter commands. But

knowing these things also helps us understand

and recognize, brothers and sisters, that if

there's a deficiency, that if there's deformities,

And if there's lack in our godliness, in our

lives living under Christ and honoring Him, what

is the source of that deficiency, that deformity,

and that lack in our godliness? Knowing that

Christ has given us everything pertaining to

life and godliness. The lack is us. The deficiency

comes from us. The deformity is contributed by

our remaining sin. We cannot cast that on the

Lord and His sovereignty. The sin in our life

is our sin. The consequences for the sin in our

life are our consequences. We cannot attribute

that to the Lord. He has given us everything

pertaining to life and godliness. But every success,

And every hill that's climbed on this road to

eternal life, brothers and sisters, every time

we have victory and success over sin or besetting

sin, every time we see change and transformation

in our life, every inch and ounce of growth and

grace, where must we attribute that? To God Himself.

We must give Him praise and honor for all the

glorious realities of godliness in our lives.

We must humble ourselves and recognize that they're

not of us. They're from that which He has provided.