worthiness – Ministry of Grace Church

His divine power has given us everything pertaining to life and godliness through the full knowledge of him who called us through glory and worthiness.

Truth to Learn

All that we need for life and godliness comes from God.

Behind the Words

“Divine” is translated from theios, which is derived from theos, meaning “God.” It refers to that which is uniquely God’s and proceeds directly from Him.

The verb “has given” is translated from dōreomai, which means “to give a gift” (one that is undeserved). It is expressed here in the perfect tense, indicating past completed action with an ongoing effect, where the emphasis is on the effect.

“Full knowledge” is the same word, epignōsis that we looked at in the previous verse, meaning complete, in-depth knowledge.

The word translated “worthiness” is the Greek word arêtes, which means “moral excellence” or “superiority.”

Meaning Explained

In this verse Peter continues his benediction by saying that it is through His Godly power that Jesus Christ has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness. Some have supposed that this means all things that pertain to spiritual life and godliness, but I am of the persuasion that he means all aspects of life, both earthly and eternal. As born-again Christians we have everything we need to live a successful life of faith and to expect eternal life in the grace of God, not because we have done anything, but because He has given it to us through His divine power.

As we noted above, the act of giving was accomplished in the past, but it has current ongoing consequences. The point when the giving actually took place can be interpreted either as the point in time when we accepted Christ as Lord and Savior or the point in eternity past when He chose us:

Even as he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and without blemish before him In love (Ephesians 1:4)

Peter seems to imply that we receive everything we need for life and godliness by developing the in-depth, personal knowledge of God in Jesus Christ that we talked about in the last verse. He is the one who called us, and He is the one who empowers us:

Among whom you are also called to belong to Jesus Christ. (Romans 1:6)

What I want you to see from these two verses is that God shows His grace to us and gives us peace as we recognize and accept who He is and what He has done. And because of His divinity and power, He has called us to Himself and He has given us everything we need for life and for living in a godly manner. But we only get this through understanding and thoroughly knowing who He is, how glorious He is, and how powerful He is.

Application

We must recognize that we are what we are and we have the salvation that we have solely because of who He is, not because of what we have done.

In God's service, for His glory,

that the worthiness of your faith, being much more valuable than gold that is perishing, though it is tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ,

Truth to Learn

Difficult times in our lives strengthen our faith which results in praise, glory, and honor to God.

Behind the Words

The Greek word translated “that” is hina which could be translated as “with the intent that …” It is referring to “various trials.” In other words, the intent of these trials is that our faith may result in praise, glory, and honor to God.

The word translated “worthiness” is dokimion, which is an expression of worth and is thus translated “genuineness” or “worthiness.” It is related to the verb translated here as “tested.” This verb is dokimadzō, which means “to assay” or “to test for the purpose of finding value.” This testing is not intended to find fault but to determine something’s value.

“More precious” is the translation of the Greek word timiōteron, the comparative form of timeos, which means “valuable, costly, or honored.” Hence, the comparative means “more valuable” or “more honored.”

Meaning Explained

Today’s verse can be confusing if not analyzed carefully. Let’s look at it phrase by phrase:

“That the worthiness of your faith” – The intent of the various trials that we undergo is to assay, or evaluate our faith. It is an evaluation whose purpose is to determine the goodness, or value of our faith, not the badness or weakness of our faith.

“being much more valuable than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire” – Peter is not saying that your faith is much more precious than gold (though that may well be true), rather he is saying that the value of your faith is more precious. Peter is saying that God values a stronger, more genuine faith over a weak, ineffective faith.

But, why does Peter refer to Gold as perishing? Isn’t gold a metal that doesn’t corrode? Isn’t it enduring? We have all heard the explanation of the golden ring in a wedding ceremony as a symbol of the eternal love that exists between Christ and His bride, the church. It is a “symbol” of this eternal love, it is not eternal itself. In fact, gold is a soft metal that wears away easily and which will disappear with the rest of creation at the end of time. The trial of our faith will produce eternal results and the genuineness of our faith can only be ascertained through trial.

“be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ” – The reason for our rejoicing and the reason for the proving of our faith is that it might result in praise and glory and honor, not to us, but to the author and finisher of our faith when he comes back to claim us as His own.

Application

Compare this with what James said about this very subject in James 1:2, “My brothers, count it all joy when you encounter various trials.” We can count it all joy because we know that through these trials our faith is being purified, made stronger and more valuable. And, these trials will ultimately result in praise to God! After all, isn’t that what we all want?

In God's service, for His glory,

Ministry of Grace Church

Tag: worthiness

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