As we discussed in the first article on sufficiency, the sufficiency of Scripture means that the Bible contains all the words of God that are necessary for us to be saved and for us to live obedient, victorious Christian lives. It is sufficient for salvation, and it is sufficient for God-honoring Christian living. It tells us both what to believe and how to live. These two aspects are vital to a good understanding of sufficiency.
We could find a number of parallel divisions: belief and obedience, doctrine and practice, orthodoxy and orthopraxy, or salvation and sanctification. Peter, in his second epistle, describes these same two aspects when he says Scripture has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness. Because of this, 2 Peter 1:3-4 is a significant text for our understanding of Scripture’s sufficiency.
2 Peter 1:2-4
Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
Peter begins in the opening words of this epistle by reminding his readers of their blessed relationship with God. They have grace and peace through the knowledge of God and of Christ. They have experienced this because God, in His divine power, has given them “all things that pertain to life and godliness.” Before we look at what “life and godliness” entails, we need to understand what is included in the phrase “all things.”
First we must realize that we do, in fact, have everything we need for life and godliness. God has graciously given us all we need. What does that include? We could include a number of things in this list: Scripture, the Holy Spirit, the Church, and salvation through Christ. These are indeed all included in God’s good gifts to us that enable spiritual renewal and godly living. But as we look at the context, we see Peter’s emphasis on knowledge as an essential part of our relationship with God. We receive grace and peace through the knowledge of God. Or, more pointedly, we have been given all things “through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue.” “Him who called us” clearly means God Himself. That is, we receive these things as we know Him.
We then ask the question, how do we come to know God? And the clear answer is that He has made Himself knowable through Scripture. Relationship with God ought to be dynamic and personal, but it must also include facts about Him. Any healthy relationship includes knowledge of the other person, and our relationship with God is the same. How are we to know God? Through His revealed Word. He teaches us about Himself through the Bible. It contains the cognitive information necessary for us to form a dynamic relationship with God. We should understand that God’s chosen method of relating to us is through Scripture. So, as we think about knowing God and how we relate to Him, our minds should naturally be drawn to the text of Scripture. We know all things relating to life and godliness as we understand God’s Word.
Is this “all things” limited to just the text of Scripture? Not necessarily. As we’ve already discussed, the Spirit must also work dynamically in us, teaching us about God and enabling our obedience to Him. But how does He teach? Through the Scriptures. The Bible contains all the information necessary for salvation and obedience. Are there other ways we could know about God? He is perfectly capable of revealing Himself to us personally outside of Scripture, but has He chosen to do that? I don’t think so. God’s ultimate revelation is His word, and it, as His gift to all men, is the source of all the information we need.
So how should we understand “all things?” It seems to include both Scripture and the Spirit. But, as we break that down, we understand that Scripture communicates what we must know and the Spirit provides the ability to rightly understand and diligently obey that which is communicated through Scripture. So, while this phrase includes more than just Scripture in the “all things,” it certainly does include Scripture. When asking where we must go to get correct information about God, it seems right to conclude that what God wants us to know is primarily, if not exclusively, found in the text of Scripture. “All things” includes the truth that God has made known, through His written Word, all things that are necessary for life and godliness. More to the point, Scripture contains everything we need to know about God, and is thus sufficient for life and godliness.
That then transitions us into the central point for our consideration of sufficiency. God has given us everything we need for two things: life and godliness. The Greek word here translated as “life” is used over 130 times in New Testament and nearly always refers to eternal life. Life, here in 2 Peter, carries the same idea. It means new life, spiritual life. It includes the idea of the new birth, our passing from death to life, of our salvation through Christ. It includes our past experience of regeneration through the gospel, our present Christian walk, and our future eternal inheritance. How do we know about this life? Through the sufficient word. Scripture contains all the words of God that are necessary for our salvation.
And it is sufficient for obedient, victorious Christian living. This is conveyed in the second word, “godliness.” While “life” speaks of our salvation, “godliness” speaks of our sanctification. Godliness is behavior and character that resembles God’s own behavior and character. Our pursuit of godliness is one of being as much like Him as possible, emulating His attributes and actions. We love selflessly because that’s how God loves. We hate sin because He does. We speak the truth because God is Himself true.
While “life” is primary focused on what we must believe to be saved, “godliness” is especially focused on how we must live because we are saved. It bears on how we live here and now. It most certainly includes both the putting off of sin and the putting on of righteousness. It means that Scripture teaches us everything we must do to please God in our daily lives. It both convicts of sin and instructs in righteousness. But it even expands to include things that would hinder our obedience, whether other people’s sins against us, or the limitations, struggles, and sufferings we all face. If God has given us all things pertaining to godliness, then He has certainly provided what we need to overcome anything that inhibits godly living.
The phrase “life and godliness” comprehensively covers all of the Christian experience, from conversion, through the daily walk of obedience, to the enjoyment of eternal life with Christ. Peter succinctly but thoroughly includes the entirety of Christianity in these two words, “life and godliness,” from salvation to God-glorifying obedience. God has given us everything we need to have to be everything we ought to be. Specifically, He has told us everything we need to know to be everything we ought to be. His Word is sufficient. We need nothing more to be saved, and we need nothing more to please Him in godly lives.