2Pe 1:3 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, 2Pe 1:4 by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.
The above passage reminds us that all saints have all the power they need to serve the Lord by the indwelling Spirit and they have all the information they need in the Bible overall and in the promises of what they have in Christ Jesus in particular. There is a lot of things that we could say about this subject but allow me to give some examples of how the truth of God's Word and the application of the Gospel can be used in all that pertains to life and godliness.
On the one hand when we sin it exposes that our love for the Lord is not as it should be. On the other hand it also shows that we are not living in light of the truths of the Word. So if I find it difficult to be nice and speak kindly to others then I need to ask what is wrong with my understanding of the gospel that makes me think I can act like this? If I find it difficult to trust in God and not my bank account and give like I should, what have I forgotten about the goodness and power of God that makes me think I have to put this world before the Kingdom of God? If I am being tempted to live for pleasure or power and success more than living to show forth Christ to others and deny self, where have I been deluded by sin so that I think this will end well for me? So as soon as I lose sight of the gospel I will become barren or ineffective.
Sin deceives us and Satan is the father of lies. His job is to get us to think wrongly. We tend to think of Satan attacking us through overt temptations, and he certainly does this; but I believe primarily he tries to get us to think wrongly about the truth, to believe our sinful hearts and the world around us rather than God. Once this happens we will easily fall to temptation. So above all it is imperative that we know God's Word and that we believe and trust it so that it directs our thinking.
The Holy Spirit's work isn't so much to help us understand the Bible. It is for the most part understandable. Even many lost people understand what it is saying. The difference is that they don't believe what it says. The Holy Spirit helps us see the wisdom and to trust it above our deceitful hearts. If we are regenerated then we are able to rest on these precious promises and live in light of eternity and not for the moment.
Once we understand this we begin to see the importance of Bible study and being under the ministry of the local church. It isn't difficult to recognize someone who does not hold God's Word as very important in their lives and it would be a good exercise for each of us to determine if we are students of the Word. If we are not, then the Holy Spirit has little to work with in conforming us to the image of Christ.
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