“Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” (2Peter 1:4)
Further expanding our understanding of our Scripture through the definition of the Greek words, this Scripture says, that we have been given by God exceeding great, valuable and costly promises. God has given us these promises that we might share and partake like a companion or partner of His divine nature, escaping the ruin and destruction of this world because of lust.
These promises are given by a righteous God and Jesus our Lord Who does not lie. (Hebrews 6:18) These promises are a sure, firm and trustworthy yes. “For all the promises of God in Him are yea, and in Him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.” (2Corinthians 1:20) Through the Law we realized the gravity of our sin. The Law pointed out our sin and amplified its great offense to our God, but by His grace which is greater than our sin and came through Jesus our Lord, it was removed by His work on the Cross. The word that is used is propitiation which means that the wrath coming upon us because of sin has been appeased and we have been reconciled to God. Our relationship with God has been restored as it was before when Adam and Eve walked and talked with God. This is a big deal. If you have received Jesus as Lord and Savior and are not walking and talking with the Father and Jesus, you are missing out. You’re in the garden, still hiding from God because of your sin. Yet the wrath of God toward your sin has been appeased. God is available to us now. We can come to the Father in Jesus’ Name. “And in that day ye shall ask Me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in My name, He will give it you.” (John 16:23) And further on Jesus adds, “At that day ye shall ask in My name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you: For the Father Himself loveth you, because ye have loved Me, and have believed that I came out from God.” (John 16:26-27)
Peter states that we can be partakers of the divine nature meaning companions and partners of God’s divine nature. That is beyond my understanding, but let’s explore that. We still live in this body here on earth. How can we be companions and partners of God’s divine nature? We need to realize that we are three-part beings, spirit, soul and body. We are spirits who have a soul (mind, will, emotions) and live in a body. Before we believed on Jesus, our spirits were dead and trapped in the kingdom of sin and darkness. “And you hath He quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:” (Ephesians 2:1-6) Yes, we are still bodily here on earth, struggling with the hardships of daily life on earth, but in God’s realm, the spiritual realm, our spirits are already raised and we’re sitting with Jesus in heavenly places. God is not bound by the rules of this earth. We are because of our bodies. But in the spiritual, our spirits are soaring with Him. And once we realize that, what joy and what possibilities are realized. We are soaring with our Father and Jesus our Lord in the heavenlies, beyond the restrictions of this earth. Nothing is impossible to us. We’re companions of God’s divine nature already. When we meditate on this, it’s mind blowing.
What does that mean to us in the now? It means we are not to return to the mire of this world, which is hopeless and fearful without God. It means we don’t have to grovel in this perishing world. We can walk and talk on a higher plane (holy) because God has elevated us to His kingly and divine sphere. We have fellowship with God.
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