“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, 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” (II Peter 1:3-4 ESV).
Yet again we have a verse that clearly states what God has done for us as believers. To have something “granted” to you means the giver has given it gratuitously or “bestowed” (AMP) it on you. The only other usage of the word in the New Testament is when Pilate granted the body of Jesus to Joseph of Arimathea for burial (Mark 15:45).
In this favorite verse of mine, the gift is two-fold: “all things that pertain to life and godliness.” So it covers everyday living and the spiritual outworking of that which is within. Some view the “life” as spiritual because of the “godliness” in the same verse, but other verses support the reality of the Father’s involvement in daily life.
The fact is that God is interested in every detail of our daily life. So that we can “seize the day” for His glory, we should recognize His hand in the events of the day, the needs of the day, including our physical health, wealth and happiness. Our spiritual life is reflected in our natural life. I was talking one day to a believer who I knew also dealt in drugs, and he said that he kept his business separate from his beliefs! I had to persuade him that such a division is not taught in God’s Word. We are taught by Jesus that we are not of this world, and John’s epistle tells us that “as he is, so are we in this world.”
The verse goes on to state that “he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature.” He promised salvation to those who confess Jesus as Lord and believe that God raised Jesus from the dead (Romans 10:9). Here in II Peter, we discover that salvation included being “partakers of the divine nature.” “Partakers” means “sharers in,” so you share the exact same nature that Jesus has. Pause for a moment and try to take that in. “So that his nature would become part of us” (CEV). “Your… participation in the life of God after you turned your back on a world corrupted by lust” (MSG). The pure divine nature causes any other nature to disintegrate, just as darkness flees when you put on the light, for light and darkness cannot co-exist.
This is why Paul wrote that we are “more than conquerors through him who loved us” (Romans 8:37). With a divine nature, we are Davids to any Goliath we run across! We “can do all things in him who strengthens” us (Philippians 4:13). There are no modifiers or conditions because your Christian life begins with a big done! As you accept that it is true about you, then you can do all that God says you can do, for you are all that God says you are.
Finally, these two verses are full of wonderful truths. Let’s expand them using the Mirror Bible. “By his divine engineering he gifted us with all that it takes to live life to the full, where our ordinary day to day lives mirror our devotion and romance with our Maker. His intimate knowledge of us introduces us to ourselves again and elevates us to a position where his original intention is clearly perceived! This is exactly what God always had in mind for us; every one of his abundant and priceless promises pointed to our restored participation in our godly origin! This is his gift to us! In this fellowship we have escaped the distorted influence of the corrupt cosmic virus of greed.”
Leave A Comment