Day 135: How Do We Partake of the Divine Nature?
We continue to work our way through 2 Peter 1. As humans, we were created in the image and likeness of God. Now, IN Christ, He is empowering us to take on His virtues so that we can be faithful and fruitful.
WORDwork:
2 Peter 1:4
Through these things (Father God’s glory and excellence) He has bestowed on us his precious and most magnificent promises, so that by means of what was promised you may become partakers of the divine nature, after escaping the worldly corruption that is produced by evil desire.
1:5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith excellence, to excellence, knowledge; 1:6 to knowledge, self-control; to self-control, perseverance; to perseverance, godliness; 1:7 to godliness, brotherly affection; to brotherly affection, unselfish love. 1:8 For if these things are really yours and are continually increasing, they will keep you from becoming ineffective and unproductive in your pursuit of knowing our Lord Jesus Christ more intimately.
What has Father God bestowed on us through His “glory and excellence”?
Why or for what end goal did God give His promises to us?
What should we “make every effort” to do?
What Is The Goal (Outcome)?
2 Peter 1:4 is one of the most powerful sentences in the whole Bible. To understand it clearly, we are going to analyze it topically to follow the flow of Peter’s thought. First, he gives us the goal that Father God has set for us in 1:4: that “you might become partakers of the divine nature.” Everything in this passage revolves around this goal, this outcome. So what does it mean to become a partaker of the “divine nature”?
Clearly, Peter is not saying that we will become “gods,” taking on all the attributes and essence of who the Lord God is. What he means is that we will share in God’s nature, His way of life that is characterized by truth, goodness and glory/beauty. Paul talks about this in terms of “becoming mature” and “growing up into Christ” or being “perfect/complete” (see Ephesians 4:13-15, Philippians 3:12, Colossians 1:28). He also speaks of Christ being “formed in us” (see Galatians 4:19). Many simply call this growing in and toward “Christlikeness.” We are being transformed by the Holy Spirit (see Romans 12:2; 2 Corinthians 3:18) to be conformed to the likeness of Jesus Christ (see Romans 8:28-30).
How Do We Escape Worldly Corruption?
Peter tells us at the end of verse 4 that the goal of “partaking the divine nature” will take place after we have escaped “the worldly corruption that is produced by evil desire.” If you think back to our previous discussions, you will know that we have discussed the issue of desire often. Early in this unit, we discuss the struggle that is going on within us between the desires of the Spirit and the desires of the Flesh. Our desires and how we act on them define us.
If you think about your old way of life, you will probably see that many of things you thought and did were shaped by evil or sinful desires. Over the course of my journey, I have become convinced that Father God is transforming us most in the area of our desires. Think about it: your desires cannot be changed by a force of your will. If you don’t like chocolate ice cream, you can’t will yourself to like it. But if your desire is transformed, it opens up new opportunities to you.
As you should clearly understand now Father God is working in Christ through the Holy Spirit in us to transform us from the inside out. A huge part of that process involves changing our desires. This will affect every other aspect of our personality. Father God is working to transform our “evil desires” into “good desires.” So how does He do that?
What are Father God’s Precious and Magnificent Promises?
Peter is clear: we will become partakers of the divine nature through Father God’s “precious and most magnificent promises.” Peter speaks of promise again in 3:13 where he tells us God has also promised the coming of the New Heavens and the New Earth. In the New Testament, the concept of “God’s promises” shows up quite a bit and it points us to the promises given through Israel, realized in Christ, that work together to bring the blessings of The Kingdom. In 2 Corinthians 1:20, Paul tells us that all God’s promises find their “yes!” in Christ. In short, Father God’s promises include all that He has promised to do for us, to us and in us. It is through these promises that we are transformed.
What Is Father God’s Glory And Excellence?
Also, these promises come to us through Father God’s own “glory and excellence.” Both of these terms point to things that are good and praiseworthy. The Lord God’s glory is His incomprehensible beauty made present to our senses that allows us to praise and worship Him. The word “excellence” could also be translated “goodness” but excellence works well in this context. All that the Lord God does is morally and qualitatively excellent. We are called to live in the same way. We will discuss this more tomorrow.
So What Do We Do?
Even though Father God has given us everything we need, it takes effort to work it all out in our lives. This is something very important for you to realize. In 1:5, Peter encourages us to, “make every effort to add to your faith…” As we have touched on before, God’s grace and empowerment can never be earned, but it does require some effort on our part to cultivate these blessings into the fabric of our lives.
Think about this question for a minute: “Why doesn’t God just immediately transform us at the very minute that we trust in Christ?” Now I don’t know that I can answer that question fully or adequately, but I think Peter gives us a clue in these verses. If Father God just instantly “zapped” us and made us instantly like Christ, we would not have learned or gained much. Even Jesus Himself “learned obedience through the things He suffered…” (Hebrews 5:8).
I am convinced that God wants us to experience His divine power in the process of our transformation so that we become people who actually want to think and act in ways that are true, good and glorious. In His wisdom, God our Father realizes that this can only be accomplished by taking us through the oftentimes painful process of transformation. Growth and maturing need to be experienced so that their effects take deep root within us.
So the question is still, “How do we do it?” or maybe “What does Father God desire for us to do?” Peter gives the answer in the very next verses. We will turn to look at the section in detail tomorrow.
Think about how your desires shape your life. Do you understand why the transformation of our desires is so critical to our overall transformation?
*You can find a complete list of all the MilktoMeat readings here.
