Wonderful Words of Life - Partake of His Divine Nature

Today’s Wonderful Words of Life, take us back to the first chapter of second Peter. I did a series on verses 1-11. If you would like to see the introductory post on verses 1 and 2, you can see that here. I am focusing only on verses 3 and 4 today, for the specific purpose of sharing these wonderful words again.

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“3 seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.
4 For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.”

— 2 Peter 1:3-4 (NASB 1995)

I would like to look at these wonderful words in phrases.

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seeing that His divine power - The words “seeing that” as they are used here could be replaced with “since”. It is used in direct correlation to the phrase, “His divine power.” This phrase applies to what follows. I find it wonderful that it is His divine power. God’s power is limitless, and His, referring to Jesus Christ, was that same power that raised Him from the dead.

has granted to us - He didn’t use His divine power to give good gifts (Matt. 7:11) to the trees or grass or animals, He granted them to us. The word granted, according to Webster’s Online Dictionary has these definitions:

1 - a - to consent or carry out for a person

b - to permit as a right, privilege, or favor

2 - a - to bestow or transfer formally; specifically to give the possession or title of by a deed

What is it, exactly, that has been granted to us?

everything pertaining to life and godliness - This is so encouraging to me. God’s divine power has granted to us everything…EVERYTHING…pertaining to life and godliness. When I don’t think I have the ability to go on; when I can no longer stand; when I don’t know what is going to happen tomorrow…His divine (heavenly) power gives me everything pertaining to living life and being godly. How is this accomplished, because obviously I still have to do things myself. I have to live life, go to work, take care of my family, survive the difficulties, so how does he do this?

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through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence - What does it mean, “true knowledge”? In a world with so much learning, so much knowledge, so many books, podcasts, how-to videos, and so many ideas, how do we know what true knowledge is?

The world will tell you true knowledge is only that which you learn through your own senses. Only the things you can taste, smell, hear, see or touch is true knowledge. However, our senses can be skewed. We might have a cold, or ongoing sinus issues that cause our taste and smell to be off. We may have poor vision or the day might be foggy or rainy causing us to not see clearly. Noises are not always perceived correctly either. What sounds like a baby crying, might actually be a tiny dog yapping, or a rabbit being attacked by a cat.

True knowledge can only be the truth which God has established. God has allowed us to share in that truth by giving us His word, the Bible. This is true knowledge. If you do not know Christ as your Lord and Savior, you cannot know true knowledge. Sure, you can read the Bible and you can have all sorts of PhD’s and certificates that give proof of your head knowledge, but true knowledge is only found in a heart that is walking humbly with the One True God.

We come to understand this true knowledge when He calls us by is own glory and excellence. He doesn’t call us to another glory…the glory of a professor, a priest or a preacher…He calls us by His glory, and His excellence.

For by these - This refers back to His glory and excellence.

He has granted to us - Once again, it is God Almighty who is doing the giving.

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His precious and magnificent promises - We could spend an entire year looking at God’s precious and magnificent promises. His promises include things like, He is always with us (Hebrews 13:5), He will give strength (Isaiah 40:31), He gives us rest (Matthew 11:28-30), He delivers us and forgives us (Colossians 1:13-14), and so very many more. If you want a good study that encourages you from top to bottom, find all the promises of God in Scripture. It will leave you feeling overwhelmed with gratitude and amazed at His goodness and mercy.

So that by them - refers back to those precious and magnificent promises.

You may become partakers of the divine nature - How cool is that? We actually can partake, like drinking deeply of God’s very nature. Wow!! I am on the floor, prostrate before him in my heart as I type this. Why would such a powerful, mighty being allow us, allow me, to partake of His divine nature? Refer back to John 3:16 - “For God so loved the world….”

God says we are to be holy for He is holy (I Peter 1:14-16). We cannot strive to be holy. Only He can make us that way. Remember it is by His precious and magnificent promises that we are able to become partakers of His holy divine nature. We are not made holy by a new church program, by showing up for every service, by witnessing, by passing out tracts or helping at the soup kitchen. While all those things are good, only God Himself through the blood of His Son Jesus can make us Holy.

Having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust - Let’s sit here a minute. There are several things being stated in this phrase. First, the world is corrupt. We know this because of what happened in the Garden, when Eve listened to that slippery snake, and convinced Adam to listen as well.

We engage in this corruption in its many forms when we lust for that which we do not have. Think about it. Just about every sin that we can engage in involves some sort of temptation. Temptation is the lure that whispers to us all that we do not have…money, power, fame, a boyfriend or girlfriend, a big house, the perfect marriage, and on it goes. Lust takes over when we recognize we are dissatisfied and so we strive for all that we do not have.

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I hate to break it to you, but we will always feel that emptiness and lust for what we do not have, unless we have Jesus in our hearts. Even when we do, we must claim those precious and magnificent promises to really begin to partake of His divine nature, and fully realize true peace and contentment.

I hope these words reminded you of several things:

You are not alone. God is with you and His is doing, moving, and working all the time.

You have His divine power, which can help you live this life.

You have all of His precious and magnificent promises.

You can partake of His divine nature.

You can escape the corruption of this world by delving deeper into the depths that are God.

You are loved!

Mulling it Over - Part 7

We have been working our way through 2 Peter 1:1-11. If you are just coming in to this series and want to check out the previous posts just click on the links below:

Part 1 Part 4

Part 2 Part 5

Part 3 Part 6

Today we are going to mull over verse 8:

“For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

— 2 Peter 1:8 (NASB)

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There is something about spring that really sets our hearts to racing. It is like a romance with nature, as she offers her ever increasing beauty for all of us to enjoy. The same can be said of our relationship with the triune God head. He is ever increasing our ability to experience Him more deeply. Let’s take a closer look at today’s verse by breaking each phrase down. Please remember, this is my take on the passage. I am neither a Bible teacher or a scholar, just a Holy Spirit filled woman who follows Christ.

For if these qualities…

The qualities referred to are the ones previously mentioned. Let me list them: diligence, faith, moral excellence, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness and love.

…are yours…

Have you made these qualities a part of your life? Remember back in verse 4, Peter refers to God’s precious and magnificent promises, which, when we claim them as our own, we become partakers in the divine nature. All of these qualities are the same qualities we see in God. It is His divine nature that gives us the ability to make these qualities ours. We do that, when we make Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. I will talk more about this event in the days leading up to Easter.

…and are increasing…

I find it interesting that Peter was sure to include this phrase. The aforementioned qualities are not just to be ours, but are to be increasing. It really is easy for many people to be “good” for a day, a week, a month or even a few years, but remember last week, when I shared Jeremiah 17:9?

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”

Even the best of us, fall short. It isn’t enough to have the quality of self-control, or diligence or brotherly kindness. Each of these needs to be practiced and it is by practice that they become more a part of who we are. Instead of anger, it becomes our natural response to be kind. Instead of hatred, we return love. Temptations that once assailed us, will no longer have control over us, because our diligence and self-control are stronger.

…they render you, neither useless nor unfruitful…

If those qualities are increasing, then we are neither useless nor unfruitful. We are often encouraged to be about the Lord’s business, whether that means sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ, or being involved in a ministry for the homeless. It really doesn’t matter what we do, as long as these qualities are increasing in our lives. Being fruitful isn’t just about the souls we are going to take to heaven with us, it is about glorifying God in all we do and say.

When I was a student at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, IL the president at the time often used the terminology, “being a person of excellence.” For some reason, that has always stuck with me. The reason we want to be a person of excellence, is because of who we are representing. It makes sense to me, that if the qualities of diligence, godliness, self-control, and so on are increasing, we will automatically be useful and fruitful.

“so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;”

— Colossians 1:10 (NASB)

This verse from Colossians also talks about increasing, specifically in the knowledge of God. It also talks about bearing fruit. This idea of increasing in the knowledge of God and bearing fruit, seems to go hand in hand. Maybe that will need to be looked into at a future date. That brings me to the last phrase of this verse.

…in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Once again, knowledge. Not just any old knowledge, but the true knowledge of Christ. There is plenty of untruth in the world. There is falsehood, lies and a twisting of the truth. People say there are no moral absolutes and everyone should be able to do whatever they want. That would be fine, if every single person was increasing in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, there are many false teachers and false teachings out there. Often, they are dressed in robes of that look godly, but really are not. All the more reason, we need to be diligent, increasing in these qualities and truly learning more of God, by studying His word, the Bible.

How do we increase in this knowledge? Reading the Bible, prayer and fellowship are good practices to get into. Don’t just read your Bible, study it. Don’t just pray, but do spiritual warfare when you pray. Find a church where you can actually worship and hang out with other like-minded, godly individuals. In addition, ask God to show you which of these qualities you need to be increasing in.

I hope you are enjoying this study of 2 Peter 1:1-11. Have a great day and check back again next week.

Mulling It Over - Part 2

It was a good morning to stay inside. The temperature hovered at 32 degrees Fahrenheit making the moisture that fell turn everything into something similar to a glazed doughnut without the sweet taste. Even now, as the temps have risen to a balmy 34 degrees, the ice still lingers, stubbornly clinging to branches, wires, driveways, cars and buildings.

I am looking at a portion of scripture that I introduced last week in the New Testament book of 2 Peter. Peter, one of the original twelve disciples, authored 1st and 2nd Peter. Here is the passage again.

“1 Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ:
2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord;
3 seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.
4 For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.
5 Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge,
6 and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness,
7 and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.
8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9 For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins. 10 Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble;
11 for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.”

— 2 Peter 1:1-11 (NASB)

Last week we looked at verses 1 and 2. You can see that post here. This week we will dissect verse 3. If you have not been a participant in my Mulling It Over series before, let me briefly explain how this works. I love to let the Bible speak for itself. The Holy Spirit gives us the capacity to understand scripture, so what I am doing is sharing with you what I have learned in my study of certain scriptures. I think is is wonderful to study the Bible in different ways, so I would strongly encourage you to do further research and study on various passages, but for this particular study we will just chew on what it says and let the Bible do the talking.

On to verse 3:

“...seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.”

— 2 Peter 1:3 (NASB)

…seeing that His divine power…

The fact that it is divine power, means that it is power of God, not men or machines or whatever you want to use to fill in the blank. This power is from God. It is His to give and His to withhold. Here are a few other verses that talk about His divine power.

“With Him are wisdom and might; To Him belong counsel and understanding.”

— Job 12:13 (NASB)

“I will instruct you in the power of God; What is with the Almighty I will not conceal.”

— Job 27:11 (NASB)

“O God, You are awesome from Your sanctuary. The God of Israel Himself gives strength and power to the people. Blessed be God!”

— Psalm 68:35 (NASB)

“Daniel said, “Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever, For wisdom and power belong to Him.”

— Daniel 2:20 (NASB)

…has granted to us…

I looked up the word granted in Webster’s Online Dictionary. There are two specific definitions that I feel define the way the word is used in this sentence. The first says, “…to permit as a right, privilege or favor.” God has given us rights. He has privileged us and he has given us favor. It may not always seems like it, but it is true.

The second definition says, “…to bestow or transfer formally; to give the possession or title of by a deed.” God, in His great generosity gives us things. Just as a good father loves to give his children gifts, so too, our Heavenly Father derives great pleasure from giving His spiritual children gifts.

“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!”

— Matthew 7:11 (NASB)

“Therefore it says, “When He ascended on high, He led captive a host of captives, And He gave gifts to men.””

— Ephesians 4:8 (NASB)

“Arise, walk about the land through its length and breadth; for I will give it to you.””

— Genesis 13:17 (NASB)

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”

— Matthew 7:7 (NASB)

So what, exactly, is it that God granted to us?

…everything pertaining to life and godliness…

The word everything is pretty all encompassing. We could all list things that we have wanted that God didn’t necessarily give us, so why does it say everything. The key phrase here is pertaining to. Everything pertaining to life and godliness. We all might think, now wait a minute, there are plenty of things pertaining to life that I haven’t been given. For example, a woman who desires to have a child, but is unable or someone looking for a life partner, but not able to find the right one. What about the man or woman who is out of a job and can’t find work, or people in other countries who live in fear for their lives and the lives of their children? Isn’t the ability to find love, have a family and have a secure, safe place to live all part of life?

How many of you remember the song, sung by Lynn Anderson, I Never Promised You a Rose Garden? Here’s a refresher if you have the time to listen.

The first few lines go:

“I beg your pardon, I never promised you a rose garden

Along with the sunshine, there has to be a little rain sometime.”

It might sound rather trite, especially if you are going through a hard time, but there is great truth there. God didn’t promise us that we would have everything we want, or even everything we need. The power He has granted to us is the ability to live life, regardless of what difficulties come along.

Notice that the verse says everything pertaining to life and godliness. There seems to be a connection here which cannot be ignored. Godliness goes hand in hand with living life. We don’t become godly after life is over, we become godly as we live life. As many of you have already experienced becoming godly often happens during the most difficult portions of life, not during the rose garden moments, but during the monsoon moments. It is during these monsoon moments that God grants us what we need to keep living life, or the grace to give up.

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There is nothing wrong with giving up, particularly if you have struggled and struggled. There are times that the giving up is more a matter of our pride than it is the desire to get what we want. We don’t want to look weak, or stupid, or unable to cope. We don’t want to ask for help or admit that this is definitely not what we thought life would look like. But it is okay! Come to terms with it, you are weak, sometimes your decisions are stupid and frankly I have had many days where I just could’t cope, but God has always been there through it all and that brings me to the last portion of this verse.

…through the true knowledge of Him who has called us by His own glory and excellence.

That divine power that grants to us everything to live this journey we call life and make us godly is only obtainable through the true knowledge of Him. In other words, it is through our acknowledgment and acceptance of Jesus as our Lord and Savior that we are able to live life and be godly. We can’t do this on our own and that is precisely the point.

God called us, each one of us, by His own glory and excellence, which was personified in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the crowing glory of the Father and Jesus is the perfect man, a man of true excellence. When we come to know Him by our faith in His virgin birth, life, death and resurrection, we are given the ability to live this life, no matter what it throws at us. Our loss is an opportunity for gaining more of Him. Our weakness is an opportunity for being infused with His strength. Our stupidity is an opportunity for learning more of Him and growing in His wisdom. Our deepest, unmet desire is an opportunity for becoming intimate with a Holy, loving god.

I hope this verse has given you hope. You are not living this life alone. He is with you, granting you the ability to live life, no matter what storm you are going through. Hang on!