“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
LIGHT FOR NOW: Christianity is not merely the improvement of human nature; it is the impartation of God’s life.
The believer does not merely receive a new religion; he receives a new nature.
One of the greatest realities of the New Covenant is that salvation is more than the forgiveness of sins. Indeed, God forgives sins. He justifies the sinner. He reconciles us to Himself. But redemption goes even further. God does something so profound that it changes the very identity of the believer. Peter writes that through God’s “exceeding great and precious promises”, believers have become “partakers of the divine nature”. This statement is one of the richest revelations in the New Testament.
Notice Peter does not say believers become God. Neither does he suggest that believers share God’s divine essence or deity. Rather, he teaches that through the new birth, believers participate in the very life that proceeds from God. The word “partakers” comes from the Greek word koinōnos, meaning a participant, a companion, a partner, or one who shares in something. It speaks of participation, not identity of essence. In other words, the believer now shares in God’s life because he has been united with Christ. Peter also speaks of the “divine nature”.
The Greek word translated “nature” is physis, referring to one’s inherent constitution or essential disposition. Before salvation, humanity inherited the fallen nature of Adam. Adam’s disobedience brought spiritual death into the human race. This is why Paul says, “By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin”. But in Christ, something glorious happens. God does not merely repair the old man. He creates a new man. Paul writes in 2Corinthians 5:17: “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature”. The phrase “new creature” does not describe a renovated version of the old life. It speaks of an entirely new creation. This is why Christianity is fundamentally different from every human philosophy.
Religion often seeks to reform behavior. The gospel recreates the person. When a man is born again, he receives the very life of God. The Apostle John calls this life zōē, the eternal, uncreated life of God Himself. This life becomes the source from which the believer now lives. This explains why the Christian life is not sustained merely by human determination. It is sustained by divine life. The believer forgives because the life of God is within him. He loves because the love of God has been shed abroad in his heart. He walks in righteousness because he has received a righteous nature in Christ.
Peter concludes by saying believers have “escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust”. The new nature separates us from the corruption that dominates the fallen world. Though believers still live in this world, they no longer belong to its spiritual order. They possess a different life, a heavenly life, and a divine life. Throughout this month, we shall explore what it truly means to be a partaker of the divine nature. We shall discover that Christianity is not merely about changing conduct. It is first about possessing a new identity. And every victorious Christian life flows from that identity. Hallelujah!
INSTRUCTION: Begin to see yourself through the lens of the new creation. Refuse to define yourself by your past, your failures, or your weaknesses. Let God’s Word define your identity.
CONFESSION: Father, thank You for making me a partaker of Your divine nature through Jesus Christ. Thank You that I am a new creation, no longer governed by the old life but empowered by Your life within me. Help me to live daily in the reality of who I have become in Christ, in Jesus’ name, Amen. Glory!
For More Light; get the message, “Now we are in Christ” by Dr. John Linus
QUOTE: The Christian life is not the improvement of the old man; it is the manifestation of the new man who shares in the life of God.
DAILY BIBLE READING: MORNING: 2PETER CHAPTER 1; EVENING: 2CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 5:14-21
LIGHT FROM THE WORD 