"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." - 2 Peter 1:4
We are partakers of the divine nature in immortality, holiness, kingdom, eternal joy, and love of which our Lord Jesus Christ said in His commune with the Father, “O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me. And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.” (Jn 17:26).
Our Lord Jesus Christ asks the Father that the love between Them can be in the disciples. He means here the type of love, not its amount. The Father is infinite and the Son is infinite, therefore the love between them is infinite. We are finite and limited: we obtain as much as we can from divine love. Thus, a communion of love is found between us and God, and we become partakers of the divine nature.
That participation as the result, not of humanity, but of God's gift of 'exceeding great and precious promises.'
For is not this the meaning of the central fact of Christianity, the incarnation—that the Divine becomes partaker of the human in order that the human may partake of the Divine? Is not Christ's coming the great proof that however high the heavens may stretch above the flat, sad earth, still the Divine nature and the human are so kindred that God can enter into humanity and be manifest in the flesh? Contrariety vanishes; the difference between the creature and the Creator disappears. These mere distinctions of power and weakness, of infinitude and finiteness, of wisdom and of ignorance, of undying being and decaying life, vanish, as of secondary consequence, when we can say, 'the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.' There can be no insuperable obstacle to man's being lifted up into a union with the Divine, since the Divine found no insuperable obstacle in descending to enter into union with the human.
You have been completely saved by grace and the present result is that you are in a saved state of being. The church, have been raised up with Christ and are now seated together with Him in heavenly places (Eph. 2:4-6). Our bodies are living on earth while our spirits are now seated with him in heaven !! That's why we have the right to exercise all authority over evil principalities, dominions and powers. Because of our vital union with Christ, His death is our death, His life is our life, and His exaltation is ours. Our physical position may be on earth, but our spiritual position is “in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” We are even now described as citizens of heaven (Phil. 3:20). Because we are in Christ we have a right to the privileges, blessings, and responsibilities of citizens of the kingdom of God.
It is not a false teaching to say that the believer has the divine nature, but it definitely is a false teaching to deny it. The Bible plainly says that we are partakers of the divine nature. As those born of God, we are the children of God, possessing the life and nature of God. The divine seed is in us, and we are the brothers of Christ, God’s firstborn Son. These truths reveal that we, the believers in Christ the Lord, have the divine nature. We do not share in the Godhead of God, but we do participate in God’s nature. To have the divine nature is one thing, but to be God Himself is another. My children have my life and nature; however, they are not, nor will ever become, my very person. They have the nature of their father, but they are not the person of their father. Likewise, although we never participate in the Godhead of God, we do have the privilege of participating in His nature.
Prior to Jesus resurrection, the most intimate term He used for His disciples was “friends” (John 15:14-15). But after His resurrection, He began to call them “brothers” (John 20:17), for through His resurrection His disciples had been regenerated (1 Pet. 1:3). Therefore, the fact that the Lord is not ashamed to call us brothers indicates that we are one with Him in life and share His divine nature.
We are partakers of the divine nature in immortality, holiness, kingdom, eternal joy, and love of which our Lord Jesus Christ said in His commune with the Father, “O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me. And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.” (Jn 17:26).
Our Lord Jesus Christ asks the Father that the love between Them can be in the disciples. He means here the type of love, not its amount. The Father is infinite and the Son is infinite, therefore the love between them is infinite. We are finite and limited: we obtain as much as we can from divine love. Thus, a communion of love is found between us and God, and we become partakers of the divine nature.
That participation as the result, not of humanity, but of God's gift of 'exceeding great and precious promises.'
For is not this the meaning of the central fact of Christianity, the incarnation—that the Divine becomes partaker of the human in order that the human may partake of the Divine? Is not Christ's coming the great proof that however high the heavens may stretch above the flat, sad earth, still the Divine nature and the human are so kindred that God can enter into humanity and be manifest in the flesh? Contrariety vanishes; the difference between the creature and the Creator disappears. These mere distinctions of power and weakness, of infinitude and finiteness, of wisdom and of ignorance, of undying being and decaying life, vanish, as of secondary consequence, when we can say, 'the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.' There can be no insuperable obstacle to man's being lifted up into a union with the Divine, since the Divine found no insuperable obstacle in descending to enter into union with the human.
You have been completely saved by grace and the present result is that you are in a saved state of being. The church, have been raised up with Christ and are now seated together with Him in heavenly places (Eph. 2:4-6). Our bodies are living on earth while our spirits are now seated with him in heaven !! That's why we have the right to exercise all authority over evil principalities, dominions and powers. Because of our vital union with Christ, His death is our death, His life is our life, and His exaltation is ours. Our physical position may be on earth, but our spiritual position is “in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” We are even now described as citizens of heaven (Phil. 3:20). Because we are in Christ we have a right to the privileges, blessings, and responsibilities of citizens of the kingdom of God.
It is not a false teaching to say that the believer has the divine nature, but it definitely is a false teaching to deny it. The Bible plainly says that we are partakers of the divine nature. As those born of God, we are the children of God, possessing the life and nature of God. The divine seed is in us, and we are the brothers of Christ, God’s firstborn Son. These truths reveal that we, the believers in Christ the Lord, have the divine nature. We do not share in the Godhead of God, but we do participate in God’s nature. To have the divine nature is one thing, but to be God Himself is another. My children have my life and nature; however, they are not, nor will ever become, my very person. They have the nature of their father, but they are not the person of their father. Likewise, although we never participate in the Godhead of God, we do have the privilege of participating in His nature.
Prior to Jesus resurrection, the most intimate term He used for His disciples was “friends” (John 15:14-15). But after His resurrection, He began to call them “brothers” (John 20:17), for through His resurrection His disciples had been regenerated (1 Pet. 1:3). Therefore, the fact that the Lord is not ashamed to call us brothers indicates that we are one with Him in life and share His divine nature.
