November 25th

Great and Precious Promises

2 Peter 1:4
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.

The Promises of His Word

Peter is talking about the promises of God contained in the word of God. In the verse just before this one Peter says that God has given unto us by His divine power all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Himself. And that’s the knowledge that we may obtain through His word, revealed to us by His Spirit.

The Living Word

The word of God is far more than just a historical story of Israel, or merely a recounting of the events that took place in the life and ministry of Jesus and His followers in the first century A.D. The word of God is God speaking to man, and the written word contains the living Word within it. The Bible tells us that the word of God is quick and powerful, or, that is to say, it is alive and full of power.

Partakers of His Nature

Peter says, in this verse, that by these great and precious promises we are made to be partakers of God’s divine nature, or sharers in His divine characteristics. The ultimate purpose of our fellowship with Him and His word is to make us Christlike.

Having Escaped Corruption

We are able to share in His divine nature, as sons and daughters of God, only because we have escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. Christ has cleansed us from sin and has delivered up from the authority of darkness that held us earth-bound for so much of our life.

Embrace the promises of God today, by finding them in His word and meditating in them, pondering them and delighting in them. As we set our hearts upon His words, and take them to ourselves as God speaking to us, then we will find ourselves changing day by day. The Bible says that as we behold His glory we are changed from glory to glory into His image, even as by the Spirit of the LORD.