01.26.2025   DEVOTIONAL

“His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust."   2 Peter 1: 3-4 NKJV

   The context of these verses tells us that the precious and exceedingly great promises Peter speaks of aren’t related to prosperity or a trouble-free life. And they aren’t for something in the far-off future, nor are they for after we die. They’re related to something profound that we can enjoy here and now. 

   The verses tell us God gave us such promises so that through them we can partake of the divine nature of God today. No wonder Peter calls them precious and exceedingly great. The fact that we human beings can partake of the divine nature of God is tremendous! 

   To partake of something means to take it into us and experience it. Just as we partake of food daily, we can partake of God’s divine nature through His precious and exceedingly great promises. As we partake of His nature, something happens in us: we begin to express God. 

   To illustrate, let’s say a person eats a lot of carrots. Eating so many carrots can eventually cause his skin to develop an orange tint, expressing the carrots he’s become constituted with. In the same way, the more we partake of God’s divine nature, the more we become constituted with and express His nature. 

   Knowing we can partake of God’s nature will truly revolutionize our Christian life. Expressing God isn’t the result of our self-effort or outward behavior, but of partaking of His divine nature. So as we partake of Him, God works out His purpose to join Himself to us and mingle with us so we become His expression for His glory.