“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.”

By which

“By which” refers to the things God gave Christians in the previous verse. At conversion, believers came into fellowship with the wonder of knowing Christ. When they came to believe in Him, God gave them “exceedingly great and precious promises.” “Which” is in the plural. The plural may indicate that knowledge of our glory and virtue makes known God’s promises to us.

have been given to us

The word “given” is the same Greek word as the previous verse meaning to bestow or endow. God makes a gift of His promises. “Given” is not the usual word for “give” and carries the idea of grace by the giver. God gives His promises with no strings attached.

The Greek indicates that God gave us these promises in the past, with the result continuing to the present (perfect tense). All along our spiritual journey, God gives us spiritual equipment for the pilgrim pathway.

Note the word “us.” God differentiates those to whom He gives His promises. The “us” is not just anyone; it is only those who embrace his Son. Not everyone is a child of God.

PRINCIPLE:

God put at the disposal of every Christian divine operating assets, whether or not they utilize them or are aware of them.

APPLICATION:

Are you discouraged because people rejected you for some sin you committed? You sing the blue that the bird with the broken wing will never fly so high again. You heard a sermon somewhere that you became a second-class Christian after you “blew it.” People ostracized you from certain Christian circles. You feel that you do not belong anymore. You sense God completely set you aside.

How do you know God still has a plan for you after you have blown it? If you still breathe, God has a plan for you. How you feel makes no difference because your feeling does not determine your spiritual status.

Our fellowship with God does not depend on who we are but on who Jesus is. There are many Horatio Alger stories out there. Someone fell flat on his back financially, and now he is a millionaire. People say, “That sounds like a good deal; I think I will try God.” These people are not genuinely interested in God; they are interested in making money. They think they will become millionaires if they tithe ten percent of their income. They assume they found a way to rub the genie. They kick in their 10% because they want something from God. “I’ll go along with His routine to get something from Him.”

Many people think this way about God. “I will witness every day, and maybe God will give me that girl.” No, God deals with us in grace, and no strings are attached. God takes the hopeless, helpless, and useless and uses them in His plan by His grace.

God operates by grace. Everything we have, we have by grace. If we do not know how to link up with His grace, it is because we do not have “knowledge” (2 Pe 1:3). We must learn what our assets are and what to do with them. We cannot profit from our spiritual wealth if we are unaware of it. We cannot apply what we do not know.

If we do not know these assets, we must resort to living the Christian life through emotionalism. We go from one spiritual shot in the arm to another. Activity will not substitute for learning our resources in Christ. We live in a day where Christians resort to anything as long as it is not serious Bible study.