“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.”
that through these
“These” are the promises of the previous phrase. As a result of using these assurances, we partake of the divine nature.
you may be [become] partakers
“May be” comes from a word meaning to become. The thrust is not primarily dealing with being but with becoming. The usual term for “be” means to exist. That would imply that we possess the divine nature, but that is not the point here. Since “be” here means becoming, this passage refers to becoming something we are not now. Becoming implies the idea of growth. We are not like Christ right now. We want to become more like Him. Becoming is not about receiving God’s nature at our spiritual birth but manifesting the nature we share with God. “Becoming” is not absorption into God, as the mystics would have us believe, but the application of positional truth to experience resulting in spiritual growth.
“Partakers” means companion, partner, or sharer. A sharer participates with someone else in some enterprise or joint matter of concern. Thus, the idea is a partner or associate. Christians partake in the divine nature; we join God in the common issue of manifesting His character in our lives.
PRINCIPLE:
We need to join with God in manifesting His character to the world.
APPLICATION:
We cannot lose our salvation, but we can lose plenty if we step out of fellowship with God. When David committed adultery with Bathsheba and murdered her husband, catastrophe followed him for the next few years. Sin has a price tag. That price tag is ugly.
It is incumbent and mandatory for Christians to live a consistent Spirit-filled life and become mature believers. If we do not allow ourselves to be filled with the Spirit, we will fulfill the lusts of the flesh and revert to type. The old sin capacity cannot do anything right. The new capacity cannot do anything wrong. There is a struggle between the old and new capabilities.
If we struggle spiritually within, then that indicates we are born again. The non-Christian does not struggle with sin regularly because his conscience does not trouble him. His conscience is dead toward God and reliable as a rubber tape measure.
There is nothing spiritual within non-Christians because they are spiritually dead. Their Adamic capacity given to them by their parents completely monopolizes the direction of their lives. They are 100% flesh. Thus, they do anything they want to do. They look at anything they want. They listen to anything without discrimination. They touch anything they desire. They have no restraint or inhibition. There are no restrictions or prohibitions on them. They are without God and, therefore, without genuine internal spiritual standards.
Prov. 14:12, “There is a way that seems right to a man,
But its end is the way of death.”
Hi,
When you say “This is not dealing with receiving the nature of God at our spiritual birth”, do you mean that we do not receive His nature at spiritual birth or do you mean that this specific verse just is not referring to that?
C, we receive our new nature at the point of salvation. The point in this passage is we are able to move closer to God and further away from the sinful attitude.
Hi Grant 🙂 thank you! So the new nature we receive, is that the nature of God?
Is it correct to say that a new creation is therefore: human nature + sin capacity + divine disposition? And you are only able to deny the flesh if you are continually filled with the Holy Spirit.
In 2 Cor 5:17 where it says “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
What is it that passed away? I supposed the new that has come is then the new nature.
Thank you for your help!
C, it is important to distinguish the Greek words for “nature.” The Greek word physis is not the same as ousia. The latter word means God’s essence. The former word means characteristics that we receive from God, which is the word we have in this verse. Thus, the point is not essence but quality. If we received God’s essence that would mean we would be merged into God Himself making us gods. That would be new-age thinking and would be heretical for anyone committed to biblical truth.
C, regarding 2 Co 5:17. This verse deals with positional or forensic truth, that is, this is how God eternally views us. We are “in Christ” in the sense we hold the same status as He does before God forever. The old status was when we were in Adam, that is, completely governed by our fallen nature. See my studies on Romans 5:12 to the end of the chapter: https://versebyversecommentary.com/2012/01/12/romans-512/
Thank you for explaining it so clearly!