Partakers of His Nature

“Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, in order that by them you might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.” 2 Peter 1:2-4

Many Christians make the mistake of thinking that obeying the Bible makes them spiritual. Mahatma Gandhi obeyed the Sermon on the Mount quite literally - yet he never became a follower of Christ. The Pharisees knew their Bible well, yet Jesus told them, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me.” John 5:39

Under the Old Covenant, the people of Israel gave themselves to obey the letter of the Law. There were plenty of dos and don’ts to follow. But now, under the New Covenant, we are called to be partakers of His nature. 2 Pet. 1:4

Do you see the difference? If the Bible is for us only a book to obey, we go back to living under the Old Covenant. We become legalistic like the Pharisees as we seek our own righteousness. But God intends for His Word to touch and transform our lives as it reveals Jesus to us.

The Word of God tells us that Jesus’ life was “the light of men” John 1:4. A set of instructions or doctrines will never show us the way or give us the power to live. Only Jesus can do that. His very life, His example, is what gives us understanding, discernment, and clarity for living in the perfect will of God at all times and in all situations. He is not only our Savior, but also the One who goes before us - our forerunner. Hebrews 6:20