CHRISTIAN EVIDENCES

Know “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:32

The“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6

Truth “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” John 1:4

This Month's Theme: 

“Partakers of the Divine Nature”

Everyone born into this world shares a universal make-up. There is the need to eat, sleep, breath, etc… This reminds me of the saying, “It rains on everyone”. This is our human nature (that which encompasses our existence in this physical realm). In this physical realm, we are told that we can perceive things given us that identifies another realm and the One who created all, note:

Romans 1:20 “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,”

The Apostle Paul, writing to Christians in Rome , is describing God, by the things which He created and that the created (human kind) are then without excuse in recognizing Him and His work.

Paul would add to this illustration (on a separate occasion in Athens ), by teaching that since God has created all we know for our benefit, He has also defined our purpose, note:

Acts 17:27 “so that they should seek the Lord , in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;”

This is all to say we were created in this nature (human), so that we would seek another (divine), thus describing the purpose of our existence.

Interestingly enough, we can through the same revelation that describes our purpose, see the successful completion of the search for the preferred nature, note:

2 Peter 1:1-4 “Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:

2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord , 3 as 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, 4 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.”

The Apostle Peter is writing to Christians; the same Christians that he wrote to in the first letter ( 3:1 ). These are Christians that are pilgrims and sojourners, having been scattered from their homeland to northern Asia Minor ( I Peter 1:1 ). They became Christians by being born of the word of God, which brought them from a state of corruption to a state of incorruption. This word of God was the Gospel of Jesus Christ that was preached to them, note:

1 Peter 1:22-25 “Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart,

23 having been born again , not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, 24 because

"All flesh is as grass, And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, And its flower falls away, 25 But the word of the Lord endures forever."

Through this precious word, these Christians received information concerning the salvation of their souls, in the same way that Noah was divinely warned of the great flood and he and his household were saved by following the instructions of God. They likewise obeyed the precious word and followed the instructions of God, note:

1 Peter 3:21 “There is also an antitype which now saves us--baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,”

Hearing and obeying the word has brought these Christians to the designation that Peter uses in his opening to the second chapter, “obtained like precious faith” .

Romans 10:17 “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

Peter would go on to explain that God has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness (the blue print that leads to the divine nature we seek), through a knowledge of Him who has called us (it is the Gospel that calls us, and the Gospel is concerning the Son of God).

Romans 1:1-3 “Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God 2 which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, 3 concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh,”

2 Thessalonians 2:14 “to which He called you by our gospel , for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Within the body of the knowledge of Jesus Christ (found in the Gospel), are great and precious promises.

Hebrews 6:9-12 “But, beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you, yes, things that accompany salvation , though we speak in this manner. 10 For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister. 11 And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, 12 that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises .”

Peter simply states in our text, “ that by these you may become partakers of the divine nature” . It is in the process of working towards this nature that we escape the corruptions of our physical nature (thus overcoming one to become another). This transforming process becomes a labor of love, note:

2 Peter 1:5-10 “But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. 8 For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. 10 Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure , for if you do these things you will never stumble;”

This was the process that Christians of the first century followed to seek their divine nature. They like us, seeking to find our divine nature, must follow the same process today. We work so hard for so many different things! Isn't it time to begin a labor of love?

Become partakers of the divine nature!

2 Peter 1:11 “for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

We invite you to worship with us:

Sunday Morning Bible Study – 10 A.M. (Classes for all ages)

Sunday Morning Worship – 10:50 A.M. (Communion, Prayer, Singing, and a Sermon)

Sunday Evening Worship – 5 P.M. (Singing, Prayer, and another practical lesson)

Wednesday Evening Service – 7 P.M. (Singing, Prayer, and Bible Classes)

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