Partakers of the Divine Nature - Ezekiel 35-36 and II Peter 1
Ezekiel prophesied to Israel about a time of cleansing and restoration after their exile, in which God would give the people a new heart and a new spirit. In fact, God promised to put His Spirit within them. I believe this is an obvious reference to the New Covenant in Jesus Christ and the coming of the Spirit to live in each believer. This was a huge advancement over the Old Covenant. Under the Old Covenant the Holy Spirit would come upon kings and prophets for a short time so they could do God's work, but the New Covenant gives each believer a complete upgrade. The Spirit comes to live in each believer, so that we may be partakers of the divine nature. This is not becoming God in any way, shape, or form. However, it is a wonderful condition. We can allow the Spirit to produce in us God's nature, so that other people can see God in us. What a plan! Only God could have designed it that way, but it is brilliant.
Peter gives us the details in II Peter 1. We "may" be partakers of the divine nature, because of great and precious promises. The condition means that it is not automatic. The Spirit lives in us, and we can choose to allow the Spirit to work in us and produce the divine nature, or we can choose to resist His efforts to make us like Jesus. That is why Peter urges us to add all of those elements to our faith. The Spirit will change us, but we have to make a conscious effort to allow Him to do so, and to do what He says. When we enter this growing condition, we will see more and more of the divine nature produced by the Spirit shining through us. If we do not grow in this way, we will go backwards to spiritual blindness, and we may even forget that we have been cleansed from our sins. I have seen this many times. Some of the meanest people I know are Christians. They do not have the divine nature. They act much more like the Devil than Jesus. The difference is the process of constantly abiding in the Lord and His sure Word, so that we hear the Spirit and we cooperate with Him in recreating us in the image of Christ. That is God's will for each believer. I might add that it has been my experience, and I believe it is Scriptural to say that those Christians who do not cooperate with the Spirit are in danger of God's wrath and punishment, because like Israel they are bringing reproach on the name of the Lord. Those who do partake of the divine nature find the true meaning of the abundant life.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Ezekiel 37-39 and II Peter 2.
Peter gives us the details in II Peter 1. We "may" be partakers of the divine nature, because of great and precious promises. The condition means that it is not automatic. The Spirit lives in us, and we can choose to allow the Spirit to work in us and produce the divine nature, or we can choose to resist His efforts to make us like Jesus. That is why Peter urges us to add all of those elements to our faith. The Spirit will change us, but we have to make a conscious effort to allow Him to do so, and to do what He says. When we enter this growing condition, we will see more and more of the divine nature produced by the Spirit shining through us. If we do not grow in this way, we will go backwards to spiritual blindness, and we may even forget that we have been cleansed from our sins. I have seen this many times. Some of the meanest people I know are Christians. They do not have the divine nature. They act much more like the Devil than Jesus. The difference is the process of constantly abiding in the Lord and His sure Word, so that we hear the Spirit and we cooperate with Him in recreating us in the image of Christ. That is God's will for each believer. I might add that it has been my experience, and I believe it is Scriptural to say that those Christians who do not cooperate with the Spirit are in danger of God's wrath and punishment, because like Israel they are bringing reproach on the name of the Lord. Those who do partake of the divine nature find the true meaning of the abundant life.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Ezekiel 37-39 and II Peter 2.