His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire (2 Peter 1:3–4)
God has left nothing to chance. He knew he was calling messy sinners to himself, and so he has “granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness” by the “divine power” that comes through “the knowledge of” (i.e., an informed relationship with) Jesus our Lord (v. 3). In Christ we have everything we need to live a life that honors God.
But how? How do we live such a life, given our proclivity toward sin and failure and the tendency of our hearts to wander? Peter tells us it is through “his precious and very great promises” that believers become “partakers of the divine nature” (v. 4). As we receive, believe, and are changed by the lavish promises of God, supremely the promise of the gospel, we are restored to the status of the sanctified and god-glorifying men and women we were created to be. This does not mean we become deity; but it does mean we share in Christ’s nature derivatively, in that we become the “imagers of God” that we (unlike every other created thing) were created to be.
As partakers in the divine nature, we are freed from the bondage of sin and are now able to glorify our Lord in all that pertains to life and godliness.
Adapted from the Gospel Transformation Bible
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