Partakers of the Divine Nature

A healthy Christian is one who has Christ formed within, the hope of glory. He loves truth, purity, and holiness, and will manifest spiritual vitality, having love for the Word of God, and seeking communion with those who are acquainted with the Word, in order that he may catch every ray of light that God has communicated to them, which reveals Christ and makes Him more precious to the soul. He who has sound faith finds that Christ is the life of the soul, that He is in him as a well of water springing up unto everlasting life, and he delights to conform every power of the soul to the obedience of his Lord. The Holy Spirit with its vivifying influence ever keeps such a soul in the love of God.

To the Christian it is written: “Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, according as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. And besides this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure; for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: for so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:2-11).—The Review and Herald, December 11, 1894.
Ye Shall Receive Power p. 43
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Prayer Requests
—-Please pray that God will control E’s and her children’s situation for their safety and good. R
—-My son has made some bad choices in life and hates God for allowing these things to happen please pray for his salvation and and making better choices regarding a current court case. Dan
—-Please pray for 4-year-old Leah who’s been diagnosed with Leukemia and needs to have 2 years of aggressive chemotherapy. Trixie
—-Please pray for me my doctor told me today I have pneumonia & a double ear infection. Barbara
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Dear Friends,
Some years ago, when Ronnie Jay and I were in Petco one day, we saw two guinea pigs that were up for adoption. Petco has a program where people can bring their pets that they no longer can care for. The store will then care for them until someone wants to take them home free. I had wanted just one, but the store said that they had been raised together and must be adopted together. So, I took the two of them home.
Those two guinea pigs had such different personalities. Butterscotch would run and hide when we tried to pick her up. Cocoa rarely did. Bath time was far different, however. Butterscotch loved a bath and submitted to it gladly. Cocoa absolutely hated the water. She screeched and yelled and fought us every step of the way. Then, while I dried her, she fussed and fumed and told me in guinea pig language how mean I was for getting her wet.
Just so, our Great Creator desires to make us clean inside and outside, yet how often we fight against the process just like Cocoa did. John tells us, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9 Praise God! We can rise from our knees with the assurance that our sins are forgiven. As Micah assures us, “He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.” Micah 7:19 Isaiah exclaims, “Thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.” Isa 38:17
The cleansing (sanctification) process takes time, however, and is not always pleasant. We are as Isaiah describes, “the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.” “We are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” Isa 1:5, 6; 64:6 If we do not fight Him like Cocoa fought us at bath time, the Great Master Worker changes us from impure to pure, from selfish to unselfish, from a heart filled with hatred to a loving, kind heart until we become so changed that others will see Jesus in us and glorify God for the change. Paul explains the process, “My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Furthermore, we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.” Heb 12:5-11
We have a part to act in this process. We are not only to cooperate with God, but “follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called.” 1 Tim 6:12 We do this by putting “on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit.” Eph 6:10-18 If we willing and obedient, we can have the same assurance as did Paul when he declared, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.” 2 Tim 4:7, 8
May we allow God to work in us “both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” Phil 2:13 May we submit to His cleansing declaring as did Job, “when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.” Job 23:10 May we place our hand in His, knowing that His love is rich and full and deep, and He desires for us to be saved more than we do ourselves.
Rose