The following is adapted by permission from “Thriving Until He Comes: Living in Consistent Victory Through the Presence of Christ,” a seminar with Alex McFarland at the Billy Graham Training Center at The Cove July 7-9, 2023.
Second Peter 1:3 says that “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.” According to this verse, God has called you, indwells you, seals you and empowers you by His divine power.
You see, there’s so much more to who you are, to your true identity in Jesus, than we think about. You’re a son or daughter of the King. You are one whose name is written in high places. The divine power of Almighty God has touched you, if you’re a believer. He has given unto us all things, not just some things, but all things that pertain to life and godliness. We have everlasting life; and here in this world, until we get to Heaven, we have godliness and we are victorious.
Verse 4 goes on to say, “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.”
Peter doesn’t mean that we are God, or that we become God. But the righteousness of Almighty God is imparted to us; it is accounted, or attributed, to us. When God the Father looks at you, if you’re a believer, He doesn’t see sin; your sins have been washed away. God sees the righteousness of His Son Jesus. He sees the holiness of Christ. God the Father looks at you, the believer, and sees you as holy as Jesus.
How quickly would the Father forsake the Son? Never! So if you’re thinking, God’s mad at me or Maybe I’m saved, but God the Father probably barely tolerates me … no, you are a partaker of His divine nature. You are a recipient of the riches and glory of Heaven. You are one to whom the righteousness of Christ has been imparted. And plus, you have escaped the corruption that is in the world through the carnal nature. Listen, if you’re an escapee of this fallen, condemned world, don’t be running back into the prison house. Walk and live in your new status as a free man or a free woman.
Sometimes we believe things that are flat out false. Part of the lethargy of many a church is the fact that they’re going through the motions, but they’ve drifted away from the truth of the Word of God.
Psalm 119:93 says, “I will never forget Your precepts, for by them You have given me life” (NKJV). Nothing can pluck you out of His hand.
Unless otherwise marked, Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, King James Version. The verse marked NKJV is taken from The Holy Bible, New King James Version.
Alex McFarland is director of Biblical Worldview and Apologetics at Charis Bible College in Woodland Park, Colorado. He will be leading a seminar at The Cove July 12-14, 2024.
The Billy Graham Training Center at The Cove offers a variety of events with sound Bible teaching and soul-stirring worship. For information or to register for an upcoming event, visit TheCove.org or call 828-771-4800.
Photo: Brian Jackson/Alamy Stock Photo