“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.”
II Peter 1:4 KJV
Throughout His Word, God has given us innumerable and invaluable promises that transcends all of our expectations. Those important promises allow us to share in His divine nature. The word nature means “a person’s innate (or natural) qualities or character.” What are God’s natural qualities or character? He’s kind, loving, merciful, just, patient, good, forgiving… If His promises allow us to share in His divine nature, then they shall help us to develop kindness, love, mercy, fairness, patience, goodness, forgiveness… When we believe and receive God’s exceeding great and precious promises, the Bible says that we will be partakers of the divine nature, which means that we will exemplify His character. When that happens, we would have escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
Before you can begin to appropriate God’s promises, you must first know His promises. He gives different promises to different people. For example, some promises are strictly for Israel. Some of His promises are conditional, meaning that you can claim that promise if you meet the conditions that God has set forth in His Word. And the only way you’ll know what promises pertain to you and how to claim them is to read and study God’s Word. They’re not a secret. God wants to fulfill those promises in the lives of each and everyone of His children, so He reveals them in His Word.
God promises us salvation. I John 2:25 says, “And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life.”
God promises to answer our prayers. John 14:14 says, “If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.”
God promises us forgiveness. I John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
God promises to meet our needs. Philippians 4:19 says, “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
God promises us strength and peace. Psalm 29:11 says, “The LORD will give strength unto his people; the LORD will bless his people with peace.”
God promises to guide us. Psalm 48:14 says, “For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death.”
God promises to return for us, where we’ll be with Him forever. I Thessalonians 4:16-17 says, “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”
God promises that there will be no more tears. Revelation 21:4 says, “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”
God promises that one day, we’ll be like Him. I John 3:2 says, “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.”
These are just a few of the hundreds of God’s exceeding great and precious promises that fill the pages of your Bible. And these promises draw you closer to God that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature.