Divine Nature

[Mr. M]

2 Peter 1:

2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, 

3 as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness,

through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, 

4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises,

that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature,

having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

There is a common false teaching that there is nothing we can do to live a blameless life,

but to live by faith, trusting in the "finished work of the Cross". Consider today the 

blatantly unscriptural nature of this teaching. We must obey the Holy Spirit for us

to "grow in grace, and the knowledge of (the intimate experience, not" knowing about")

our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus. Continuing with Peter in our walk in the Spirit.

5 But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 

6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 

7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. 

8 For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful

in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

9 For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness,

and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.

 

I find the shortsighted abound on Christian forums, laying stumbling blocks,

and challenging us with a "do nothing lest you be guilty of trying to earn salvation".

The "finished work" is a work in progress for us of the faith, and in the fellowship.

Philippians

1:3 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, 

4 always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, 

5 for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, 

6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work

in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.

 

2:12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only,

but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; 

13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

14 Do all things without complaining and disputing,

15 that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault

in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 

16 holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ

that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.

 

Titus 3:8 This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly,

that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works.

These things are good and profitable to men.

 

2 Peter 3:

17 You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall

from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked. 

18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.

Edited June 14, 2024 by Mr. M

[Mr. M]

2 hours ago, Mr. M said:

The "finished work" is a work in progress for us of the faith, and in the fellowship.

This is a response from another forum.

Therefore, we are not applying human effort to salvation, we are giving all diligence
to apply the great and precious promises to preparing Christ's Bride, to be presented
without spot or blemish.

1 Corinthians 14:7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all:

One of the more relevant weaknesses I find in the saints, and I try to point this out often,
is that the apostolic doctrines expressed through most of the epistles are addressed
to the church, and our individual perfection and the body of Christ are inseparable.

Ephesians 2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness
toward us in Christ Jesus.

Grip Docility said:

Do we both agree that the work you discuss that is done by God, not US isn't completed until the seed of the Sarx (Flesh) dies and releases the fully Clothed in Immortality SOUL?

If you would post the scriptures that support this statement,
that is where we will find agreement.
I'm not going to do all the work here. 

Grip Docility said:

That J hook on the staff, it has a purpose. I want to make sure I'm not misunderstanding you.

I don't know what this means. And of course, the work is done by the Holy Spirit,
working that divine life into us through the fellowship of the saints.

2 Corinthians 3:18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord,
are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

The false teaching I am referring to is anything that opposes the apostolic doctrine,
that we must "show all diligence" for the sake of the Body, and this self-centered
interpretation of salvation that neglects our obligations to one another as "works
based salvation". This is our endeavor!

Ephesians 4:3 Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

 

Okay...the J hook on the staff, if you mean attending to the "wandering sheep",
then that is in line with what I am stating above.