Do you remember what it was like when you were a new believer? Everything with the Lord was fresh and exciting. Reading and even studying your Bible was not a chore, but a delight. You looked forward to being with other believers at church or wherever they met.
Why is it so many believers today do not even attend church, much less read their Bibles? What happened along the way from the time they had the excitement of being babes in Christ, hungry for the word of God, and now their Bibles have become dusty? While the answer to this question is complex, let me offer two brief answers.
Some of these never came to know Christ. They may have had some type of religious “experience,” but it quickly faded. There is a significant difference in having a religious experience and having a genuine conversion to Christ. It is not for us to judge as to who is and who is not in this category, but we need to understand that there are those who are in it.
The other explanation is that some of these folks were born again. It was genuine. But at some point, they stopped growing spiritually. Maybe there was unconfessed sin in their lives that they did not deal with and it grew, stagnating their growth in the Lord.
Peter addressed spiritual growth in both of his letters found in the New Testament. Many of these he was addressing were new believers. There is much we can learn about spiritual growth for ourselves and those we want to help to grow.
“His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his glory and goodness.” (I Peter 1:3)
That is quite a statement when Peter says it gives us “everything we need for life and godliness.” This is one of those verses that takes some serious meditation. Think of all the demands of life and all that it can throw at us. Is divine power-God’s power-really “all we need”? Yes!
Unfortunately, when a crisis comes some do not avail themselves of that divine power. Not only do they fail to avail themselves of the power, they curse God and become bitter.
This divine power also gives us everything we need for godliness. Becoming godly is spiritual growth. Do you remember at some point after you became a Christian that you discovered living the Christian life is not easy? Perhaps you thought that after you surrendered your life to Jesus that life would be a bed of roses only to discover there were thorns among the roses?
Those to whom Peter was writing in the first century were finding many and very large thorns as they were being persecuted for their Christian faith. Yet Peter had the audacity to say that God had provided everything they need to live a godly life.
How were they given that divine power?
It was “through their knowledge of him who had called them by his own glory and goodness.” I like the way the New Living Translates says it: “We have received all of this by coming to know him…”
If we have received everything, we need for life and godliness, then why is it that some Christians are not growing spiritually? Just because he has given us everything, we need does not mean that we are taking advantage of what he has given us.
Let’s say for example that our doctor gives us everything we need to be healthy. He gives us certain medications to control various conditions we may have. He tells us to eat healthy and exercise. If we follow his plan, we will have a higher probability of being healthy and living longer. On the other hand, if we do not take the prescribed medications or eat healthy or exercise, then all that he has given us is useless. It’s not the doctor’s fault we are unhealthy. It’s our fault.
In the same way, if we refuse to take advantage of all the Lord has given us, then we should not be surprised that when our spiritual growth stagnates. It’s not his fault we are not growing. The blame clearly falls on our shoulders because we simply did not take advantage of what he provided.
Peter continues to remind them of what the Lord had provided for them in 1:14:
“Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.”
Peter spells out the two reasons the Lord had given them his “very great and precious promises.” The first reason in his clause of purpose is that they may participate in his divine nature. Before we look at what this means, let’s look at what it does not mean. There is a particular cult that teaches that God was once a man and through good works he eventually became God. They also teach that each male who follows their beliefs will become a god and be assigned his own planet and along with a celestial wife, they will populate that planet. That is not what “participating in the divine nature” means.
Under the umbrella of the new age movement, there are numerous groups that believe that everything is God and that as members of the human race, we all are God as well. Again, that is not what it means to “participate in the divine nature.” To participate in the divine nature simply means that we are becoming more Christ-like. And becoming more Christ-like is to be growing spiritually.
The second reason Peter gives for receiving the very great and precious promises from the Lord is that we may escape “the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.” Jesus prayed for his future disciples in John 17:15 the following: “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.” If we are to be the salt of the earth and impact those around us for good and for God, then we must be in touch with people. Salt in a salt shaker is worthless until it comes into contact with the food it needs to season.
The promises God gives us will enable us to escape the corruption of the world without withdrawing from the world high on mountain in some monastery.
— To be continued —