The Divine Nature

The Divine Nature
by Pete Berardi

2 Peter 1:4 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.

When one becomes a Christian and has placed his faith in Jesus Christ, a change occurs. The verse in 2 Peter 1:4 discusses Christians as being the “partakers of the divine nature”. The best way to understand the “divine nature” is to examine a few verses that can shed light on it. The word divine in this verse means of God, of Christ and of the Holy Spirit. Three things from the Bible are of extreme importance regarding the conversion of a man to Christianity.

1. He was born dead in his sins and trespasses.
2. Christians are offspring of God.
3. When one believes, he becomes something new.

Romans 5:12 states that sin passed from Adam unto all men. What Paul is discussing in this verse is our sinful nature. Man is born a sinner with a sinful nature. Before a man places his faith in Jesus Christ, he is spiritually dead.

John 1:12, 13 states that “as many as received him…where born of God". God chose his children before the foundations of the world (Ephesians 1:4). When his children come to know him and Jesus blesses us with his grace, we receive the gift of faith which then renews us and gives our spirit a rebirth. At that moment we are children of God. Acts 17:28 states that Christians are his offspring and in him we live.

People have been using the term “born again Christians” for as long as I can remember. This term has a certain connotation to it; almost hippy like. In fact all men that place their faith in Jesus Christ are born again. John 3:3 quotes Jesus when he says “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Paul states that if any man be “in Christ” he is a new creature (2Cor 5:17). This rebirth gives Christians the Holy Spirit and he dwells within them.

Christians are very different from people that are not Christians because of their divine nature. To quote Jesus once more in John 3:6 “That which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the spirit is spirit”. It is the divine nature which separates us from the people that do not believe.