Divine Nature

God has given us “exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these [we] may be partakers of the divine nature.” What is the “divine nature”?—It is the essence of God, how He thinks and how He acts. And through the promises He gives in His Word, we can be like He is. We can partake of those same attitudes, those same feelings, those same ways of looking at things by believing and putting into practice the principles and promises that are right there in the Bible.

We can transcend the confines of earthly attitudes that keep us weighed down, sorrowful, fretful, worried, and fearful. We can not only have a head knowledge of the fact that “all things work together for good to those who love God,” but we can believe, practice, and experience it.

We can be cleansed of all those attitudes and mental habits that are earthly and not heavenly. Jesus told His followers, “You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.” We can be rewired into new creations in Christ Jesus, and through His power overcome our wrong attitudes and bad habits.

The more we live in the Word and believe it and practice it, the more we’ll be in sync with that heavenly realm. The more we “set [our] mind on things above, not on things on the earth,” the easier it becomes to live in this world without being controlled or shaped by it.

* * *

God has given us “exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these [we] may be partakers of the divine nature.” What is the “divine nature”?—It is the essence of God, how He thinks and how He acts. And through the promises He gives in His Word, we can be like He is. We can partake of those same attitudes, those same feelings, those same ways of looking at things by believing and putting into practice the principles and promises that are right there in the Bible.

We can transcend the confines of earthly attitudes that keep us weighed down, sorrowful, fretful, worried, and fearful. We can not only have a head knowledge of the fact that “all things work together for good to those who love God,” but we can believe, practice, and experience it.

We can be cleansed of all those attitudes and mental habits that are earthly and not heavenly. Jesus told His followers, “You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.” We can be rewired into new creations in Christ Jesus, and through His power overcome our wrong attitudes and bad habits.

The more we live in the Word and believe it and practice it, the more we’ll be in sync with that heavenly realm. The more we “set [our] mind on things above, not on things on the earth,” the easier it becomes to live in this world without being controlled or shaped by it.

* * *

How to avoid burnout

When a candle burns, it’s mostly the wax, not the wick, that’s burning. An oil lamp is the same; it must be the oil that burns, and not the wick. If the wick burns without oil, it will be consumed quickly. Most of the wick must be deeply immersed in the oil, so only a small part of the wick is exposed to the air and flame.

Sometimes we work too hard, trying to do everything ourselves when we need to let Jesus do it through us. When we do the burning, we give off smoke and soot and burn out fast, but when we let the Lord’s oil, the Holy Spirit, flow through us and do the burning, we last a long time.

“It is no longer I who burn, but Christ burns in me.”

When a candle burns, it’s mostly the wax, not the wick, that’s burning. An oil lamp is the same; it must be the oil that burns, and not the wick. If the wick burns without oil, it will be consumed quickly. Most of the wick must be deeply immersed in the oil, so only a small part of the wick is exposed to the air and flame.

Sometimes we work too hard, trying to do everything ourselves when we need to let Jesus do it through us. When we do the burning, we give off smoke and soot and burn out fast, but when we let the Lord’s oil, the Holy Spirit, flow through us and do the burning, we last a long time.

“It is no longer I who burn, but Christ burns in me.”

—

2 Peter 1:4 ESV / By which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.

Romans 1:20 ESV / For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

Genesis 1:1 ESV / In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.