Partakers in the nature of God

In 2 Peter, Peter writes that believers are 'partakers in the divine nature.'  This is a beautiful statement, profound both for its directness but also in its significance.  Perhaps there is no more important Christian doctrine than the fact that we are partakers not only in the Gospel of Christ but, by that virtue, we are also partakers in His divine nature too!

The reality of faith is that it is not merely a passive attitudinal change in reference to God.  No.  Faith is an actual change of person.  It is a constitutional transformation of character from a life of sin in the flesh to a life free of sin in the Spirit.  This means that the believer is not merely who they were before belief; rather, they are altered.

There is a metamorphosis that takes place in the person as a person turns from unbelief to faith.  The irony is that this change is not a change to something 'new' as much as it is a change to something meant to be.  The pervasiveness of sin has so marred humanity that our origins, our original constitution, have been damaged to such a degree that a complete overhaul is in order.  Enter Jesus.

It is thus not enough to speak of redemption from sin as merely a matter of cleansing.  Though this being wholly good and true, when we speak of redemption we must also consider that we are redeemed in restoration, mainly that we are restored, renewed in the image of our Creator in Christ Jesus.  In the end, we are partakers in the nature of God in the very sense that we belong to Him as He is our God.

Jesus and the need for Two Natures

Suppose you were swimming in the river one afternoon.  As you entered the water, the current becomes stronger than you expected and you are quickly pulled under the water and swept down stream.  You struggle to catch your breath between your head bobbing up and down in the water.  Suddenly you feel a hand grab your arm and pull you towards the bank.  As you reach the side, you recognize that the man saving you has one foot on the bank and one foot in the river, he is simultaneously in and out of the water, holding your arm and pulling you out of the water.

This scenario is kind of like Jesus.  The river is unrepentant human life, pulling every person down stream to eternal death.  The bank is godliness and eternal salvation.  The man grabbing your arm is Jesus.  Being fully man, He had one foot in the river of human life.  But being fully God, He also had one foot firmly in perfection.  It is this fact of His nature which makes salvation possible at all.

Only a man can submit and repent from sin.  But because of man's sinful nature, this is the very action that man is incapable of making.  On the other hand, God never has to submit because He is omnipotent and He never has to repent because He is morally perfect, yet it is only God who has the ability to repent.  Therefore, the only way man can repent is if God actually empowers the repentance.

Enter Jesus.  Jesus, being both God and man, is the bridge that connects the finite sinfulness of man to the infinite perfection of God.  Jesus was sinful because of His God-ness, but it was His human nature that made His experience applicable to humans through faith.  Jesus, by way of His very nature, overcomes the chasm of human sin.  Jesus laid down His attributes and suffered a horrendous death to bridge this gap.  We should always keep this in our hearts as it is the definition of grace.