Chapter 2

Relationship with the Father

            When we have a relationship with someone, that means we have something in common. If it is a friendship type of relationship, we share like goals and ideas in many areas of our lives. If it is a kinship type of relationship, we share many physical characteristics usually along with like goals and ideas. The first part is guaranteed, while the second, though common, is not. When we grow up in a family, the children, at least in the beginning, do share like goals and ideas. As they grow older, the children may drift away from those of the family’s.

            Our relationship with God has both. We share many spiritual characteristics. We are His children, so we should appear to be like Him. This is because His Spirit indwells us. Our spiritual man will “look” like Him. We also share His goals and ideas. Just like with natural children, we could drift away from those goals and ideas. Our spiritual man still desires to act like Him, but we may decide to go our own way.

            We are going to look at those characteristics that we are destined to acquire, being children of God.

How we come to the Father:

            Partakers of the divine nature:

2 Peter 1:4
4 For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.

            Would you look at that? We partake of the divine nature … God’s very own nature. We sure don’t act like it sometimes. How awesome that God chose to allow us to literally become like Him. Of course, children become like their earthly fathers in various ways, so why shouldn’t we become like Him? How do we accomplish this? It tells us in this verse … by His precious and magnificent promises. In other words, by putting His Word into effect in our lives, we can become more and more like Him. His Spirit inside of us needs something to work on. The Holy Spirit can accomplish some things even if we haven’t heard the Word about an area in our lives that needs changing. He can do much more if He has something to work with. Remember from Hebrews 4:12 that His Word is actually living and working inside us. The Spirit through this living Word can help us determine when something is from our soul versus from our spirit.

            By the way, I simply love the poetical-ness of Second Peter chapter one. Read it and notice how many times things come in pairs. In this verse … precious and magnificent promises.

If you could hear God speak, I believe this is what He would say:

            "My children, you have partaken of My nature. You had the nature of the world … that nature which only wants your own good, not that of your neighbor. You have received of My life, and that life brings good to all … not just to you. Do not go against My nature and do the things of the world which you used to do. I will bring you into maturity because that is My nature in you.”

            7. He has made precious and magnificent promises to me and through them I have become a partaker of His divine nature.