Partakers by Abidan Shah, PhD

PARTAKERS by Dr. Shah, Clearview Church, Henderson, NC

Introduction: About 20 years ago, a movie came out titled “Bruce Almighty.” It’s about a TV news reporter (Jim Carey) who is frustrated over his career and complains to God. When he gets fired from his job for overreacting, he lashes out at God telling him that God should be the one getting fired for doing such a horrible job at running the world. So, God (Morgan Freeman) gives him his job for a week with only 2 conditions: He cannot tell anyone that he is God, and he cannot alter free will. At first it is a lot of fun since he gets to do some miracles, but then he starts hearing voices in his head, the countless prayers of people. When it becomes too much handle, he just starts saying “yes” to all of them which turns into total chaos. Contrary to that fictional and unbiblical movie, we’re going to learn in today’s message that believers are actually “partakers of the divine nature.” Today’s message is titled “PARTAKERS,” and it is the second in our new series called “ON TRACK” from 2 Peter. The apostle Peter wrote this letter to help believers get back on track in their Christian lives, and it can help us as well, not just spiritually, but in all aspects of life. Big Question: Are you relying on your own power to live the Christian life? If there was an app that could track your power source, would it read “Self” or would it read “Christ?”

2 Peter 1:4 “by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature…”

Context: Last weekend the Big Question was: “Are you living an Unchecked Life?”Remember, the questions (by the way, the questions in these messages are not rhetorical): Are you living by the power of your desires? Who are the wrong voices that are leading you in the wrong direction? Are you living in view of the judgment to come? Finally, are you living by your New Nature in Christ? Today’s Big Question focusses on the last one: Are you relying on your own power to live the Christian life? God did not design the Christian life to be lived in our own will and power. So how did he design it to be lived? Listen again to the passage we just read, but we’re going to begin at 2 Peter 1 2 “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, 3 as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness…” Meaning: God has given us everything that we need for life and spiritual life. When did he give all this? “…through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue…” It all begins when we come to a knowledge of Him (Jesus Christ). This knowledge comes when we respond to his call to salvation. By the way, the entire work of salvation is based on God’s own glory and virtue (better translation would be perfection, excellence, and praiseworthiness). In other words, salvation is through and through the great and glorious work of God. Jesus paid the penalty of our sins on the cross by taking the wrath of God upon himself. All you and I can do is respond to his call to salvation through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. You can respond positively or negatively.

Question: Have you responded positively to God’s call of salvation through Jesus?

Example: My call came when I was just 4 years old sitting by the bedside with my mom. At that young age, I responded to the call to be saved. People get the call driving to work listening to the radio, in a hospital room, inside a prison, in a church service.

What is the result of positively responding to the call? 4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises…” “Exceedingly great” comes from the Greek word “megista,” which is the superlative of “megas” (great). But, in the ancient times, “megista” was a description of the gods. A better translation would be “by which have been given to us precious and ‘divine’ promises.” These are not just any promises. They are promises coming from God. What is the purpose of these promises? “…that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature…” There are several key Greek words in that statement that we need to examine more carefully:

“Partakers” come from “koinonos,” which means “sharer,” “companion,” or “partner.” There’s a lot of controversy over that term. We’ll see that in a moment.
“Divine” comes from “theios,” which means “divine,” nothing special there.
“Nature” comes from “phusis,” which means “nature,” “condition,” or “kind.”

What does it mean that we have received precious and divine promises that have made us partakers (sharers, companions, partners) of the divine nature?

1. It does not mean that we become God.

2. It does not mean that we have some mystical union with God. Some from the Eastern Churches (Orthodox Churches) hold to a theology known as theosis or deification (There is a subtle distinction between the two.). What it means is that “our salvation and redemption mean our deification” (Kallistos Ware, The Orthodox Church, 231). In other words, it is “being as much as possible like and in union with God” (Pseudo-Dionysius, 198). As one church father by the name of Irenaeus (ca. 130-200AD) wrote: “the Word of God became man that man might become divine” (also Athanasius – ca. 296-373AD). Where do we become like God or one with God? Not in his essences (nature, God as God is) but in his energies (the work of God in our lives, and who God is in relation to the creation and us). This is taken from Gregory Palamas (1296-1359AD). Both essence and energies are uncreated, but no one can understand or enter his essence, while we can know his energies. They will clarify that this does not mean that we become God or god or some form of pantheism (God is everything and everyone, and everyone and everything is God). All this is done through the work of the Holy Spirit.

There are several issues with this theology: 1. It minimizes justification (the fact that Jesus took the penalty of God’s wrath upon himself so we could be forgiven; 2. It goes back to the old error of trying to live the Christian life harder. If only we would do more, we could achieve deification; 3. It seeks to neutralize the distinction between us and God. No matter how godly we become and how much time passes in eternity, there will always be a distinction between us and Him.

Question: Do you understand that God is God, and you are not?

3. It means that we understand and accept who we are in Christ.

Two things to start with: 1. Becoming a “partaker of the divine nature” is not a mystical union; it is a historical event. 2. We are true “partakers of the divine nature,” and not just some distinction between energy and essence.

How does this happen? It goes back to a Church Council that was held at Chalcedon from October 8 to November 1, AD 451. It also caused a schism between the churches in the east and the west (See Grudem, Systematic Theology). Few years ago, I preached a series of messages titled “True Esteem” in which I covered some of this. It was fleshed out at this council what was always believed but wasn’t voiced as clearly: Christ has two natures – human and divine. Human nature is exactly like us but without sin. Divine nature is exactly like that of God the Father. These two natures come together in one person, but the property of each nature is preserved. These natures do not mingle or dissolve into each other. This is important when it comes to our understanding of our partaking of the divine nature. Also, the two natures in Christ do gain from each other. From the divine nature the human nature gained the worthiness to be worshipped and to be sinless. From the human nature the divine nature understands our suffering, our temptations, and becomes our substitute. Hence, Jesus is the God-man. By the way, this connection happened historically 2000 years ago, but it was already settled in eternity. In the weeks ahead, we will go over this more when we learn how to get on track.

When we are said to be “partakers of the divine nature,” we are “participating in the holiness of the human Jesus” (Barth, CD IV/2: 518). Here’s a statement: “When we are to Jesus what Jesus is to his Father, then Jesus will be to us what his Father is to him.”