2 PETER 1:3-4 – His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, 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.”
THEME OF THE DAY: WE LIVE BY GOD’S PROMISES. Quick one question Bible quiz. In the Garden of Eden, right after Adam and Eve fell to Satan’s temptation and sin entered the world, what did God immediately give to both Satan and our first parents? The answer is one but the consequences are different. For Satan? It was his eternal destruction. For Adam and Eve? It was their eternal deliverance. We find the answer in chapter three of the Old Testament book of Genesis – I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel” (Genesis 3:15). God gave Satan and our first parents the promise of the Gospel, and as the Apostle Peter affirms in today’s scripture, the entirety of the life of Godliness, the Christian life, is lived by God’s promises known and applied in our daily lives.
When it comes to the promises of God, they are the anchor of the soul for the Christian for at least two reasons (there are more we will discover as we read God’s Word). First, the trustworthiness of the One who promised. The Apostle Paul, writing to Titus, shows us this encouraging truth of our God – Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness, in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began (Titus 1:1-2). The writer of the letter to the Hebrews echoes this trustworthy trait in our God making His promises truths we may rely on – So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. (Hebrews 6:17-20).
Another reason why the promises of God are the sure anchor of the soul is that the Gospel of the Lord Jesus takes away the wrath of God and separation we had with God that makes the promises open to us to have, own, and live. Again, from the pen of the Apostle Paul – As surely as God is faithful, our word to you has not been Yes and No. For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you, Silvanus and Timothy and I, was not Yes and No, but in him it is always Yes. For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory. And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee (2 Corinthians 1:18-22). Through Christ, we have access to, and are recipients of, all God’s promises and all will be fulfilled for us!
So, promises. They define the Christian life from start to finish, but to enjoy them, we must know them. Let’s fill our heads and hearts with God’s great and precious promises that point us to the abundant life Jesus promises (John 10:10).
PRAYER: “Father, help me to write Your promises deep in my mind and heart that they might lead and comfort me daily.”
QUOTE: “We are people of promises, and the Christian life is lived relying on and applying God’s promises.”
In the affection of Christ Jesus,
Pastor Jim