“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.” (John 1:12)
I have been thinking about what it actually means to have God’s nature in our born again souls—not just to believe in Him, or follow a set of principles that He authored, but to live in the experience of His nature. When we are born again, that is the opportunity we’re given:
“Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” (2 Peter 1:2-4)
God’s divine power has given us all things—not just a sample, but everything that pertains to life and godliness. It’s clear from this Scripture that the avenue through which this gift flows is not raw discipline or willpower. It is a deep knowledge, an intimate, personal, and ever-deepening experience with God. He brought us into fellowship not by our own achievements, but by His grace. And the result is that we become partakers of HIS divine nature. “Partaker” means participant, sharer, one who has been brought into the thing itself.
We have been invited into the inner ring of divine fellowship.
In a world drowning in corruption and saturated with lust—not only sexual lust, but the craving for status, control, comfort, and the approval of people who cannot save us—we have been given the tools to live above it. Peter says we have escaped it. Past tense. But I have to be honest: I do not always live like someone who has escaped. I know I carry the nature of God inside me, but I still fall back into the habits of my corrupt fleshly nature. I’m so grateful for the apostle Paul, who experienced this struggle too:
“For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.” (Romans 7:19)
Paul met Jesus, and yet was transparent about the struggle with his flesh. But when we are born again, God’s divine nature is in us, and we possess the power to overcome the flesh. The question is this: which one are we are feeding the most? Jesus sat on a hillside and described what it looks like when a person is living empowered by His divine nature—that is, when His nature is actually shaping how they move through the world.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:3-10
Mind you, this is not a performance checklist; rather, it is a remarkable portrait of someone whose life is not dominated by living in the flesh and is, instead, guided by the Spirit.
What do these verses in Matthew mean?
Well, we explored this fully in our “Attitudes of Christ” series, but we’ll give you just a taste of it in this devotional. To be poor in spirit is to honestly acknowledge your own bankruptcy without God—to know that apart from Him, you have and are nothing. To mourn is to grieve sin—your own and the devastation it leaves in the world around you. Neither of these is a posture of defeat. They are the starting point of every genuine work God does in our lives. And meekness and mercy—let me be clear about what those are not. They are not weakness. They are not passive resignation. They are what happen when a person lays down their self-proclaimed rights and lets the fruit of God’s Spirit move through them instead. The meek person is not someone who has nothing to say. They are someone who has decided that God’s agenda matters more than their own. The merciful person is not naive. They are someone through whom God’s compassion is actively flowing because the Holy Spirit has been given room to work.
Living in God’s divine nature creates an overflow of goodness that must be given away. This is the essence of God, Who is love.
There is a broken world outside your door still trapped in the corruption of this fallen world. We are called by God; we carry His divine nature, and we have something they desperately need—the Gospel. We are commanded:
“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)
We have been given all things that pertain to life and godliness. My friend, when we live in the relationship of our new nature in Christ, we become a fountain of HIS grace, peace, love, and wisdom, and every person we encounter will see Him. We were born for this. We were born again to glorify God and to bring lost and dying souls into His kingdom. Don’t miss even one opportunity today!
Prayer:
Father, I confess that I do not always live like someone who has escaped. Align my attitudes with the portrait Jesus painted on that hillside—poor in spirit, merciful, hungry for righteousness, pure in motive, a maker of peace. Teach me what it means to lay down my own will and let Your Spirit move through me instead. Let the grace and peace You have multiplied in my life be too large to contain. Use me for Your glory, not mine. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
