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NASB | 2 Peter 1:4 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. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | 2 Peter 1:4 For by these He has bestowed on us His precious and magnificent promises [of inexpressible value], so that by them you may escape from the immoral freedom that is in the world because of disreputable desire, and become sharers of the divine nature. |
Bible Question:
Does a believer partake of the divine nature of Christ through the observance of religious tradition/ritual or through real/genuine relationship with the Master? Are we, who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, conformed to His image by what we ingest in the natural or what we ingest in the supernatural? Is communion with the Lord merely the ingestion of the natural elements of communion (i.e., bread and wine) or is it "heart to heart" communion with our Lord through the reading (ingestion) of His word (our spiritual bread) and by allowing Him to minister to us through His Holy Spirit (our spiritual wine)? |
Bible Answer: prazn, Was your question merely rhetorical, requiring no answer? If so, it would have been better to post it as a note. The way you phrase your question presumes the answer you already have in mind. The phrasing of the question assumes that Holy Communion as understood by those who believe in the Real Presence is a mere (empty) ritual compared to a "real relationship with the Master." You continue in your post to assume a mutually exclusive relationship between the natural and the supernatural.The two are not mutually exclusive as presumed by the phrasing of your question. That was the whole point of the Incarnation. It is also the point of sacraments in which God uses the natural to convey the supernatural. But underlying your post is a question of importance. I would phrase it this way. Can someone receive the spiritual / supernatural benefits of a sacrament if he or she is not properly disposed spiritually. The answer, even for those who believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist is no. In fact as St. Paul makes clear in 1 Cor 11:27-30 you can actually suffer ill effects. Think about it. Judas, for example, had a real personal relationship with Jesus. But was he cursed or blessed because of his personal spiritual disposition compared to the other apostles who had a similar personal relationship, but different spiritual dispositions? Catholics, for example believe that the sacraments are effective regardless of the personal sanctity of the minister because they believe it is Christ Himself acting through the sacrament and it is the virtue of Christ that effects the grace not the minister. But Christ although He mnistered to Judas, was not effective because Judas was not receptive. Think also of the other times in the Gospels when Jesus could not heal in his own town because the people did not believe. So, the Catholic Church teaches: "From the moment that a sacrament is is celebrated in accordance with the intention of the Church, the power of Christ and his Spirit acts in and through it, independently of the personal holiness of the minister. Nevertheless, the fruits of the sacraments also depend on the disposition of the one who receives them." The Catechism, number 1128. Emmaus |