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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: John 6:49-63 Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever. These things said he in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum. Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it? When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you? What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before? It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. The Words of Christ hidden in our heart and a commitment on our part to obey them and live them (by His Grace and enabling power, or having faith that he will grant us what we ask, to make us into His image day by day) is the eating of the flesh and drinking of the blood. The lords supper is an act of faith that helps us "confess" what we beleive, but it is the internal prayer, commitment, and repentance, the exercise of faith to do what we know the Lord is showing us in His Word that is the actual spiritual eating of the body and blood. John 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. If a man trusts in the act of taking the symbolic bread and wine as doing something to him, and then goes off to live the same as he did the day before indifferent to the areas of sin God has put his finger of conviction on, then that man is no more a partaker of the divine life as the man that does not eat the bread and wine and in all reality the calloused soul that trusts in the act of eating the bread and wine of the Lord's Supper to impart some magic on him while he continues to sin, is in danger of an early departure from this life. 1 Corinthians 11:29-30 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. The bread and wine of the Lord's Supper requires discernment.. (interpretation of it's true meaning) and the meaning is "I am going to go all the way with You Lord, dieing to myself and living unto Christ." We need this often confession and commitment and so it is good to do it everytime we meet. But if at anytime we are going through the motions without the internal commitment we are not profiting from the act but rather in danger of judgment. May God Bless You as You Study His Word. |