In Peter’s introduction, he clearly states that through the righteousness of our God and Savior, we can escape the corruption of the world that is caused by the evil desires of fallen humankind. We are no longer bound to the nature of the unredeemed if we believe in Christ’s very great and precious promises. These promises rest in the fact that God will give eternal life to all who believe in Christ as their Savior. If people are sold out for Christ in their belief and in their lifestyle, their souls will live in grace and peace. Their flesh might not always be in peace, but they will always have the assurance that God lives within them, and nothing can trouble his presence in their eternal souls. As Christians, we know God comes to reside in us permanently because of the grace given to us by Jesus Christ. While our minds may not fully understand God’s grace and peace, as we accept his gifts into our souls, we realize by the gift of faith that He has adopted us into his family and given eternal life to all who believe. The Bible says, See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! (1John 3:1) As such, we are considered the collective temple of God and individual temples who participate in the divine nature of God. God has planted in us his presence, continually speaking to our inner ears through the Holy Spirit. Those who have ears, let them hear. We who are alive in Christ have our spiritual antennas tuned to the Holy Spirit’s call. In the Old Testament, God tells the Israelites that He called, but they would not answer because their ears were stopped to his voice. In their waywardness, they intended not to hear God, not to obey his commands. They chose other gods so that their ears were dulled to the voice of the Creator, their Deliverer from the slavery of Egypt. Peter tells Christians that God has given us divine power, a holy Dynamo within us that will give us ears to hear. He has given us the Rock, that eternal living water, the Spirit that rushes through us to satisfy our physical and spiritual needs. Through his power at work in us we have everything we need for a godly life. We who are alive IN CHRIST ought to be participating in the world as God’s instruments of light, revealing to the world the divine nature and unconditional love of God. Our lives should shine forth the essence of God, which is the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23) We have definitely escaped the corruption of the world by the grace and mercy of God. God through Christ spoke the world into existence with his powerful creative voice. We who are IN CHRIST are new creatures because the spoken Word has come into our lives. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. (John 1:1-4) As Peter understood, the Creator of all things has purposed a divinity in us that will last throughout eternity. We have been given glorious promises of that reality.
The Bible is clear about God’s promises to us. In the Old Testament, we see an ethnic group, the Jews, brought out of captivity into a new life. They were in bondage to the gods of that age in Egypt, the Pharaohs. We might compare the Pharaohs to the gods we serve in today’s world, for they were representative of the devil and his rule of the flesh. Of course, modern day people believe we are making our own decisions, free from any controls, but this is not true. We are in the same situation Peter described with corruption in the world caused by evil desires. The devil is a fountain of evil, and he tempts all people to accept his wicked rule. Out of every human flows thoughts contrary to God’s righteousness. The prophet wrote, The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? (Jeremiah 17:9) Even the righteous Pharisees could not escape this fact. Jesus condemns them for the evil in their spirits. They could not escape this truth about them. Neither can humanity escape this truth about its nature. As Isaiah wrote, all have gone astray to their own ways; all have stopped their ears to God’s voice of direction and correction. We are like that. We have been born into captivity. But Christ has come to set us free by making us new creatures, strong enough to fight the Pharaohs’ armies. The heavenly army of God is marshaled against the devil and his hosts. We know the God of Israel is strong enough to defeat the armies of the flesh, for He brought the Israelites out of Egypt. We know God is the only living and true God. No other god has brought a whole nation out of another nation without warfare. God’s mighty hand miraculously delivered a whole nation out of slavery to the god of that age. He then took care of them through the wilderness, even though the Israelites were a rebellious people. He took them into a land that had nations that were considerably stronger than the Israelites. He allowed them to defeat the people who occupied Canaan, the land of the Promise. He warned them that they would occupy this land forever only if they were faithful to him. Of course, they were not true to him and therefore were dispersed throughout the world. But what the Old Testament reveals clearly is that God was capable of delivering a whole nation out of captivity by his hand alone, and He was capable of taking care of them through the wilderness. Just as the pillar of fire at night and the cloud of glory by day led the Israelites through the wilderness, we who are IN CHRIST have the Holy Spirit leading us day and night on our way to the Promised Land. This time, it is not by laws and sacrifices that we live, but we live by the words of God. We defeat the enemy just as Jesus did by using God’s Word, It is written: Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. (Matthew 4:4)
The Bible is clear about God’s promises to us. In the Old Testament, we see an ethnic group, the Jews, brought out of captivity into a new life. They were in bondage to the gods of that age in Egypt, the Pharaohs. We might compare the Pharaohs to the gods we serve in today’s world, for they were representative of the devil and his rule of the flesh. Of course, modern day people believe we are making our own decisions, free from any controls, but this is not true. We are in the same situation Peter described with corruption in the world caused by evil desires. The devil is a fountain of evil, and he tempts all people to accept his wicked rule. Out of every human flows thoughts contrary to God’s righteousness. The prophet wrote, The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? (Jeremiah 17:9) Even the righteous Pharisees could not escape this fact. Jesus condemns them for the evil in their spirits. They could not escape this truth about them. Neither can humanity escape this truth about its nature. As Isaiah wrote, all have gone astray to their own ways; all have stopped their ears to God’s voice of direction and correction. We are like that. We have been born into captivity. But Christ has come to set us free by making us new creatures, strong enough to fight the Pharaohs’ armies. The heavenly army of God is marshaled against the devil and his hosts. We know the God of Israel is strong enough to defeat the armies of the flesh, for He brought the Israelites out of Egypt. We know God is the only living and true God. No other god has brought a whole nation out of another nation without warfare. God’s mighty hand miraculously delivered a whole nation out of slavery to the god of that age. He then took care of them through the wilderness, even though the Israelites were a rebellious people. He took them into a land that had nations that were considerably stronger than the Israelites. He allowed them to defeat the people who occupied Canaan, the land of the Promise. He warned them that they would occupy this land forever only if they were faithful to him. Of course, they were not true to him and therefore were dispersed throughout the world. But what the Old Testament reveals clearly is that God was capable of delivering a whole nation out of captivity by his hand alone, and He was capable of taking care of them through the wilderness. Just as the pillar of fire at night and the cloud of glory by day led the Israelites through the wilderness, we who are IN CHRIST have the Holy Spirit leading us day and night on our way to the Promised Land. This time, it is not by laws and sacrifices that we live, but we live by the words of God. We defeat the enemy just as Jesus did by using God’s Word, It is written: Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. (Matthew 4:4)
Breakfast companions, have you heard the voice of the Lord within you today? Have you spent time with him, fellowshipping in his presence? Is the God who delivers people out of slavery rich in you? Do you know as a reality in your life that His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. His own glory and goodness leads every believer out of captivity to sin. He does not want you in the wilderness without the power of his presence, for you need his daily strength to make the journey of life. Without the voice of God in your inner ear, you will become confused, and you will begin to follow other tracks through the wilderness. Rather than being close to God, you will find yourself in a landscape you do not recognize. You will begin to do things that you hate, for you will be following the directions of the world, the flesh, and the devil. The flesh will always dictate a wandering path; only God keeps you on the straight and narrow. Hear the voice of the Lord today: heed his still, quiet voice. Perform the works of God, rather than the works of the flesh. Elijah called for God’s voice. He desired the mighty God of all ages to speak to him in some mighty way. Maybe in a strong wind? Maybe in a powerful earthquake? Maybe in a consuming fire? But God was in none of those terrific natural acts; He was in the still, small voice. (See 1 Kings 19:11-12) Faith is required in hearing the soft voice. The carnal mind desires a loud voice or a big event—solid evidence. But God usually does not function with us by terrifying us with cataclysmic occurrences. He speaks with us in love and tenderness, reaching into the innermost being of our lives. The Holy Spirit often lovingly says to us, “Jacqueline, listen to me.” “Cliff, I have given you my words.” Many times in the Old Testament, God said, “Hearken to the voice of the Lord.” He is a Good Father, an eternal Father. He desires our love, our touch, our communication with our human voices. We are divine because we are part of his family. We do not need to call God down from heaven; neither do we need to grovel in the dust so that He might look upon us in kindness. No, He is always right with us. His voice is constantly in us. As we read in the Old and New Testaments: The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart. (Romans 10:8) Jesus never leaves us; He never abandons us. At the cross, Jesus said, “Why hast thou abandoned me?” We know Jesus was abandoned on the cross for our sins. Because of his abandonment, we will never face that judgement of being away from God. He paid the complete price, the final payment. We do not have to pay the price for our sins, eternal abandonment, away from God, a place of Hell. No, we are forever connected to the God of eternity, the God who is capable of taking a whole nation away from another, bringing a people into a PROMISED LAND. Today, express your divinity by doing good, by expressing mercy and grace to others, for you are the LIGHTS IN THIS WORLD. People need to see the DELIVERER through your lives. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, Love your neighbor as yourself. (Luke 10:27)
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