The Purpose of the Promises

(NKJV)

2Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord,

4 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.

(NKJV)

2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, 3 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, 4 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.

3as 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,

2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, 3 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, 4 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.

28 You will also declare a thing, And it will be established for you; So light will shine on your ways.

And it will be established for you;

So light will shine on your ways.

4by 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.

A few weeks ago, Holy Spirit directed me to start teaching on how the promises are God in the decrees that we speak. As any teaching I begin researching, I’m sure this is only the beginning point and we’ll see where we end up.

For now, I want to dissect two scriptures that are the starting points of our study— and . Today we’ll start with 2 Peter.

The phrase “exceedingly great” is “pertaining to being extremely important.” Precious is valuable. God has give us extremely important and valuable promises.

Promises is a greek word that has the general sense of “declaration.” It only occurs twice and only in 2 Peter both here and in 3:13. It's from the noun epaggello, which means "to proclaim as public announcements or decree."

Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible Promise

Declaration by one person to another that something will or will not be done, giving the person to whom it is made the right to expect the performance of whatever has been specified.

2 Cor. 1:20

In secular situations, the declaration was sealed by some gesture like a simple handshake or solemn oath. If a complicated promise, it was witnessed so it would stand up in court.

What I want you to note is that the PROMISE ALWAYS HAD TO BE SPOKEN and that once decreed, it was legally binding.

We’ll get into that in a bit. First, Peter finishes his thought by saying that THROUGH THE VERY IMPORTANT AND VALUABLE PROMISES, we share in the divine nature.

The word “share” is “one who participates with another in some enterprise or matter of joint concern.” It implies “fellowship or sharing with someone or in something.” It’s “to have a share with someone in something which he did not have, to give a part, to impart.” We see that Father in His kindness decreed promises that we could then use to acquire something we did not have—His nature.

HE IMPARTS HIS DIVINE NATURE THROUGH THE PROMISES!

Divine is “all that bears the stamp of a god whether by derivation or relation.” Derive means “to come from a source or origin.” The idea behind divine is that there are specific things peculiar to each god. Now the idea of different gods might surprise you because we know there’s only one true God.

The New King James Version Chapter 8

For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many gods and many lords), 6 yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live.

(NKJV)

Holy Spirit is the promise of God as a whole.

5 For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many gods and many lords),

Fears for the Church

(NKJV)

The New King James Version. (1982). (). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.Holy Spirit is the promise of God as a whole.

8 But then, indeed, when you did not know God, you served those which by nature are not gods.

This one is Galatians is particularly important to us because even though there are different “gods” in the Ancient mindset, the so-called gods they formerly worshiped couldn’t be gods because only ONE BY NATURE IS GOD. And He shared His nature with us by BOTH derivation and relation. He is the source of our new nature and we are His children.

Divine nature is “just what God is like” or “how God is” or “what God is.” To share in the very being of God is a great way to describe what Peter is saying. WE SHARE IN THE VERY BEING OF GOD THROUGH THE PROMISES! It can also mean “to share in what God is like.”

The Passion Translation: New Testament Chapter 4

22 And he has taught you to let go of the lifestyle of the ancient man, the old self-life, which was corrupted by sinful and deceitful desires that spring from delusions. 23 Now it’s time to be made new by every revelation that’s been given to you. 24 And to be transformed as you embrace the glorious Christ-within as your new life and live in union with him! For God has re-created you all over again in his perfect righteousness, and you now belong to him in the realm of true holiness.

The Passion Translation: New Testament Chapter 4

And to be transformed as you embrace the glorious Christ-within as your new life and live in union with him! For God has re-created you all over again in his perfect righteousness, and you now belong to him in the realm of true holiness.

22 And he has taught you to let go of the lifestyle of the ancient man, the old self-life, which was corrupted by sinful and deceitful desires that spring from delusions. 23 Now it’s time to be made new by every revelation that’s been given to you. 24 And to be transformed as you embrace the glorious Christ-within as your new life and live in union with him! For God has re-created you all over again in his perfect righteousness, and you now belong to him in the realm of true holiness.

We have be RE-CREATED all over again in his perfect righteousness (DERIVATION)! We now belong to Him in the realm of true holiness (RELATION).

Listen to the Mirror Bible of .

Now you are free to strip off that old identity like a filthy worn-out garment. Lust corrupted you and cheated you into wearing it. Be renewed in your innermost mind (Ponder the truth about you, as it is displayed in Christ; begin with the fact of your co-seatedness). This will cause you to be completely RE-PROGRAMMED in the way you think about yourself! Immerse yourself into this God-shaped new person from above! You are created in the image and likeness of God. This is what true righteousness and true holiness are all about.”

For you have acquired new creation life which is continually being renewed into the likeness of the One who created you; giving you the full revelation of God. TPT

Now I want to read to you our main text in TPT:

(TPT)

4 As a result of this, he has given you magnificent promises that are beyond all price, so that through the power of these tremendous promises you can experience partnership with the divine nature, by which you have escaped the corrupt desires that are of the world.

By claiming these promises as our very own, we experience partnership with the divine nature. And what’s even more amazing is that the word “escaped” has the idea of being ACQUITTED meaning that we have both escaped and we are acquitted of the corrupt desires that are of the world!

Now you can imagine that such glorious and complex realities needed some gesture like an OATH and witnesses in order to be legal. God not only made an oath, He also provided witnesses. Let’s first look at the circumstances behind the OATH.

(NKJV)

13For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself,

14saying, “Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.”

God’s Infallible Purpose in Christ

15And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.

16For men indeed swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is for them an end of all dispute.

13 For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, 14 saying, “Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.” 15 And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise (here referring to Abraham receiving Isaac NOT the Holy Spirit). 16 For men indeed swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is for them an end of all dispute. 17 Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, 18 that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us. (NKJV)

17Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath,

18that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us.

What is interesting about the word “promise” is that in all ancient texts except one, all the examples reference man’s promises to a god. And here we have a God who PROMISES good things to us BY AN OATH!

The idea of a promise in Judaism and the NT writings is that a promise is not just the words spoken to decree the promise BUT ALSO THE FULFILLMENT OF WHAT IS PROMISED. I.e. the promise and the fulfillment are considered one thing! You could say Jesus is both the Promise and the Fulfillment. :) He is the Bearer and Distributor of the Spirit. And it was the Spirit that was promised Abraham.

(NKJV)

14 that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

Abraham was the recipient of the Promise (), and we are now the seed of Abraham who receive the promise through faith. And, we, receive the promise through faith.

Now back to . When a person swore an oath, they’d swear by the name of someone greater than themselves. In ancient Jewish culture, they’d often swear by God’s name. And by doing so, that oath invoking the name of someone greater was the end of all dispute or “the end of all doubt.” You could take it to the bank i.e.

God, of course, had no one higher so He swore by Himself. The word “swore” means “to affirm the truth of a statement by calling on a divine being to execute sanctions against a person if the statement in question is not true.” The word “confirmed” means “guarantee.” The two immutable things are 1) the promise and then 2) the oath added to the promise. He also sealed it with blood.

(NKJV)

17 And it came to pass, when the sun went down and it was dark, that behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces.

I’m sure you’ve heard me discuss this, but in such ancient Hittite suzerainty covenants, the puppet ruler, passed through the pieces. But God humbled Himself and passed through them as a prophetic act of the Jesus becoming Man and humbling Himself even to death on a cross.

Btw, suzerain means “a sovereign or a state exercising political control over a dependent state.” This is incredible again for the fact that God humbled Himself but it also shows the idea of nations in that through Abraham would come a nation, a kingdom that would never be destroyed and would gradually consume all other nations. THIS COVENANT WAS A LEGAL TRANSACTION BETWEEN GOD AND ABRAHAM, which allowed God to legally execute His unchangeable purpose in the earth.

Def: A covenant is an agreement enacted between two parties in which one or both make promises under oath to perform or refrain from certain actions stipulated in advance.

And, finally, the witnesses. All throughout the OT and NT, two or three witnesses were required to establish a testimony as true.

(NKJV)

GO INTO THE LEGALITY OF DECREES

16 And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me. 17 It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true. 18 I am One who bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me.”

(NKJV)

Coming with Authority

13 This will be the third time I am coming to you. “By the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be established.”

Established means “to establish as validated and in force—to establish, to authorize, to put into force.” And true in John means “valid.” God provided THREE WITNESSES.

(NKJV)

The Certainty of God’s Witness

6 This is He who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth. 7 For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. 8 And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one.

The water is referring to when the Lord was water baptized and the Father was a witness as to His identity as the Son of God. The blood is His blood shed for us that speaks or testifies of better things than Abel’s. And Holy Spirit in and upon Christ was a witness of the fulfillment of the promise swore to Abraham. The Spirit is truth give a double whammy.

These three bear witness on the earth. Interestingly, in the NT the High Priest was washed with water, anointed with blood, and anointed with oil (the Spirit). Jesus as our High Priest who imparted to us His very nature has these same three witnesses. The three witnesses in heaven are the Father, the Word, and the Spirit so that both heaven and earth agree.

The three witnesses in heaven are the Father, the Word, and the Spirit so that both heaven and earth agree.

And this is the testimony:

(NKJV)

9 If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is the witness of God which He has testified of His Son. 10 He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son. 11 And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.

We not only have the witness of the HOLY SPIRIT on the inside of us that we have eternal life but the presence of Holy Spirit is the guarantee of our future glorification when the Son of God returns to redeem us out of the earth.

(NKJV)

22 who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.

(NKJV)

5 Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.

Guarantee was “the first or initial payment of money or assets, as a guarantee for the completion of a transaction or pledge…is used only figuratively in referring to the Holy Spirit as the pledge or guarantee of the blessings promised by God.” It’s like an earnest deposit.

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GO INTO THE LEGALITY OF DECREES

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The question is what promises is Peter referring to? Specific ones or all that have ever been spoken? If the Holy Spirit is the whole and He’s the one that brings an end to every aspect of the curse, then the promises must be all that reverses the fall.

And remember that we possess the divine nature by being born again and He is now the source of our new nature (DERIVATION)? And we also possess His divine nature because we are now children of God (RELATION)? Listen to this:

(NKJV)

16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,

Bears witness means “to provide confirming evidence by means of a testimony—to provide supporting evidence.” All the legal requirements are in place. God covered all of the bases. In fact, a “seal served as a legal protection and guarantee in many ways, esp. in relation to property. All objects suitable for sealing could be marked as the property of the owner in this way.”

Guarantee was “the first or initial payment of money or assets, as a guarantee for the completion of a transaction or pledge…is used only figuratively in referring to the Holy Spirit as the pledge or guarantee of the blessings promised by God.” It’s like an earnest deposit.

With all of the foundation established, what exactly are the promises Peter is referring to? We’ll dive into that in the next teaching.

Use the Job scripture for sure here.

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The question is what promises is Peter referring to? Specific ones or all that have ever been spoken? If the Holy Spirit is the whole and He’s the one that brings an end to every aspect of the curse, then the promises must be all that reverses the fall.

GO INTO THE LEGALITY OF DECREES

The Purpose of the Promises

The Purpose of the Promises!

The Oath

It’s Through the Promises that We Share in His Nature

Decree that Thing!

Shed Light on the Problem Using a Promise

We Believe and Speak