Chapter
1 2 3
Verse
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21

2 Peter 1:4
ESV by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.
NIV Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
NASB Through 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 on account of lust.
CSB By these he has given us very great and precious promises, so that through them you may share in the divine nature, escaping the corruption that is in the world because of evil desire.
NLT And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.
KJV Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

What does 2 Peter 1:4 mean?

In verse 3, Peter reveals that through knowing God, Christians have been given everything we need to lead the life God calls us to. We're not missing anything. Jesus has showed us His glory and goodness; He calls us to follow His example; and he has equipped us to do so. Here, in this verse, we find that by Jesus' glory and goodness—because He lived sinlessly and now exists in glory forever—we have been given something of enormous worth: promises.

In human terms, we think of promises as things of limited value. Experience has taught us that those too eager to make promises are usually the least trustworthy. And even when we consider a promise as reliable, we don't count ourselves as having received anything until the promise is completely fulfilled. The level of value we place on a promise has everything to do with the person making it, and our confidence that it will be completed.

But, in this context, these are not human promises. The God of the universe does not lie and does not fail to keep His word. Coming from Him, a promise is a declaration of certainty. A promise is eternal currency. A promise is a tangible gift.

So what has God promised us? Eternity in His family. An end to our suffering. Transformation by the power of His Holy Spirit. Purpose and meaning forever. These promises of God are of such great value that merely possessing them has already given us the right to participate in the "divine nature." In other words, we are already partners with Christ in the work God is doing in the world. More specifically, we are, right now, able to begin to answer Jesus' call to live in His glory and goodness.

More, we have already, right now, been given an escape from the corruption caused by sinful human desires: continual loss of integrity, function, and beauty. As we'll see later in this passage, Christians have not necessarily lost all desire to sin. We certainly have been freed from the eternal penalty of that sin. And, we have been rescued from our former destiny: to be endlessly decayed and destroyed by it.
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