Second Peter 1:4
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.
The Promise of Eternal Life
Is there any promise greater than being forgiven and then justified by the blood of the Lamb of God (John 3:16)? The promise of having eternal life at the expense of Jesus’ own life is just too much to comprehend. We have been born again (John 3:3), and whoever will or has believed in Jesus Christ has eternal life (John 3:36a). Is there any promise more precious than this? I can’t think of anything that compares with the glory that is going to be revealed someday (Rom. 8:18). Through Jesus’ perfection, we can be made perfect (2 Cor. 5:21).
The Removal of Wrath
Before any of us were saved, we had the wrath of God resting on us (John 3:36b), but once we were born again, God made peace with us (Rom. 5:1), and the condemnation that was previously on us was removed (Rom. 8:1). Our past of being an enemy of God (Rom. 5:10) as wicked sinners (Rom. 5:8) doesn’t matter anymore. Stop and think about that for a moment. Imagine that our forces had captured an enemy who had been killing and destroying our troops. Then that same person who was our natural enemy was forgiven, even though they were not innocent. After this, they were made part of the forces that they once were trying to kill. We were much like this natural enemy in every way. The promise of God’s wrath being removed means that our hell debt was paid in full by Christ.
The Death of Death
When Jesus was raised to life, this meant that we could also be raised to eternal life in Christ. Jesus defeated death at its own game. This ensured our victory over death. Jesus swallowed up death (1 Cor. 15:54), took the sting out of death (1 Cor. 15:55), and brought us from mortality to secure our immortality (1 Cor. 15:53-54). Even though we were born in Adam and headed for death, in Christ we will be made alive at His return (1 Cor. 15:22). So God’s greatest promise, in my opinion, is that we can be forgiven and granted eternal life in Christ. Next is Jesus taking upon Himself the wrath that we deserved. Finally, since He conquered the grave, the grave can no longer hold us. These truly are exceedingly great and precious promises (2 Pet. 1:4).
A Closing Prayer
Holy, righteous Father, thank You for allowing me to be forgiven through Your Son and His death so that the wrath I deserved would be removed from me and that the grave cannot keep me any longer because of Jesus’ victory over death. In His precious name I pray.
Amen
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