The Names of God #13 - Partakers of the Divine Nature

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I want to cover just a couple of things in the way of how we are to understand that God is not a Hebrew. You need to understand that. God is not a Hebrew nor is God a Jew. The only time that God was a Jew was during the time when Jesus was born of the house of David of the tribe of Judah. Please understand that the house of David is far different than what we look at as the tribe of Judah today. The tribe of Judah today is not what the Jews really were back during the days of Jesus Christ. Howbeit though some are.

Let’s also understand something very clearly: God created all of the languages! In a sense, if we want to follow along this way: If God created all the languages, which He did; and if God is Holy, which He is; then the names of God in any language are also Holy. Can they be applied to pagan gods? Those words like anything else can be applied to pagan gods, but does that mean that the pagan gods then become Holy? No! or That the names for the pagan gods are the names that we use? No! Some people say that because we use the name Jesus, and the Greek word for ‘Jesus’ is ‘Esou’—pronounced ‘hey zeus’—they say that comes from the word Zeus, which means we’re honoring Zeus instead of Jesus. That isn’t so! That is not true!

Let’s look at something else that is true that we find in the Bible and especially at the beginning of the New Testament Church. Let’s go to Acts 2 so that we can understand when we’re all through and finished with this that God does not require us to use the names, which are called by some people ‘the sacred names.’ We are required—if we are the children of God and the sons of God, which we should be—to use the names: ‘the Father’, and the name of the Son ‘Jesus Christ.’

Last time we covered how one of the most important things that happened with the death of Jesus was the ripping of the veil in two, which signifies that we now have direct access in heaven above to God the Father in the Holiest place in the universe. That’s why in John 4, we’re told that we don’t have to go to a city and we don’t have to go to a place, but we worship the Father ‘in Spirit and in Truth,’ because the place, which is the end of that worship, is the very sanctuary of God the Father.

When we come to Acts 2, and I’m sure you’re very well aware of it, here is another miracle that took place. God was showing what He was going to do in the New Testament, or with the New Covenant. He told them, ‘Go you forth into all nations and preach the Gospel and teach them whatsoever I have commanded you and baptize them into the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.’ He also showed here:

Acts 2:6: “And when word of this went out, the multitude came together and were confounded, because each one heard them speaking in his own language.” What were they speaking? The wonderful works of God!

Verse 7: “And they were all amazed, and marveled, saying to one another, ‘Behold, are not all these who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that we hear each one in our own language in which we were born?’” (vs 7-8) Then it lists all the countries.

Then, in the last part of v 11: “...we hear them speaking in our own languages the great things of God.” Obviously, God is showing that by this, with the New Covenant, it is not Hebrew, it is not, Jerusalem, nor is it Samaria as Jesus told the woman at the well. Now you’re going to have a different relationship with God, because He’s going to give the Holy Spirit. That changes the whole complexion of our relationship with God.

What is the principle we always find in the Bible? To the Jew first and then the Gentile, or to the Israelite first then to the Gentile! In Rev. 7 we have exactly the same thing. We have the twelve tribes of Israel, the 144,000, are sealed first. Then we find:

Revelation 7:9: “After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude, which no one was able to number, out of every nation and tribe and people and language...” I think it’s going to be abundantly clear that these people who are saved through the Great Tribulation are saved by their own individual repentance to God. I’m sure that they’re not going to have ‘sacred namers’ going around the countryside teaching them the so-called sacred names of God, in whatever language. God is not interested in the language; He’s interested in the heart.

Suppose you had the correct pronunciation of all the sacred names of God but your heart was not right before God. Does it make any difference? No! It doesn’t make a bit of difference.

“...was standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes and holding palms in their hands; and they were calling out with a loud voice to Him Who sits on the throne and to the Lamb, saying, ‘The salvation of our God has come’” (vs 9-11).

Verse 14: “Then I said to him, ‘Sir, you know.’ And he said to me, ‘They are the ones who have come out of the Great Tribulation; and they have washed their robes, and have made their robes white in the blood of the Lamb.’” When we are born into the Kingdom of God what language will we speak? I don’t know! But we’ll get a new name and a new language.

We’ll touch a little bit on about how our prayers go to God, because that’s part of the use of the Holy Spirit. God is able to answer every prayer, so He understands every language. No doubt about it, absolutely none! What those people have done with ‘sacred names’ is that they have created a ‘religion’ rather than coming to the Father. The ‘Yahwehists’ have the strictest, most pharisaical, ‘Christianized’ religion. Almost every ‘Yahwehist’ group that I know of is trying to make the Church an Old Testament Church—in the sense that they want it under Yahweh—when the One Who was Yahweh died and is now our Savior. That’s something to think on.

I’m not saying that these people are not going to make it into the Kingdom of God. When we read Rev. 2 and 3, we find that all the Churches have problems and difficulties. None are without sin and none are without their own kind of self-righteousness, as it were. However, I think that it isn’t going to give them any great advantage either. I suppose that if someone uses the names of God, so called ‘sacred,’ with a right heart and a right attitude, I am sure that God is not going to reject them. It’s their heart and their attitude that God is interested in; it’s not necessarily just the name.

Let’s use the example of the Apostle Paul. He wrote to those who were Greek speaking. Nowhere in any of the manuscripts, regardless of the age of them, do you find anywhere, that the names of God are the Hebrew names. Nowhere! Let’s see:

• what the Apostle Paul emphasized
• what it’s going to mean to us
• how Paul started out almost every one of his epistles

We’re going to learn from the seemingly insignificant, or that which we’ve covered before. Things have changed in the New Covenant. Our relationship with God is far better because we don’t have a ‘religion’; we have a Father. Maybe that helps you understand why Jesus said, ‘Call no man on earth your father,’ when He was telling His disciples about being rabbis, fathers, masters and things like this.

Romans 1:1: “Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, a called apostle, set apart to preach the Gospel of God, which He had promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures concerning His Son; Who came from the seed of David according to the flesh, Who was declared the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of Holiness, by the resurrection from the dead—Jesus Christ our Lord” (vs 1-4). Completely different! Absolutely a different relationship with God!

Romans 15:5: “Now, may the God of patience and encouragement grant you to be likeminded toward one another according to Christ Jesus, so that with one accord and one mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (vs 5-6). All the way through the New Testament it has to do with the Father, our Lord Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit, by which we’re kept until the day of redemption.

Verse 7: “Therefore, receive one another, according as Christ has also received us, to the glory of God. Now I tell you that Jesus Christ has become a servant to the circumcision for the Truth of God, so that He might confirm the promises given to the fathers; and that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy, exactly as it is written: ‘For this cause I will confess You among the Gentiles, and I will praise Your name.’ And again it says, ‘Rejoice, all you Gentiles, with His people’; and again, ‘Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles; and praise Him, all you peoples.’ And again, Isaiah says, ‘There shall be a root of Jesse, and He that arises shall rule the Gentiles: in Him shall all the Gentiles hope.’ May the God of hope fill you now with all joy and peace in believing that you may abound in hope and in the power of the Holy Spirit” (vs 7-13).

This is one of the best summaries of the New Covenant that you could get, what we’re reading right here. Just in a few verses it talks about:

• God the Father
• the prophecies of the fulfillment of the coming of Jesus Christ
• the power of the Holy Spirit; the power that God uses for us

Verse 14: “But I myself am also persuaded concerning you, my brethren, that you are full of goodness, and are being filled with all knowledge, and are able to admonish one another.... [that’s quite a statement] ...So then, I have more boldly written to you, brethren, in part as a way of reminding you, because of the grace that was given to me by God, in order that I might be a minister of Jesus Christ unto the Gentiles to perform the Holy service of teaching the Gospel of God; so that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by... [sacred names. No!] ...the Holy Spirit” (vs 14-16).

Did the Holy Spirit come upon Cornelius, who was an Italian, who undoubtedly spoke the three common languages at the time? I’m sure an officer in the Roman legion could not go to foreign duty unless he spoke Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. Did not the Holy Spirit come upon him when he was uncircumcised before he was baptized? Yes, it did! That’s the only way that Peter knew that Cornelius was being called. God had to give the Holy Spirit to Cornelius by supernatural means before baptism because the Jews had a religion that was still in the process of being erased out of the minds of the apostles, that God was going to deal with all people and not just the Jews.

You know the problem that the Apostle Paul had (Acts 15, Gal. 2-5). He had a whale of a lot of problems. The Apostle Paul was also a Pharisee. He would know best how to get around all the Pharisaical problems and arguments. I’m sure that’s what Jesus taught him when he was in the wilderness of Arabia for three and a half years. You talk about looking at a glorious future, I don’t think that he saw too much of a glorious future when he was out there in the desert for three and a half years. By the way, Paul was there in the Arabian Desert before Mohammed was.

Verse 17: “Therefore, I have cause for boasting in Christ Jesus as to the things pertaining to God. For I will not presume to speak about anything that Christ has not worked out by me for the obedience of the Gentiles, through word and work, through the power of signs and wonders, in the power of the Spirit of God; so that in a circuit from Jerusalem to Illyricum, I have fully preached the Gospel of Christ” (vs 17-19).

All these letters were written in Greek, every one of them. All of the Jews at that time, if you will read your history, spoke Greek. I think it is a testimony of God’s rejection of the Jews that there is not one New Testament writing preserved in Hebrew. I know there is a book called the Peshitta, which was translated from the Greek to the Aramaic; but that does not prove that it was originally written in Aramaic. I’m well aware of all those arguments of ‘sacred namers.’

Let’s notice what God is doing and the relationship that God puts us in, Galatians 1:1: “Paul, an apostle, not sent from men nor made by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, Who raised Him from the dead; and all the brethren who are with me, to the churches of Galatia: Grace and peace be to you from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, Who gave Himself for our sins, in order that He might deliver us from the present evil world, according to the will of our God and Father; to Whom be the glory into the ages of eternity. Amen” (vs 1-5).

Those are some pretty powerful words. When you really go over them, think about them and let God’s Spirit work with your mind, think how much of an impact this really has. God is not interested in establishing a ‘religion.’ He’s interested in having you as His son. I don’t know about you, but that kind of makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up just a little bit.

If there was ever a city that was wholly devoted to the Greek language, the Greek culture, the Greek religion, Ephesus was. Ephesus was the home of the goddess Diana, or Artemis. They had the huge, tremendous temple to Artemis. You can read about that in Acts 19_{[transcriber’s correction]} and 20 and all the things the Apostle Paul went through.

Ephesians 1:1: “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints... [the sanctified ones. How are you sanctified? By the Holy Spirit!] ...who are in Ephesus and to the faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace and peace be to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly things with Christ” (vs 1-3).

He’s given us some tremendous blessings. I don’t think we have really, fully comprehended the tremendous blessing it is:

• to have the Spirit of God
• to have that in our mind
• to be able to be partakers of the Divine nature
• to be able to have part of God in your mind

That is something!

Philippians 1:2: “Grace and peace be to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Nowhere in the New Testament do we find any other names used of God—period! That’s it!

In 2-Peter 1 are promises that are given to us, tremendous promises! I think it’s interesting how that after Paul died, I think Peter really studied a lot of Paul’s writings and understood more about grace from that time on. I imagine that Peter had a lasting memory in his mind about the time when Paul had to withstand him face-to-face in front of everyone, for separating from the Gentiles to go off and eat with all the Jews; the Jews over here and the Gentiles over there. I imagine that really did something to Peter’s mind. I found in studying on grace, that Peter uses grace, second to Paul most of all.

2-Peter 1:1: “Simon Peter a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have obtained the same precious faith as ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.” Those are all weighty words right there. That precious faith comes from the Holy Spirit of God and through the righteousness of God and our Savior Jesus Christ. Again, establishing that our righteousness is the righteousness of Jesus Christ, which God gives to us as a gift. Why does He give it to us as a gift? It’s impossible for us to earn it! You can’t earn it!

Verse 2: “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.”

• God wants us to grow!
• God wants grace and peace to multiply!
• God wants us in that special relationship with Him!

I hope that in our coming to understand this even more that this is going to help us with not only our relationship with God, but also with other people who are also in Churches of God—wherever they may be—that they may be helped with this and so that they don’t create a ‘religion’; rather, they establish that relationship through the Holy Spirit.

Verse 3: “According 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 His own glory and virtue.” We’re going to have a glorious body like as Jesus Christ. We are going to be the very literal born again sons of God. Right now we have part of that Divine nature in us, which is the Holy Spirit of God! That’s something that we need to focus in on and concentrate on now. That is how we can develop whatever God wants us to grow in. He says here that it ‘be multiplied.’

If you want to know a little about what that means, just read the Bible and find out how much you truly do not understand. I feel that with the power of God’s Spirit—with God working with us and with those who yield themselves to God, wherever they are, but in particularly for ministers—they are not going to understand; nor will I understand, nor will any other minister understand truly the prophecies or the things that are contained in the book of Rev., the end-time events. They’re not going to truly understand them unless they have the relationship of grace and until they teach that to their congregations. I submit the evidence of that is that none of them have understood up to this point.

Verse 4: “Through which He has given to us the greatest and most precious promises...” Those are superlatives that are almost inexplicable. The Greek means: super, abounding, exceeding, marvelous promises.

“...that through these you may become partakers of the Divine nature...” That’s the relationship that God wants with you! It has to be based on loving God and loving your neighbor. You cannot say that you love God and you hate everything else. That’s why Jesus said, ‘Love your enemies.’ He’s saying, ‘I’ll take care of the enemies. Do you believe Me? Love them! If they ask for food, give it to them.’ I’m sure that the answer is when you can escape from them get away. That doesn’t mean you have to stay with them. It means that you do not develop an attitude or spirit of hate.

“…partakers of the Divine nature…” Brethren, that’s what we want to really drink in of and emphasize. That is the relationship that God wants us to have. Everything else comes underneath that, everything!

“...having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” (v 4). Believe me, there’s lots of lust in the world and lots of corruption in the world. All you have to do is watch the degeneration of TV shows. I find myself more and more in a censorship position of TV coming in. I have two things that I do. I operate the ‘mute’ and ‘change channel’ buttons when I have to. Unfortunately, it gets so bad that if you do that—you change to another channel—it becomes just as bad because the greed, the corruption and the lust is on every station. Then, I think that I’m going to watch something educational. So, I turn to the Discovery Channel. Lo and behold, I discover that they’re discovering all the paganism and stupidity of all these other people that live in these different nations. It’s incredible! You can’t escape it by watching TV. The only way you can escape it is with the Spirit of God! It’s the only way!

Verse 5: “And for this very reason also, having applied all diligence...” Here is the thing that is important in this relationship: You must be persistent. Diligent/diligence means:

• to be persistent
• to be on guard
• to be preoccupied with
• to be working with or working at

In this case, developing these characteristics. These are all part of love:

“...besides, add to your faith, virtue...” (v 5). Of course, you know it says: ‘On these three: faith, hope and love, but the greatest is love.’ Here’s part of it. Virtue is right living, correct thoughts and doing ‘good,’ by not saying that I’m going to do ‘good,’ but you do ‘good’ because it’s ‘second nature.’ What do I mean by ‘second nature’? It is because you’ve partaken of the Divine nature and that it is part of you!

“...and to virtue, knowledge...” (v 5). That’s an interesting way to put it. In other words, until you develop virtue, we’re almost told that it’s going to be hard to add the real knowledge, until you have the virtue. I think we’ve all experienced that. I know that we have all experienced being able—and I think God has drawn us and has led us—to more and more see that this is what it is all about in being a Christian.

Verse 6: “And to knowledge, self-control [temperance]...” That’s a lifetime thing to work on. Every one of us has our little ‘triggers’ or ‘hot buttons.’ Every one of us has something where we lack self-control. I’ll tell you one thing, when that self-control goes—in my own experience—in your own mind you justify it because it’s needed in the minute. There’s one thing maybe we need to try and do is to respond rather than react. I think that would be a greater point of temperance.

I know that in times past—I’ll admit it—I’ve been known to react and that is not good. Sometimes you do have to respond in a very measured and determined way. We have the example of Jesus responding in anger when they said, ‘Oh well, don’t come here on the Sabbath to be healed. Aren’t there seven days to work in?’ And Jesus in anger looked at them and said, ‘Listen, don’t each of you who has an animal on the Sabbath take it out and water it? Should not this man with an withered arm be healed?’ Jesus healed him.

“...and to self-control, endurance [patience]...” (v 6). We’re all going to have lots of patience—aren’t we? I don’t recall anything that came in the time that I expected or thought it would happen. Sooner or later, it came—patience.

“...and to endurance, Godliness...” (v 6). You’re beginning to use that Divine nature in you where it is ‘Godliness.’ We can follow the example of the life of Jesus Christ. Did He live in a Godly way? Absolutely, He did! That will show us how we need to live.

Verse 7: “And to Godliness, brotherly love [kindness]...” Doesn’t this help us understand the depth of conversion that we really need, to get along as brethren—I think it does—to where we are not creating our own religion based upon God’s Word in judging our brother? When we look at it this way, as building blocks in developing the Divine nature or exercising the Divine nature—obviously, since the Holy Spirit is only the earnest, we are developing it—when the full power of the Holy Spirit at the resurrection takes place, then we have the fullness of what we need here: brotherly love/kindness.

“...and to brotherly love, the love of God” (v 7). It says ‘charity’ in the King James, but the Greek there is ‘agape.’ There is no way we can over-emphasize using and needing love. It is true that it is love that really heals. They have found that people who are angry, who have been rejected—and react in that way—their greatest need is love! The hardest kind of love to really, really give is the love that comes from God. That’s what it’s talking about here. Yet, it is the easiest if you let the Spirit of God work in you. I want you to think on that. Take any problem that you may be having with someone else, and you can resolve it with forgiveness and love. You cannot solve it with judge and jury. It will never be accomplished.

Verse 8: “For if these things exist and abound in you... [fully working and an abundance of] ...they will cause you to be neither lacking effort nor lacking fruit in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Isn’t it interesting how we start out with the knowledge of Jesus Christ, go through all of these and come right back to it? Again, it’s in a circle or a sphere. This helps us have a greater dimensional thinking, the way that God wants us to think. Not a single dimension thought, or a two dimension thought, but the full thoughts of God! That’s what He wants us to have.

Verse 9: “But the one in whom these things are not present is spiritually blind—...[Rev. 3:17 about the Laodiceans] ...so short-sighted that he has forgotten that he was purified from his old sins.” Isn’t that true? Whenever anyone sits as judge and jury over the brethren, they have forgotten that their sins were purged.

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Verse 10: “For this reason, brethren, be even more diligent to make your calling and election sure; because if you are doing these things...” In the Greek, the word for ‘do’ is ‘poieo’; which means to practice, to perform on an on-going basis.

“...you will never fall at any time. For in this way, you will be richly granted an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ” (vs 10-11). Peter knew what he was writing about. Peter understood this from a long, long life. I don’t know how long he lived or when he died, but he said:

Verse 12: “Therefore, I will not neglect to make you always mindful of these things, although you already know them and have been established in the present truth. For I consider it my duty, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by causing you to remember these things; knowing that shortly the putting off of my tabernacle will come, even as our Lord Jesus Christ has signified to me” (vs 12-14).

Peter knew he was ready to die shortly after this. If you knew you were ready to die and you wanted to write something that would really help the Church and the brethren, don’t you think you would put everything you had into it? Don’t you think that you would just really deeply ask God to inspire you to write the things that are necessary? In the first chapter he inspired the Church. The second chapter he warned the Church of all the false prophets. The third chapter he warns the world and what it’s like, and the last part he says but ‘grow in grace and knowledge.’ It’s really something when you analyze how he wrote this and under the circumstances that he wrote it. I want to emphasize with this:

• the use and the power of the Holy Spirit
• what that does
• what it is for us

1-Peter 1:1: “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the elect strangers scattered in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia; who have been chosen according to the predetermined knowledge of God the Father, by sanctification through the Spirit...” (vs 1-2). That’s because that is why we are called saints. ‘Sanctify’ means to be made Holy, or to be put in a position or category of being Holy before God! You look at this little flesh and what we are, and you think, ‘Wow! God says we’re Holy.’ It’s because we have His Holy Spirit.

“...unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be multiplied to you. Blessed...” (vs 2-3). How can men ‘bless’ God? There must be a reason why he says “Blessed…” There must be a reason why it’s always in the first part or at the beginning of the epistle, or the letter. Why is it? I don’t know!

Verse 3: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who, according to His abundant mercy, has begotten us again...” I want to focus on that because that’s how we’re going to have the Divine nature.

“...unto a living [lively] hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (v 3). Showing all that God has done. This is marvelous! It is absolutely marvelous when you understand that God the Father has begotten you again with His Holy Spirit! If we emphasize those things, if we look to those things, then we can handle the other things a whole lot easier.

Verse 4: “Unto an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and unfading, reserved in heaven for us... [that Christ is going to bring with Him] ...who are being safeguarded by the power of God [Holy Spirit] through faith, for salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time” (vs 4-5). That means the full revelation of the coming of Christ and everything.

Verse 6: “In this you yourselves greatly rejoice; though for the present, if it is necessary, you are in distress for a little while by various trials; in order that the proving of your faith, which is much more precious than gold that perishes...” (vs 6-7).

You know it’s true because God says He will bless you if you do right. Maybe we need to look and see that some of the blessings that we receive are also trials. Maybe we have the psychology of the ‘Christology’ of this world, that everything that you do with Christ is greater and greater, and better and better and all this sort of thing, which is not really a clear view of Christ.

“...though it is being tested by fire, may be found unto praise and honor and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ; whom, not having seen, you love...” (vs 7-8). Isn’t that the hardest thing in the world to do, to love somebody you haven’t seen? We haven’t seen Jesus. We haven’t seen God the Father. Yet, we’re told in our lives, that that’s the most important thing for us to do, to love God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength, and to love our neighbors as ourselves. Yet, we haven’t seen Him.

• Can you imagine what it’s going to be like when we see Jesus Christ face-to-face?

That’s going to be something!

• Can you imagine the love that God has for us and for what He is doing in us?

ü    He’s creating His family!

ü    He is reproducing Himself!

“...in Whom, though at the present time you do not see Him, you believe, and rejoice with unspeakable joy, and filled with glory; and are receiving the end of your faith—... [that is the whole purpose] ...even the salvation of your souls; concerning which salvation the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you have diligently searched out and intently inquired searching into what way and what manner of time the Spirit of Christ, which was in them, was indicating, testifying beforehand of the sufferings of Christ, and these glories that would follow” (vs 8-11).

We are even in a different category than the prophets. How many are recorded for us in the Bible? Not very many! God has made that known to us and He’s given us of His Spirit so we can comprehend it.

1-John 3 is one Scripture that we have read and re-read. I think each time we read it we gain a little more understanding, or a little more intensity, or a little bit more feeling about it. I think that as we concentrate on those things that are important—not to neglect the things that we think are unimportant—that God gives us greater understanding, feeling and depth of these things.

1-John 3:1: “Behold! What glorious love the Father has given to us, that we should be called the children of God!... [because we’re partaking of the Divine nature] ...For this very reason, the world does not know us because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are the children of God, and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be; but we know that when He is manifested, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him exactly as He is. And everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, even as He is pure” (vs 1-3). That ties right in with those steps of developing the Godly love that we need that we found in 2-Pet. 1.

Verse 4: “Everyone who practices sin is also practicing lawlessness, for sin is lawlessness.... [that’s basic; we know that] ...And you know that He appeared in order that He might take away our sins; and in Him is no sin. Everyone who dwells in Him does not practice sin... [That doesn’t mean without sin. That means is not practicing or living in sin.] ...anyone who practices sin has not seen Him, nor has known Him. Little children, do not allow anyone to deceive you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, even as He is righteous” (vs 4-7). That shows a standard of righteousness. Again, right in the middle of it: “…do not allow anyone to deceive you…” Those are interesting verses where they’re placed.

Verse 8: “The one who practices sin is of the devil because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God appeared that He might destroy the works of the devil. Everyone who has been... [It does not say ‘born of God’ here. Every Interlenier will show that this is]: ...begotten by God does not practice sin...” (vs 8-9). That is the correct translation of that. Otherwise, we would all be sinless. We’re not! Here’s the reason:

“...because His seed...” (v 9). Whose seed? God the Father’s seed! The Greek there is sperm, the ‘spermatos,’ from which we have the English word ‘sperm,’ for the portion of the seed which comes from the father to create new life in the mother.

“...because His seed... [that very Divine nature] ...of begettal is dwelling within him, and he is not able to practice sin because he has been begotten by God” (v 9). That’s the full meaning of this verse as taken from the Greek. Isn’t that something? God has given you, as the Father, of His nature of Himself, even where the word, ‘spermatos,’ is used to define what it is that God has begotten you with!

Verse 23: “And this is His commandment: that we believe on [into] the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and that we love one another, exactly as He gave commandment to us.” What is that commandment?

John 13:35_{[transcribers correction]}: “By this shall everyone know that you are My disciples—if you love one another.”

I think we can answer the question: Why we have had so much trouble in the Church of God? It’s because we weren’t loving one another! Why weren’t we loving one another? Because we really weren’t loving God! We were practicing a ‘religion’! Just think on that for a while and I think you will understand. I think when we come to the point that we truly love God and truly love each other, that maybe God will do something about healing those wounds; but:

• there has to be forgiveness
• there has to be acknowledgment
• there has to be God working in everyone’s lives

After all, if the Church—which we’re a part of—has to learn the love of God and if they’re not striving for it or asking God for it, or practicing it, what must then be done by God? He must exercise correction! Heb. 12 says that He corrects us as His sons that we be not partakers of the sins of this world. I look upon that as part of the correction that has come from God. Let’s hope we can all yield to God and we can do the things that are pleasing in His sight, as He gave us commandment: ‘Love one another.’

1-John 3:24: “And the one who keeps… [is practicing—‘poieo’] …His commandments is dwelling in Him…” You’re dwelling in Christ. Where is Christ? At the right hand of God! Were we not blessed in the heavenly things where Christ sits? Yes, it’s part of the answer!

“…and He [Christ] in him… [the one who has God’s Spirit and is practicing the commandments] …and by this we know that He is dwelling in us: by the Spirit which He has given to us” (v 24). Those are simple words, but they are powerful and meaningful. I’m sure that all of you know that you have the Holy Spirit of God in you. If you don’t, then maybe we need to talk about getting baptized.

There are times when I know that I allow my own will and way in human nature to lead me in the wrong way; but I still know that I have the Holy Spirit because, as the Apostle Paul said, ‘The spirit wars with the flesh.’ It does! That’s all part of overcoming. That’s why we need grace in the way that we need it.

Romans 8:14: “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God…” There’s one thing the Spirit of God will not do, it won’t pull you around by the nose. It will lead you if you are willing to follow.

“…these are the sons of God. Now, you have not received a spirit of bondage again unto fear, but you have received the Spirit of sonship, whereby we call out, ‘Abba, Father’… [we can go right to God the Father, directly] …The Spirit itself bears witness conjointly with our own spirit, testifying that we are the children of God. Now, if we are children, we are also heirs—truly, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ…” (vs 14-17). Don’t you think it is going to please God to give us the good gifts? Wonder what it is that God is storing up for us? God has got so much to give to us that it’s incredible! He owns the universe. We’re going to be part owners of that with Christ. This is something. I’m looking forward to that time.

“…joint heirs with Christ…” (v 17). Why are we going to be joint heirs with Christ? Because we’re going to be in a husband/wife relationship, that’s why! Joint heirs; community property. My how men’s laws are so complicated. Where do they get all this stuff? They originally got it from God!

“…if indeed we suffer together with Him, so that we may also be glorified together with Him (v 17). This is going to be really something. Now I know why we’re going to be on the Sea of Glass for that length of time. Not only are we going to watch the seven last plagues poured out, but we’re going to be seeing how all of us have been glorified by God. We’re going to check out our new name. Isn’t that going to be something?

Verse 18: “For I reckon that the sufferings of the present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creation itself is awaiting the manifestation of the sons of God” (vs 18-19). They don’t realize in all the places that are drought-stricken, where the ground is crying out because of the lack of water and animals and people are suffering. What are they really waiting for? They’re waiting for “…the manifestation of the sons of God!” Only the resurrected sons of God are going to have the right program to solve all of those problems. We’re going to be able to institute it!

Every once in a while I get all ‘fired up’ with some of these political things, because you can see how bad they are. You think you want to ‘charge off’ and do something about it. The time when we’re really going to do something about it is when we come back as sons of God. We’re going to relieve the whole creation!

Verse 20: “Because the creation was subjected to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of Him who subjected it in hope, in order that the creation itself might be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God (vs 20-21). That’s a powerful and weighty statement. Sometimes it’s good to read a Scripture and let the words sink in and think about it. “…the freedom of the glory of the children of God.” What kind of world will we create under Jesus Christ?

• free of war
• free of sorrow
• free of all of the sin and stupidity that we have in the world today
• no hunger
• no poverty
• no sickness
• no disease

That’s going to be marvelous! That’s going to be something!

Verse 22: “For we know that all the creation is groaning together and travailing together until now. And not only that, but even we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, also groan within ourselves, awaiting the sonship—the redemption of our bodies. For by hope we were saved; but hope that is seen is not hope; for why would anyone still be hoping for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we ourselves wait for it with patience. Now in the same way also, the Spirit is conjointly helping our weaknesses…” (vs 22-26). The Holy Spirit is there:

• to help our weaknesses
• to assist us
• to empower us
• to relieve us

Have you ever had a time when you’ve been so frustrated that your mind just kind of ‘crinkles up’? Have you ever felt that way?

I did when I was a loan broker. I was dealing with this realtor, and I found out that the most important person in a real estate deal is the loan broker. He’s got to know everything that the real estate broker does and everything that the banker does, and he has to bring the two together to make the deal go together. I got so frustrated with this one realtor because every fault she had with this transaction, she didn’t even acknowledge that they were problems. There were some frustrating things right at the end. We finally got it closed. I didn’t know that part of the source of that frustration—I now know exactly where it’s coming from now—I found out that this woman was involved in ‘spiritualist’ meetings. Now I know why my brain felt ‘crunched up.’ I was dealing with that spirit.

God’s Spirit intervened to help me. God’s Spirit intervened, relieved, and helped that infirmity of the moment, and helped me in praying and understanding. That’s where you go when you have those things happen to you.

“…because we do not fully understand what we should pray for, according as it is necessary… [tell me one who has given a perfect prayer without an idle thought] …but the Spirit itself makes intercession for us with groaning that cannot be expressed by us” (v 26). I don’t want to take on the ‘tongues’ people, yet; but if it cannot be uttered, it’s something that you can’t do with tongues. It is spiritual, and it is not heard by you; it is heard by God! It goes directly to God.

Verse 27: “And the One Who [God] searches the hearts comprehends…” (v 27) If we have these things in us that we just covered and if it’s the Divine nature that is in us:

“…the One Who searches the hearts comprehends what the strivings… [mind, intentions or the intelligence] …of the Spirit are because it makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” (vs 27-28).

John 17 is where Jesus was showing very clearly several important things; the main one being that we become Divine!

John 17:1: “Jesus spoke these words, and lifted up His eyes to heaven and said, ‘Father, the hour [time] has come; glorify Your own Son, so that Your Son may also glorify You;since You have given Him authority over all flesh, in order that He may give eternal life to all whom You have given Him’” (vs 1-2). It’s a wonderful thing. Not only do we have the Father actively working in our lives, but we also have Jesus Christ working in our lives. We have the power of the Holy Spirit working in our lives. We see once again reiterated that it is God the Father Who has given us Jesus Christ. He says He’s not going to lose any. The only one He lost was ‘the son of perdition that the Scriptures might be fulfilled.’

Verse 3: “For this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God…” At that time, since Jesus was still human, that was a true statement. At that time Elohim was just one.

“…and Jesus Christ, Whom You did send. I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work that You gave Me to do. And now, Father, glorify Me with Your own self… [with the very fullness of God] …with the glory that I had with You before the world existed. I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world….” (vs 3-6). What name did we see in Matt. 11:25, that He revealed? The Father! That is the name, this is the New Covenant!

“…They were Yours, and You have given them to Me, and they have kept Your Word. Now, they have known that all things that You have given Me are from You. For I have given them the words that You gave to Me; and they have received them and truly have known that I came from You; and they have believed that You did send Me. I am praying for them; I am not praying for the world, butfor thosewhom You have given Me, for they are Yours. All Mine are Yours, and all Yours are Mine; and I have been glorified in them. And I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I am coming to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name those whom You have given Me, so that they may be one, even as We are one” (vs 6-11). That’s what He was concentrating on. In other words, He was looking to the time when we are fully partakers of the Divine nature!

Verse 12: “When I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. I protected those whom You have given Me, and not one of them has perished except the son of perdition, in order that the Scriptures might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to You; and these things I am speaking while yet in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in them. I have given them Your words, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not pray that You would take them out of the world…” (vs 12-15). Every once in a while we feel that’s what really needs to be, to be taken out of the world!

“…but that You would keep them from the evil one [Satan]. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in Your Truth; Your Word is the Truth’” (vs 15-17). If you look at this in a spherical sense:

• Jesus is the Word personified
• we’re kept in Jesus
• we’re sanctified
• through Jesus
• through the Word
• through the Holy Spirit
• through God the Father

All of those things together.

Verse 18: “Even as You did send Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, so that they also may be sanctified in Your Truth. I do not pray for these only, but also for those who shall believe in Me through their word” (vs 18-20). That’s Jesus’ prayer for us today. We had to believe because someone preached. God had to send His Spirit to draw us and convict us and had to bring us to the point of repentance and baptism. Notice what the end result of this is:

Verse 21: “That they all may be one… [all of the Divine nature] …even as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us…” That’s fantastic! That is tremendous! No wonder Satan came along and said, ‘Hey, Adam and Eve, I’m going to show you how to become God.’ Obviously, in the way that Satan viewed himself as god—not as God is God. Satan’s desire was to become as God but he couldn’t. If man is truly going to become God, which he is, and Jesus says it right here, then the first thing for Satan to do is to derail them instantly by giving them the wrong and lying instruction. Satan set them free. Just like you can set free a locomotive, take it off the track but it isn’t going anywhere, likewise, here. The truth is that we’re going to be one as God is one.

“…in order that the world may believe that You did send Me. And I have given them the glory that You gave to Me, in order that they may be one, in the same way that We are one” (vs 21-22). That’s what it means to be partakes of the Divine nature! We need to lift up our hearts and our minds through the Spirit of God to love God, to love each other, and maybe even in us live the way God wants us to rather than follow a ‘religion.’ It becomes much more clear when you understand what God wants here.

Verse 23: “I in them, and You in Me, that they may be perfected into one…” Is the Father going to answer the prayer of Jesus Christ? ‘Yes! Father I thank You that You always hear Me.’

“…and that the world may know that You did send Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me” (v 23). What we need to do, brethren, is really ask God to help us with His Spirit to grow in this kind of relationship and to grow in this kind of love. I think that you’re going to see a greater understanding of God’s way in your life, a greater love among the brethren and to put away whatever squabbles, difficulties or problems that you may have with any. Put them away. Be at one with God!

Verse 24: “Father, I desire that those whom You have given Me may also be with Me where I am, so that they may behold My glory…” We will be with Him where He is. He’s going to be on the Sea of Glass, and He’s coming to the earth.

“…which You have given Me; because You did love Me before the foundation of the world. Righteous Father, the world has not known You; but I have known You, and these have known that You did send Me. And I have made known Your name to them…” (v 24-26)—and ‘Holy Father’ (v 11)

“…and will make it known; so that the love with which You have loved Me may be in them, and I in them” (v 26).

• That’s the whole purpose of the Divine nature!
• That’s the whole purpose of what God is doing!

Let’s rejoice in God’s Truth and His goodness and let this be a foundation for us to work on for future growth and the things that God wants for us!

All Scripture from The Holy Bible In Its Original Order, A Faithful Version by Fred R. Coulter.

Scriptural References:

1. Acts 2:6-8, 11
2. Revelation 7:9-11, 14
3. Romans 1:1-4
4. Romans 15:5-19
5. Galatians 1:1-5
6. Ephesians 1:1-3
7. Philippians 1:2
8. 2-Peter 1:1-14
9. 1-Peter 1:1-11
10. 1-John 3:1-9, 23
11. John 13:35
12. 1-John 3:24
13. Romans 8:14-28
14. John 17:1-26

Scriptures Referenced, not quoted:

• John 4
• Revelation 2, 3
• Acts 15
• Galatians 2-5
• Acts 19; 20
• Revelation 3:17
• Hebrews 12
• Matthew 11:25

Also referenced: Books:

Aramaic Peshitta New Testament

FRC:nfs

Transcribed 04-28-14

Proofed: bo—4-29-14

Corrected—bo 6/7/15