Written by Paul J Bucknell on May, 29, 2023

2 Peter 1:4 His Magnificent Promises

“For by 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 by lust” (2 Peter 1:4, NASB).

Up to this point, we have focused on two foundational truths needed to fight the enemy.

1) The first foundation stone asserts that righteousness comes from Christ, not ourselves. Verse 1 says, “By the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ.” We become a Christian not by being right but by knowing the righteous One, Jesus Christ. We gained a new and holy heart that grows consistently with its nature.

2) The second foundation stone is growing in godliness through knowing Christ. God multiplies grace and peace so that we live through His promises (verse 1). We, however, cannot just sit and expect to be spoon-fed. We need to get to know Jesus better. Our knowledge is not a standing, stagnant pool. Jesus is living and desires to draw close to us.

3) The third foundation stone focuses on God’s magnificent promises. He assures us that we will have all we need to fight these spiritual battles. At the Epcot Center, a specific exhibition grows plants in uniform temperature and humidity. How long would they live outdoors? They wouldn’t. God doesn’t take us out of the world but leaves us in it to experience the greatness of His power. We might cry out, “Take me out of this mess!” But we need to know His purpose is to give sufficient grace to persevere through it. Let us establish this third foundational stone by asking three critical questions about God’s promises.

1. What are God’s Promises? (2 Peter 1:4)

What are these magnificent promises? The phrase “promise of God” speaks of what God will do. He assures us and pledges that He will work in a certain way. This particular word (Greek: epaggelma) is used twice in the New Testament with a general sense of “self-declaration. It’s used for God’s promises.

As far as God is concerned, there is not much difference between what He has said, spoken, warned, or promised. We emphasize the word ‘promise’ because we swear or take an oath affirming that something we said is true.

God’s Word is eternal and, therefore, faithful. The Old Testament word commonly used for promise is rbd dabar which is translated as speak 840 times, say 118 times, talk 46 times, promise 31 times, tell 25 times, commune 20 times, pronounce 14 times, utter 7 times, command 4 times misc 38 times; altogether 1143 times. 

Wherever you find His Word, you will find truth. This is why when we look at what verses Jesus quoted when He was tempted that we would not, at first sight, think of them as promises, but they brought clarity and hope when applied to this situation. The Holy Spirit wants to keep us from temptation; we likewise need to use God’s words, especially His promises, to rescue us.

What promises does Peter refer to? We are not sure because he generally entitled them, “His precious and magnificent promises.” God gave these helpful promises equally to all Christians. One resource (TDNT) says that it could include our inheritance (Ro 4:13; Gal 3:18, 29), eternal life (Gal 3:21; Ro 4:17), our righteousness in Christ (Gal 3:21), the promised Holy Spirit (Gal 3:14; Eph 1:13), and our promised sonship as the children of God (Gal 4:22; Ro 9:8). 

As we look at the context of Christian growth, Peter refers to how God has given us many things for our salvation. In verse 3, he said, “granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness.” By taking hold of God’s Word, these promises, we can increasingly share His divine nature.

God’s promises will deliver you safely from the evil one and his cunning ways. We are not wise enough to argue with him. Jesus always resisted the evil one with God’s words (Mat 4:1-4). The fight is a spiritual fight to gain a clearer perception of the world from God’s perspective. Fasting and prayer find their place here. As you spend time with the Lord, you will more easily gain His perspective.

2. Why does God give us promises? (1:4)

“For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises” (2 Peter 1:4).

“For by these” links verse 4 with verse 3. This foundation stone rests on the former two. The third stone is “His precious and magnificent promises.” But why does He give us these promises? 

This reminds me of a little boy receiving some clothes at Christmas, wonderingly looking up, “Why did I get these?” He is much more interested in getting toys! Similarly, many prefer receiving money to enhance their living conditions and enjoy a stress-free lifestyle with additional leisure time. They are not thinking of words or promises.

The Lord, however, gave us promises as the fertilizer for Christian growth. Though we don’t appreciate them, God highly esteems them calling them “precious and magnificent.” 

We do not appreciate His promises because we do not understand our dire situation. The real fight, however, occurs on the spiritual battlefield. This is what we call spiritual warfare. 

Many have used or heard the phrase ‘spiritual warfare’ but don’t understand it. They think that the spiritual world comes in contact with the “real world” only once in a while—only at these points do people face spiritual battles. The scriptures, however, do not allow us to have this limited viewpoint. A few scriptures will illuminate us here:

“And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.” (Eph 2:1-2).

Elijah prayed so Elisha could see the actual battle, the spiritual scene behind the physical one. The picture in the heavenlies bolstered his servant’s faith, believing they could win the battle.

“Now when the attendant of the man of God had risen early and gone out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was circling the city. And his servant said to him, "Alas, my master! What shall we do?" So he answered, "Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them." Then Elisha prayed and said, "O LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see." And the LORD opened the servant's eyes, and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha” (2 Kings 6:15-17).

God’s promises assure us that He has given us what we need to overcome. The BATTLE has been fought, the promises given, and God’s people already won.

“For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith. And who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” (1 John 5:4-5)

Though the evil one knows we no longer belong under his rule (Col 1:13), he still toys with us, convincing us of his power over us. This is the reason the resurrection of Jesus Christ is so important. His resurrection reveals that the evil one has lost and that we are on the winning side!

You will not think much of God’s promises until you are convinced that spiritual battles happen every day, and you need the truth to win. 

Satan will try to persuade you. We often fight the wrong battles with the wrong things. When we have given in to the evil one, he makes us feel guilty, depressed, and conquered—hopeless.

It is time for Christians to stop feeling inadequate. This is the popular lie from the evil one to disable your use of spiritual weapons. God’s powerful, precious, and magnificent promises are implemented by faith and hope.

3. How Do God’s Promises Help? (2 Pet 1:4)

“For by 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 by lust” (2 Peter 1:4).

The nature of the spiritual battle is seen in the last part of verse 4, “So that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature.” This startling phrase, “divine nature” makes us wonder what it means and how His promises are linked.

We first see how God’s promises (“by them”) lead us into a new relationship with Him, one in which His nature is shared with us. (We know this is through the Holy Spirit) God lives in us, thus giving us a new nature that can commune with Him. This all comes through the powerful promises of grace and salvation. We heard and believed the promise of eternal life through faith in Christ. There is an immediate escape from darkness into life.

From verse 5 onward, Peter elaborates on how this shared fellowship with God transforms our lives. Step by step, we gain freedom from the devil’s snares. This progression assures us of our full freedom. They go hand in hand. So, at salvation we find victory and escape, but there is also the practical side of becoming holy (i.e., sanctified), set apart for Him. Peter summarizes this in verses 10-11. Notice the “As you practice these things” confirms their “entrance into the eternal kingdom."

“Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you” (2 Pet 2:10-11).

Corruption refers to how evil desires influence our lives (i.e., lust). The corruption is there because of the evil longings in our hearts, our old nature, the flesh. Before Christ’s promises, we were bound to fulfill our evil desires with our evil practices. He delivers us from being caught in that whole world-like system. It will lead us on a life-long journey away from the flesh, devil, and world closer to God’s image shining in us.

Summary

“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:23).

If we have such a Savior and exceedingly tremendous and magnificent promises, let us be wise to use them. Let us treasure his promises as we love and trust our God. Let us count them as precious so that we would use them to keep our hearts steadfast in His incredible love.

Gill’s commentary has an excellent summary of the glory of God’s precious promises.

“They are better promises than those of the covenant of works; they are not merely temporal ones, nor are they conditional and legal; but as they relate to things spiritual and eternal, to grace here and glory hereafter, so they are absolute, free, and unconditional, and are irreversible and unchangeable; and they answer great ends and purposes, the glory of God, and the everlasting good and happiness of his people; and therefore must be "precious", of more value and worth than thousands of gold and silver, and to be rejoiced at more than at the finding of a great spoil, being every way suited to the cases of God's people, and which never fail.” (Gill on 2 Peter 1:4)

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