God Wants to Deify....Us?

"For God’s purpose through Jesus Christ is to deify the nature of men..."

I read this in a John G. Lake book that my wonderful Aunt and Uncle let me borrow. :)  I thought the language was pretty striking -- not only here, but throughout much of the book.  It got me thinking, is this true?  Why is it true?

The Trinity spoke words of love and said, "Let Us make man in our own image" (Genesis 1:26). Adam and Eve were in the element of God, yet they forgot who they were and then blew it.

So also it has been written: "The first man Adam became into a living soul; the last Adam into a life-giving spirit."                       ~1 Corinthians 15:45

Jesus made up for what Adam lost.  He overcompensated for it!  He inhabits those who love Him and pull them up to an otherwise unapproachable God.  God chose to make Himself available.  He chose to open us up to His love.

Yes, one of God's purposes has been to "deify the nature of men" (in my opinion, at least).  But the fruit of this truth does not lead us to self; it leads us to God!  He's been so merciful.  He's been so good.  He's called us to this elevated life, not because of anything we've done, but because of His faithfulness (Romans 9:12).

Having ourselves been redeemed in nature means we can fellowship with God.  It's all about Him, and He's all about us.  Hopefully we're all about Him in response!  Sometimes with great revelation comes the need for great thankfulness.  We'll see.  It's been an interesting and electrifiying book so far.

How to never be Annoyed

Wherever God is, there's peace.  So why does it sometimes (oftentimes?) not seem like it?  

The key in all this is realizing that God is everywhere, all the time; in everything, for every reason. That's what brings peace.  Peace like a river is where it's at (Isaiah 66:12)!  Peace like an all consuming fire works too (Hebrews 12:29).  

The thing is, you can view anything as annoying if you work at it.  But when we see all events, whether they appear good or bad, in the light of Messiah, we can get past minor annoyances.  When every inconvenient thing is drowned out by His light, we can remain in peace.  

If you lose your peace, that's OK. We all do; we're only human.  There's grace for that.

On the other hand, never forget that God has in mind something more.  Paul criticized the Corinthians for acting like "mere humans" (1 Corinthians 3:3).  There's something about our inner Divinity -- not ours, but His -- that wants to swallow up the negative aspects of our outward humanity (1 Cor. 15:54).  And that something, of course, is the burning, cleansing nature of the Ruach, the Holy Spirit.  

You're not who you used to be; you're not who you don't want to be (Romans 7:15).  You're who Jesus wants you to be (Ephesians 1:4).  And really, that's who you want to be, too!  You never have to get annoyed.  You never have to do anything that's not convenient (Romans 1:28); you have the mind of Christ!  He has your best interests in mind. He holds the keys to freedom and peace.  

Divine Nature

"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."

2 Peter 1:4

Yahweh has given us so many precious promises.  Through what?  Look back to the last verse--through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.  We participate in the divine nature, we mystically become part of Him, by simply understanding just how great He is.  By having the true knowledge of that.  Knowledge really is power!

"Yet to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, he gave the right to become children of God..."

Reception, belief, true knowledge--all these things go hand in hand.  What it means to have a renewed mind (Ephesians 4:23) and realize just how well you already know Him!  It's comforting to know that you are a daughter, or that you are a son.

God's promises give us the power of participation, the power of holy pleasure.  There is a belonging in the family of God, in the nature of God.  It's just as natural as could be. (1 Cor. 15:46 and context)

I've been praying for two major things for a while now.  One, that I would feel the way my Heavenly Father feels about every situation, and two, that everything I say would be soaked in His Love.  These are just a small facet of the divine nature.

See, when you are partaking of His promises, in His goodness, the temptations of the world "grow strangely dim".  The burdens, the sorrows, the sin--all those things can be swallowed up (1 Cor. 15:54).  They can lose their place in your awareness and in your mind.

You are free to be free, you are free to be constantly joyful, you are free to never worry again.  You are free to be like Jesus was on the earth (1 John 4:17), always experiencing perfect love.  In 2016, let's all tap into that.