September 1, 2019: The One About Nature and Grace and the Divine - Michael Hidalgo

We are the Children of God, which is to say, Jesus is our brother. Not only that, but when all is revealed we will be like Jesus – children of the Divine. Is it possible we sell ourselves short by not fully embracing this identity? While this idea may make some uneasy, John insists that we fully embrace who we are as God’s kids and Jesus’ siblings.

What he is getting at is we can be by grace what God is by nature. This is same idea Peter speaks toward when he wrote about our participation in the divine nature. It’s not just that we know about God or that we know God intimately, but that we are like Christ and fully experience a union with the Divine. This is why Scripture speaks so adamantly about us being perfect, and being co-heirs with Jesus and children of God and like Christ. The presumption of the authors is we can (and will) become like Jesus.