Becoming ...Partakers of the Divine Nature...
Author | : Richard C. Chewning |
Publisher | : |
Total Pages | : 436 |
Release | : 2013-07-10 |
ISBN-10 | : 0615826873 |
ISBN-13 | : 9780615826875 |
Rating | : 4/5 (73 Downloads) |
Book excerpt: The book promotes a serious examination of the attributes of God and his desire to impart specific aspects of his divine nature into the renovated hearts of his adopted children through the work of the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:4) to the end that their renovated lives will glorify God the Father who is in heaven (Matt 5:16). It can be thought of as three books in one: Part 1 (Chapters 2-12) examines and discusses the attributes of God as they are described in Scripture and Stephen Charnock's The Existence and Attributes of God, first published in 1682. Part 2 (Chapters 13-20) discusses the biblical concept of the heart and the interaction between the distinct spheres of the heart - the mind, desires/passions, and will. And Part 3 (Chapters 21-27) describes what a maturing renovated life might look like as the Holy Spirit is imparting aspects of the divine nature into the hearts of God's adopted children in different spheres of life - dating, engagement, marriage, rearing a family, singleness, business, politics, and the world at large. Each "book" could stand alone but together they provide understanding into how God re-establishes in our heart the divine nature that was lost at the fall of mankind. Even though we "live and move and exist" in God (Acts 17:28) we cannot exhaustively know him, but it is nevertheless possible for his image-bearers to possess true knowledge of him and to become - by his work alone - more like him.