Emmanuel Baptist Church logo
Audio Messages:
Pastor Wade Burleson




Partakers of the Divine Nature

Genesis52.mp3 (12.8 MB)

Genesis 17:9-14 (KJV)
  1. And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations.
  2. This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised.
  3. And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you.
  4. And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed.
  5. He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.
  6. And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.

Partakers of the Divine Nature
Genesis 17:9-14

This covenant that God made with Abraham is an Old Testament picture of the New Covenant. "Abraham is the father of us all" (Romans 4:16). What does a Christian look like?

  • A believer in the Word of God -- "and Abram believed in the Lord" (Genesis 15:6).
  • A receiver of the righteousness of God -- "he reckoned it to him for righteousness" (15:6).
  • A partaker in the life of God -- this is called "the life of God in the soul of man."

    1. The life of God within your heart is the sign of God's grace.
      The sign of the Abrahamic covenant was the circumcision of the foreskin of the penis. The problem with God's people throughout history has been the emphasis on the sign and the neglect of the truth the sign represents. Circumcision is the sign of a new heart. "Circumcise the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stiff-necked" (Deuteronomy 10:16). "But if they confess their iniquity, that they have walked contrary to me . . . if their uncircumcised hearts are humbled, then I will remember my covenant" (Leviticus 26:40-42. "And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the Lord with all your heart and soul, and with all your mind" (Deuteronomy 30:6). Paul devotes his entire letter to the Galatian Christians correcting them for their error of putting emphasis on the ritual of circumcision and not understanding the meaning. Unless the life of God is implanted within your soul, there is no true Christianity.
      1. This divine life is permanent and stable -- religious fervor dies; not divine life.
      2. This divine life is free and unconstrained -- you are compelled from within.
      3. This divine life sometimes loses strength -- but it never is lost; it is eternal.
    2. The life of God within your heart is the stamp of Christ's image.
      I can tell the offspring of a person by the features that bear resemblance to the father. So it is with the new birth or what the Bible calls "regeneration." The Spirit of God impregnates the heart and, as a result, the life of God is implanted in you by grace. Paul said to the Galatians, "I am in pain until Christ be formed in you" (Galatians 4:19). What is particularly exciting about this Abrahamic covenant is that God revealed himself in a new way. He called himself "God Almighty" or "Almighty God." That name in Hebrew is "El-Shaddai." This is the third name we have seen for God. First was "El" or "Elohim," which describes God as creator. The other name was "Yahwey," which is the redemptive or covenant name of God. "El-Shaddai" fits in between the other two. "El" is "powerful creator," and "Shaddai" is "to overpower." God will overpower nature to fulfill his promise. If an old woman will bear a child, then surely the old nature of God's people can be overpowered to produce new life.
    3. The life of God within your heart is the source of your true identity.
      When God graciously intervened in the life of Abram He changed His name from Abram to Abraham. So too, Sarai's name changed to Sarah (sound out the "h"). In the Old Testament a name change was always a sign of a character change. Abram and Sarai received a portion of God's name "YWHW" or "Yahweh" or "Jehovah." "Little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not" (I John 2:1). The nature of the Heavenly Father is imparted unto you -- you are His child. Reflect Him.

    Genesis52.mp3



    Questions? Comments?
    Pastor Wade

    Emmanuel Home
    Return to Message Overview Page