Whereby are given unto us
Or "by which", that is, glory and virtue; by the glorious power
of Christ, or by the glorious and powerful Gospel of Christ; and
so the Arabic version renders it, "by both of which"; or "by
whom", as the Vulgate Latin version reads; that is, by Christ;
for as in him are all the promises of God, so they are at his
dispose, and by him are given unto the saints:
exceeding great and precious promises;
meaning the promises of the new and everlasting covenant, of
which Christ is the Mediator, surety, and messenger; and which
are "exceeding great", if we consider the author of them, who is
the great God of heaven and earth, and who was under no
obligation to make promises of anything to his creatures; and
therefore must arise from great grace and favour, of which they
are largely expressive, and are like himself; are such as become
his greatness and goodness, and are confirmed by his oath, and
made good by his power and faithfulness: and they are also great,
as to the nature and matter of them; 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. The end of giving them is,
that by these you might be partakers of the divine
nature;
not essentially, or of the essence of God, so as to be deified,
this is impossible, for the nature, perfections, and glory of
God, are incommunicable to creatures; nor, hypostatically and
personally, so as the human nature of Christ, in union with the
Son of God, is a partaker of the divine nature in him; but by way
of resemblance and likeness, the new man or principle of grace,
being formed in the heart in regeneration, after the image of
God, and bearing a likeness to the image of his Son, and this is
styled, Christ formed in the heart, into which image and likeness
the saints are more and more changed, from glory to glory,
through the application of the Gospel, and the promises of it, by
which they have such sights of Christ as do transform them, and
assimilate them to him; and which resemblance will be perfected
hereafter, when they shall be entirely like him, and see him as
he is:
having escaped the corruption that is in the world through
lust;
not the corruption and depravity of nature, which is never
escaped by any, nor got rid of so long as the saints are in the
world; but the corrupt manners of the world, or those corruptions
and vices which, are prevalent in the world, and under the power
and dominion of which the world lies; and particularly the sins
of uncleanness, adultery, incest, sodomy, and such like filthy
and unnatural lusts, which abounded in the world, and among some
that called themselves Christians, and especially the followers
of Simon Magus. Now the Gospel, and the precious promises, being
graciously bestowed and powerfully applied, have an influence on
purity of heart and conversation, and teach men to deny
ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to live soberly, righteously,
and godly; such are the powerful effects of Gospel promises,
under divine influence, as to make men inwardly partakers of the
divine nature, and outwardly to abstain from and avoid the
prevailing corruptions and vices of the times.