Sharing God's Nature
God encourages every Christian believer to follow after holiness, promising us the privilege of sharing in His nature and growing in grace and knowledge of Him.
A.W. Tozer emphasizes that God's discipline is rooted in love and aims to help us share in His holiness. He reassures believers that while God is the only one who is absolutely holy, we are invited to reflect His nature and grow in grace. Tozer encourages Christians to pursue holiness, understanding that it is a privilege to be shaped into the likeness of Christ. He reminds us that God, knowing our human frailty, desires for us to become more like Jesus each day. This call to holiness is not a burden but a loving invitation from our heavenly Father.
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Our heavenly Father disciplines us for our own good, "that we may share in His holiness." God's motives are always loving! I have known people who seemed to be terrified by God's loving desire that we should reflect His own holiness and goodness. As God's faithful children, we should be attracted to holiness, for holiness Godlikeness-likeness to God! God encourages every Christian believer to follow after holiness. We know who we are and we know who God is. He does not ask us to be God and He does not ask us to produce the holiness that only He Himself knows. Only God is holy absolutely: all other beings can be holy only in relative degrees. Actually, it is amazing and wonderful that God should promise us the privilege of sharing in His nature.
He remembers we were made of dust.
So He tells us what is in His being as He thinks of us: "It is My desire that you grow in grace and in the knowledge of Me. I want you to be more like Jesus, My eternal Son, every day you live!"
Sermon Outline
- God's Nature and Holiness
- Our Role in Sharing God's Nature
- The Privilege of Sharing in God's Nature
- God promises us the privilege of sharing in His nature
- God desires us to grow in grace and knowledge of Him
Key Quotes
“God's motives are always loving!” — A.W. Tozer
“It is My desire that you grow in grace and in the knowledge of Me.” — A.W. Tozer
“I want you to be more like Jesus, My eternal Son, every day you live!” — A.W. Tozer
Application Points
- As God's faithful children, we should be attracted to holiness and strive to reflect God's goodness.
- We must recognize that we are not capable of producing holiness on our own and rely on God's loving nature.
- God desires us to grow in grace and knowledge of Him, and we should seek to follow after holiness every day.