Magnificent (3176) (megistos) is the superlative of megas. What is a superlative? A superlative is an adjective which relates to the degree of grammatical comparison that denotes an extreme or unsurpassed level or extent. The idea of superlative is that it surpasses all others! Superlative speaks of the highest degree. Since megas means great (including great in power, authority, etc), you can picture the idea inherent in the superlative megistos, which means greatest, exceeding great or preeminent. It is surprising that this verse marks the only use of megistos in the New Testament. Stop for a moment and meditate on what Peter is saying. He is speaking of the incomparable magnitude of God's promises. In truth we cannot even fully comprehend the breadth and length and height and depth of this truth. But we all know what it means to "exceed" the speed limit. When we exceed the speed limit, we go beyond. What Peter is saying is that God's promises are the greatest. God's promises exceed any human promise you have ever heard or will ever hear! These promises are magnificent because they come from a magnificent God and they lead to a magnificent life. Application: Do you search the Scriptures for God's golden promises like a miner seeking for precious gold? Beloved, don't be apathetic, lazy and prone to procrastinate or you will miss out on the boundless provision of promises that God has granted us in Christ Jesus. God's promises exceed anything, any problem, any affliction, any trial, etc, that you will ever face dear saint. John Piper says that Very practically I think this means we must day by day go to the Word of God and search for great promises. Fix one or two in your mind and hold them there before you all day. And use them to overcome temptation to sin and to incite you to daring acts of righteousness and love. (Liberating Promises) Promises (1862) (epaggelma) refers to a declaration to do something with implication of obligation to carry out what is stated. This word implies an emphatic public announcement. In Classical Greek the distinction is made between promises which are "voluntarily or spontaneously" made (epaggelma) and promises made "in response to a petition." All of God's promises are sure and are as reliable as His immutable (unchanging) character! Men make promises and often break them, but God never will. The certainty of God's promises is directly related to His omnipotence for if God were not omnipotent, He would be unable to keep His promises. But God is omnipotent and as such is the only Being Who can do everything He wills to do and everything He promises. You can stake your life on these bedrock truths! A W Tozer agrees adding... I must confess that in my ministry I keep repeating some of the things I know about God and His faithful promises. Why do I insist that all Christians should know for themselves the kind of God they love and serve? It is because all the promises of God rest completely upon His character. Why do I insist that all Christians should search the Scriptures and learn as much as they can about this God who is dealing with them? It is because their faith will only spring up naturally and joyfully as they find that our God is trustworthy and fully able to perform every promise He has made...We need today a fresh spirit of anticipation that springs out of the promises of God. We must declare war on the mood of nonexpectation, and come together with childlike faith. Only then can we know again the beauty and wonder of the Lord's presence among us...True faith is never found alone; it is always accompanied by expectation. The man who believes the promises of God expects to see them fulfilled. Where there is no expectation, there is no faith. Do you truly expect to see the promises of God fulfilled in your day to day life? Wycliffe Commentary adds that it is not the usual term indicating a quiet private agreement, but a heraldic word implying emphatic and public announcement—a very comfortable word for those concerned. (Wycliffe Commentary) Someone has estimated that there are at least 30,000 promises in the Bible (cp 2Co 1:20KJV, How reliable are His promises? see Josh 21:45). John Bunyan who spent much of his life in a prison cell came to know well these precious promises of God and wrote that The pathway of life is strewn so thickly with the promises of God that it is impossible to take one step without treading upon one of them. C H Spurgeon comments on these precious & magnificent promises: If you would know experimentally the preciousness of the promises, and enjoy them in your own heart, meditate much upon them. There are promises which are like grapes in the wine-press; if you will tread them the juice will flow. Thinking over the hallowed words will often be the prelude to their fulfillment. While you are musing upon them, the boon which you are seeking will insensibly come to you. Many a Christian who has thirsted for the promise has found the favor which it ensured gently distilling into his soul even while he has been considering the divine record; and he has rejoiced that ever he was led to lay the promise near his heart. But besides meditating upon the promises, seek in thy soul to receive them as being the very words of God. Speak to thy soul thus, "If I were dealing with a man's promise, I should carefully consider the ability and the character of the man who had covenanted with me. So with the promise of God; my eye must not be so much fixed upon the greatness of the mercy-that may stagger me; as upon the greatness of the Promiser-that will cheer me. My soul, it is God, even thy God, God that cannot lie, Who speaks to thee. This word of His which thou art now considering is as true as His own existence. He is a God unchangeable. He has not altered the thing which has gone out of His mouth, nor called back one single consolatory sentence. Nor doth He lack any power; it is the God that made the heavens and the earth who has spoken thus. Nor can He fail in wisdom as to the time when He will bestow the favors, for He knows when it is best to give and when better to withhold. Therefore, seeing that it is the word of a God so true, so immutable, so powerful, so wise, I will and must believe the promise." If we thus meditate upon the promises, and consider the Promiser, we shall experience their sweetness, and obtain their fulfillment." (Morning & Evening July 27) Spurgeon has the following illustrations on these precious and magnificent promises... If you go into the market and are likely to do a ready money business, you always take a check book with you; so carry precious promises with you, that may plead the word which suits your case. I have turned to promises for the sick, when I have been of that number, or to promises for the poor, the despondent, the weary, and such like, according to my own condition, and I have always found a Scripture fitted to my own case. I do not want a promise made to the sick when I am perfectly well; I do not want balm for a broken heart when my soul is rejoicing in the Lord; but it is very handy to know where to lay your hand upon suitable words of cheer when necessity arises. Thus the eternal comfort of the Christian is the Word of God. ><>><>><> I met with a story which seemed to me rather a pretty one. There was a young woman, fair to look upon, who was seen by a very wealthy gentleman, who determined to make her his wife. She had been brought up to habits of rigid economy, for the family was straitened in circumstances. Her father was not one of the poorest, but still, poor enough; and on her marriage day he gave her all he could, namely, put five pounds to her banking account; on the same day, her husband also put a sum, namely, for ,£1,000, into the same bank, and handed her a check book that she might draw what she liked. Well, having been properly brought up, she spent her money very, very carefully. She soon found it gone, however, because of the new circle into which she had been taken. Then she went and drew £10, in great fear lest they would not give her the ten sovereigns all at once, and when she had received them, she was surprised and overjoyed ; she soon ran through this, and drew again till she had drawn £50. One day her husband said, "You little goose, I thought you did not know how to manage a check book." She said, "Why, have I been too extravagant?" "No," he said, "most women would have drawn and spent a thousand pounds. But instead of that, you have only spent fifty pounds, and you cannot behave yourself as my wife on such a pittance. Remember, you may be a poor man's daughter, but you are a rich man's wife; so just begin to spend according to my riches, and not your father's economy." This is our case in reference to our Lord Jesus. We know we are a poor man's children. Our original father "broke" long ago. There was nothing left of all the family estate. When father Adam was in business, he became a bankrupt, and left us nothing but a sea of debt. But then we are married to King Jesus, Who is Heir of all things, and He puts the check book of promises into our hands, that we may draw from the riches of divine grace. ><>><>><> A promise is like a check. If I have a check what do I do with it? Suppose I carried it about in my pocket, and said, "I do not see the use of this bit of paper, I cannot buy anything with it," a person would say, "Have you been to the bank with it?" "No, I did not think of that." "But it is payable to your order. Have you written your name on the back of it?" "No, I have not done that." "And yet you are blaming the person who gave you the check? The whole blame lies with yourself. Put your name at the back of the check, go with it to the bank, and you will get what is promised to you." A prayer should be the presentation of God's promise endorsed by your personal faith. I hear of people praying for an hour together. I am very pleased that they can; but it is seldom that I can do so, and I see no need for it. It is like a person going into a bank with a check, and stopping an hour. The clerks would wonder. The common-sense way is to go to the counter and show your check, and take your money, and go about your business. There is a style of prayer which is of this fine, practical character. You so believe in God that you present the promise, obtain the blessing, and go about your Master's business. ><>><>><> If you had in your house a number of checks which you believed to be good, I do not suppose that you would long be unaware of their nature and value. No merchant here would say "I have a number of bills, and drafts, and checks at home somewhere: I have no doubt that they are all good, and that they are my lawful property; but I do not know much about them. Their value is quite unknown to me." Such ignorance would argue insanity. Will you know your earthly wealth, and never consider your heavenly riches? (Ed: the promise of life in Christ Jesus). In the Bible there are "exceeding great and precious promises"; shall it be said that some of God's children do not know what those promises contain? They have read them, perhaps, but they have never really searched into their meaning to see what God has promised. ><>><>><> When a man sees a garment. left at his door which fits him exactly, and is evidently cut to suit certain peculiarities of his form, he concludes that the garment was meant for him Even so, in many a promise, I see certain private marks which are the exact counterparts of the secrets of my soul, and these show that God meant me when thus and thus He spoke. ><>><>><> Dost thou think God makes shams like some who have made belts for swimming, which were good to exhibit in a shop, but of no use in the sea? We have all heard of swords which were useless in war; and even of shoes which were made to sell, but were never made to walk in. God's shoes are of iron and brass, and you can walk to heaven in them without their ever wearing out: and His life belts, you may swim a thousand Atlantics upon them, and there will be no fear of your sinking. His word of promise is meant to be tried and proved. ><>><>><> The other day a poor woman had a little help sent to her, by a friend, in a letter. She was in great distress, and she went to that very friend begging for a few shillings. "Why," said the other, "I sent you money yesterday, by an order in a letter!" "Dear, dear!" said the poor woman, "that must be the letter which I put behind the looking glass!" Just so; and there are lots of people who put God's letters behind the looking-glass, and fail to make use of the promise which is meant for them. ><>><>><> I fear that many of God's promises are seldom used. They are like the whitesmith's bunch of keys. Why are they so rusty? Because they are not in constant use They have not been turned in the lock, day by day, or they would be bright enough. If you are unfamiliar with Spurgeon's daily devotional Faith's Checkbook, you might consider reading his short daily devotional, which treats God's promises as "money in the bank of heaven" to be withdrawn by His children that they might live the abundant spiritual life as more than conquerors in Christ Jesus our Lord. This devotional is updated daily on the homepage -- preceptaustin.org -- or you can find the devotionals here... Faith's Checkbook by C H Spurgeon Part 1 January - March Part 2 April - June Part 3 July - September Part 4 October - December IN ORDER THAT BY THEM: hina dia toutôn: In order that (2443) (hina) is the single Greek preposition hina which marks purpose, aim, or goal (see discussion of term of conclusion). Whenever you encounter a phrase like "in order that", "so that", "for this reason", "so then", "therefore", and similar wording, always take a breather and ask yourself questions like "For what reason?", etc. Don't be afraid to ask and don't worry that your interrogation might stump the Scriptures! By (1223) (dia) is a marker of instrument by which something is accomplished (by means of). In this case the end in sight is to become a "partaker of the divine nature" and it is through the instrumentality of "them" that this end is achieved. So what is "them"? Hint: check the context. Peter is simply referring back to those spiritual assets every believer now permanently possesses - everything necessary for life and godliness and God's precious and magnificent promises. It is by "use" and practicing of these truths, that the believer grows in his or her Christ likeness. The writer of Hebrews gives us his Scriptural guidelines for "activating" these precious promises exhorting his readers by telling them we desire that each one of you show the same diligence (Hebrews 6:10- note for an illustration of the diligence to which he makes reference) so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end, that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. (He 6:11, 12 see notes --He 6:11; 12) (What do you observe that facilitates "activation" of God's precious promises? Diligence... casting off sluggishness in spiritual matters ... seeking to imitate the faith and patience of others who are heirs of the promises.) In order to "draw upon" our account of God's precious promises, we must read them in order to know what they are, even as one knows how much money is in their checking account before cashing a check. We should not just read a verse here and there, but should read with a purpose (see Inductive Bible Study) (and might I say, the whole counsel, the Old as well as the New!). And then we need to treasure these precious promises in our heart (see Psalm 119:9, 10, 11, Job 23:12-note ). One of the most fruitful ways of treasuring the promises of God is to memorize them (see Memorizing His Word). And then we will be capable of meditating on them for now they are in our heart and mind (see A Primer On Biblical Meditation) (Joshua 1:8- note). And then we need to learn to pray them back to God (see Praying His Word). And finally, and most importantly, enabled by the Spirit and amazing supernatural, transforming grace, we must unhesitatingly obey the Word, remembering that delayed obedience is disobedience. Throughout this process, the Spirit is renewing our mind and transforming us from glory to glory, that we might increasingly glorify our Father before a world dead in trespasses and sin (Ephesians 2:1-note). Like the favorite old hymn says we must trust and obey for there is no other way to be happy in the precious promises of Jesus than to trust and obey. The Christian who would boldly claim the promises of God must diligently seek to obey the commands of God. And as someone has well said the most fitting response to undeserved promises is unreserved obedience. When the lusts of the world, the flesh and/or the devil assault us with the empty "promises" of self-gratification (in thought, word or deed), we need to take those "enemy intruders" (especially the thoughts) captive and replace them with the truth found in the precious and magnificent promises of God, remembering that He "Who promised is faithful" (Heb 10:23-note) and that having "began a good work in" us, He "will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus" (Php 1:6-note) by equipping us "in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to Whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. (He 13:21-note) Those who cannot take God at His word forfeit the benefit of His promises. A W Tozer has some pithy thoughts on God's promises writing that... Christian expectation in the average church follows the program, not the promises. Prevailing spiritual conditions, however low, are accepted as inevitable. What will be is what has been. The weary slaves of the dull routine find it impossible to hope for anything better. We need today a fresh spirit of anticipation that springs out of the promises of God. We must declare war on the mood of nonexpectation, and come together with childlike faith. Only then can we know again the beauty and wonder of the Lord's presence among us. (Best of A. W. Tozer) Vance Havner was no less pithy noting that... There are sickly Christians living on crackers and cheese when they have a standing invitation to the feast of the grace of God (adding that God's) promises are checks to be cashed, not mere mottoes to hang on the wall! YOU MIGHT BECOME PARTAKERS: genêsthe (2 PAMS) koinônoi: (Torrey's Topic Self Denial) (Partakers - cp Peter's use of related words 1Pe 4:13-note, 1Pe 5:1-note) Become (1096) (ginomai) means to come into existence. Ginomai is in the middle voice which is "reflexive" and conveys the idea of "you yourself". The subject (you and I) initiates the action and participates in the effects of that action (sharer of divine nature). Yes we are complete in Christ but here Peter is emphasizing the process of sanctification, continually growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2Pe 3:19-note) that we might be all that we have been redeemed to be in Christ (cp Ep 2:10-note). Spurgeon exhorts believers to be mindful that... Since it is God Who, by His divine energy, has made you partakers of the divine nature, see that you use your grace-given energy; rest not idly upon your oars because the tide of grace carries your ship onward. --- See what is God’s great object in giving us these “exceeding great and precious promises.” It is that we may become morally and spiritually like Himself - just and true and holy and righteous, even as God Himself is. O brothers and sisters, we fail far short of the high example that we find set before us in our gracious God, nevertheless, we press forward towards the goal, strengthened by God Himself, Who, having begun to make us like Himself, will never cease that blessed work unto He has fully accomplished it. "Go to the page below to access live links related to the material on this page - these links include Scriptures (which can be read in context), Scripture pop-ups on mouse over, and a variety of related resources such as Bible dictionary articles, commentaries, sermon notes and theological journal articles related to the topic under discussion." http://www.preceptaustin.org/2_peter_13-4.htm#m