God’s will for His children is comprehensively covered in Romans 8:29-30 – “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.” The goal is to have us conformed to the image of Christ and then share in His glory. This can be achieved through the promises of God.

The promises can be appropriated in prayer for our temporal needs; but if we stop there, we underutilize them. The ultimate purpose of the promises is to become Christlike in words and deeds.

The Bible describes the promises of God in various ways. Paul said that the promises are yea and amen in Christ. In other words, God does not go back and forth on His promise. We know this much because there is no variableness in Him, nor shadow of turning. When Peter spoke about the promises, he described them as “exceeding great and precious”. Beyond this, Peter also established their ultimate purpose. The only way to avoid abuse is to understand its purpose. God has a reason for giving us these exceeding great promises. The promises can be appropriated in prayer for our temporal needs; but if we stop there, we underutilize them. The ultimate purpose of the promises is to become Christlike in words and deeds.