Translation & Sermon by Nate Wilson for Christ The Redeemer Church Manhattan KS, 7 Jan. 2024
Concerning the book of 2 Peter:
Within 50 years of Jesus’ resurrection, Ignatius and Clement of Rome alluded to 2 Peter, and within the next 50 years, the book of 2 Peter showed up in African Bibles, and was referenced by Aristides, Justin Martyr, and Irenaeus. In the third century, Origen mentioned Peter “blowing the twin trumpets of his epistles,” and Eusebius noted that 2 Peter was “everywhere received without any dispute.” And by the 4th century, it was in everybody’s Bibles, as the Councils of Laodicea, Hippo and Carthage included 2 Peter in their lists of canonical scriptures.
There has nevertheless been debate over whether 2 Peter really was written by Peter. It has been a particular whipping-boy of modern liberal scholars who have claimed that:
the writing style is too different from 1 Peter,
that the Gnosticism addressed in the the letter wasn’t a problem until a century after Peter,
and that the early church wasn’t discriminating enough to be able to ferret out a false epistle,
The truth is that
the early church did care about what it received as scripture, for instance,
the church councils which recognized 2 Peter as Scripture also rejected the canonicity of the epistles of Barnabas and Clement,
the author of Paul and Thekla – a romantic fiction about the apostle Paul and a nun was deposed from the ministry for his imposture,
and Serapion, Bishop of Antioch, around the year 200, banned the Gospel of Peter from his church when he discovered hadn’t actually been written by Peter.
The very fact that some church leaders had misgivings about 2 Peter resulted in it being held to a higher level of scrutiny than usual, so the fact that 2 Peter won-over its skeptics speaks to how compelling the evidence was for its authenticity.
Furthermore, it wouldn’t make sense for a liar posing as Peter to write a forgery about the problem of false teachers if he was a false teacher himself!1
And, although 1 and 2 Peter have their differences, these differences can quite-naturally be accounted-for by differences in circumstances:
Silas was the scribe for 1 Peter, and the focus was on preparing Christians for persecution, thus it dwells on Christ’s crucifixion and posits the return of Christ in terms of relief from persecution,
whereas Peter may have been his own scribe for 2 Peter, and the focus of that letter is on confronting an early Gnostic heresy, so it focuses on true knowledge of Christ and pitches the return of Christ as the day of reckoning for heretics.
Furthermore, there are significant similarities between 1 and 2 Peter, with common vocabulary, common style2, repeated words, a tendency to iambic rhythm, sparing use of particles, similar use of articles3, and a distinctive use of participles. The differences between 1 and 2 Peter are no greater than the differences between, say Paul’s letters to Timothy and Paul’s letter to Titus4.
In the 1880’s, Marvin Vincent, the eminent Classical Greek scholar in his Word Studies of the New Testament noted that the hallmarks of Peter’s character and writing style were: 1) a visual emphasis on what he saw, 2) an emphasis on application and doing something about what is observed, and 3) impulsiveness to do what he saw needed to be done promptly, and these three traits very clearly characterize both 1 and 2 Peter.
And as for it being a second-century document trying to be passed-off as a first-century apostle, A. T. Robertson, the eminent New Testament Greek grammarian, in his Word Pictures in the New Testament, noted that no second-century author could have resisted the chance to comment on the millennium in chapter 3, but Peter breezes right by the “thousand years” in his quote of Psalm 90:4. Furthermore, the false teachers mentioned in this letter fit exactly with “Paul’s troubles with the Judiazers in Galatia and Corinth and with the Gnostics in Colossae and Ephesus” in the first century.
And finally, if we’re going to accept Jude as Scripture, the second chapter of 2 Peter reviews half the book of Jude, so at least that part of 2 Peter must be scripture, although nobody has been able to tell definitively who is quoting whom; it could be that Jude was quoting Peter5.
As for the DATE:
Peter mentions in chapter 1 verse 14 that his death is imminent, and Peter died in the late 60’s just before Nero died, so most conservative scholars place the date of this letter around AD 66 (give or take a year).
Peter also mentions Paul’s writings in chapter 3, which coincide with the decade of the 60’s in the first century.6
Here is my TRANSLATION; please follow along in your Bibles:
Simon
Peter, servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to the free-recipients
of a faith of equal value with us in the righteousness of our God
and Savior Jesus Christ: May grace and peace be multiplied in y’all
through the certain knowledge of God and of Jesus our Master,
[even] as His divine power has given to us all the things for life
and godliness, through our certain knowledge of the One who called
us to glory and virtue, through which things the valuable and
greatest promises have been given to us in order that through them
y’all might become partakers of the divine nature, having fled
from the corruption in the world caused by lust...
This letter is from: Simon Peter, who considered himself both a “servant” and a commissioned “apostle” of Jesus.
Simon – sometimes spelled Simeon – was his given name. Peter was a nickname Jesus gave him.
Peter, you remember, was
a fish merchant from the backwaters of Galilee7,
and a married man, at the time that Jesus called him to be one of His 12 disciples.
Peter learned from Him for 3 years,
and then was sent out as an “apostle” to “preach the good news in all the world” that “Jesus is the Christ,” and to “feed8” with godly teaching those who gathered to Christ.
After Peter’s early leadership of the startup of the church in Jerusalem, it appears he moved to Antioch in Syria to pastor for a while, and, then on East into Babylon with Silas and Mark to minister to the Jewish communities there (although this point is debated). Possibly during this time Mark wrote his gospel using Peter’s input.
Many believe that, after Paul’s death, Peter and his wife visited churches throughout Asia Minor, eventually making their way to Rome, where they were crucified for their faith in Jesus.
This letter is addressed to all Christians everywhere, much like his first letter was. He says at the beginning of chapter 3 that this is his second letter to them. In v.1 he says he is writing to those who have the “same faith… in Jesus Christ” that He has.
Remember that to say “Jesus Christ” was to identify Jesus as the long-prophesied ultimate prophet, priest, and king to end all prophets, priests and kings – in Hebrew called “the Messiah, the Anointed One.”
The verb Peter uses for how they got that faith is related to the verb he used in his introduction to his first epistle. There he used the phrase “chosen by God” (ἐκλεκτοῖς), and here he uses a Greek verb (λαχοῦσι) describing a judge dividing up a set of benefits or privileges among beneficiaries9.
The choice of this verb lets us know that this faith was not self-generated – not a work of human righteousness, rather it was earned by someone else and given purposefully to you, and it was given for free.
(The English versions which translate this verb “obtained” run the risk of being misleading, since the English word “obtained” carries the connotation of having done something to get it, whereas that is not the case here.)
And Biblical faith is not an object that you can make a collection of; it is a disposition of depending on something or someone else.
Upon what is our faith grounded? It is “faith in/through the righteousness of Christ”
The Greek language allows for two ways to translate this phrase “faith in the righteousness of Christ”
It can mean that the righteousness of Christ is the means by which we received the true faith, in other words, the fact that Jesus always does what is right is what motivates Him and gives Him the ability to give us faith. (This is the interpretation of all the standard English versions, and it would be consistent with other scriptures like 1 John 1:9 “He is faithful and righteous to forgive our sins.”)
However, there is another way to interpret this prepositional phrase, and that is objectively instead of instrumentally. In other words, it could just as well mean that the righteousness of Christ is what we believe in. Our faith is placed in the righteousness of Christ – for Him to be our righteousness and thus our Savior.
In favor of this latter interpretation that the “righteousness of Christ” is the object of our faith, the only10 other time the Bible uses this same Greek phrase (πιστιν εν – “faith in”) is Ephesians 1:15 “...your faith in the Lord Jesus…” where it is objective,
And the only other time the Bible uses the same Greek phrase (“righteousness of God” – δικαιοσθνη του θεου) is Romans 10:3-4 “...they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.” (cf. 3:21-22)
In both cases where we have the same Greek wording, “the righteousness of God” is what Christians “believe in.”
This is consistent with the good news described throughout the New Testament:
1 Co. 1:30 “...Christ Jesus... became wisdom for us from God and also righteousness, holiness, and redemption.” (NAW)
2 Corinthians 5:21 “...He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (NKJV)
Galatians 2:16 “knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified/[made righteous] by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law...” (NKJV)
2 Timothy 3:15 “...you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” (NKJV)
Philippians 3:9 “and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith” (NKJV)
Notice how often the New Testament connects “faith” with “knowing.”
Notice also the clear statement that Jesus is God; He is “our God and savior Jesus Christ”
The KJV moved the word “our” to modify “Savior” instead of “God,” but, in Greek, the word “our” goes with “God” too.
God the Father does appear separately later on in v.2, but it is Jesus who is “the Christ,” our “righteousness,” “our God,” our “Savior,” and the One with the “divine power” to “grant to us everything pertaining to life and godliness,” and the One who has given us “precious and great promises.” Jesus is the main character!
One more point Peter makes is that the faith which his readers has is ἰσότιμον ‘ημιν/like/as precious as/same kind/equal standing with us (“us” being Peter and the other Jews or Apostles).
This was the great lesson Peter learned when he shared the Gospel with the Gentile household of the Roman centurion Cornelius and they believed and received the Holy Spirit. He said in Acts 11:17 “If therefore God gave them the same gift as He gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand God?”, and again in Acts 15:9 “[He] made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.” (NKJV)
And now y’all who are removed by millenia from that pristine church, who have never personally seen Jesus, who will never have the status of being called an apostle (much less Pope!) – your faith in Jesus, the righteousness you have received from Christ, your salvation is absolutely no different from the great Apostle Peter’s, it is literally “equally valuable”! What do you think of that?
v.2 goes on to describe the result of Jesus’ gift to us of faith.
What is the result of faith? It is “grace & peace11”
John 1:17 “for the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came into being through Jesus Christ.” (NAW)
And this “grace and peace” is to be “multiplied/filled to the full” in you.
Not just a little grace that makes you nice some days and mean other days,
and not just a little peace that leaves you content some days and anxious other days,
but a heart that is filled-to-the-full with peace and which loves others so fully that graciousness is consistently flowing out of our character.
How do we get that kind of grace and peace? “through the knowledge of God and Jesus”
This “same, precious faith” – which we share “with” Peter, and which was “given us” by God to connect us to the “righteousness” and salvation of “Jesus” – makes us “know” Jesus as our “Lord and Master.”
“We all have the same faith, but we all can increase in the knowledge of God and His Son” ~Dwight Zeller
The Greek word for “knowledge” here is a specialized term only used a couple dozen times in the entire Greek Bible. It is used primarily of religious devotion to God, for instance in the Greek translation of Proverbs 2:4-5 “If you seek her [wisdom] as silver, And search for her as for hidden treasures; Then you will understand the fear of the LORD, And find the knowledge of God.”
Other passages which use this same phrase “in/through the knowledge” include:
Ephesians 1:17 “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him,” (NKJV)
Philippians 1:9 “And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment,” (NKJV)
Philemon 1:6 “that the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.” (NKJV)
2 Peter 2:20 “...they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ...” (NKJV, cf. Rom. 1:28)
John 17:3 “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” (NKJV)
2 Corinthians 4:6 “For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” (NKJV)
Clearly, our “knowledge” of God is revealed to us by Him12 (it is not mystical knowledge figured out for ourselves), and it connects us to the trinitarian God, it brings light, it is eternal life, it makes our evangelism effective, it keeps us from sinning, it fuels love and wisdom in our lives, and, as we see here in 2 Peter, it fills us with “grace and peace.”
With benefits that stunning, it is worth every effort to know the truth about God and Jesus! What kind of effort are you putting into that yourself?
Reading the Bible (and other good Christian literature) is an obvious way to get to know more about God.
Prayer is another way we build experiential knowledge of God. Prayer forces us to use the words we’ve read about God and apply the knowledge we’ve learned about Him.
The Apostle Paul said that nothing is too great a sacrifice to build this kind of knowledge: Philippians 3:8 “...I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord...” (NKJV) Let’s make knowing God a high priority in our lives!
The initial result of “knowing... Jesus” was that “His divine power granted everything for life and godliness.”
You don’t have to get a “second blessing” to complete your salvation.
You don’t have to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land to be more pleasing to God.
You don’t have to take any certain class to give you adequate spiritual life.
If you had died the hour you got saved, you’d be just as fully a citizen of heaven as Peter.
Now, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t apply ourselves to growing in the knowledge of God, it just means that you already have everything you need to live a godly life, so you can get on with it!
Psalm 84:11 “...The LORD will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold From those who walk uprightly.” (NKJV)
Romans 8:32 “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” (NKJV)
1 Peter 1:5 “y'all... are protected by God's power through faith for the purpose of a prepared salvation to be revealed during the final time.” (NAW)
The NIV and ESV dropped out the first Greek word in v.3 which connects verse 3 to verse 2, but it is in the KJV; it’s the word “according” or “as.” “May grace and peace be multiplied in y’all... [even] as His divine power has given to us all the things for life and godliness…”
When God gives us the knowledge of who Jesus truly is, we then have all we need for life and godliness in Jesus. Peter is saying that, just as you have gotten all you need for life and godliness when you came to know Jesus, so also may grace and peace be multiplied in your life now, as you grow from here to know God and Jesus better.
Again, all this came “through the knowledge of Him who called us”
We live today in a culture that emphasizes subjective, personal feelings over objective, absolute truth, but Peter emphasizes the importance of epignosis – “true knowledge” as the NASB calls it.
John 17:3 “And this is eternal life, that they may FEEL You, the only true God”?? NO!! “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”
And one thing we know in particular about God is that He “calls” people to salvation.
1 Corinthians 1:9 “God is faithful, through whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ, our Lord.” (NAW)
2 Timothy 1:9 “[He] has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began” (NKJV)
Romans 8:28 “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” (NKJV, cf. 1 Pet. 5:10)
God’s effectual call is spiritual and invisible in nature, simultaneously inviting us to know Him while making us able and desirous to know and love Him at the same time.
What does that call look like outwardly? It happened when someone shared the Gospel with you and you believed it and trusted Jesus to save you. 2 Thessalonians 2:14 “He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (NKJV)
God has a goal in mind for you when He calls you: v.3 ends by saying that this “calling” is “by/to glory and virtue.”
There are two issues which complicate the translation here:
One is that 20 popular Greek New Testament manuscripts spell one of the words differently from the majority of manuscripts,
and the other is that the Greek preposition in the majority has a couple of different possible meanings13.
So it could mean God “called us by means of His own glory and excellence” or it could mean that God “called us with a view to us having glory and virtue.”
Both are scriptural ideas:
The word translated “excellence” is used throughout the Greek Old Testament to describe the “glory” and “praise” which mankind should give to God, such as in Isaiah 43:21 “This people I formed for myself will recount my praise.” and 1 Peter 2:9 “Y'all… are a people made to be around Him in such a way that y'all might extol the virtues of Him who called y'all out of darkness into His marvelous light” (NAW)
But it is also a quality that God’s people can possess too, as we see a couple of verses later, “...add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge” (2 Peter 1:5, NKJV).
I have difficulty seeing how God’s “glory and moral excellence” could be the means by which He “calls,” so I prefer the King James reading here which interprets it as God calling us to an eternal life with Him in which we will grow in “moral excellence” and in which we will be “glorified” by Him. God has a wonderful plan for us, and it involves becoming like Him!
V.4 opens with the phrase “through which things… promises have been given to us...” I think that the plural “things by which” these “promises” were given to us are God’s “glory and virtue” from the end of v.3. In other words, because God is “good and awesome” and does what is “right,” He made “promises” to us which we treasure as “great and precious.”
What are these promises?
Romans 9:4 “...Israelites… [have] the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises [concerning the coming of the Messiah]” (NKJV)
2 Corinthians 1:20 “For all the promises of God [concerning] Him [Christ] are ‘Yes,’ and in Him ‘Amen,’ to the glory of God through us.” (NKJV)
Hebrews 9:15 “So, on account of death having taken place for the redemption of the transgressions upon the first covenant, He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that the ones who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.” (NAW)
1 John 2:25 “And this is the promise which He Himself declared to us: the life eternal.” (NAW)
And Peter is particularly concerned with the promised return of Jesus: 2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise14, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance…. 13 “Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.” (NKJV, cf. James 5:7)
The prophetic promises surrounding first and second comings of Jesus, in which those “who believe in Him will not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16), are, not merely comparatively “very great” (as the NIV and ESV incorrectly translate), but superlative because there can be nothing greater. They are “magnificently great and precious promises”! Let us meditate on and cherish these Gospel promises, and then our hearts will be drawn away from worldliness and toward godliness!
Moving on to the second half of v.4, I believe it is also by the mechanism of God’s “glory and virtue” being transferred to us that we “partake in His divine nature.” I think that’s what the phrase in the middle of v.4, “by these/through them” refers to – God’s “glory” and “excellence” taken on by us.
2 Corinthians 3:18 “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory...” (NKJV)
Colossians 1:12 “...the Father... has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.” (NKJV)
Hebrews 12:10 “...He [our heavenly Father] will train us on the basis of what bears together into our partaking of His holiness.” (NAW)
1 John 3:2 “Loved ones, now we are children of God, and what we will be in the future has not yet been brought to light. We know that whenever it is brought to light, we will be similar to Him because we will see Him just as He is.” (NAW)
Ephesians 4:13 “until we – all of us – arrive into the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, into being a mature man, into the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” (NAW)
Now, this is not the pantheistic idea that humans become gods, it is the uniquely Biblical idea that the One True God created human beings in order to have fellowship with them and that His fellowship involves giving us many of His character qualities like love, joy, and peace.
And as we follow Christ, we leave the world behind, “Escaping the world’s corruption and lust.”
In case you haven’t noticed, “lust” (or “coveting”) is the modus operandi of Satan and the world15. We’ll see more of that in 2 Pet. 2:18 “For when they speak great swelling words of emptiness, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through lewdness… 20 [but we] escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ...” (NKJV)
2 Corinthians 7:1 “Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” (NKJV)
GNTB |
NAWC |
KJVD |
MurdockE (Peshitta) |
DouayF (Vulgate) |
1 ΣυμεὼνG Πέτρος, δοῦλος καὶ ἀπόστολος ᾿Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ, τοῖς ἰσότιμον ἡμῖνH λαχοῦσιI πίστινJ ἐνK δικαιοσύνῃ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἡμῶν καὶ σωτῆροςL ᾿Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ· |
1 Simon Peter, servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to the free-recipients of a faith of equal value with us in the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: |
1 Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of X God and [our] Saviour Jesus Christ: |
1 Simon Peter, a servant and legate of Jesus the Messiah, to those who have obtained equally precious faith with us, through the righteousness of Our Lord and Redeemer, Jesus the Messiah; |
1 Simon Peter, servant and apostle of Jesus Christ: to them that have obtained equal X faith with us in the justice of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ. |
2 χάρις ὑμῖν καὶ εἰρήνηM πληθυνθείηN ἐνO ἐπιγνώσειP τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ ᾿Ιησοῦ τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν. |
2 May grace and peace be multiplied in y’all through the certain knowledge of God and of Jesus our Master, |
2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, |
2 May grace and peace abound to you through the recognition of X X our Lord Jesus [the Messiah], |
2 Grace to you and peace be accomplished in the knowledge of God and of [Christ] Jesus our Lord. |
3 ῾ΩςQ πάντα ἡμῖν τῆς θείας δυνάμεως αὐτοῦR τὰ πρὸς ζωὴνS καὶ εὐσέβειαν δεδωρημένηςT διὰU τῆς ἐπιγνώσεως τοῦ καλέσαντοςV ἡμᾶς διὰW δόξης καὶ ἀρετῃ῀ςX, |
3 [even] as His divine power has given to us all the things for life and godliness, through our certain knowledge of the One who called us to glory and virtue, |
3 According [as] his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: |
3
as
the giver to us of all things that be |
3 As all things of his divine power [which appertain] to life and godliness areZ given us through the knowledge of him who hath called us by his own [proper] glory and virtue. |
4 δι᾿ ὧνAA τὰ τίμιαAB ἡμῖν καὶ μέγισταAC ἐπαγγέλματα δεδώρηταιAD, ἵναAE διὰ τούτωνAF γένησθε θείας κοινωνοὶ φύσεωςAG ἀποφυγόντες τῆς ἐν κόσμῳ ἐνAH ἐπιθυμίᾳ φθορᾶς. |
4 through which things He has given His valuable and greatest promises to us in order that through them y’all might become partakers of the divine nature, having fled from the corruption in the world caused by lust. |
4
Whereby
|
4
wherein
he hath given |
4
By
wh |
1“There are... probable conjectures by which we may conclude that it was written by another rather than by Peter. At the same time... it has nothing unworthy of Peter, as it shews everywhere the power and the grace of an apostolic spirit... and it would have been a fiction unworthy of a minister of Christ, to have personated another individual.” ~Calvin
2Vincent: “The point of differences of style between the two epistles is a fair one. There are such differences, and very decided ones, though perhaps they are no more and no greater than can be explained by diversity of subject and circumstances, and the difference in the author's age… But… the internal evidence of style and tone seems to us to outweigh the differences, and to show that both epistles were from the same hand. There is the same picturesqueness of diction, and a similar fertility of unusual words...”
3The list after footnote 1 comes from the introduction in A.T. Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament.
4The claims listed after footnote 2 come from Dwight F. Zeller in his unpublished commentary on 2 Peter.
5For instance, John Owen of Thrussington (Calvin Commentary editor) placed 2 Peter a year after 1 Peter and a year before Jude, as did Dwight Zeller, but A.T. Robertson placed it after Jude.
6Source: https://www.bible-commentaries.com/source/johnschultz/BC_2_Peter.pdf
7Matthew 4:18 “And as He was walking around along the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon (the one called Peter) and Andrew (his brother), throwing a cast-net into the sea, for they were fishermen.” (NAW)
8John 21:15 “So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?’ He said to Him, ‘Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.’ He said to him, ‘Feed My lambs.’” (NKJV)
9This verb is also found in Lk. 1:9, Jn. 19:24, and Acts 1:17.
10The instance in the Vaticanus text of Matt. 8:10 “faith in Israel” is not included due to its inconsistency with practically all other manuscripts and its entirely different use (physical location rather than description of faith).
11“The peace intended is not a subjective feeling of comfort, but the actual cessation of hostility. God is no longer our enemy… After the war ceases, there comes the work of repairing the devastations… Thus peace is implemented, extended, or multiplied… How can these blessings be increased in or by knowledge? ...The more we read the Bible, the more we study theology… the more grace and peace we obtain.” ~Gordon Clark, New Heavens New Earth, 1967 AD
12“No one knoweth the Father but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him.” (Matthew 11:27, KJV)
13The Byzantine text reads δια δοξης while the Critical text reads ιδια δοξης.
14This is the only other place in the Bible where this word for promise (ἐπάγγελμα) occurs, although lexicographers do not seem to think it has an essentially different meaning than the standard word for promise (ἐπαγγελία). Vincent noted however, “In classical Greek the distinction is made between ἐπαγγέλματα, promises voluntarily or spontaneously made, and ὑποσχέσεις, promises made in response to a petition.”
15“Denial of the truth produces immoral conduct... Back in the [nineteen] twenties, when Harry Emerson Fosdick was preaching on the Peril of Worshipping Jesus, the liberals could claim that by shucking off the historical husks of Christianity, they were preserving its essential moral values. Today they have shucked off the moral principles as well, as is clear in Joseph Fletcher’s recommendation [in his “situational ethics”] to break every one of the Ten Commandments.” ~Gordon Clark, 1967 AD
AWhen
an English translation adds words not in the Greek text, but does
not indicate it has done so by the use of italics (or greyed-out
text), I put the added words in [square brackets]. When one English
version chooses a wording which is different from all the other
translations, I underline
it. When a version chooses a translation which, in my opinion,
either departs too far from the root meaning of the Greek word or
departs too far from the grammar form of the original Greek word, I
use strikeout.
And when an English version omits a word which is in the Greek text,
I insert an X. (Sometimes I will place the X at the end of a word if
the Greek word is plural but the English translation is singular.) I
have also tried to use colors to help the reader see correlations
between the Greek original and the various translations when there
are more than two different translations of a Greek word.
B1904 "Patriarchal" edition of the Greek Orthodox Church, as published by E-Sword in June 2016. Annotated by NAW where the 27th edition of the Nestle-Aland GNT differs.
CNathan A Wilson’s translation
DKing James Version of the Holy Bible (a.k.a. Authorized Version), 1769 edition, as published by E-Sword in July 2019.
ETranslation of the Peshito Syriac New Testament into English by James Murdock. Published in 1851. Republished by E-sword in June 2016.
FRheims New Testament first published by the English College at Rheims, A.D. 1582, Revised by Bishop Richard Challoner, A.D. 1749-1752, as published by E-sword in June 2016.
GTechnically
this is the name Simeon, but the two oldest-known manuscripts spell
Peter’s name Σιμων here,
and that is also the tradition of the Coptic, Ethiopic, and English
Bibles (although the ESV and NET Bibles
have recently pushed back against the tradition).
“The
two forms occur indifferently in 1 Macc. 2:3, 65 for the same man.”
~ATR
“If
a later writer wished to imitate Peter, he would have been more
likely to use the form of signature in the first epistle than to
adopt one that Peter himself had not used. Only Peter himself would
be completely free to sign as he wished.” ~Gordon Clark
H“The
faith which they have obtained is like in honor and privilege with
that of Peter or any of the apostles.” ~ATR
“The word here
… was used to indicate that a non-native of a city had the equal
rights of a citizen born in that city. In this context it is
[probably] referring to Gentile readers having the same standing
before God as Jewish Christians. If this is the case, then ημιν
is referring to Peter and all other Jews
who believed.” ~DFZ
IReineker
& Rodgers: “The word implies a gift or a favor”
“Peter
describes a king conferring privilege on one of his choice.
Accordingly Peter is addressing his fellow nobles. The contrast
between nobility and slavery is striking and can hardly have been
unintentional…. Classical Greek uses it for the result of a deity
apportioning goods (or evils) to a man and protecting him. The verb
also refers to a military post being assigned… [T]he notion that
God, prior to human choice, assigns faith to certain individuals
cannot be deleted from the verb...” ~Gordon Clark
J“subjective… power God gives to a sinner so that he can believe.” ~DFZ
KCalvin:
“[T]he efficient cause of faith is called God's righteousness for
this reason, because no one is capable of conferring it on himself.
So the righteousness that is to be understood, is not that which
remains in God, but that which he imparts to men, as in Romans 3:22.
Besides, he ascribes this righteousness in common to God and to
Christ, because it flows from God, and through Christ it flows down
to us.” Calvin’s editor, John Owen of Thrussington, noted that
the preposition should be “in” rather than “through.”
“Even
if the word faith is
objective rather than subjective – the doctrines believed rather
than the psychological act of believing… objective faith has equal
honor, no matter to whom given… The righteousness mentioned is
God’s [Christ’s] not ours… Thus those to whom faith was given
received a faith in God’s righteousness. That is, righteousness is
the object of belief. The Christian believes in God’s justice.”
~Gordon Clark
“Lenski
and MacArthur opt for the forensic use… ‘a righteousness from
God as Ro. 1:17..., whereas The
New Geneva Study Bible,
… ATR, and Alford think it is ethical righteousness… ‘God is
righteous…’ Both are true, but the ethical use is more in
keeping with Peter’s letter... most
likely referring to God’s righteousness – his justice, his
equity – of giving faith to Jews and Gentiles alike” ~DFZ
The
SIL team under Jim Lander that published Louw & Nida semantic
domain numbers for every word in the GNT of 2 Peter in Dec. 2017
(hereafter “Lander”) chose 89.26 “because of, on account of,
by reason of.”
ATR noted that “righteousness” can be
given the definite article in English because of the definite
object, “The God.”
LMoule’s Idiom Book of New Testament Greek p.109, noted that “God” is intended to apply to Jesus “our God even Jesus.” Easton, in his commentary on this verse asserted that this phrase ‘God and Savior’ always means one deity and not two in Greek literature written between 95-105 AD. Cf. v.11 and Titus 2:13. ATR also weighed in “one person, not two” citing Schmeidel in support.
M“By grace is designated God’s paternal favor towards us… Peace is added; for as the beginning of our happiness is when God receives us into favor; so the more he confirms his love in our hearts, the richer blessing he confers on us, so that we become happy and prosperous in all things,” ~Calvin
N“optative… a wish for the future (volitive use)” ~ATR
O“[B]oth
senses [“through” or “in”] may suit the context. I am,
however, more disposed to adopt the former.” ~Calvin
Lander:
L&N#89.76 “by means of”
P“The
compound expressing full knowledge” ~Vincent
“Full
(additional, epi) knowledge... is urged against the claims of
the Gnostic heretics to special gnōsis.” ~ATR
“The
Christian or perfect knowledge of God… implies a more intimate and
personal relationship than gnosis… gnosis
was associated with Gnosticism… but both in Classical Greek and in
Koine, it is a common word for ordinary knowledge. Note that in this
very chapter, the epignosis
of 1:2 is designated as gnosis
in 1:5,6.” ~Gordon Clark
“‘fuller
knowledge, precise
knowledge, or correct
knowledge’ … not used in the NT without reference to knowledge
of some kind connected with God. The Christ[ian] faith is NOT based
on mysticism, but upon objective and historical truth which God
wants His children to have.” ~DFZ
Q“Hence
the Apostle justly animates the faithful to entertain good hope by
the consideration of the former benefits of God.” ~Calvin
“Others,
perhaps more correctly, view this verse as connected with the 5th,
and render ὡς, “Since,” and the beginning of the 5th verse,
“Do ye also for this reason, giving all diligence, add,” etc.;
that is, “Since God has done so great things for you, ye also for
this reason ought to be diligent in adding to your faith virtue,
etc.” ~Owen
Lander: L&N#89.37 “on the grounds that,
because”
“Gingrich cites this as a case where ‘ως
‘introduces the characteristic quality
of a person, thing, action, etc.’ This is true, but in this
instance, one needs to look at more than the ‘Ως,
one needs to go on to the participle of
the clause… BDAG comments on ‘ως
with a participle as giving the reason for
action… I have tried to bring in both the participial causal sense
as well as the ‘Ως connection,
with ‘Because, even as.’ The points of Gingrich and BDAG need to
be brought together.” ~DFZ
R“Autou refers to Christ, who has ‘divine power’… the dunamis of Christ ‘is the sword which St. Peter holds over the head of the False Teachers’ (Bigg)” ~ATR
S“Peter does not speak here of the natural gifts of God, but only mentions those things which he confers peculiarly on his own elect above the common order of nature.” ~Calvin
T“This
is the only word which Peter and Mark alone have in common in the
New Testament; a somewhat singular fact in view of their intimate
relations, and of the impress of Peter upon Mark's gospel: yet it
tells very strongly against the theory of a forgery of this epistle.
The word is stronger than the simple δίδωμι, to give,
meaning to grant or bestow as a gift.” ~Vincent
The verb
form, by the way, is either middle or passive, but none of the
standard English versions rendered it passively.
ULander: L&N#89.76 “by means of, through”
V“When God is the subject, it has the sense of effectual calling… it describes the knowledge as… a personal relationship knowledge of Jesus Christ.” ~DFZ
WThis
is the reading of both the majority of manuscripts and lectionaries
as well as the reading of the two oldest-known manuscripts. With the
accusative objects it could mean either “by means of” or
“because of” or “with a view to,” and the latter makes most
sense. However, the critical GNTs follow the Latin, Syriac, and
Coptic Bibles, which followed about 20 Greek manuscripts that add a
iota to the beginning of
this word, changing the meaning to “in
the same/by his own” which
also changes the case from genitive to dative, which, in turn,
changes the case of the two objects “glory” and “excellence”
from genitive to dative, forcing
an instrumental meaning “by means of.” “Beza and also
Schleusner, regard διὰ as expressing the final cause, to; it is
also used in the sense of “for the sake of,” or, “on account
of.” ~Owen “[E]ither
instrumental case ‘by’ or dative ‘to’” ~ATR
Clark:
“… does not mean to… God
calls us by means
of glory and might… Power and might are indispensable for a call
that effectively raises a dead sinner to newness of life.”
“The
dative form can be taken instrumentally or as a dative of advantage.
It can be: ‘called us by
His own glory…; or ‘called us to
His own glory…’ Although the grammar allows either, the very
next verse favors the instrumental use.” ~DFZ
X“The original classical sense of the word had no special moral import, but denoted excellence of any kind – bravery, rank, nobility... Bengel says, ‘the former indicates his natural, the latter his moral, attributes.’”~Vincent
YThe Peshitta translator missed the genitive absolute which makes the genitive “divine power” the subject of “having given” rather than its object, as well as the possessive “his.”
ZThe Greek verb is spelled in the middle or passive voice here; all the other versions (except for DFZ’s) interpret it as middle voice.
AA“‘for
the sake of which,’ that is, for the purpose of leading us to
‘glory and virtue,’ ‘many and precious promises have been
given’ … ‘Escaping the corruption of the world’ is
‘godliness/virtue;’ and partaking of the divine nature is
‘life/glory.’” ~Owen
Vincent, ATR, Clark, and DFZ all
posited that this refers to “his glory and virtue”
ABTextus Receptus, diverges from the majority of Greek manuscripts, following 2 of the 4 oldest-known Greek manuscripts (plus 10 more overall), and reverses the order of the words “great” and “precious,” which is why the KJV order (followed by the NIV and NLT) is “great and precious,” whereas the NASB, NET, and ESV follow the majority of manuscripts with “precious and great.”
ACESV and NIV interpret as comparative degree, but this is actually superlative.
AD“Middle voice, not passive” ~Vincent
AEAlthough all the standard English versions interpret this as purposive “that” (so also ATR and R&R), “Lenski and Wallace see this as a substantive, or in apposition to … ‘promises.’ The ‘promises’ are the partaking of the divine nature…” DFZ followed the latter, translating this hina as “that is.”
AFATR refers “these” to “the promises” Clark to “either the promises or even the glory and might”
AG“Peter
is referring to the new birth as 1 Pet. 1:23” ~ATR
“Salvation
is not deification – that would be Gnosticism indeed… Salvation
is a moral rejuvenation… [W]e become partakers of the divine
nature through grace, through the promises, through a sovereign
grant to those called. In Stoicism, every man by nature has a spark
of divinity. It is not a matter of special calling, but of natural
law. In fact, an author of AD 150 who wanted to appear apostolic and
orthodox would probably have avoided such a phrase… ” ~Gordon
Clark
AH“Caused by, consisting in, lust. ‘Man becomes either regenerate or degenerate’ (Strachan).”~ATR