Translation & Sermon by Nate Wilson for Christ The Redeemer Church Manhattan KS, 14 Jan 2024
Translation: 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 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. Now, for this very reason, y’all having been equipped with all diligence, y’all must start supplying with your faith virtue, and with your virtue, knowledge, and with your knowledge, self-control, and with your self-control perseverance, and with your perseverance, godliness, and with your godliness, fraternity, and with your fraternity, love, for while these things are existing and abounding in y’all, they install neither useless things nor unfruitful things into the certain knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Then again, to whomever these things do not adhere, he is myopically blind, having taken to forgetfulness of the cleansing of his old sins.
Verse 5, in Greek, paints a picture of a traveler who has loaded up his backpack with everything he’s going to need for the journey, and so, as he goes, he is going to pull out of his pack what he needs, as needed, to reach his goal.
The first Greek verb in v.5 is a participle composed of the preposition meaning “upon” plus the preposition meaning “in” plus the verb meaning “carry.”
The standard English versions translate it “giving/applying all diligence/making every effort.”
However, it is in the Greek Aorist tense, which means it is describing a past event (so I take issue with the standard English versions which make it present tense),
And it is spelled in the Greek passive voice, which means it is not something the readers are to do, but rather something done to them1.
So I believe it should be translated “y’all, after you’ve been equipped with all diligence, y’all must supply” these things.
And the Greek verb for “supply,” which is the main verb in v.5, is another complex verb composed of the preposition for “upon” plus the noun for a “circle” plus the verb “to lead.” It paints the picture of a leader who is feeding his teammates from his own resources, as they do their mission together.
Do you see where I’m getting the image of loading up on resources diligently and then spending those resources on a journey?
This picture comes even clearer if you remember what the previous verses were about.
Here in v.5, we’re told we need to “add/supply” something to our faith. What “faith” is that? It’s saving “faith in... Christ” from v.1.
And notice in verses 2-3, how Peter talks about these faithful people being equipped with supplies from God: In v.3 he said they had already been “given everything pertaining to life and godliness,” and in v.2 he said that they should get even “more grace and peace.”
Notice what these supplies have in common; they are knowledge-based. What God had equipped these believers with in v.2 and what God is continuing to “multiply” to them in v.3 is “knowledge about God.” These forms of the “knowledge of God” are what will “supply” them for their Christian pilgrimage, especially as they face off against cunning false teachers.
I believe that Peter is saying in v.5 that all this “knowledge of God” which they have gained, needs to be used to nourish and strengthen their faith.
This would mean that “applying all diligence” is not about doing more good deeds in our own strength, it is about being “diligent” to receive what God provides.
“All those things for life and godliness” were “granted for free” from God in v.3,
and that “Grace and peace” are simply “multiplied” to you from God.
The nature of our “diligent/effort” it to treasure up God’s gifts enthusiastically as they come to us, and then use them!
We see a similar statement by Paul in 2 Corinthians 8:7 “But as you abound in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all diligence, and in your love for us—see that you abound in this grace also.” (NKJV)
Paul’s teaching ministry in Corinth had equipped the Corinthians with the knowledge of Christ, so that they were abounding in faith and diligence, and then what does Paul do? He asks them to take up a collection to supply the needs of persecuted Christians in Jerusalem.
Once equipped with the knowledge of God, they are to do something useful with it for the sake of God’s kingdom.
I imagine it being like the Israelites in the wilderness the first time God sent them manna to eat. As manna dropped from the sky, the hungry people applied diligent effort, running around with bowls, collecting all they could, and then taking it home to feed their families.
So let’s see what seven of these gifts are that God has equipped us with, and how we can use them to build the faith! The first resource to pair with faith is...
The NIV translates it “goodness,” but this word is not the Greek word for “good,” it is a more-specialized word.
In every one of its 10 occurrences in the Bible, it is describing the good things in the character of God which bring blessing to mankind – and which motivate us to praise God in return.
We see it in Old Testament passages like:
Habakkuk 3:3 “...His excellence covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise.” (Brenton)
Isaiah 42:12 “They will give glory to God; in the islands they will proclaim His virtues... 63:7 “I will cause to remember the lovingkindnesses of Yahweh, the [virtues] of Yahweh, as upon everything which Yahweh has dealt to us, even the great goodness to the house of Israel which He brought-on, according to His compassions and according to the greatness of His lovingkindness:” (NAW/LXX)
And we see it in 1 Peter 2:9 “...extol the virtues of Him who called y'all out of darkness into His marvelous light.” (NAW)
But there is a sense in which we can take on this aspect of God’s character by doing what is good and right, even when it is not to our material benefit2.
We saw that in verses 3&4: God, who is “virtuous/morally excellent,” “called” us and “gave promises” to us so that we could have His “glory and virtue” and “become partakers of His divine nature.”
Now, philosophers have made catalogs of virtues (and there may be some value in that), but the Bible doesn’t really contain a list of virtues – beyond the two character qualities of “lovingkindness” and “compassion” listed in Isaiah 63:7, so I want to be careful to distinguish the Biblical use of this word from the use of the word “virtue” in moral philosophy, and recognize that, when Peter obligates us to “bring virtue into use with our faith,” it certainly means the excellence of God’s character in us – especially His lovingkindness and His compassion, but it may not necessarily mean everything else that the philosophers have said about virtue.
We need to be careful not to use virtue as a club to beat people over the head for not being as pious as we are. Virtue needs to be God’s own goodness flowing through us to bring joy and life to others.
The Apostle Paul also saw the importance of us drawing upon God’s virtue/moral excellence, exhorting us in Philippians 4:8 “...if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy meditate on these things.” (NKJV)
So, what would this look like in practical application?
Trusting God is not just about “me and God.” Your relationship with God is the root and ground of your Christianity, but, for your faith to come to its full expression, it must have a compassionate and kind attitude toward other people, that results in doing what is in the best interest of others.
For instance, virtue made the difference between the responses of Jesus and the Pharisees to the woman caught in adultery in John 8. Both Jesus and the Pharisees were very pious; both had the faith to believe that adultery was against God’s law. But the Pharisees lacked the virtue of integrity to punish their brother when he was caught “in the act” with the woman, and they also lacked the virtue of mercy to care enough about the woman to seek her redemption. By bring virtue together with faith, Jesus not only headed off an injustice, but also brought the woman – and probably some of Pharisees – into a right relationship with God.
My symbol for this is a coffee mug that was given as a gift to me, but which somebody broke within months of it being given to me. As I recall, it fell from the mug cabinet in the process of putting away clean dishes, and the handle shattered off, making it pretty much unusable for hot drinks anymore. When I discovered the broken mug, I had a choice. I could get mad at whoever-it-was for breaking my mug and maybe write a sermon about how bad it is to be careless with other people’s stuff. Or I could show God’s character of grace and lovingkindness and be kind to the child who accidentally broke my cup, and thankful that I don’t have to wash all the dishes myself, and thankful that I have other coffee mugs to drink from. There’s a very mundane application of applying virtue to faith!
The second thing we are to pull out of our packs (that God has equipped us with) and put into use is...
This is certainly related to the “knowledge” mentioned in verses 2, and 3, in which we grow in “certain knowledge” of the God who knows us and “calls” us. Christianity is not a blind faith, it is a faith which is based on knowledge and which uses knowledge.
This Christian knowledge stands in direct opposition to non-Christian Gnosis. Gnostic philosophers developed secret myths that supposedly made initiates more spiritual the more they learned. Gnostic philosophy was based on the belief that ideas are the greatest thing there is and that all the particulars of earthly life are totally other than the pure and perfect world of ideas. They place God in that world of perfect absolutes, but since pure ideas cannot suffer and die on a cross, they rejected the doctrine that Jesus was God. During Peter’s ministry years, Philo taught that an idea sprung out of the mind of God, and that generated a demiurge, so that eventually, down the line, there was a intermediate being tainted enough with the material world to become Jesus. Peter is directly challenging this Gnostic nonsense in his epistle by presenting a Christian view of knowledge.
Knowledge is something God’s people were encouraged to pursue even in the Old Testament: Proverbs 8:10 “Receive instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than tried gold.” (Brenton) and here the New Testament tells us to put it into use.
So, where do we get this knowledge from?
Romans 2:20 tells us that we have “...the form of knowledge and truth in the law.” We get this knowledge from the Bible!
This knowledge also comes personally from Jesus and the Holy Spirit:
Colossians 2:3 tells us that “all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge… are hidden… in Christ.” (NKJV)
“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. “(2 Cor. 4:6, NKJV)
Everything else, according to 1 Timothy 6:20 , is “...the profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called ‘knowledge.’” (NKJV)
In the Biblical use of this word, knowledge is not the mere acquisition of data; it has to do with how to relate wisely with God and other persons. In the other places that “knowledge” occurs as a noun in the New Testament, it is always in the context of personal relationships, for example:
In Luke 1:76-78 Zechariah prophesied of his son John, “...you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways, To give knowledge of salvation to His people By the remission of their sins, Through the tender mercy of our God...” (NKJV) That’s the kind of knowledge to pair with faith and virtue, a knowledge of God and His ways which we can share to help others be saved from sin!
1 Corinthians 8:4-11 gives us another relational context for knowledge. It describes a situation where one person has enough knowledge of God to overcome superstitions about eating meat sacrificed to idols, but at the same time that person must also use knowledge to keep from weakening the faith of another believer who has just been converted from idol-worship and who still thinks that eating meat sacrificed to idols is the same as worshiping idols.3
1 Peter 3:7 gives us another personal application for using knowledge: “Similarly, you [who are] husbands [should honor all] by residing together according to knowledge with your wife, by delegating honor as with a weaker vessel, even as you are inheritors together of the grace of life, to the end that y'alls prayers not be hindered.” (NAW) Knowledge should be used to improve marriages by understanding one another, giving honor to one another, and walking with God together.
Finally, the end of the book of 2 Peter lets us know that knowledge of God is something in which we should keep growing: 2 Peter 3:18 “...Y’all keep growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ...” (NAW)
Now, v.6 lists another thing to use with our faith and virtue and knowledge, and that is...
This Greek word paints a picture of being able to “exercise control” over the “inside” of yourself.
It is a surprisingly-rare word in the Bible,
used only here
and in the list of fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5,
and in Paul’s evangelistic message to governor Felix in Acts 24.4
In Acts 24:25, the Apostle Paul “...reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come…” with Governor Felix. The logical progression in Paul’s message was first, that God is righteous, second, that God calls mankind to conform to His righteousness by exercising self-control not to do what is unrighteous, and third, that God will hold us accountable to whether we did so or not in the final judgment.
If you have put your faith in Jesus – trusting Him to make you right with God, you must also submit to Him as your Master who spent His life-blood to buy you and make you His own. And as His servant, you are to pray that God’s will be done, and you are to do His will, not allowing yourself to be controlled by the desires of your flesh and of your fallen will.
Colossians 3:5 “Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.” (NKJV)
Romans 8:13 “For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” (NKJV)
But remember, self control is a fruit of the Holy Spirit; it is not something you packedd into your own backpack. When we consider ourselves “dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 6:11) and we rely upon the Holy Spirit to control us, we can see this fruit ripen and nourish others. Then we can “present ...ourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and ...our members as instruments of righteousness to God.” (Rom. 6:13, NKJV)
By using God’s gift of self-control, we remove sinful impulses from influencing us so that our faith can truly be steered by God’s wisdom and virtue.
And there is another resource in v.6 that God has packed for us to use, and that is...
Again this character quality comes from God:
And a key aspect of this “steadfastness” is persevering in an action when there is no immediate reward or feedback for it – when the results can’t be seen yet. When we combine perseverance with faith (which is “the evidence of things not seen7”), it results in a faith that lasts and doesn’t erode away.
Romans 8:25 “But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.” (NKJV)
Jesus referred to it in His parable of the sower and the seed in Luke 8:15 “But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.” (NIV)
If the seed rots, it’s not going to grow a new plant that produces 100 more seeds, but if it perseveres in its existence in the soil, it will.
Furthermore, if you had never seen a seed before, you would never guess that this little thing had the capacity to grow and produce 100 more seeds like it, but the capacity is there, even if you can’t see it; only through steadfastly caring for it for months will you see it.
Similarly, there is a life-cycle to eternal life, the end glories of which we can’t really imagine, but we get there through perseverance:
Thus the Apostle Paul prays in Colossians 1:9-12 “...We pray... that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.” (NKJV)
Hebrews 12:1-2 “...let us also keep running with perseverance the contest being laid out before us, starting to put away from ourselves every encumbrance and sin that hangs around closely, looking out toward Jesus, the chief leader and accomplisher of the faith, who, for the joy laid out before Him, persevered [‘υπεμεινεν] through crucifixion, having despised what is shameful, He has taken office at the right hand of the very throne of God!” (NAW)
Revelation 3:10-12 "Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you... Behold, I am coming...! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown. He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God…” (NKJV)
The crown/tiara symbolizes the glories in heaven that I can’t see yet, but which I will receive if I will persevere in faith.
And the path through which we must persevere will include persecution and trials.
Jesus said so in Luke 21:10-19 "...Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be great earthquakes in various places, and famines and pestilences; and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven. But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons… You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. And you will be hated by all for My name's sake. But not a hair of your head shall be lost. By your patience possess your souls.” (NKJV) We need to appropriate for ourselves the perseverance of God for our faith to last through the hardships that are coming!
Hebrews 10:34-39 “...y'all suffered together with my chains also, and y'all accepted the robbery of your possessions with joy, knowing to have for yourselves a possession that is better and lasting. Therefore, don't y'all throw away your open-access which has [such] a great payoff, for y'all have need of endurance in order that, after y'all have done the will of God, y'all may obtain what was promised. For, it will be ‘such a little while yet... the One who is coming will arrive, and He isn't taking His time [about it], but [my] righteous one will live on the basis of faith... {and} if he happens to hold back, my soul will not delight in him.’ But as for us, we are not about holding back, resulting in destruction, rather, we are about faith, resulting in preservation of the soul!” (NAW)
Those who are steadfast are blessed!8
The next character quality from God that needs to be combined with faith is...
We already saw in v.3 that God’s divine power has given us “all [we need] for... godliness.”
Godliness, at its core, has to do with orienting our lives around God rather than anybody or anything else9. It’s a very simple point, but a very important one, in light of the neo-orthodox doublespeak about faith these days. They say, “Just believe,” but what they mean is to follow human opinions. We must combine godliness with faith and say, “I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ His only Son, our Lord...”
The Greek Old Testament equates “the fear of the LORD” with this Greek word for “godliness” (Prov. 1:7, Isa. 11:2 & 33:6 – LXX),
and in the New Testament, Paul exhorted Timothy at length regarding godliness and its opposite: “...by the word of God and prayer. If you instruct the brethren in these things, you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine which you have carefully followed. But reject profane and old wives' fables, and exercise yourself toward godliness.” (1 Tim. 4:5-7, NKJV) The opposite of godliness is putting stock in secular babble and myths.
Later on in 1 Timothy 6, Paul continues, “If anyone... does not consent to ... the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness, he is proud, knowing nothing... Now godliness with contentment is great gain… But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition... But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called …” (1 Tim. 6:3-12, NKJV) Godliness is being a “man of God” who sticks to the “word of the Lord” rather than being oriented around the riches of this world or the lusts of the human heart.
I chose Jim Elliot’s book as a symbol of godliness because he was known for being sold-out for Jesus.
He dedicated his life to sharing the good news about Jesus with people in the Amazon jungle who had never been reached by missionaries before.
He talked about being expendable, believing that his life was not the most important thing; God was the most important thing.
He said, “He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”
He was martyred by the Waorani Indians in 1956. But today, a majority of the Waorani Tribe are Christians.
Later on, in 2 Peter 3:11 the question will be put to us, “...What manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness?” (NKJV) What will organizing your faith around God look like for your life?
The next thing we should employ with our faith is...
At the heart of this word is what it means to be a “brother” or sister.
You grow up together sharing the same family name, the same food, the same bedroom, the same toys, the same community.
It means, if you are a fellow-Christian, I will do anything for you, because, if you are a Christian, you are my brother. (As they say in Spanish, “Mi casa es su casa.”)
This Greek word for “brotherly-fondness” only appears four other places in the Bible:
The first place is Romans 12:10-13, which gives a descriptive list: “Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.” (NKJV) Kindness, affectionateness, honor, deference, diligent service, praying for one another, giving money, and giving them food and shelter. These are all ways to show God’s love to a brother or sister in Christ.
1 Thessalonians 4, however, makes it clear that brotherly love does not “take advantage of” or sexually “defraud [a] brother” [or sister]10.
The third passage is Hebrews 13, which brings out two examples in particular of this “brotherly love.” First: exercising hospitality toward other Christians – feeding them and letting them stay in your house, and second: remembering persecuted Christians who are in prison, showing solidarity with them, praying for them, and visiting them.
My symbol for this is the yellow star that the Nazis made the Jews sew on their clothes during World War II11.
The yellow star made it clear who was a Jew and who was not, and everyone with the yellow star was singled out for persecution by the Nazi’s.
There was a brotherhood of persecution among those who wore the star. Petty differences no longer mattered. It became a matter of survival for Jews to support each other when the whole world was against them.
If I recall correctly, Corrie Ten Boom, in her book, The Hiding Place, shared how her father, Caspar Ten Boom (who was as Dutch as you could get), decided to protest the mistreatment of the Jews in his town of Haarlem by showing solidarity with those whom he believed were “God’s people.” Even though he was not a Jew, he put one of those yellow stars on his own coat, and he accepted persecuted Jews into his own home. He believed that is what brotherly-love demanded in his context. The Nazis murdered him for it.
But, as Peter wrote in his first epistle12, brotherly-love is “not hypocritical.” It doesn’t say, “You’re my brother/sister,” and then backpedal when it means you might have to share your home with them, or when people might frown at you for helping them.
Faith was not meant to be exercised in private.
It is meant to be exercised in community – in fraternity. That’s why brotherly-love must be paired with faith.
Jesus Himself sought out and formed community with believers; Hebrews 2:11 explains: “because both the One who makes holy and the ones who are being made holy are all of one kind, on account of which He is not ashamed to call them brothers…” (NAW)
1 Peter 3:8 So, the goal is for y'all to be like-minded, sympathetic, brotherly-loving, compassionate, humble-minded” (NAW)
The final item on the list of things from God which are essential for the Christian life is…
Valentine was a church pastor in the 200’s AD when Christian persecution was at its worst.
He was jailed for his practice of Christianity, but even from jail, he preached the gospel and converted the entire jailer’s family, and he wrote letters to other Christians to encourage them in their faith.
Before he was executed, he sent one last letter to the jailer’s daughter and signed it, “your Valentine,” and that’s how the tradition of Valentine’s cards supposedly came about.
But hearing the origins of it reminds us that Christian love has a lot more depth to it than pop culture gives credit for.
Once again, this resource comes from God:
1 John 4:7 “...Love is of God...” (KJV)
Furthermore, Jesus brought love to earth: 1 John 3:16 “In this we have known love, because He, on our behalf, laid down His own life, and we ourselves, on behalf of the brothers, are obliged to lay down our lives.” (NAW)
And in John 13:34-35 Jesus said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (NKJV)
And love also comes from the Holy Spirit as the “fruit of the Spirit” in Galatians 513.
Romans 5:5 “...the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”
This love must be brought into our faith or it will not be complete.
1 Corinthians 13:2 “And if I have prophecy and happen to know all the mysteries and every bit of knowledge, and if I have every bit of faith – enough to change positions of mountains, but I do not happen to have love, I am nothing.” (NAW)
Colossians 3:14 “On top of all these things clothe yourselves with love, which is the tie-together of completion.” (NAW)
I hope you can see how central and essential all these things are to our faith.
I don’t have the time to explain in detail, but v.8 seems to say that, at the very least, they can’t hurt anything, and it rather implies these are the means for making faith in Jesus really “useful” and “fruitful.”
Maybe you can still have spiritual life without them, but it’s not going to be a healthy life. Verse 9 says that without them, your faith will be blind and your assurance of salvation will be weak, making you more vulnerable to sin.
May God give us grace to make the most of every one of these spiritual resources which God has packed for us to use in our Christian faith: moral excellence, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, fraternity, and love.
GNTA |
NAWB |
KJVC |
MurdockD (Peshitta) |
DouayE (Vulgate) |
1 ΣυμεὼνF Πέτρος, δοῦλος καὶ ἀπόστολος ᾿Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ, τοῖς ἰσότιμον ἡμῖνG λαχοῦσιH πίστινI ἐνJ δικαιοσύνῃ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἡμῶν καὶ σωτῆροςK ᾿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 εἰρήνηL πληθυνθείηM ἐνN ἐπιγνώσειO 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 ῾ΩςP πάντα ἡμῖν τῆς θείας δυνάμεως αὐτοῦQ τὰ πρὸς ζωὴνR καὶ εὐσέβειαν δεδωρημένηςS διὰT τῆς ἐπιγνώσεως τοῦ καλέσαντοςU ἡμᾶς διὰV δόξης καὶ ἀρετῃ῀ςW, |
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 areY given us through the knowledge of him who hath called us by his own [proper] glory and virtue. |
4 δι᾿ ὧνZ τὰ τίμιαAA ἡμῖν καὶ μέγισταAB ἐπαγγέλματα δεδώρηταιAC, ἵναAD διὰ τούτωνAE γένησθε θείας κοινωνοὶ φύσεωςAF ἀποφυγόντες τῆς ἐν κόσμῳ ἐνAG 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 |
5 καὶ αὐτὸ τοῦτοAH δὲ σπουδὴν πᾶσανAI παρεισενέγκαντεςAJ ἐπιχορηγήσατεAK ἐν τῃ῀ πίστειAL ὑμῶν τὴν ἀρετήνAM, ἐνAN δὲ τῃ῀ ἀρετῃ῀ τὴν γνῶσιν, |
5 Now, for this very reason, y’all having been equipped with all diligence, y’all must start supplying with your faith virtue, and with your virtue, knowledge, |
5
And |
5 And, while ye apply all diligence [in the matter], addX to your faith moral excellence; and to moral excellence, knowledge; |
5 And X you, employing all care, minister in your faith, virtue: And in virtue, knowledge: |
6 ἐν δὲ τῃ῀ γνώσει τὴν ἐγκράτειανAO, ἐν δὲ τῃ῀ ἐγκρατείᾳ τὴν ὑπομονήνAP, ἐν δὲ τῃ῀ ὑπομονῃ῀ τὴν εὐσέβειαν, |
6 and with your knowledge, self-control, and with your self-control perseverance, and with your perseverance, godliness, |
6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; |
6 and to knowledge, perseverance; and to perseverance, patience; and to patience, the fear of God; |
6 And in knowledge, abstinence: and in abstinence, patience: and in patience, godliness: |
7 ἐν δὲ τῃ῀ εὐσεβείᾳ τὴν φιλαδελφίαν, ἐν δὲ τῃ῀ φιλαδελφίᾳ τὴν ἀγάπηνAQ. |
7 and with your godliness, fraternity, and with your fraternity, love, |
7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. |
7 and to the fear of God, sympathy with the brotherhood; and to sympathy with the brotherhood, love. |
7 And in godliness, love of brotherhood: and in love of brotherhood, charity. |
8 ταῦτα γὰρ ὑμῖν ὑπάρχονταAR καὶ πλεονάζοντα οὐκ ἀργοὺς οὐδὲ ἀκάρπους καθίστησινAS εἰςAT τὴν τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν ᾿Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐπίγνωσιν· |
8 for while these things are existing and abounding in y’all, they install neither useless things nor unfruitful things into the certain knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. |
8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. |
8 For, while these are found in you, and abounding, they render [you] not slothful, and not unfruitful, in the recognition of our Lord Jesus the Messiah. |
8
For if these things be with you and abound,
they
|
9 ὧͺAU γὰρ μὴ πάρεστι ταῦτα, τυφλός ἐστι μυωπάζωνAV, λήθην λαβὼνAW τοῦ καθαρισμοῦ AXτῶν πάλαι αὐτοῦAY ἁμαρτιῶν. |
9 Then again, to whomever these things do not adhere, he is myopically blind, having taken to forgetfulness of the cleansing of his old sins. |
9
But he that X |
9
For he, in whom these things are not |
9
For he that hath
not these things with him is blind and |
1It could, however be middle voice, something they do for themselves, but that doesn’t fit with the previous verses.
2This is the sense in which this Greek word is used in the Apocrypha (2 Ma. 6:31; 10:28; 15:12, 17; 3 Ma. 6:1; 4 Ma. 1:2, 8, 10, 30; 2:10; 7:22; 9:8, 18, 31; 10:10; 11:2; 12:14; 13:24, 27; 17:12, 23; Odes 4:3; Wis. 4:1; 5:13; 8:7)
3“Therefore, concerning the eating of food sacrificed to idols: we know that an idol is no one in the world and that no one is God except one. For even if there are gods spoken of, whether in heaven or upon the earth (just as there are many gods and many lords), nevertheless there is one God to us, the Father, out of whom everything [came to be], and we are in Him, and there is one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom everything [came to be], and we [came to be in God] through Him. But such knowledge is not in all men, and some through an intimate knowledge of idols until now are eating as though it were a thing sacrificed to idols, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. But food does not give us standing by God: if we don't happen to eat, it doesn't make us come up short; if we do happen to eat, we would not abound. But keep watching how this authority of yours might not become a stumbling block to the weak ones, for if someone happens to see you (the one who has knowledge) in an idol's temple sitting down [to eat], would not his conscience, being weak, be fortified so as to eat things sacrificed to idols? So he is being undone by your knowledge, the weak one – the brother on account of whom Christ died!” (NAW)
4There is also a closely-related form of the word in the list of qualifications for eldership in Titus 1:8 “...an overseer must be... self-controlled [ἐγκρατῆ]”
5Romans 15:5 “May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus.” (ESV)
62 Thessalonians 3:5 May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.” (ESV)
7KJV cf. NAW Hebrews 11:1 Now, faith is the understanding of things being hoped for; it is the making of a case concerning matters which are not being seen”
8James 5:11 “See, those who were steadfast we consider blessed: You've heard of the steadfastness of Job and have seen the Lord's goal, that the Lord is often-compassionate and merciful.” (NAW)
9And that’s why in 2 Timothy 3:5 Paul teaches that someone can have the appearance of Godliness, but not really be godly. It’s because godliness is the disposition of your heart either toward God or toward something else, and that’s not something we can physically see. There are non-Christians out there who can imitate some of the things godly people do, and since they do some of the things Christians do, it can look like they are Christians, but for them, it’s just about getting people to do what they want, not about pleasing God. They are “...lovers of themselves... rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power...” (NKJV)
101 Thessalonians 4:3-9 “...abstain from sexual immorality... no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in this matter... But concerning brotherly love you ... are taught by God to love one another” (NKJV)
11Muslims have done a similar thing in the Middle East in recent times, painting an Arabic letter “n” on the outer wall of every Christian home.
121 Peter 1:22 “Since it was your souls which you have purified by your obedience which came out of the truth through the Spirit into un-hypocritical brotherly fondness, start fervently loving each other from a clean heart” (NAW)
13Galatians 5:22 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love...” (NKJV)
A1904 "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.
BNathan A Wilson’s translation
CKing James Version of the Holy Bible (a.k.a. Authorized Version), 1769 edition, as published by E-Sword in July 2019.
DTranslation of the Peshito Syriac New Testament into English by James Murdock. Published in 1851. Republished by E-sword in June 2016.
ERheims 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.
FTechnically
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
G“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
HReineker
& 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
I“subjective… power God gives to a sinner so that he can believe.” ~DFZ
JCalvin:
“[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.”
KMoule’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.
L“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
M“optative… a wish for the future (volitive use)” ~ATR
N“[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”
O“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
P“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
Q“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
R“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
S“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.
TLander: L&N#89.76 “by means of, through”
U“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
VThis
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
The
only other instances of dia
doxes in
the NT (2 Cor. 3:11, 6:8) describe the circumstance
of being glorious. There is no other instance of idia
doxai in
the GNT.
W“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
XThe 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.”
YThe Greek verb is spelled in the middle or passive voice here; all the other versions (except for DFZ’s) interpret it as middle voice.
Z“‘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”
AATextus 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.”
ABESV and NIV interpret as comparative degree, but this is actually superlative.
AC“Middle voice, not passive” ~Vincent
ADAlthough 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.”
AEATR refers “these” to “the promises” Clark to “either the promises or even the glory and might”
AF“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
AG“Caused by, consisting in, lust. ‘Man becomes either regenerate or degenerate’ (Strachan).”~ATR
AHBlass & Debrunner’s Grammar notes that this phrase is adverbial with the meaning “for this very reason.” The same phrase is also found in Rom. 9:17, 13:6, 2 Cor. 5:5, 7:11, Gal. 2:10, Eph. 6:22, Phil. 1:6, and Col. 4:8 with a similar meaning.
AIThe only other places we find “all” modifying “diligence” are in 2 Cor. 8:7 & Jude 1:3, where their order is reversed from Peter’s. The 2 Cor. passage is very similar to this one.
AJHapex
Legomenon. Based on φερω
(“carry”)
+ παρα
(“alongside”)
+ επι
(“in”);
the picture is that you are traveling on a journey, and so you are
carrying food and other necessities with you for that journey that
you are using along the way. The participle is plural, referring to
the readers (“y’all”), Aorist
(indicating that it happened before the main verb “supply”), and
passive (indicating that they were loaded up with the supplies by
God, as per
the previous verses, although most English versions interpret this
as middle voice, loading themselves up), and
the object is
“all diligence” (that which is to
be carried along and used).
Fausset:
“‘introducing,’ side by side with God’s gift, on your part
‘diligence.’”
Vincent: “bring in by the side of” G.
Clark: “smuggle”
AKVincent: “The verb originally means to bear the expense of a chorus, which was done by a person selected by the state, who was obliged to defray all the expenses of training and maintenance. In the New Testament the word has lost this technical sense, and is used in the general sense of supplying or providing.” DFZ: “[T]he prefix επι does imply this is to provide completely or lavishly.”
ALDFZ: “I am strongly inclined to think that the faith here is objective… believing in Jesus Christ… and comes at one’s calling (vv. 3, 10).”
AMJ.
Calvin: “I take virtue to mean a life honest and rightly formed;
for it is not here ἐνέργεια, energy or courage, but ἀρετὴ,
virtue, moral goodness.”
M. Henry: “by virtue here we may
understand strength and courage, without which the believer cannot
stand up for good works, by abounding and excelling in them.”
A.R.
Fausset: “moral excellency; manly, strenuous energy, answering to
the virtue (energetic excellency) of God.”
M. Vincent: “Not
in the sense of moral excellence, but of the energy which Christians
are to exhibit, as God exerts his energy upon them. As God calls us
by his own virtue (2 Pet. 1:3), so Christians are to exhibit virtue
or energy in the exercise of their faith, translating it into
vigorous action.”
A.T. Robertson: “Moral power, moral
energy, vigor of soul”
Rodgers & Rodgers: “In classical
Greek, god-given power/ability to perform heroic deeds...”
ANLander
tagged this as Louw & Nida semantic domain #89.80, “attendant
circumstances… with.”
Fausset: “in the possession of your
faith, minister virtue.”
Vincent: “develop one virtue in
the exercise of another”
G. Clark seems off-base in claiming
it means “by means of.” He later wrote, “faith is the
foundation of, or issues in, seven virtues.”
DFZ: “One is
accomplished, then the next can be accomplished ‘in’ the
preceding virtue...”
AOAlford and DFZ: “self-government”
APVincent:
“Not merely endurance of the inevitable, for Christ could have
relieved himself of his sufferings (Heb. 12:2-3; compare Matt.
26:53); but the heroic, brave patience with which a Christian not
only bears but contends.”
ATR: “The opposite of the
pleonexia of the heretics.”
AQVincent and Fausset saw in the progression from brotherly-love to charity a widening of love from brothers to all mankind, but I’m not sure that captures all the field of meaning between them. DFZ and Alford saw philadelphian to be just as “universal/catholic” as Vincent and Fausset saw agapen to be.
ARDFZ admits these participles could be temporal (“while”), but preferred conditional (“if”), along with the standard English versions.
ASAll
the parsing experts agree that this is 3rd person
singular present active indicative, so the subject can’t be “you”
(which is plural) as per the NKJV, and it’s not future as
per the NIV. The subject could be the neuter plural “things,”
in keeping with the exceptional characteristic of neuter plural
subjects taking singular verbs.
Fausset: “constitute”
ATDFZ: “...this should be understood as directional … ‘unto’”
AURobertson’s Grammar notes that this may be a possessive dative with parestin, meaning “to whom these are not,” and the subjective negative is used with an indicative verb to indicate that this is an indefinite relative which is not speaking of any one in particular.
AVHoward’s
Grammar explains the
components of this word in terms of one who squints (μυει)
his eye (ωφ).
The English word “myopia/c” is a transliteration of this Greek
root.
Anderson
(Calvin’s editor) noted, “‘He is blind, (manu
palpans) stroking with the
hand,’ is Calvin's; the Vulgate is manu tentans,
‘feeling with the hand:’ but the original word means, ‘closing
the eyes,’ according to the Greek grammarians, Hesychius and
Suidas: ‘He is blind, closing his eyes.’”
ATR:
“a rare verb from muōps
(in Aristotle for a near-sighted man) and that from mueō
tous ōpas (to close the eyes
in order to see, not to keep from seeing)... the word here limits
tuphlos as a
short-sighted man screwing up his eyes because of the
light.”
Fausset:
“Perhaps a degree of willfulness in the blindness is implied in
the Greek, ‘closing the eyes,’ which constitutes its
culpability; hating and rebelling against the light shining around
him.”
G. Clark picked
up the same idea ATR and I
did, that the use of this participle is adjectival, modifying
“blind.” “‘[T]he man… is blind, myopic’ … a climax was
not intended, but a more accurate description…” and
it appears Rodgers & Rodgers saw it similarly either correcting
or modifying “blind.”
AWFausset:
“‘contracted forgetfulness,’ willful and culpable
obliviousness.”
MacArthur: “The failure to diligently
pursue spiritual virtues produces spiritual amnesia.”
AXAlthough some commentators refer this to Christian baptism, ATR wrote, “See Heb. 1:3 for this word for the expiatory sacrifice of Christ for our sins as in 1Pet. 1:18, 2:24, 3:18. In 1Pet. 3:21 Peter denied actual cleansing of sin by baptism (only symbolic). If there is a reference to baptism here, which is doubtful, it can only be in a symbolic sense.” (Lange and G. Clark agreed.)
AYTurner’s Grammar notes that there is no emphatic meaning to the emphatic positioning of this word in the sentence.