2 Peter 1:8

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 2 Peter 1:5-11

In these words the apostle comes to the chief thing intended in this epistle?to excite and engage them to advance in grace and holiness, they having already obtained precious faith, and been made partakers of the divine nature. This is a very good beginning, but it is not to be rested in, as if we were already perfect. The apostle had prayed that grace and peace might be multiplied to them, and now he exhorts them to press forward for the obtaining of more grace. We should, as we have... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - 2 Peter 1:8-11

1:8-11 For, if these things exist and increase within you, they will make you not ineffective and not unfruitful in your progress towards the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever does not possess these things is blind, short-sighted, and has lapsed into forgetfulness that the sins of his old way of life have been cleansed away, So, brothers, be the more eager to confirm your calling and your choice. For, if you do practise these virtues, you will never slip, for you will be richly... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Peter 1:8

For if these things be in you ,.... Are wrought in you by the Spirit of God, and exercised and performed by his assistance, who works in his people both to will and do: and abound ; increase in their acts and exercises by the frequent performance of them: they make you; both by way of influence and evidence, that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ . There is a knowledge of Christ which is barren and fruitless; and those that have... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Peter 1:8

For if these things be in you and abound - If ye possess all there graces, and they increase and abound in your souls, they will make - show, you to be neither αργους , idle, nor ακαρπους , unfruitful, in the acknowledgment of our Lord Jesus Christ. The common translation is here very unhappy: barren and unfruitful certainly convey the same ideas; but idle or inactive, which is the proper sense of αργους , takes away this tautology, and restores the sense. The graces already mentioned... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Peter 1:8

Verse 8 8.For if these things be in you. Then, he says, you will at length prove that Christ is really known by you, if ye be endued with virtue, temperance, and the other endowments. For the knowledge of Christ is an efficacious thing and a living root, which brings forth fruit. For by saying that these things would make them neither barren nor unfruitful, he shews that all those glory, in vain and falsely, that they have the knowledge of Christ, who boast of it without love, patience, and the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Peter 1:5-11

Exhortation to earnest effort. I. OUR DUTY . 1 . To use all diligence. God's Divine power is with us; he has granted us all necessary helps. But this, says the apostle, is the very reason why we should work all the more strenuously. It would be heartless work, if we had not the great power of God to help us; but he hath endued his Church with power from on high. This gift of power is the very ground on which the apostle bases his exhortations; the great argument, not for... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Peter 1:5-11

Personal diligence needed for sanctification. The former verses say that God gives the knowledge of himself in the Word of promise, as the means by which grace and peace are to be multiplied; these verses say, to that must be added by you "all diligence." I. WE HAVE HERE AN ENUMERATION OF CERTAIN GRACES OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE . It begins with "faith" and ends with "love," and between these are two or three words which need attention. Next to "faith," "virtue" is... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Peter 1:8

For if these things be in you, and abound; literally, for these things belonging to you and abounding make, etc. The word used here ( ὑπάρχοντα ) implies actual possession; these graces must be made our own; they must be wrought into our characters: then they will increase and multiply, for the grace of God cannot lie still, it must ever he advancing from glory to glory. They make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ; ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Peter 1:8-11

The goal of Christian character. If such a character as the preceding verses described is attained, three glorious results will follow. I. SPIRITUAL VISION . Such a character leads "unto the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ." They that do the will shall know the doctrine. For what is promised here is: 1 . "Full knowledge." That is the key-word of the apostle. 2 . And full knowledge of the Supreme Object, the Lord Jesus Christ. Often we think if we knew more we should do... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 2 Peter 1:8

For if these things be in you, and abound - If they are in you in rich abundance; if you are eminent for these things.They make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful - They will show that you are not barren or unfruitful. The word rendered “barren,” is, in the margin, “idle.” The word “idle” more accurately expresses the sense of the original. The meaning is, that if they evinced these things, it would show.(1)That they were diligent in cultivating the Christian graces, and,(2)That... read more

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