2 Peter 1:4 - Exposition

Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises; rather, as in the Revised Version, whereby he hath granted unto us h is precious and exceeding great promises. Does the word "whereby" ( δἰ ὧν , literally, "through which things") refer to the immediately preceding words, "glory and virtue"? or is its antecedent to be found in the more distant "all things which pertain unto life and godliness"? Both views are possible. God first granted unto us all things necessary for life and godliness; through those first gifts, duly used, he has granted unto us others more precious still. But it seems better to connect the relative with the nearer antecedent. It is through God's glory and virtue, through his glorious attributes and the energetic working of those attributes, that he has granted the promises. The verb ( δεδώρηται ) should be translated "hath granted," as in the preceding verse. The word for "promise" ( ἐπάγγελμα ) occurs elsewhere only in 2 Peter 3:13 ; it means the thing promised, not the act of promising. The order of the words, "exceeding great and precious," is differently given in the manuscripts; on the whole, that adopted by the Revised Version seems the best supported. The article with the first word ( τὰ τίμια καὶ μέγιστα ) has a possessive force, and is well rendered, "his precious promises." They are precious, because they will be certainly fulfilled in all their depth of blessed meaning, and because they are in part fulfilled at once (comp. Ephesians 1:13 , Ephesians 1:14 , "In whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance"). The word "precious" reminds us of 1 Peter 1:7 , 1 Peter 1:19 ; the resemblance with 1 Peter 2:7 is apparent only, in the Authorized Version, not in the Greek. That by these ye might be partakers of the Divine nature; literally, that through these (promises, i.e., through their fulfillment) ye may become partakers. It is true that the verb is aorist ( γένησθε ), but it does not follow that, might be" is the right translation, or that the writer regarded the participation as having already taken place the children of light"). As Alford says, the aorist seems to imply "that the aim was not the procedure, but the completion, of that indicated; not the γίνεσθαι , the carrying on the process, but the γενέσθαι , its accomplishment." The end of God's gift is the complete accomplishment of his gracious purpose, but it is only by continual growth that the Christian attains at length to that accomplishment. St. Peter's words seem very bold; but they do not go beyond many other statements of Holy Scripture. At the beginning God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness." St. Paul tells us that believers are now "changed into the same image from glory to glory" ( 2 Corinthians 3:18 ; comp. also 1 Corinthians 11:7 ; Ephesians 4:24 ; Colossians 3:10 ; Romans 8:29 ; 1 Corinthians 15:49 , etc.). Christians, born of God ( John 1:13 ; 1 Peter 1:23 ), are made "partakers of Christ" ( Hebrews 3:14 ), "partakers of the Holy Ghost" ( Hebrews 6:4 ). Christ prayed for us that we might be "made perfect in one" with himself who is one with God the Father, through the indwelling presence of the Holy Ghost the Comforter ( John 17:20-23 ; John 14:16 , John 14:17 , John 14:23 ). The second person is used to imply that the promises made to all Christians (unto us ) belong to those whom St. Peter now addresses. Having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust; literally, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world in lust. These words express the negative side of the Christian life, the former clause describing its active and positive side. God's precious promises realized in the soul enable the Christian to become partakers of the Divine nature, and to escape from corruption; the two aspects of the Christian life must go on simultaneously; each implies and requires the other. Bengel says, "Haec fuga non tam ut officium nostrum, quam ut beneficium divinum, communionem cum Deo comitans, hoc loco ponitur." The verb used here ( ἀποφεύγειν ) occurs in the New Testament only in this Epistle. It reminds us of St. Paul's words in Romans 8:21 , "The creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption." The corruption or destruction (for the Word φθορά has both those meanings) from which we must escape has its seat and power in lust; working secretly in the lusts of men's wicked hearts, it manifests its evil presence in the world (comp. Genesis 6:12 ; 1 John 2:16 ).