Of the same kind (2472) (isotimos from isos = equal + time = price, worth or merit of some object) (Only used here in Scripture) means of equal value or honor, equally precious or esteemed equal to. Of the same kind or same value. In regard to faith the idea is faith with the same privilege as the apostles. In other words, the recipients of this letter (and believers today) are not less advantaged than the apostles! Isotimos was used to designate equal in rank, position, honor, standing, price, or value. It was used in the ancient world with strangers and foreigners who were given equal citizenship in a city. Vincent says that isotimos does not mean "in the same measure to all, but having equal value and honor to those who receive it, as admitting them to the same Christian privileges.” How priceless is this gift of faith which admits us to the salvation which God has provided through the death and resurrection of His Son! And what an honor is conferred upon those who are the recipients of this gift of faith!" Isotimos is variously translated as... "as precious as ours" (NET Bible), "like precious (faith)" (KJV), "as valuable as ours" (ISV), "of equal standing with ours" (Eng Std Version), "qui coequalem" (Latin Vulgate), "(obtained an equal privilege of) like precious" (Amplified), And I love the sound of the Spanish translation "igualmente preciosa" (RV '60). It's fascinating that this burly old fisherman gravitates so often to a "soft" sounding word like "precious" (1Pe 1:7, 19, 2:4, 6, 7, 3:4, 2Pe 1:3- See notes 1Pe 1:7, 1:19, 2:4, 2:6, 2:7, 3:4, 2Pe 1:3) William Barclay on isotimos - Peter puts this very vividly, using a word which would at once strike an answering chord in the minds of those who heard it. Their faith is equal in honour and privilege. The Greek is isotimos (Greek 2472); isos (Greek 2470) means "equal" and time (Greek 5092) means "honour." This word was particularly used in connection with foreigners who were given equal citizenship in a city with the natives. Josephus, for instance, says that in Antioch the Jews were made isotimoi (Greek 2472), equal in honour and privilege, with the Macedonians and the Greeks who lived there. So Peter addresses his letter to those who had once been despised Gentiles but who had been given equal rights of citizenship with the Jews and even with the apostles themselves in the kingdom of God. Two things have to be noted about this great privilege which had been extended to the Gentiles. (a) It had been allotted to them. That is to say, they had not earned it; it had fallen to them through no merit of their own, as some prize falls to a man by lot. In other words, their new citizenship was all of grace. (b) It came to them through the impartial justice of their God and Saviour Jesus Christ. It came to them because with God there is no "most favoured nation clause"; his grace and favour go out impartially to every nation upon earth. (2 Peter 1 - William Barclay's Daily Study Bible) The word "same kind" or “precious” (Webster: "of great value or high price", "highly esteemed or cherished", "dear", "very costly") is isotimon, made up of isos, “equal in quantity or quality” and time “value, price, honor or esteem rendered towards something.” Isotimon was used for foreigners who had been granted the privileges of citizenship which were equal to those of the native born. Josephus, for instance, says that in Antioch the Jews were made "isotimoi", equal in honour and privilege, with the Macedonians and the Greeks who lived there. So Peter addresses his letter to those who had once been despised Gentiles but who had been given equal rights of citizenship with the Jews and even with the apostles themselves in the kingdom of God. And so Peter emphasizes that all Christians have received the same precious, priceless saving faith. There are no first and second class Christians in spiritual, racial, or gender distinctions (cf. Gal 3:28). The compound word (isotimon) means either “like in honor” or “like in value” & here modifies "faith" thus emphasizing that the faith given the recipients of Peter's letter by God was of equal honor & privilege as that given to the original apostles. Spurgeon - There is indeed a blessed equality here, for the poorest little-faith who ever crept into heaven on its hands and knees, has a like precious faith with the mighty apostle Peter. I say, brethren, if the one be gold, so is the other; if the one can move mountains, so can the other; for remember, that the privileges of mountain ­moving, and of plucking up the trees, and casting them into the sea, are not given to great faith, but “if ye have faith as a grain of mustard weed,” it shall be done. Little faith has a royal decent and is as truly of divine birth as is the greatest and fullest assurance which ever made glad the heart of man, hence it ensures the same inheritance at the last, and the same safety by the way. It is “like precious faith.” He tells us too, that faith is “precious,” and is it not precious? for it deals with precious things, with precious promises, with precious blood, with a precious redemption, with all the preciousness of the person of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Well may that be a precious faith which supplies our greatest want, delivers us from our greatest danger, and admits us to the greatest glory. Well may that be called “precious faith,” which is the symbol of our election, the evidence of our calling, the root of all our graces, the channel of communion, the weapon of prevalence, the shield of safety, the substance of hope, the evidence of eternity, the guerdon (reward) of immortality, and the passport of glory. O for more of this inestimably precious faith. Precious faith, indeed it is. Considering the context of this letter, Peter's inclusion of this description of the saint's faith suggests that he may have been contrasting their genuine faith in Christ with the "pre-Gnostic" doctrines of the false teachers who often spoke of an "inner circle" of special knowledge attainable by and available to only a privileged few. Or false teachers may have been touting their spiritual superiority and Peter is emphasizing that we are all in "Spirituality 101" so to speak. And with a single specific Greek word Peter refutes any false notions that are being promulgated. Our faith is esteemed in God's eyes as equal to that of the great apostle Peter. What's practical import does this have in our everyday life? If this is true of our faith, why is the Christian life of many believers in America so "bland & anemic"? Faith is like a muscle. We must exercise our faith for it to ''grow'' (2Pe 1:5-note, 2Pe 3:18-note, cf 1Pe 2:2-note) to it's full potential which is that we would be ''complete in Christ'' (Col 1:28-note). As ours (2254) (hemin - dative case plural of ego) - Who are ''OURS''? This could refer to the original apostles. If so the idea would be that even the privilege of being with Jesus physically gained no one greater spirituality than another later believer. Or "ours" could refer to ''all Jewish Christians". Or "ours" could refer to Gentile recipients who are being told by Peter that their faith carries the same privileges as the Jews. In sum "ours" probably refers to the apostles & others who saw Jesus face to face when one compares this verse with (1:16) where Peter refers to ''we...were eyewitnesses''. The point then would be that although the recipients (either because of geographical constraints or by virtue of the fact that 30 years have now passed since Christ was present) had not seen Christ just as BELIEVERS today have not had a face to face encounter with Jesus, our faith is of no less value for KINGDOM WORK. This should encourage us greatly. Despite no personal face to face encounter with Christ as Peter had, we have a faith as valuable as Peter's. So let us all be diligent to press on toward the goal. J H Jowett... WHEN I had read this passage through many times in my effort to discover the inwardness and sequence of the apostle’s thought, there leapt into my mind the great watchword of the French Revolution, “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity!” My text seemed to accept the proffered ministry of the watchword, and deigned to express itself through the heightened and glorified clarion of the Revolution. Here is the secret of liberty: “A bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ.” [Verse 1] And here is the basis of equality: “They that have obtained an equally precious faith with us.” And here is the very genius of fraternity: “Grace to you and peace be multiplied in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord,” [2Pe 1:2] Here, then, we have the apostolic evangel of liberty, equality, and fraternity. LIBERTY Here is the secret of liberty: “A bondslave of Jesus.” [2Pe 1:1] At the heart of all true freedom there is a certain bondage. Liberty without restraint is always self-destructive. The man who will not be bound to anything or anybody is always the most enslaved. Even anarchist societies are compelled to have some rules, and the making of a rule always implies the forging of a chain. Liberty must be limited if it is to be possessed. Every type of freedom has its chains. That is true of intellectual freedom. A man who would be intellectually free must pay obeisance to certain laws of thought. Mental disorder is a dark enslavement. The movement that springs from obedience to the laws of thought is a fruitful freedom. Free thought begins in wearing a chain; the mental freeman is at heart a slave. That is true also of political freedom. Political freedom consists in the recognition of individual rights. To assert my brother’s rights is to state a limit to my own. Here again we start with a chain. We recognise limitations. The real political freeman is at heart a slave. And this is true also of moral freedom; no man is morally free who does not pay homage to his conscience. Moral freedom springs from the sense of obligation. Apart from that ligament, that bond, the whole body of the moral life falls limb from limb in inextricable chaos and confusion. Now let us lift the argument up to the highest type of freedom, the glorious freedom of the spirit. A great writer has denned the French notion of liberty as political economy and the English notion of liberty as personal independence. The Christian conception of liberty is inclusive of these, but infinitely greater. The most spacious of all liberties is liberation from self, and this kind of freedom springs from initial bondage. True freedom in the spirit begins in bondage to the Lord of Life. I am not surprised, therefore, that the; Apostle Peter and the Apostle Paul, men who sing so loudly and so triumphantly of the wealth and plenteousness of their freedom, should begin by proclaiming themselves the Master’s slaves. “Paul, a bondslave of Jesus.” “Peter, a bondslave and apostle of Jesus Christ.” Bondage is the secret of freedom. “Peter, a bondslave.” Let us see what is implied in this suggestive word. First, the term “bondslave” implies the acknowledgment of a fact. He is a slave. He has been bought. He is the Lord’s property. A great price has been paid for him. The apostle thought of his Master’s weary days and nights, of the tears and agonies of Gethsemane, of the shame and darkness and abandonment of Calvary. By all this expenditure on the part of the Saviour the apostle had been bought. He acknowledged his Master’s rights; he was his Master’s slave. Secondly, the term “bondslave” implies the assumption of an attitude. The apostle puts himself in the posture of homage and obedience. His eye was ever watching the Master, his ear was ever listening. He was a slave, but not servile. I do not know what word just expresses it; I have been unable to find one. But this I know, that if we would learn what “slave” means in my text we must go to the love-sphere and seek the interpretation there. We must go where the lover slaves for the loved, and yet calls her slavery exquisite freedom. A real loving mother, slaving for her child, would not change her slavery for mines of priceless wealth or for unbroken years of cushioned ease. “Thy willing bondslave I.” And thirdly, to be a slave implies the discharge of a mission. “Peter, a bondslave and apostle.” He is sent forth to do the Master’s will. The Master bids; he goes. Anywhere! Through the long, dusty, tiring highways of righteousness, or to the valley of gloom; “through the thirsty desert or the dewy mead.” His not to reason why, His not to make reply, His but to do and die! But in that bondage the apostle finds a perfect freedom. All the powers of his being are emancipated and sing together in glorious liberty. Life that is fundamentally bound becomes like an orchestra, every faculty constituting a well-tuned instrument, and all of them co-operating in the production of a harmony which is well-pleasing in the ears of God. EQUALITY And here we have the basis of equality: “To them that have obtained an equally precious faith with us in the righteousness of our God.” [2Pe 1:1] Let us rearrange the words a little. This I think is the meaning: in the righteousness of God, the absolute justice and fairness of God, you have obtained an equally precious faith with us. God in His righteousness has, in this consummate gift of faith, made us gloriously equal. Now look at that. Where does the apostle begin his reasoning about our primary equality? He begins with the righteousness of God. God is perfectly fair. He is no respecter of persons. I know this faith is troubled and disturbed by the material inequalities we see around us. Here is my little one safe at home in bed, and here is another little one, not much older, out upon the streets in the late night hungry and cold. Is God fair? Here is a good man in chronic pain; here is a bad man in health and wealth and honour. Yet God is righteous in His purpose! He does not treat us like puppets and marionettes. He has endowed us with brain and conscience and heart and will, and He has committed to us the power by which many of these gross in justices can be rectified. If the Church of the living God were to awake from her sleep to day (Ed: Jowett wrote in the 1800's!) you and I know how much could be done to rearrange material comforts, and to crush and destroy many things which make for misery, disease, and death. While our sword is rusting, and our couch has almost become our tomb (Ed: Even before television!), do not let us raise a mere debating-society topic and ask the question: Is God fair? It is for our own dignity, and for the disciplining and perfecting of the race, that our God has committed unto us the power by which many of these burdensome iniquities may be removed. But, leaving all these, let it be said that in the great primary things, the things out of which all other equalities take their spring, we may be grandly equal. We may all obtain an equally precious faith, the faith-dynamic which can remove mountains. Faith itself is a gift of God, and in this all men may be equal. You and Paul! The Salvation Army Captain and Martin Luther! “Precious faith,” the apostle calls it, precious because of the wealth which through it comes into the life. “Faith buys wine and milk,” says an old commentator. Faith goes into the country of God among His vineyards, and out among His fields, and eats and drinks the rare and sweet and toothsome things. I say that in this great primary matter we may all be equal, and in this fundamental equality all other healthy equalities will find their impulse and resource. FRATERNITY And lastly, we have here the genius of fraternity. “Grace to you and peace be multiplied in the knowledge of God and of Jesus.” [2Pe 1:2] How deep and exquisite is the spirit of fraternity! What do these people seek for one another? Knowledge! “Knowledge of the Lord.” And this means the advanced stages of a science, the most perfect learning, the riper unfoldings of the glory of God. They are ambitious for one another, that spiritual obscurities may be clarified, and that the partial may be perfected. A little while ago, at the dawning of the day, I looked out over a great stretch of country from the vantage ground of a lofty summit. I could only see things dimly, in vague and imperfect outline. There beneath me lay stretched out into the far distance a long, white streak of dull silver; and there rested a grey cloud; and yonder loomed a dark botch which seemed to be a remnant of the departing night. But the light came on apace, and my knowledge was advanced and perfected. The thin white streak turned out to be a river! The bank of grey mist revealed itself as a lake! The dark botch, which seemed like the belated baggage of the night, revealed itself as a forest! “The glory of the Lord shall be revealed.” (Isa 40:5) “Now I know in part, but then. . .!” (1Co 13:12) “Grace to you and peace be multiplied in the knowledge of God.” (2Pe 1:1) Out of this advanced and advancing knowledge there is to come a multiplication of grace and peace. Grace is to be multiplied; the single drops are to become showers; the solitary rays are to glow like the noon. And peace is to be multiplied, deepened, heightened, and enriched! Is not this the very genius of fraternity? What thing more beautiful can brotherhood grow than wishes and intercessions like these? (Epistles of St. Peter) BY THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OUR GOD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST: en dikaiosune tou theou hemon kai soteros Iesou Christou: (Righteousness Jer 33:16; Ro 1:17; 21-Rom.3.26" class="scriptRef">3:21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26; 1Co 1:30; 2Co 5:21; Php 3:9) (Savior: Isaiah 12:2; 43:3,11; 45:15,21; 60:16 Lk 1:47; Titus 2:13) W Griffith-Thomas... Their spiritual foundation. Through the righteousness (2Pe 1:1KJV) is literally “in the righteousness” and probably refers to God’s righteousness as the object of our faith (see Ro 1:17; Ro 3:26). Some think, however, that the reference here is not to the righteousness that makes atonement but to the justice of God that gives equally to all. Note the use of the phrase God and Savior, probably referring to our Lord since there is no article with the second substantive (see 2Pe 1:11; 2:20; 3:2, 18; Titus 2:13). 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