6 Cf . Hort in loc. (pp. 17, 18) : "The three clauses of this verse be- yond all reasonable question set forth the operation of the Father, the Holy Spirit and the Son, respectively. Here, therefore, as in several Epistles of Paul (i Cor 12^-^, 2 Cor 13^*, Eph 4*"*'), there is an implicit reference to the Threefold Name. In no passage is there any indica- tion that the writer was independently working out a doctrinal scheme: a recognized belief or idea seems to be everywhere presupposed. How such an idea could arise in the mind of St. Paul or any other Apostle without sanction from a word of the Lord it is difficult to imagine: and this consideration is a sufficient answer to the doubts which have, by no means unnaturally, been raised whether Mt aS^^ may not have been added or recast in a later generation. St. Peter, like St. Paul, associ- ates with the subject of each clause, if one may so speak, a distinctive function as towards mankind: on their relations to the Divine Unity he is silent."
''■ Cf . Bigg in loc. (p. 108), "The ivords rb iv avToT<} irveofxa Xpiarou must be accepted quite frankly. Christ was in the prophets, and from Him came their inspiration."
268 The Designations of Our Lord
thus assimilates Him to the divine Being. By a com- bination of this great title and the solemn Messianic name of ' Jesus Christ,' he calls Jesus ' our Lord Jesus Christ' (i^);^ and it is noticeable that it is by this significant title that he designates Jesus when he is speaking of God as not only His Father but His God — having reference doubtless to " the days of His flesh" (Heb 5'), that is to say, to His humiliation.* No other titles are applied to our Lord in this Epistle, except that in 2-^ He is spoken of as ' the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls,' and at 5^'^ as * Chief Shepherd,' modes of description in which the soteriological rather than the ontological element is prominent.
In comparison with i Peter, 2 Peter makes use of more elaborate designations in speaking of Christ.
2 Peter and ^^^ ^^^Y ^°^^ ^^^ simple ' Jesus ' not the Deity occur in this Epistle, but not even the
of Our Lord simple ' Christ ' : and the less complex compound ' Jesus Christ ' occurs in its simplicity only once — in the formality of the address. The simple ' Lord,' on the other hand, seems to be used of Christ in a few cases (^s-s-iO'i^^^io ^j^^^ ^ number of more or
8 Cf. Hort in loc, p. 30, who has a long, analytical discussion of it.
9 Cf. Bigg in loc.
10 Bigg on 3^ : "The Lord is certainly Christ"; on 3^^: "'Our Lord ' must undoubtedly signify Christ, to whom alone the doxology in verse 18 is addressed." Less decidedly, Sven Herner, op. cit., pp. 44, 45: " 2 Peter has some passages about which, in our opinion, no clear de- cision can be come to. According to 3^ seq. scornful mockers shall come and say, 'Where is the promise of His coming?' It is almost the uni- versal judgment that the reference here is to the coming of Christ. Against the scorn of the mockers the Apostle suggests that a day with our Lord is as a thousand years (v. 8), and therefore there can be no talk of slackness. The Lord is not slack with His promise, but is long- suffering to US-ward and not willing that any should perish (v. 9).
The Catholic Epistles 269
less sonorous combinations of it occur: 'Jesus our Lord' (i-), 'our Lord Jesus Christ* (i^'^^'^^), 'the Lord and Saviour' (3^), ' our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ' (i^^ 2"° 3^^)> with the last of which may be connected the great phrase ' our God and Saviour, Jesus Christ' (i^). Two things that are notable in this list of designations are the repeated use of ' Saviour ' of our Lord, and the clear note of deity which is struck in their ascriptions. ' Saviour ' itself is a divine appellation transferred to Christ:" to whom it is applied fifteen times out of the twenty-three in which it occurs in the New Testament. In 2 Peter