Clem. 1x. 5. χριστὸς + +» ἐγένετο SRE καὶ οὕτως ἡμᾶς ἐκάλεσεν. ἰδίᾳ δόξῃ καὶ ἀρετῇῃ. Has ἰδίᾳ an intensive force here, or has it an exhausted sense
-σ, ο, OXY. τα, li. τν. Α.Ρ.]. «δόξειεν τῇ ἀρετῇ =“ if it please your
3---ᾱ-
125
Ὑνώσεως τοῦ καλέσαντος ἡμᾶς ἰδίᾳ δόξῃ καὶ ἀρετῇ,ὶ 4. δι ὧν τὰ
τίµια ἡμῖν καὶ μέγιστα” ἐπαγγέλματα δεδώρηται, ἵνα διὰ τούτων
Ὑένησθε θείας κοινωνοὶ φύσεως, ἀποφυγόντες τῆς ἐν τῷ κόσµω ἐν
1δια δοξης και αρετης BKL, 31, WH.
to dittography, and correction to genitive easily follows.
mous in favour of the reading adopted.
Recurrence of δια in vv. 3, 4 would lead The versions are unani-
ὄτιμια και µεγιστα ηµιν B, syrP, spec., WH, Mayor; µεγιστα και τιµια ηµιν
ACP, syrp (A, syrP υμιν), 13, 31 + Treg.
‘merely equivalent to a personal pronoun ? The emphasis conveyed in the former interpretation would better carry on the sense of πάντα. δόξα is used in sense of John i. 14. ἀρετή is an interesting word. There is considerable evidence to prove that it is not used here in the ordinary Greek philosophical sense of ‘ virtue,” although the combination of δόξα
and ἀρετή is not infrequently found
in philosophical writings (cf. Plat. Symp. 208 D. Plut. Mor.535). Deissmann, fol- lowing the Stratonicean inscription al- ready mentioned, renders ‘‘ manifestation of power,” i.e., in miracle (of. cit. pp. 95-97). In 1 Pet. ii. 9 it is used in plural, in ΤΧΧ sense = “praises”
(755A). (Cf. Thue. i. 33.) In P.
Hib. xv. 3 ff. (ili. B.c.) the younger men are exhorted to employ their bodies
«εὐκαίρως τὴν ἀπόδειξιν ποιησαµένους τῆς αὐτῶν ἀρετῆς, ‘ina timely display
of their prowess” (G. and H.). In later papyri ἀρετή is used as title of courtesy, et σου
Excellency”. Foucart defines ἀρετή as ‘vim divinam quae mirabilem in modum hominibus laborantibus salutem afferret ”’ (cf. Hort’s note, 1 Peter, p. 129 and MME, Sept. 1908).
The phrase τοῦ καλέσαντος ... ἄρετῃ
-contains one of the finest ideas in the
N.T. What could be a more effective answer to the intellectualism of the Gnostic teachers or its modern equiva- lent, than the impression produced on the lives of men, and especially the early disciples, by the Personality of Jesus? They beheld His glory in the evidences of miraculous knowledge and power which Jesus showed at the time of their call (John i. 42, 47-51; Luke v. 4). Their sense of His moral greatness overcame all resist- ance on their part (Luke v. 8; John i. 49). If 2 Pet. is lacking in devotional expres- sion, his apologetic for the person of Christ is cast on most effective lines. Reason can only compass the facts of Revelation, in terms ofantinomies, and it ds vain to meet inadequate theories of the
person of Christ by dogmatic subtlety. The Life and Death of our Lord, if its sig- nificance is to be fully understood, must be looked upon largely as an acted parable, and Christian experience—the impression of δόξα καὶ apery—is an indispensable constituent of dogmatic expression.
Ver. 4. δι’ ὧν. Reference is to δόξῃ καὶ ἀρετῇ (so Kihl, Dietlein, Wiesinger, Briickner, Mayor) ἐπαγγέλματα-- “ pro- mised blessings”. No doubt what 2 Peter has chiefly in view is the particular comprehensive ἐπάγγελμα of His Second Coming (cf. iii. 4, ἐπαγγελία and iii. 13). The Parousia will be the vindication of all moral and spiritual effort. Christ promised forgiveness to the sinful, rest to the weary, comfort to the sad, hope to the dying and life to the dead. If the reference adopted above of &’ ὧν is correct, the sense would be that in the character and deeds of the Incarnate One, we have a revelation that is itself a promise. The ἐπαγγέλματα are given, not only in word but also in deed. The very life of Christ among men, with its δόξα and ἀρετή is itself the Promise of Life, and the Parousia expectation is also a faith that He lives and reigns in grace, having “received gifts for men”. δεδώ- ρηται. Passive, see note on ver. 3. ἵνα διὰ τούτων . .. φύσεως. τούτων refers to ἐπαγγέλματα. The hope and faith kin- dled in us by the promises are a source of moral power. ‘* Thehistory of the material progress of the race is the history of the growing power of man, arising from the gradual extension of hisalliances with the forces which surroundhim. . . . Hearms himself with the strength of the winds and the tides. He liberates the latent energy which has been condensed and treasured up in coal, transforms it into heat, generates steam, and sweeps across a continent without weariness, and with the swiftness of a bird. . . . Moving freely among the stupendous energies by which he is encompassed, he is strong in their strength, and they give to his voli- tions—powerless apart from them—a large and effective expression. ‘The his-