The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Peter — Section 11

i11rouah the full knowledge Urr,-yvrI-cr,.,,) of earnest of our inberiLa.nce "). The word Mm that called U8 (comp. John xvii. 3, "precious" reminds us of I Pet. i. 7, 19; "Tliis is life eternal, tlrnt they might know tho re~em hlance with 1 Pet. ii. 7 is apparent thee the only true God, nncl Jesus Christ, only, m the Autborized Version, not in the whom thou hast sent"). Tito best-s11p- Greek. That by these ye mi~·ht be partakers ported reacling seems to be that followed by of the Divine natlll'e; literally, tlua throuah the Revised Version, " By his own glory these (promises, i.e. through their fulfilment) and vii-tuo (llll!f lid!!7 ,cal u.pETfi)." Dengel ye may beoome partaker8. It is true that the so.ye, ''Ad gloriam rcfcruutur attributa Dci verb is aorist (-y,v7Jo-8,), 1,ut it does not naturalio., nd virtutcm eo. qnm dicuntur follow that" might be" is the right transla- mora.lia; intime unum aunt utraque." All tion, or that the writer regarded the partici- his glorious attributes mako up l.Jis glory; pation as havin~ already ta.ken place lt.p,T1/, virtue, is the cneq;y, the activity (comp. John xii. 36, "Believe in the light, of those o.ttributcs. The other reacling, th!tt ye may be (1va. -y<v110-e,) the children of also well supported (lid1. li6f11• ,cal lipnfjs, light"). As Alford says, the aorist seems "tlirongh glory and virtue"), would mean to imply "that the aim was not the pro- neo.rly the same (()omp. Gal. i. 15; ,ca>hras cednre, but the completion, of that indicated; ll,A Tijs xtzp,Tos a~Toii). God calls us through not the -ylv,cr8a,, the carrying on the process, his attributes; his glorious perfections but the -y•v•o-9a,, its accomplishment." The invite us, the revelation of those perfections end of God's gift is the complete accomplish- oa.lls us to his service. The word lipETf, ment of his gracious purpose, but it is only with one exception (Phil. iv. 8), occurs in by continual growth that the Christian the New Testament only iu St. Peter's attains e.t length to that accompfuhment. Epistles (see 1 Pet. ii. 9; eh. i. 3 and 5). St. Peter's words seem very bold; but they This is, so far, an argument in favour of do not go beyond many other statements identity of authorship. of Holy Scripture. .At the beginning God Ver. 4.-Whereby are given unto us ex- said, "Let us make man in our image, after ceeding great and precious promises ; rather, our likeness." St. Paul tells UB that believers as in the Revised Version, whereby he hath are now "changed into the same image from gra11teduntoushispreciousa11d ezceedinggreat glory to glory " (2 Cor. iii. 18 ; comp. o.lso :e,_romises. Does the word "whereby" (Ii,' 1 Cor. xi. 7; Eph. iv. 24; Col. iii. 10; Rom. "'"• literally, "through which things") refer viii. 29; 1 Cor. xv. 49, etc.). Christians, to the immediately preceding words, " glory born of God (John i. 13; 1 Pet. i. 23), e.ro and virtue"? or is its antecedent to be found made "partakers of Christ" (Heb. iii. H), in the more distant "all things which "partakers of the Holy Ghost" (Heh. vi. 4). pertain unto life e.nd godliness "? Both Christ prayed for us that we might be views are possible. God first granted unto "made perfect in one" with himself who is us all things necessary for life o.nd godliu~ss; one with God the Father, through the in- through those first gifts, duly used, he has dwelling presence of the Holy Ghost the granted unto us others more precious still. Comforter (John xvii. 20-23; xiv. 16, 17, But it seems better to connect the relative 23). The second person is used to imply with the neo.rer antecedent. It is through that the promises made to all Chrutie.ns God's glory and virtue, through his glorious (unto us) belong to those whom St. Peter attributes e.nd the energetic working of now addresses. Having escaped the corrup- those attributes, that he hns granted the tion that is in the world through lust ; promises. The verb (ll,awp11Tu,) should be litero.lly, havi1<g escaped from the corruption translated "bath granted," ns in the pre- that is in the ,oorld in lust. These words ceding verse. The word for "promise" (l,r- express the negative side of the Christian d.-y-y,hµ.a) occurs elsewhere only in eh. iii. 13; life, the formor clause describing its active it means the thing promised, not the a.et of e.nd positive side. God's precious promises promising. The order of the words, "ex- realized in the soul enable the Christian to ceeding great and precious," is di1ferently become partakers of the Divine nature, aud given in the manuscripts; on the whole, to escape from corruption; the two aspects tho.t adopted by the Revised Version seems of the Christian life must go on sicnulta- the best supported. The article with the neously; enoh implies and requires the other. fint word (Ta. Tlµ.,a ,cal µ.J-y,<T"Ta) has a Bengol says, " Hreo fuga non tarn ut officium possessive force, and is well rendered, "his nostrum, quam ut beneficium divinum, com- precious promises." Thoy aro precious, munionem oum Deo oomitims, hoe loco because they will be certainly fulfilled in ponitur." The verb used here (a.,ro,p,vy .. v) all their depth of blessed mee.uing, and occurs in the New Testament only in this because they are in pnrt fulfilled at once Epistle. It reminds us of St. Paul's words (comp. Eph. i. 13, 14, "In whom nlso in Rom. viii. 21, "The creature itself o.lso after thnt yo believed, yo were sel\led with shall ho delivered from the bondugo of ~)lo.t Holy Spirit of promise, which is tho corruption." The corruption or destructiun  THE SECOND EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. [oH, 1.1-21.