The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Peter — Section 42

Vers. 3-11.-The Christian virtues in their completeness. I. Fou~"DATION OF EXHon- TATION. 1. Grant. "Seeing that his Divine power bath granted unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness." The grant has reference to life and godliness. The first of these words is to be understood of healthful condition; the other is to be understood of that supreme regai·d to God, on which healthful condition depends. The grant is not of life and godliness, but of all things that pertain unto life and godliness, by which we are to understand the gracious influences that have been liberated by Christ-the Holy Spirit in his manifold gifts, the benefit of Christian institutions. Who is to be thought of as the Granter here? The nearer reference is to Jesus our Lord, and it is not superfluous to say of him, as it would be to say of God, that it was his Divine power that made the grant. It was the Divine power of him who afterward became man that was exercised when man was created and was then granted all that was necessary for securing life by godly conduct. The requirements were greater when man fell. Jesus bore what man as involved in sin deserved, so as to be constituted our Lord with Divine power to grant unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness. When he has such power to grant, nothing can be wanting of what is needed for our spiritual prosperity ancl the production of a godly type of character. 2. Communication of the gmnl. (1) Knowledge. "Through the knowledge of him that called us by his own glory and virtue." This is the second introduction of knowledge in the intensive sense. It is here regarded as the channel through which are communicated to us "all things that pertain unto life and godliness." 'l'hus it is that knowledge is power. 'l'o know God is to have a way of being supplied with all that we need. It is to have an ine:1.ha.t1Stible fountain of blessing. It is to feel the quickening and transforming pc,wer of his perfections. But it will be noticed that it is the kn".lwledge of God under a particular aspect, viz. of him that called us. Weiss says, "appointed us to the consum- mation of salvation;" but this is brought into view afterwards. Here it is what in God causes our calling. For "called us to glory and virtue" is a great blunder: it is "called us by glory and virtue," i.e. these in God. It was a desire to manifest himself, or a regard for his own glory, that led him to call us. 'l'hat is the first declaration of the cause; the second declaration is that it was his virtue or moral excellence, on which his glory in calling us rests. It is the same word which is used in the plural in I Pet. ii. 9, tram;lated "excellences." The singular here points us to the sum of all that is excellent in God, of which there comes to be glorious manifestation. "Praise him," says the writer of the hundred and fiftieth psalm, "according to his excellent greatness." It was the transcendent character of his excellence, for which it becomes us to praise him, that led to his calling such as we were. .A.rchangelic excellence would have passed us by ; but there was an excellence in God far above all created excellence that led to his making use of the vilest materials. (2) The reflection of God in the promises. "Whereby he bath granted unto us his precious and exceeding great promises." It is through know- ledge that the grant is communicated to us; it is well to have the grant also in definite written form, which we have in the promi"ses. These promises are characterized as precious, which characterization more naturally comes first, as in the Revised Version. They contain all that we need of light for our minds, of solace for our hearts, of strength for our wills, of stimulus for our desires. They are not only precious, but exceeding great, i.e. precious in the superlative degree. It is in Ephesians that we are directed to God as ''able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think." God has promised to open the windows of heaven, and pour us out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it. But Jet it be noticed that there is given an explanation of the promises being exceeding great in their preciousness. It is because they are granted by God's glory and virtue. 'l'bey are, therefore, to be regarded as the reflection of what he is. They express all that be would bestow upon UB-bow, with his fulness, he would fill our emptiness, with his riches our poverty. (3) Aim of the promises. (a) Positivelu. "That through these ye may become partakers of the Divine no.tun" 'l'he_ on. 1. 1-21.] THE SECOND EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. 87