2 Peter 1:12

Salvation Based on the Word of God

1:12 Therefore, I intend to remind you constantly ¹  of these things even though you know them and are well established in the truth that you now have.

2 Peter 1:15

1:15 Indeed, I will also make every effort that, after my departure, you have a testimony of these things. ² 

2 Peter 3:11

3:11 Since all these things are to melt away ³  in this manner, ⁴  what sort of people must we ⁵  be, conducting our lives in holiness and godliness, ⁶ 

2 Peter 1:4

1:4 Through these things ⁷  he has bestowed on us his precious and most magnificent promises, so that by means of what was promised ⁸  you may become partakers of the divine nature, ⁹  after escaping ¹⁰  the worldly corruption that is produced by evil desire. ¹¹ 

2 Peter 3:16

3:16 speaking of these things in all his letters. ¹²  Some things in these letters ¹³  are hard to understand, things ¹⁴  the ignorant and unstable twist ¹⁵  to their own destruction, as they also do to the rest of the scriptures. ¹⁶ 

[1:12]  ¹ tn Grk “always.”

[1:15]  ² sn There are various interpretations of v. 15. For example, the author could be saying simply, “I will make every effort that you remember these things.” But the collocation of σπουδάζω (spoudazw) with μνήνη (mnhnh) suggests a more specific image. R. Bauckham (Jude, 2 Peter [WBC], 201-2) is right when he notes that these two words together suggest a desire to write some sort of letter or testament. Most commentators recognize the difficulty in seeing the future verb σπουδάσω (spoudasw) as referring to 2 Peter itself (the present or aorist would have been expected, i.e., “I have made every effort,” or “I am making every effort”). Some have suggested that Mark’s Gospel is in view. The difficulty with this is threefold: (1) Mark is probably to be dated before 2 Peter, (2) early patristic testimony seems to imply that Peter was the unwitting source behind Mark’s Gospel; and (3) “these things” would seem to refer, in the least, to the prophecy about Peter’s death (absent in Mark). A more plausible suggestion might be that the author was thinking of the ending of John’s Gospel. This is possible because (1) John 21:18-19 is the only other place in the NT that refers to Peter’s death; indeed, it fleshes out the cryptic statement in v. 14 a bit more; (2) both 2 Peter and John were apparently written to Gentiles in and around Asia Minor; (3) both books were probably written after Paul’s death and perhaps even to Paul’s churches (cf. 2 Pet 3:1-2, 15-16); and (4) John 21 gives the appearance of being added to the end of a finished work. There is thus some possibility that this final chapter was added at the author’s request, in part to encourage Gentile Christians to face impending persecution, knowing that the martyrdom of even (Paul and) Peter was within the purview of God’s sovereignty. That 2 Pet 1:15 alludes to John 21 is of course by no means certain, but remains at least the most plausible of the suggestions put forth thus far.

[3:11]  ³ tn Grk “all these things thus being dissolved.”

[3:11]  ⁴ tn Or “thus.”

[3:11]  ⁵ tc ‡ Most mss have a pronoun with the infinitive – either ὑμᾶς (Jumas, “you”; found in A C^[*^] P Ψ 048^vid 33 1739 Ï, as well as the corrector of Ì⁷² and second corrector of א), ἡμᾶς (Jhmas, “we”; read by א* 630 2464 al), or ἑαυτούς (Jeautous, “[you your]selves/[we our]selves,” read by 1243). But the shorter reading (with no pronoun) has the support of Ì^72*,74vid B pc. Though slim, the evidence for the omission is nevertheless the earliest. Further, the addition of some pronoun, especially the second person pronoun, seems to be a clarifying variant. It would be difficult to explain the pronoun’s absence in some witnesses if the pronoun were original. That three different pronouns have shown up in the mss is testimony for the omission. Thus, on external and internal grounds, the omission is preferred. For English style requirements, however, some pronoun has to be added. NA ²⁷ has ὑμᾶς in brackets, indicating doubt as to its authenticity.

[3:11]  ⁶ tn Grk “in holy conduct and godliness.”

[1:4]  ⁴ tn Verse 4 is in Greek a continuation of v. 3, “through which things.”

[1:4]  ⁵ tn Grk “through them.” The implication is that through inheriting and acting on these promises the believers will increasingly become partakers of the divine nature.

[1:4]  ⁶ sn Although the author has borrowed the expression partakers of the divine nature from paganism, his meaning is clearly Christian. He does not mean apotheosis (man becoming a god) in the pagan sense, but rather that believers have an organic connection with God. Because of such a connection, God can truly be called our Father. Conceptually, this bears the same meaning as Paul’s “in Christ” formula. The author’s statement, though startling at first, is hardly different from Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians that they “may be filled up to all the fullness of God” (3:19).

[1:4]  ⁷ tn The aorist participle ἀποφυγόντες (apofugonte") is often taken as attendant circumstance to the preceding verb γένησθε (genhsqe). As such, the sense is “that you might become partakers…and might escape…” However, it does not follow the contours of the vast majority of attendant circumstance participles (in which the participle precedes the main verb, among other things). Further, attendant circumstance participles are frequently confused with result participles (which do follow the verb). Many who take this as attendant circumstance are probably viewing it semantically as result (“that you might become partakers…and [thereby] escape…”). But this is next to impossible since the participle is aorist: Result participles are categorically present tense.

[1:4]  ⁸ tn Grk “the corruption in the world (in/because of) lust.”

[3:16]  ⁵ tn Grk “as also in all his letters speaking in them of these things.”

[3:16]  ⁶ tn Grk “in which are some things hard to understand.”

[3:16]  ⁷ tn Grk “which.” The antecedent is the “things hard to understand,” not the entirety of Paul’s letters. A significant principle is seen here: The primary proof texts used for faith and practice ought to be the clear passages that are undisputed in their meaning. Heresy today is still largely built on obscure texts.

[3:16]  ⁸ tn Or “distort,” “wrench,” “torture” (all are apt descriptions of what heretics do to scripture).

[3:16]  ⁹ sn This one incidental line, the rest of the scriptures, links Paul’s writings with scripture. This is thus one of the earliest affirmations of any part of the NT as scripture. Peter’s words were prophetic and were intended as a preemptive strike against the heretics to come.