2 Peter 1:3

Believers’ Salvation and the Work of God

1:3 I can pray this because his divine power ¹  has bestowed on us everything necessary ²  for life and godliness through the rich knowledge ³  of the one who called ⁴  us by ⁵  his own glory and excellence.

2 Peter 3:6

3:6 Through these things ⁶  the world existing at that time was destroyed when it was deluged with water.

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 2:2

2:2 And many will follow their debauched lifestyles. ¹²  Because of these false teachers, ¹³  the way of truth will be slandered. ¹⁴ 

2 Peter 3:5

3:5 For they deliberately suppress this fact, ¹⁵  that by the word of God ¹⁶  heavens existed long ago and an earth ¹⁷  was formed out of water and by means of water.

2 Peter 3:12

3:12 while waiting for and hastening ¹⁸  the coming of the day of God? ¹⁹  Because of this day, ²⁰  the heavens will be burned up and ²¹  dissolve, and the celestial bodies ²²  will melt away in a blaze! ²³ 

[1:3]  ¹ tn The verse in Greek starts out with ὡς (Jws) followed by a genitive absolute construction, dependent on the main verb in v. 2. Together, they form a subordinate causal clause. A more literal rendering would be “because his divine power…” The idea is that the basis or authority for the author’s prayer in v. 2 (that grace and peace would abound to the readers) was that God’s power was manifested in their midst. The author’s sentence structure is cumbersome even in Greek; hence, the translation has broken this up into two sentences.

[1:3]  ² tn The word “necessary” is not in the Greek, but is implied by the preposition πρός (pros).

[1:3]  ³ tn See the note on “rich knowledge” in v. 2.

[1:3]  ⁴ sn Called. The term καλέω (kalew), used here in its participial form, in soteriological contexts when God is the subject, always carries the nuance of effectual calling. That is, the one who is called is not just invited to be saved – he is also and always saved (cf. Rom 8:30). Calling takes place at the moment of conversion, while election takes place in eternity past (cf. Eph 1:4).

[1:3]  ⁵ tn The datives ἰδίᾳ δόξῃ καὶ ἀρετῇ (idia doxh kai areth) could be taken either instrumentally (“by [means of] his own glory and excellence”) or advantage (“for [the benefit of] his own glory and excellence”). Both the connection with divine power and the textual variant found in several early and important witnesses (διὰ δόξης καὶ ἀρετῆς in Ì⁷² B 0209^vid) argues for an instrumental meaning. The instrumental notion is also affirmed by the meaning of ἀρετῇ (“excellence”) in contexts that speak of God’s attributes (BDAG 130 s.v. ἀρετή 2 in fact defines it as “manifestation of divine power” in this verse).

[3:6]  ⁶ tn The antecedent is ambiguous. It could refer to the heavens, the heavens and earth, or the water and the word. If the reference is to the heavens, the author is reflecting on the Genesis account about “the floodgates of the heavens” being opened (Gen 7:11). If the reference is to the heavens and earth, he is also thinking about the cosmic upheaval that helped to produce the flood (Gen 6:11). If the reference is to the water and the word, he is indicating both the means (water) and the cause (word of God). This last interpretation is the most likely since the final nouns of v. 5 are “water” and “word of God,” making them the nearest antecedents.

[1:4]  ¹¹ tn Verse 4 is in Greek a continuation of v. 3, “through which things.”

[1:4]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “the corruption in the world (in/because of) lust.”

[2:2]  ¹⁶ tn “Debauched lifestyles” is literally “licentiousnesses,” “sensualities,” “debaucheries.”

[2:2]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “because of whom,” introducing a subordinate clause to the first part of the verse.

[2:2]  ¹⁸ tn Or “blasphemed,” “reviled,” “treated with contempt.”

[3:5]  ²¹ tn The Greek is difficult at this point. An alternative is “Even though they maintain this, it escapes them that…” Literally the idea seems to be: “For this escapes these [men] who wish [it to be so].”

[3:5]  ²² tn The word order in Greek places “the word of God” at the end of the sentence. See discussion in the note on “these things” in v. 6.

[3:5]  ²³ tn Or “land,” “the earth.”

[3:12]  ²⁶ tn Or possibly, “striving for,” but the meaning “hasten” for σπουδάζω (spoudazw) is normative in Jewish apocalyptic literature (in which the coming of the Messiah/the end is anticipated). Such a hastening is not an arm-twisting of the divine volition, but a response by believers that has been decreed by God.

[3:12]  ²⁷ sn The coming of the day of God. Peter elsewhere describes the coming or parousia as the coming of Christ (cf. 2 Pet 1:16; 3:4). The almost casual exchange between “God” and “Christ” in this little book, and elsewhere in the NT, argues strongly for the deity of Christ (see esp. 1:1).

[3:12]  ²⁸ tn Grk “on account of which” (a subordinate relative clause in Greek).

[3:12]  ²⁹ tn Grk “being burned up, will dissolve.”

[3:12]  ³⁰ tn See note in v. 10 on “celestial bodies.”

[3:12]  ³¹ tn Grk “being burned up” (see v. 10).