Commentaires bibliques

2Pe 1:1-4 The apostle, saluting the Christians, admonisheth

them of the gifts and promises of the gospel, and

their tendency to promote a godly life.

2Pe 1:5-9 He exhorteth them to add to their faith such virtues

as would make it fruitful,

2Pe 1:10,11 and thereby to make their calling and election sure,

2Pe 1:12-15 He is careful to remind them hereof, knowing his

dissolution to be near,

2Pe 1:16-21 and urgeth the evidence of what he had seen and

heard in the holy mount in confirmation of Christ's

second coming, together with the word of prophecy,

which he recommendeth to their regard.

A servant and an apostle; i.e. such a servant as is likewise an apostle. The former agrees to all gospel ministers generally, the latter is a title of a greater eminency; and so he intimates, that he wrote to them not merely as an ordinary minister, but in the authority of an apostle, an officer of the highest degree in the church.

Like precious faith; not in respect of the degree or strength of it, but in respect of the object, Christ, and the benefits that come by it, justification, sanctification, adoption, &c., in which respect the faith of the weakest believer is as precious as that of the strongest.

With us; either with us apostles, or with us Jewish Christians, born or inhabiting in Judea.

Through the righteousness of God; the Greek preposition which we render through, may likewise be rendered with, as 2Pe 1:5 Act 7:38, in the church, that is, with the church; and so the sense is either:

1. Through the righteousness, i.e. truth and faithfulness, of Christ in his promises, whereof the faith of the saints was an effect: or:

2. Through the righteousness of Christ, as the meritorious cause of their faith: or:

3. With the righteousness of Christ imputed to them, and made theirs upon their believing. They had obtained like precious faith as the apostles themselves and others had, together with the righteousness of Christ, an interest in which always accompanies faith, Rom 4:22.

And our Saviour Jesus Christ: there being but one article in the Greek, these words are to be understood conjunctly, the particle

and being but an explicative, and the sense is: Through the righteousness of our God, even our Saviour Jesus Christ, who is God: see the like, 2Pe 1:11 3:18 Joh 20:28 Tit 2:14.

Through the knowledge of God; or acknowledgment, i.e. faith, whereby we are made partakers of all the saving graces of the Spirit; and whereby being justified, we are at peace with God, Romans 5:1.

And of Jesus our Lord; there being no saving knowledge of God, or faith in him, but by Christ.

According as; this may refer either:

1. To what goes before: Grace and peace be multiplied unto you, & c., according as his divine power hath given unto us, &c.; and then in these words the apostle shows what reason there was to hope, that grace and peace should be multiplied to them, and perfected in them, viz. because God hath already given them all things pertaining to life and godliness; q.d. He that hath done thus much for you, will do more, and finish his work in you. Or:

2. To what follows; and then the Greek phrase rendered according as, is not a note of similitude, but of illation, and may be rendered, since, or seeing that, and so the words are not a part of the salutation, but the beginning of the body of the Epistle, and relate to 2 Peter 1:5: Seeing that his Divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain, & c., add to your faith virtue, & c.; as God hath done his part, so do you yours in the diligent performance of what he hath enabled you unto.

Divine power may relate either to God, or rather to Christ, immediately going before; and then it tends to the confirming their hope of the multiplication of grace and peace to them, not only from God, but from Christ, in that they had already experienced his Divine power in giving them all things pertaining to life and godliness, i.e. whatever may be helpful to it, the Spirit, faith, repentance, &c., John 7:39 2 Corinthians 4:6 2 Timothy 2:25.

Unto life; either:

1. Spiritual life, and then godliness may be added by way of explication, that life which consists in godliness, or a godly life; or, by life may be meant the inward, permanent principle of spiritual acts, and the exercise of them may be called godliness, as the perfection of that principle is called glory. Or:

2. Eternal life, to which we attain through godliness, as the way; and then likewise they are understood distinctly, life as the end, and godliness as the means; and so life in this verse is the same as peace in the former, and godliness the same as grace.

To glory and virtue: according to our translation, glory may be the same as life before, and virtue the same with godliness; and then the words set forth the end of God’s calling us, viz. unto glory or life hereafter, as well as virtue or godliness now. But the Greek preposition dia is no where (as some observe) in the New Testament found to signify to; for in Romans 6:4 (which some allege) it is best rendered by, glory being there put for God’s power; and therefore our margin here reads it by glory and virtue; which may either be, by an hendiadis, for glorious virtue, taking virtue for power, that glorious power of God which is put forth in calling us, Ephesians 1:18,19, or his goodness and mercy which appear in the same calling, in which sense the word may be understood; see Titus 3:4,5 1 Peter 2:9; or, (which comes to the same), glory being often taken for powe John 2:11, by glory and virtue may be meant God’s powe and goodness, or mercy.

Whereby: this word may be rendered, in that, for that, inasmuch as, and then this is an explication of the things that pertain to life and godliness, to glory and virtue, all those things being contained in the promises; or whereby may be understood of the glory and virtue last mentioned, taking them in the latter sense explained, 2 Peter 1:3; q.d. By which glorious goodness and mercy to us.

Are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: by promises we may understand either the matter of the promises, the things promised, Hebrews 10:36, such as redemption by Christ, reconciliation, adoption, &c., and then they are called

exceeding great and precious, in comparison of all temporal and worldly things; or else the promises themselves, which are called great because of the excellency of the things contained in them, and precious in relation to us; great things being not only contained in the promises, but by them secured to us.

That by these ye might be partakers of the Divine nature: we are said to be partakers of the Divine nature, not by any communication of the Divine essence to us, but by God’s impressing upon us, and infusing into us, those divine qualities and dispositions (knowledge, righteousness, and true holiness) which do express and resemble the perfections of God, and are called his image, Ephesians 4:24 Colossians 3:10. And we are said to be made partakers of this Divine nature by the promises of the gospel, because they are the effectual means of our regeneration, (in which that Divine nature is communicated to us), by reason of that quickening Spirit which accompanieth them, 2 Corinthians 3:6, works by them, and forms in us the image of that wisdom, righteousness, and holiness of God, which appear in them; or of that glory of the Lord, which when by faith we behold in the glass of gospel promises, we are changed into the same image, even as by the Spirit of the Lord, 2 Corinthians 3:18. Or,

the Divine nature may be understood of the glory and immortality of the other life, wherein we shall be conformed to God, and whereof by the promises we are made partakers.

Having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust; either by

corruption here we are to understand:

1. Destruction, to which the greatest part of the world is obnoxious through lust, and then corruption must be opposed to life and peace before, and lust to virtue and godliness: or rather:

2. All the pravity or wickedness of human nature, which is here said to be, i.e. to reign and prevail, in the world, or worldly men, through lust, or habitual concupiscence, which is the spring and root from which it proceeds; and then the sense is the same as Galatians 5:24. This corruption through lust is opposed to the Divine nature before, and escaping this corruption agrees with being partakers of that Divine nature: see Ephesians 4:22-24 Colossians 3:9,10.

And beside this, giving all diligence: here the apostle begins his exhortation, that since God had done so much for them, 2 Peter 1:3,4, they would likewise do their duty; and that their care and diligence in improving the grace they had received, might be added to his bounty in giving it them.

Add to; or, minister unto; or it may be a metaphor taken from the ancient way of dancing, in which they joined hands one with another, thereby helping and holding up one another.

Faith is here set forth as the first grace, and which (as it were) leads up, the rest following it, and attending upon it, yet all in conjunction one with another. Faith is set in the first place as the prime grace of a Christian, the foundation and root of all other, as being that without which nothing else can be pleasing to God, Hebrews 11:6. By

virtue he seems to understand universal righteousness, or a complication of all those graces by which faith is wont to work; and this being more general, he proceeds from it to others that are more special.

Knowledge; by this may be meant spiritual prudence, which governs and directs other virtues in their actings; and it is called knowledge, because it consists in the practical knowledge of the will of God: see 2 Corinthians 6:6 1 Peter 3:7.

Temperance; a grace which represseth, and curbs in, not only sensual lusts, but all inordinate appetites, Galatians 5:22 Titus 1:8.

Patience; that Christian fortitude whereby we hear afflictions and injuries, so as to persevere in our duty without being moved by the evils that attend us in the doing of it.

Godliness; which respects our immediate duty to God, and comprehends all the duties of the first table. This is joined to

patience, as being that which teacheth us, in all we suffer, to acknowledge God’s providence, and promises of deliverance and recompence.

Brotherly kindness; a love to those that are of the household of faith. This is joined to godliness, to show that it is in vain to pretend to true religion and yet be destitute of brotherly love.

Charity; this is more general than the former, and relates to all men, even our enemies themselves.

For if these things be in you, and abound; if ye not only have these graces in you, but abound or grow in them, both as to the inward degree and outward exercise of them.

They make you; either they make you, or declare you, not to be barren, or both; they will be both the causes and evidences of your not being barren.

Barren; or, slothful, idle, unactive.

Nor unfruitful; void of good works, which are frequently compared to fruits, Matthew 3:10 7:17-19 Galatians 5:22.

In the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ; i.e. the faith of Christ. But more is implied here than expressed; q.d. They will make you be active and fruitful in the knowledge of Christ, and declare you to be so, and thereby make it appear that ye have not in vain learned Christ.