2 Peter 1:3 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
2 Peter 1:3
According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
the (sometimes to be supplied · article — genitive singular feminine
unto
πρὸςpros
G4314
a preposition of direction · preposition
life
ζωὴνzōēn
G2222
life (literally or figuratively) · noun — accusative singular feminine
and
καὶkai
G2532
and · conjunction
godliness
εὐσέβειανeusebeian
G2150
piety · noun — accusative singular feminine
through
διὰdia
G1223
through (in very wide applications · preposition
knowledge
ἐπιγνώσεωςepignōseōs
G1922
recognition · noun — genitive singular feminine
called
καλέσαντοςkalesantos
G2564
to "call" (properly · verb — aorist active participle, genitive singular masculine
us
ἡμᾶςhēmâs
G2248
us
to
διάdiá
G1223
through (in very wide applications
glory
δόξῃdoxē
G1391
glory (as very apparent) · noun — dative singular feminine
and
καὶkai
G2532
and · conjunction
virtue
ἀρετῇ,aretēa
G703
properly · noun — dative singular feminine
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
1 Peter 5:10 But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect,…
2 Timothy 1:9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was giv…
Romans 8:28-30 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
Psalms 84:11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.
Romans 8:32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
Ephesians 1:19-21 And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,
2 Corinthians 12:9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on 2 Peter 1:1-4
The apostle Peter, being moved by the Holy Ghost to write once more to those who from among the Jews were turned to faith in Christ, begins this second epistle with an introduction, wherein the same persons are described and the same blessings are desired that are in the preface to his former letter; but there are some additions or alterations which ought to be taken notice of, in all the three parts of the introduction.
I. We have here a description of the person who wrote the epistle, by the name of Simon, as well as Peter, and by the title of servant, as well as that of apostle. Peter, being in both epistles, seems to be the name most frequently used, and with which he may be thought to b…
According as, &c.--Seeing that [ALFORD]. "As He hath given us ALL things (needful) for life and godliness, (so) do you give us ALL diligence," &c. The oil and flame are given wholly of grace by God, and "taken" by believers: their part henceforth is to "trim their lamps" (compare Pe2 1:3-4 with Pe2 1:5, &c.).
life and godliness--Spiritual life must exist first before there can be true godliness. Knowledge of God experimentally is the first step to life (Joh 17:3). The child must have vital breath. first, and then cry to, and walk in the ways of, his father. It is not by godliness that we obtain life, but by life, godliness. To life stands opposed corruption; to godliness, lust (Pe2 1:4).…
As his Divine power - His power, which no power can resist, because it is Divine - that which properly belongs to the infinite Godhead.
Hath given unto us - Δεδωρημενης· Hath endowed us with the gifts; or, hath gifted us, as Dr. Macknight translates it, who observes that it refers to the gifts which the Holy Spirit communicated to the apostles, to enable them to bring men to life and godliness; which were,
1. A complete knowledge of the doctrines of the Gospel.
2. Power to preach and defend their doctrines in suitable language, which their adversaries were not able to gainsay or resist.
3. Wisdom to direct them how to behave in all cases, where and when to labor; and the matter suitable to a…
The Church Fathers
Here Peter is talking about the Scriptures, the miracles which Christ did in the flesh, the work of baptism and the doctrine which was preached, all of which bring us into the enjoyment of eternal life.
Through the knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and virtue. And this too depends on the previous passage, because through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, we have recognized all the mysteries of His divinity by which we are saved. He called us by His own glory and virtue, for He did not send an angel to our salvation, nor an archangel, nor did He find in us any merit for which we were to be saved, but rather seeing us as weak and inglorious, He redeemed us by His own power and glory. Hence He says: You did not choose Me, but I chose you (John XV).
Just as His divine power has given us all things, etc. This statement depends on the previous sentences. The meaning is: Grace and peace be multiplied to you as you come to know our Lord Jesus Christ perfectly. And know this too through Him, that all things of His divine power have been given to us through His grace, which are sufficient for attaining life and preserving piety. Hence, He says: Because everything I have heard from My Father I have made known to you (John XV). And elsewhere: And the glory which You have given Me, I have given them (John XVII). But if it is read as some manuscripts have: Which has been given for life and piety, then the meaning will be: So that you may understand how our Lord has given all things of His divine power to us according to the measure of our capacity, which power has been given for us to attain life and piety. For this form of expression is very common in the Scriptures; and it is called by grammarians ellipsis, that is, the omission of a necessary word, such as in the Psalm: For neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the desert mountains. It implies, for the way of escape is evident, for God is judge everywhere (Psalm LXXIV).
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Peter, Second Epistle of — The question of the authenticity of this epistle has been much discussed, but the weight of evidence is wholly in favour of its claim to be the production of the apostle whose name it bears. It…
Call · 2:11,12; — 2:11,12;
Call Of God, The · To man is: To glory and virtue — To man is: To glory and virtue
Gifts From God · UNCLASSIFIED SCRIPTURES RELATING TO BOTH TEMPORAL AND SPIRITUAL — UNCLASSIFIED SCRIPTURES RELATING TO BOTH TEMPORAL AND SPIRITUAL
Gifts Of God, The · All blessings are — All blessings are
Sanctification · UNCLASSIFIED SCRIPTURES RELATING TO — UNCLASSIFIED SCRIPTURES RELATING TO
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
According as his divine power,.... Meaning either the power of God the Father, to whom belong eternal power and Godhead; and he is sometimes called by the name of power itself; see Matthew 26:64 being all powerful and mighty; or rather the power of Christ, since he is the next and immediate antecedent to this relative; and who, as he has the fulness of the Godhead in him, is almighty, and can do all things; and is "El-shaddai", God all-sufficient, and can communicate all things whatsoever he pleases, and does, as follows: for he
hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness; referring not so much to a temporal life, though he gives that and preserves it, and furnishes w…
2 Peter 1:1-4
1. Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:
1. Simeon Petrus, et servus et apostolus Jesu Christi, iis quid aequ? pretiosam nobiscum sortiti sunt fidem, per justitiam Dei nostri et Servatoris Jesu Christ?,
2. Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,
2. Gratia vobis et pax multiplicetur per cognitionem (vel, cum cognitione) Dei et Jesu Domini nostri;
3. According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath calle…
An explanation of all that God has given us in Christ (1:3-4) forms the basis for an urgent exhortation to grow in the knowledge of Christ (1:5-11).
1:3 By his divine power, God has (literally His divine power has): The name of God does not occur in the Greek text; Peter could be referring to the divine power of “Jesus our Lord” (1:2).
