The Greek noun for "diligent" in verse five reappears as a verb in verse ten as a verb "be even more diligent." In verse five we are told to "add to your faith virtue" and in ten to "to make your call and election sure.' It seems the two are closely related.
The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), 2 Pe 1:10.."
diligent: 5082 σπουδή (spoudē), ῆς (ēs), ἡ (hē): n.fem.; ≡ Str 4710; TDNT 7.559—1. LN 68.79 do quickly, hurry, haste (Mk 6:25; Lk 1:39); 2. LN 68.63 do one’s best (Ro 12:8); 3. LN 25.74 eagerness (2Co 7:12); 4. LN 68.64 σπουδὴν πᾶσαν παρεισφέρω (spoudēn pasan pareispherō), do one’s best (2Pe 1:5+), note: there may be overlap in the verses and entries
James Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Greek (New Testament) (Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997).
Giving:4210 παρεισφέρω (pareispherō): vb.; ≡ Str 3923—LN 68.64 do one’s best (2Pe 1:5+), see 5082
James Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Greek (New Testament) (Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997).
giving all diligence: 68.64 σπουδὴν πᾶσαν παρεισφέρω: (an idiom, literally ‘to bring every effort to’) to do one’s very best in attempting to do something—‘to do one’s best, to make every effort to, to try as hard as possible.’ σπουδὴν πᾶσαν παρεισενέγκαντες ἐπιχορηγήσατε ἐν τῇ πίστει ὑμῶν τὴν ἀρετήν ‘do your very best to add goodness to your faith’ 2 Pe 1:5. In some languages it may be almost impossible to speak of ‘adding goodness to faith.’ However, an appropriate equivalent of this expression in 2 Pe 1:5 may be ‘do your best to be good as well as to believe.’
Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), 662.
faith: 31.85 πιστεύωb; πίστιςb, εως f: to believe to the extent of complete trust and reliance—‘to believe in, to have confidence in, to have faith in, to trust, faith, trust.’
πιστεύωb: ὃς δ’ ἂν σκανδαλίσῃ ἕνα τῶν μικρῶν τούτων τῶν πιστευόντων εἰς ἐμέ ‘if anyone should cause one of these little ones to turn away from his faith in me’ Mt 18:6; ἐπίστευσεν δὲ Ἀβραὰμ τῷ θεῷ ‘Abraham trusted in God’ Ro 4:3; ὁ πιστεύων ἐπ’ αὐτῷ οὐ μὴ καταισχυνθῇ ‘whoever believes in him will not be disappointed’ 1 Pe 2:6.
πίστιςb: ἔχετε πίστιν θεοῦ ‘you have faith in God’ Mk 11:22; ἤκουσεν αὐτοῦ περὶ τῆς εἰς Χριστὸν Ἰησοῦν πίστεως ‘he listened to him (as he talked) about faith in Christ Jesus’ Ac 24:24; ὁ δὲ δίκαιος ἐκ πίστεως ζήσεται ‘he who is righteous because of his faith shall live’ Ro 1:17; ἀκούσαντες τὴν πίστιν ὑμῶν ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ ‘we heard about your faith in Christ Jesus’ Col 1:4.
In rendering πιστεύωb and πίστιςb it would be wrong to select a term which would mean merely ‘reliance’ or ‘dependency’ or even ‘confidence,’ for there should also be a significant measure of ‘belief,’ since real trust, confidence, and reliance can only be placed in someone who is believed to have the qualities attributed to such a person.
Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), 375–376.
virtue: 88.11 ἀρετήa, ῆς f: the quality of moral excellence—‘outstanding goodness, virtue.’ εἴ τις ἀρετὴ καὶ εἴ τις ἔπαινος ‘if there is any moral excellence and if there is (reason for) praise’ Php 4:8; τοῦ καλέσαντος ἡμᾶς ἰδίᾳ δόξῃ καὶ ἀρετῇ ‘one who has called us to (share in) his own glory and moral excellence’ 2 Pe 1:3. It is possible, however, that ἀρετή in 2 Pe 1:3 denotes the manifestation of (divine) power (see 76.14).
Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), 743.
A.T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament (Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1933), 2 Pe 1:5.
Giving all diligence (σπουδὴν πᾶσαν παρεισενέγκαντες) The verb occurs only here in New Testament, and means, liteally, to bring in by the side of: adding your diligence to the divine promises. So Rev., adding on your part.
Add to your faith, etc. The A. V. is entirely wrong. The verb rendered add (ἐπιχορηγήσατε) is derived from χορός, a chorus, such as was employed in the representation of the Greek tragedies. The verb originally means to bear the expense of a chorus, which was done by a person selected by the state, who was obliged to defray all the expenses of training and maintenance. In the New Testament the word has lost this technical sense, and is used in the general sense of supplying or providing. The verb is used by Paul (2 Cor. 9:10; Gal. 3:5; Col. 2:19), and is rendered minister (A. V.), supply (Rev.); and the simple verb χορηγέω, minister, occurs 1 Pet. 4:11; 2 Cor. 9:10. Here the Rev., properly, renders supply.
To your faith (ἐν τῇ πίστει). The A. V. exhorts to add one virtue to another; but the Greek, to develop one virtue in the exercise of another: “an increase by growth, not by external junction; each new grace springing out of, attempting, and perfecting the other.” Render, therefore, as Rev. In your faith supply virtue, and in your virtue knowledge, etc.
Virtue. See on ver. 3, and 1 Pet. 2:9. Not in the sense of moral excellence, but of the energy which Christians are to exhibit, as God exerts his energy upon them. As God calls us by his own virtue (ver. 3), so Christians are to exhibit virtue or energy in the exercise of their faith, translating it into vigorous action.
Marvin Richardson Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament, vol. 1 (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1887), 678–679.
“Diligence” is spoudē. (σπουδη.) The verb is spoudazō (σπουδαζω) which means “to make haste, be eager, give diligence, to do one’s best, to take care, to exert one’s self.” In verses two and three we have the divine provision and enablement given the believer in salvation, an inner dynamic, the divine nature which impels to a holy life, giving both the desire and power to do God’s will (Phil. 2:13). In verses five to seven, we have human responsibility, that of seeing to it that the various Christian virtues are included in one’s life. The divine nature is not an automatic self-propelling machine that will turn out a Christian life for the believer irrespective of what that believer does or the attitude he takes to the salvation which God has provided. The divine nature will always produce a change in the life of the sinner who receives the Lord Jesus as Saviour. But it works at its best efficiency when the believer cooperates with it in not only determining to live a life pleasing to God, but definitely stepping out in faith and living that life in dependence upon the new life which God has implanted in him. And this must not be a mere lackadaisical attempt at doing God’s will, but an intense effort, as shown by the word spoudē, (σπουδη,) translated “diligence.”
As to the translation, “add to your faith,” Vincent says; “The A.V. is entirely wrong. The verb rendered ‘add’ (epichorēgeō (ἐπιχορηγεω)) is derived from chorus, (χορυς,) a chorus, such as was employed in the representation of Greek tragedies. The verb originally meant ‘to bear the expense of a chorus,’ which was done by a person selected by the state, who was obliged to defray all the expense of training and maintenance.” Strachan adds, “It was a duty that prompted to lavishness in execution. Hence chorēgeō (χορηγεω) came to mean ‘supplying costs for any purpose,’ a public duty or religious service, with a tending, as here, towards the meaning, ‘providing more than is barely demanded.’ ” Thus, the word means “to supply in copious measure, to provide beyond the need, to supply more than generously.”
Saints are to supply or provide in their faith, virtue. Vincent says; “The A.V. exhorts to add one virtue to another; but the Greek, to develop one virtue in the exercise of another; each new grace springing out of, attempting and perfecting the other. Render, therefore, as Rev. In your faith supply virtue, and in your virtue, knowledge, etc.” The exhortation is that in the faith which the saints exercise in the Lord Jesus, they should provide for virtue. The believer exercises faith in the Lord Jesus to supply his needs, to guide him along life’s way. He should also exercise faith for the generating of virtue in his inner being by the Holy Spirit. This virtue, Vincent says, is in the form, “not of moral excellence, but of the energy which Christians are to exhibit, as God exerts His energy upon them. As God calls us by His own virtue (v. 3), so Christians are to exhibit virtue or energy in the exercise of their faith, translating it into vigorous action.” They are to provide in this virtue, knowledge (gnōsis (γνωσις)), and in this knowledge, temperance (egkrateia, (ἐγκρατεια,) self-control), holding the passions and desires in hand. The word was used of the virtue of one who masters his desires and passions, especially his sensual appetites. The Greeks used it of the one who had his sex passions under control. The papyri (Moulton and Milligan) quote the phrase, “a trusty dispenser of continence.” One can see what a blessing the fruit of the Spirit is when it provides the saint with a mastery of his sex passions (Gal. 5:23, temperance, egkrateia, (ἐγκρατεια,) self-control).
The saints are to provide generously in this self-control, patience. The word is hupomonē, (ὑπομονη,) literally, “to remain under,” thus, “to remain under trials and testings in a way that honors God.” Vincent translates, “remaining behind or staying.” He says further, “not merely endurance of the inevitable, for Christ could have relieved Himself of His sufferings (Heb. 12:2, 3, compare Matt. 26:53); but the heroic, brave patience with which a Christian not only bears but contends. Speaking of Christ’s patience, Barrow remarks, ‘Neither was it out of a stupid insensibility or stubborn resolution that He did thus behave Himself; for He had a most vigorous sense of all those grievances, and a strong (natural) aversation (act of turning away from) from undergoing them … but from a perfect submission to the divine will, and entire command over His passions, an excessive charity toward mankind, this patient, and meek behaviour did spring.’ The same writer defines patience as follows: ‘That virtue which qualifies us to bear all conditions and all events, by God’s disposal incident to us, with such apprehensions and persuasions of mind, such dispositions and affections of heart, such external deportment and practices of life as God requires and good reason directs.’ ”
Godliness is to be provided generously in patience. This is eusebeia, (εὐσεβεια,) a thorough treatment of which word was presented in the material of verse three, which please see. In this virtue of godliness is to be provided brotherly kindness. The word is philadelphia, (φιλαδελφια,) made up of phileō, (φιλεω,) “to have an affection for,” and adelphos, (ἀδελφος,) “a brother.” This affection or fondness for one’s Christian brethren is to be saturated with charity. The word is agapē, (ἀγαπη,) “that divine love which God is as to His nature, which is produced in the heart of the yielded believer by the Holy Spirit, and which impels him to deny himself for the benefit of the one loved.”
Translation. And for this very cause, having added on your part every intense effort, provide lavishly in your faith, virtue, and in your virtue, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, patience, and in your patience, godliness, and in your godliness, an affection for the brethren, and in your affection for the brethren, divine love.
Kenneth S. Wuest, Wuest’s Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: For the English Reader, vol. 12 (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997), 22–25.
Where there is life, there must be growth. The new birth is not the end; it is the beginning. God gives His children all that they need to live godly lives, but His children must apply themselves and be diligent to use the “means of grace” He has provided. Spiritual growth is not automatic. It requires cooperation with God and the application of spiritual diligence and discipline. “Work out your own salvation … For it is God which worketh in you” (Phil. 2:12–13).
Peter listed seven characteristics of the godly life, but we must not think of them as seven beads on a string or even seven stages of development. The word translated “add” really means “to supply generously.” In other words, we develop one quality as we exercise another quality. These graces relate to each other the way the branch relates to the trunk and the twigs to the branch. Like the “fruit of the Spirit” (Gal. 5:22–23), these qualities grow out of life and out of a vital relationship with Jesus Christ. It is not enough for the Christian to “let go and let God,” as though spiritual growth were God’s work alone. Literally, Peter wrote, “Make every effort to bring alongside.” The Father and the child must work together.
The first quality of character Peter listed was virtue. We met this word in 2 Peter 1:3, and it basically means “excellence.” To the Greek philosophers, it meant “the fulfillment of a thing.” When anything in nature fulfills its purpose, that is “virtue—moral excellence.” The word was also used to describe the power of the gods to do heroic deeds. The land that produces crops is “excellent” because it is fulfilling its purpose. The tool that works correctly is “excellent” because it is doing what a tool is supposed to do.
A Christian is supposed to glorify God because he has God’s nature within; so, when he does this, he shows “excellence” because he is fulfilling his purpose in life. True virtue in the Christian life is not “polishing” human qualities, no matter how fine they may be, but producing divine qualities that make the person more like Jesus Christ.
Faith helps us develop virtue, and virtue helps us develop knowledge (2 Peter 1:5). The word translated “knowledge” in 2 Peter 1:2–3 means “full knowledge” or “knowledge that is growing.” The word used here suggests practical knowledge or discernment. It refers to the ability to handle life successfully. It is the opposite of being “so heavenly minded as to be of no earthly good!” This kind of knowledge does not come automatically. It comes from obedience to the will of God (John 7:17). In the Christian life, you must not separate the heart and the mind, character and knowledge.
Temperance is the next quality on Peter’s list of spiritual virtues, and it means self-control. “He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city” (Prov. 16:32). “He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down and without walls” (Prov. 25:28). Paul in his letters often compared the Christian to an athlete who must exercise and discipline himself if he ever hopes to win the prize (1 Cor. 9:24–27; Phil. 3:12–16; 1 Tim. 4:7–8).
Patience is the ability to endure when circumstances are difficult. Self-control has to do with handling the pleasures of life, while patience relates primarily to the pressures and problems of life. (The ability to endure problem people is “long-suffering.”) Often, the person who “gives in” to pleasures is not disciplined enough to handle pressures either, so he “gives up.”
Patience is not something that develops automatically; we must work at it. James 1:2–8 gives us the right approach. We must expect trials to come, because without trials we could never learn patience. We must, by faith, let our trials work for us and not against us, because we know that God is at work in our trials. If we need wisdom in making decisions, God will grant that wisdom if we ask Him. Nobody enjoys trials, but we do enjoy the confidence we can have in trials that God is at work, causing everything to work together for our good and His glory.
Godliness simply means “God-likeness.” In the original Greek, this word meant “to worship well.” It described the man who was right in his relationship with God and with his fellowman. Perhaps the words reverence and piety come closer to defining this term. It is that quality of character that makes a person distinctive. He lives above the petty things of life, the passions and pressures that control the lives of others. He seeks to do the will of God and, as he does, he seeks the welfare of others.
We must never get the idea that godliness is an impractical thing, because it is intensely practical. The godly person makes the kinds of decisions that are right and noble. He does not take an easy path simply to avoid either pain or trial. He does what is right because it is right and because it is the will of God.
Brotherly kindness (philadelphia in the Greek) is a virtue that Peter must have acquired the hard way, for the disciples of our Lord often debated and disagreed with one another. If we love Jesus Christ, we must also love the brethren. We should practice an “unfeigned [sincere] love of the brethren” (1 Peter 1:22) and not just pretend that we love them. “Let brotherly love continue” (Heb. 13:1). “Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love” (Rom. 12:10). The fact that we love our brothers and sisters in Christ is one evidence that we have been born of God (1 John 5:1–2).
But there is more to Christian growth than brotherly love; we must also have the sacrificial love that our Lord displayed when He went to the cross. The kind of love (“charity”) spoken of in 2 Peter 1:7 is agape love, the kind of love that God shows toward lost sinners. This is the love that is described in 1 Corinthians 13, the love that the Holy Spirit produces in our hearts as we walk in the Spirit (Rom. 5:5; Gal. 5:22). When we have brotherly love, we love because of our likenesses to others; but with agape love, we love in spite of the differences we have.
It is impossible for fallen human nature to manufacture these seven qualities of Christian character. They must be produced by the Spirit of God. To be sure, there are unsaved people who possess amazing self-control and endurance, but these virtues point to them and not to the Lord. They get the glory. When God produces the beautiful nature of His Son in a Christian, it is God who receives the praise and glory.
Because we have the divine nature, we can grow spiritually and develop this kind of Christian character. It is through the power of God and the precious promises of God that this growth takes place. The divine “genetic structure” is already there: God wants us to be “conformed to the image of His Son” (Rom. 8:29). The life within will reproduce that image if we but diligently cooperate with God and use the means He has lavishly given us.
And the amazing thing is this: as the image of Christ is reproduced in us, the process does not destroy our own personalities. We still remain uniquely ourselves!
One of the dangers in the church today is imitation. People have a tendency to become like their pastor, or like a church leader, or perhaps like some “famous Christian.” As they do this, they destroy their own uniqueness while failing to become like Jesus Christ. They lose both ways! Just as each child in a family resembles his parents and yet is different, so each child in God’s family comes more and more to resemble Jesus Christ and yet is different. Parents don’t duplicate themselves, they reproduce themselves; and wise parents permit their children to be themselves.
Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 437–439.
The word add, in the imperative, translates epichorēgēsate, from which come the English words “chorus,” “choreograph,” and “choreography.” In ancient Greece the state established a chorus but the director, the chorēgys, paid the expenses for training the chorus. Then the word came to be used of one who provides for or supports others or supplies something for them in abundance. A believer is to “furnish, supply, or support” his life with these virtues. (The same word is trans. “supplies” in 2 Cor. 9:10 and “supported” in Col. 2:19. Peter used it again in 2 Peter 1:11 where the NIV renders it “receive.”)
Faith in Jesus Christ is what separates Christians from all other people. Pistis, trust in the Savior which brings one into the family of God, is the foundation of all other qualities in the Christian life.
1. To his faith each believer should add goodness (lit., “moral excellency,” or “virtue”). In Greek the word is aretēn, which Peter also used at the end of verse 3 and in 1 Peter 2:9 (“praises” in the NIV).
2. Knowledge (gnōsin; cf. 2 Peter 1:2; 3:18) comes not from intellectual pursuits, but is spiritual knowledge which comes through the Holy Spirit and is focused on the person and Word of God.
3. Faith, goodness, and spiritual knowledge are not enough for a Christian’s walk. He must also make every effort to practice self-control (enkrateian; used only two other times in the NT, in Acts 24:25; Gal. 5:23). This means to have one’s passions under control. It contrasts sharply with the anarchy and lack of control on the part of the false teachers whom Peter exposed (chap. 2). In an increasingly anarchistic society Christians do well to let the music of self-control be played in their lives.
4. Believers living in the latter days, especially when surrounded by scoffers and false teachers, also need perseverance. This word hypomenēn means “staying under.” It is frequently used in the New Testament to refer to constancy or steadfast endurance under adversity, without giving in or giving up (cf. Rom. 5:3–4; 15:4–5; 2 Cor. 1:6; 6:4; Col. 1:11; 1 Thes. 1:3; 2 Thes. 1:4; James 1:3).
5. Godliness (eusebian, also used in 2 Peter 1:3 and 3:11 and 10 times [in the Gr.] in the Pastoral Epistles) refers to piety, man’s obligation of reverence toward God. The fourth-century church historian Eusebius was named for this lovely Greek word. How unfortunate that the words “piety” and “pious” have fallen on hard times in current usage.
6. The first five virtues pertain to one’s inner life and his relationship to God. The last two relate to others. Brotherly kindness translates the Greek philadelphian, a fervent practical caring for others (1 John 4:20). Peter already urged this attitude on his readers in his first epistle (1 Peter 1:22; cf. Rom. 12:10; 1 Thes. 4:9; Heb. 13:1).
7. Whereas brotherly kindness is concern for others’ needs, love (agapēn) is desiring the highest good for others. This is the kind of love God exhibits toward sinners (John 3:16; Rom. 5:8; 1 John 4:9–11).
Interestingly this “symphony” begins with faith and ends with love. Building on the foundation of faith in Christ, believers are to exhibit Christlikeness by supplying these seven qualities that climax in love toward others (cf. faith and love in Col. 1:4–5; 1 Thes. 1:3; 2 Thes. 1:3; Phile. 5).
In these words the apostle comes to the chief thing intended in this epistle—to excite and engage them to advance in grace and holiness, they having already obtained precious faith, and been made partakers of the divine nature. This is a very good beginning, but it is not to be rested in, as if we were already perfect. The apostle had prayed that grace and peace might be multiplied to them, and now he exhorts them to press forward for the obtaining of more grace. We should, as we have opportunity, exhort those we pray for, and excite them to the use of all proper means to obtain what we desire God to bestow upon them; and those who will make any progress in religion must be very diligent and industrious in their endeavours. Without giving all diligence, there is no gaining any ground in the work of holiness; those who are slothful in the business of religion will make nothing of it; we must strive if we will enter in at the strait gate, Lu. 13:24.
I. Here we cannot but observe how the believer’s way is marked out step by step. 1. He must get virtue, by which some understand justice; and then the knowledge, temperance, and patience that follow, being joined with it, the apostle may be supposed to put them upon pressing after the four cardinal virtues, or the four elements that go to the making up of every virtue or virtuous action. But seeing it is a faithful saying, and constantly to be asserted, that those who have faith be careful to maintain good works (Tit. 3:8), by virtue here we may understand strength and courage, without which the believer cannot stand up for good works, by abounding and excelling in them. The righteous must be bold as a lion (Prov. 28:1); a cowardly Christian, who is afraid to profess the doctrines or practise the duties of the gospel, must expect that Christ will be ashamed of him another day. “Let not your hearts fail you in the evil day, but show yourselves valiant in standing against all opposition, and resisting every enemy, world, flesh, devil, yea, and death too.” We have need of virtue while we live, and it will be of excellent use when we come to die. 2. The believer must add knowledge to his virtue, prudence to his courage; there is a knowledge of God’s name which must go before our faith (Ps. 9:10), and we cannot approve of the good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God, till we know it; but there are proper circumstances for duty, which must be known and observed; we must use the appointed means, and observe the accepted time. Christian prudence regards the persons we have to do with and the place and company we are in. Every believer must labour after the knowledge and wisdom that are profitable to direct, both as to the proper method and order wherein all Christian duties are to be performed and as to the way and manner of performing them. 3. We must add temperance to our knowledge. We must be sober and moderate in our love to, and use of, the good things of this life; and, if we have a right understanding and knowledge of outward comforts, we shall see that their worth and usefulness are vastly inferior to those of spiritual mercies. Bodily exercises and bodily privileges profit but little, and therefore are to be esteemed and used accordingly; the gospel teaches sobriety as well as honesty, Tit. 2:12. We must be moderate in desiring and using the good things of natural life, such as meat, drink, clothes, sleep, recreations, and credit; an inordinate desire after these is inconsistent with an earnest desire after God and Christ; and those who take more of these than is due can render to neither God nor man what is due to them. 4. Add to temperance patience, which must have its perfect work, or we cannot be perfect and entire, wanting nothing (Jam. 1:4), for we are born to trouble, and must through many tribulations enter into the kingdom of heaven; and it is this tribulation (Rom. 5:3) which worketh patience, that is, requires the exercise and occasions the increase of this grace, whereby we bear all calamities and crosses with silence and submission, without murmuring against God or complaining of him, but justifying him who lays all affliction upon us, owning that our sufferings are less than our sins deserve, and believing they are no more than we ourselves need. 5. To patience we must add godliness, and this is the very thing which is produced by patience, for that works experience, Rom. 5:4. When Christians bear afflictions patiently, they get an experimental knowledge of the loving-kindness of their heavenly Father, which he will not take from his children, even when he visits their iniquity with the rod and their transgression with stripes (Ps. 89:32, 33), and hereby they are brought to the child-like fear and reverential love wherein true godliness consists: to this, 6. We must add brotherly-kindness, a tender affection to all our fellow-christians, who are children of the same Father, servants of the same Master, members of the same family, travellers to the same country, and heirs of the same inheritance, and therefore are to be loved with a pure heart fervently, with a love of complacency, as those who are peculiarly near and dear to us, in whom we take particular delight, Ps. 16:3. 7. Charity, or a love of good-will to all mankind, must be added to the love of delight which we have for those who are the children of God. God has made of one blood all nations, and all the children of men are partakers of the same human nature, are all capable of the same mercies, and liable to the same afflictions, and therefore, though upon a spiritual account Christians are distinguished and dignified above those who are without Christ, yet are they to sympathize with others in their calamities, and relieve their necessities, and promote their welfare both in body and soul, as they have opportunity: thus must all believers in Christ evidence that they are the children of God, who is good to all, but is especially good to Israel.
II. All the forementioned graces must be had, or we shall not be thoroughly furnished for all good works—for the duties of the first and second table, for active and passive obedience, and for those services wherein we are to imitate God as well as for those wherein we only obey him—and therefore to engage us to an industrious and unwearied pursuit of them, the apostle sets forth the advantages that redound to all who successfully labour so as to get these things to be and abound in them, v. 8–11. These are proposed,
1. More generally, v. 8. The having these things make not barren (or slothful) nor unfruitful, where, according to the style of the Holy Ghost, we must understand a great deal more than is expressed; for when it is said concerning Ahaz, the vilest and most provoking of all the kings of Judah, that he did not right in the sight of the Lord (2 Ki. 16:2), we are to understand as much as if it had been said, He did what was most offensive and abominable, as the following account of his life shows; so, when it is here said that the being and abounding of all Christian graces in us will make us neither inactive nor unfruitful, we are thereby to understand that it will make us very zealous and lively, vigorous and active, in all practical Christianity, and eminently fruitful in the works of righteousness. these will bring much glory to God, by bringing forth much fruit among men, being fruitful in knowledge, or the acknowledging of our Lord Jesus Christ, owning him to be their Lord, and evidencing themselves to be his servants by their abounding in the work that he has given them to do. This is the necessary consequence of adding one grace to another; for, where all Christian graces are in the heart, they improve and strengthen, encourage and cherish, one another; so they all thrive and grow (as the apostle intimates in the beginning of v. 8), and wherever grace abounds there will be an abounding in good works. How desirable it is to be in such a case the apostle evidences, v. 9. There he sets forth how miserable it is to be without those quickening fructifying graces; for he who has not the forementioned graces, or, though he pretends or seems to have them, does not exercise and improve them, is blind, that is, as to spiritual and heavenly things, as the next words explain it: He cannot see far off. This present evil world he can see, and dotes upon, but has no discerning at all of the world to come, so as to be affected with the spiritual privileges and heavenly blessings thereof. He who sees the excellences of Christianity must needs be diligent in endeavours after all those graces that are absolutely necessary for obtaining glory, honour, and immortality; but, where these graces are not obtained nor endeavoured after, men are not able to look forward to the things that are but a very little way off in reality, though in appearance, or in their apprehension, they are at a great distance, because they put them far away from them; and how wretched is their condition who are thus blind as to the awfully great things of the other world, who cannot see any thing of the reality and certainty, the greatness and nearness, of the glorious rewards God will bestow on the righteous, and the dreadful punishment he will inflict on the ungodly! But this is not all the misery of those who do not add to their faith virtue, knowledge, etc. They are as unable to look backward as forward, their memories are slippery and unable to retain what is past, as their sight is short and unable to discern what is future; they forget that they have been baptized, and had the means, and been laid under the obligations to holiness of heart and life. By baptism we are engaged in a holy war against sin, and are solemnly bound to fight against the flesh, the world, and the devil. Often call to mind, and seriously meditate on, your solemn engagement to be the Lord’s, and your peculiar advantages and encouragements to lay aside all filthiness of flesh and spirit.
2. The apostle proposes two particular advantages that will attend or follow upon diligence in the work of a Christian: stability in grace, and a triumphant entrance into glory. These he brings in by resuming his former exhortation, and laying it down in other words; for what in v. 5 is expressed by giving diligence to add to faith virtue, etc., is expressed in v. 10 by giving diligence to make our calling and election sure. Here we may observe, (1.) It is the duty of believers to make their election sure, to clear it up to themselves that they are the chosen of God. (2.) The way to make sure their eternal election is to make out their effectual calling: none can look into the book of God’s eternal counsels and decrees; but, inasmuch as whom God did predestinate those he also called, if we can find we are effectually called, we may conclude we are chosen to salvation. (3.) It requires a great deal of diligence and labour to make sure our calling and election; there must be a very close examination of ourselves, a very narrow search and strict enquiry, whether we are thoroughly converted, our minds enlightened, our wills renewed, and our whole souls changed as to the bent and inclination thereof; and to come to a fixed certainty in this requires the utmost diligence, and cannot be attained and kept without divine assistance, as we may learn from Ps. 139:23; Rom. 8:16. “But, how great soever the labour is, do not think much of it, for great is the advantage you gain by it; for,” [1.] “By this you will be kept from falling, and that at all times and seasons, even in those hours of temptation that shall be on the earth.” When others shall fall into heinous and scandalous sin, those who are thus diligent shall be enabled to walk circumspectly and keep on in the way of their duty; and, when many fall into errors, they shall be preserved sound in the faith, and stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. [2.] Those who are diligent in the work of religion shall have a triumphant entrance into glory; while of those few who get to heaven some are scarcely saved (1 Pt. 4:18), with a great deal of difficulty, even as by fire (1 Co. 3:15), those who are growing in grace, and abounding in the work of the Lord, shall have an abundant entrance into the joy of their Lord, even that everlasting kingdom where Christ reigns, and they shall reign with him for ever and ever.
Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible: Complete and Unabridged in One Volume (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1994), 2434–2435.
The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), 2 Pe 1:10.."
diligent: 5082 σπουδή (spoudē), ῆς (ēs), ἡ (hē): n.fem.; ≡ Str 4710; TDNT 7.559—1. LN 68.79 do quickly, hurry, haste (Mk 6:25; Lk 1:39); 2. LN 68.63 do one’s best (Ro 12:8); 3. LN 25.74 eagerness (2Co 7:12); 4. LN 68.64 σπουδὴν πᾶσαν παρεισφέρω (spoudēn pasan pareispherō), do one’s best (2Pe 1:5+), note: there may be overlap in the verses and entries
James Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Greek (New Testament) (Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997).
Giving:4210 παρεισφέρω (pareispherō): vb.; ≡ Str 3923—LN 68.64 do one’s best (2Pe 1:5+), see 5082
James Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Greek (New Testament) (Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997).
giving all diligence: 68.64 σπουδὴν πᾶσαν παρεισφέρω: (an idiom, literally ‘to bring every effort to’) to do one’s very best in attempting to do something—‘to do one’s best, to make every effort to, to try as hard as possible.’ σπουδὴν πᾶσαν παρεισενέγκαντες ἐπιχορηγήσατε ἐν τῇ πίστει ὑμῶν τὴν ἀρετήν ‘do your very best to add goodness to your faith’ 2 Pe 1:5. In some languages it may be almost impossible to speak of ‘adding goodness to faith.’ However, an appropriate equivalent of this expression in 2 Pe 1:5 may be ‘do your best to be good as well as to believe.’
Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), 662.
faith: 31.85 πιστεύωb; πίστιςb, εως f: to believe to the extent of complete trust and reliance—‘to believe in, to have confidence in, to have faith in, to trust, faith, trust.’
πιστεύωb: ὃς δ’ ἂν σκανδαλίσῃ ἕνα τῶν μικρῶν τούτων τῶν πιστευόντων εἰς ἐμέ ‘if anyone should cause one of these little ones to turn away from his faith in me’ Mt 18:6; ἐπίστευσεν δὲ Ἀβραὰμ τῷ θεῷ ‘Abraham trusted in God’ Ro 4:3; ὁ πιστεύων ἐπ’ αὐτῷ οὐ μὴ καταισχυνθῇ ‘whoever believes in him will not be disappointed’ 1 Pe 2:6.
πίστιςb: ἔχετε πίστιν θεοῦ ‘you have faith in God’ Mk 11:22; ἤκουσεν αὐτοῦ περὶ τῆς εἰς Χριστὸν Ἰησοῦν πίστεως ‘he listened to him (as he talked) about faith in Christ Jesus’ Ac 24:24; ὁ δὲ δίκαιος ἐκ πίστεως ζήσεται ‘he who is righteous because of his faith shall live’ Ro 1:17; ἀκούσαντες τὴν πίστιν ὑμῶν ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ ‘we heard about your faith in Christ Jesus’ Col 1:4.
In rendering πιστεύωb and πίστιςb it would be wrong to select a term which would mean merely ‘reliance’ or ‘dependency’ or even ‘confidence,’ for there should also be a significant measure of ‘belief,’ since real trust, confidence, and reliance can only be placed in someone who is believed to have the qualities attributed to such a person.
Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), 375–376.
virtue: 88.11 ἀρετήa, ῆς f: the quality of moral excellence—‘outstanding goodness, virtue.’ εἴ τις ἀρετὴ καὶ εἴ τις ἔπαινος ‘if there is any moral excellence and if there is (reason for) praise’ Php 4:8; τοῦ καλέσαντος ἡμᾶς ἰδίᾳ δόξῃ καὶ ἀρετῇ ‘one who has called us to (share in) his own glory and moral excellence’ 2 Pe 1:3. It is possible, however, that ἀρετή in 2 Pe 1:3 denotes the manifestation of (divine) power (see 76.14).
Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), 743.
Word Pictures in the New Testament
Yea, and for this very cause (και αὐτο τουτο δε [kai auto touto de]). Adverbial accusative (αὐτο τουτο [auto touto]) here, a classic idiom, with both και [kai] and δε [de]. Cf. και τουτο [kai touto] (Phil. 1:29), τουτο μεν—τουτο δε [touto men—touto de] (Heb. 10:33). “The soul of religion is the practical part” (Bunyan). Because of the new birth and the promises we have a part to play. Adding on your part (παρεισενεγκαντες [pareisenegkantes]). First aorist active participle of παρεισφερω [pareispherō], old double compound, to bring in (εἰσφερω [eispherō]), besides (παρα [para]), here only in N. T. All diligence (σπουδην πασαν [spoudēn pāsan]). Old word from σπευδω [speudō] to hasten (Luke 19:5f.). This phrase (πασαν σπουδην [pāsan spoudēn]) occurs in Jude 3 with ποιουμενος [poioumenos] and on the inscription in Stratonicea (verse 3) with ἰσφερεσθαι [ispheresthai] (certainly a curious coincidence, to say the least, though common in the Koiné). In your faith (ἐν τῃ πιστει ὑμων [en tēi pistei humōn]). Faith or πιστις [pistis] (strong conviction as in Heb. 11:1, 3, the root of the Christian life Eph. 2:8) is the foundation which goes through various steps up to love (ἀγαπη [agapē]). See similar lists in James 1:20; 1 Thess. 1:3; 2 Thess. 1:3f.; Gal. 5:22f.; Rom. 5:3; 8:29f. Hermas (Vis. iii. 8. 1–7) has a list called “daughters” of one another. Note the use of ἐν [en] (in, on) with each step. Supply (ἐπιχορηγησατε [epichorēgēsate]). First aorist active imperative of ἐπιχορηγεω [epichorēgeō], late and rare double compound verb (ἐπι [epi] and χορηγεω [chorēgeō] 1 Pet. 4:11 from χορηγος [chorēgos], chorus-leader, χορος [choros] and ἡγεομαι [hēgeomai], to lead), to fit out the chorus with additional (complete) supplies. Both compound and simplex (more common) occur in the papyri. In 1:11 and already in 2 Cor. 9:10; Gal. 3:5; Col. 2:19. Virtue (ἀρετην [aretēn]). Moral power, moral energy, vigor of soul (Bengel). See 3. Knowledge (γνωσιν [gnōsin]). Insight, understanding (1 Cor. 16:18; John 15:15).A.T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament (Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1933), 2 Pe 1:5.
Word Studies in the New Testament
5. Beside this (αὐτὸ τοῦτο). Wrong. Render, for this very cause, as Rev. Lit., this very thing. Just as τί, what? has come to mean way? So the strengthened demonstrative acquires the meaning of wherefore, for this very cause.Giving all diligence (σπουδὴν πᾶσαν παρεισενέγκαντες) The verb occurs only here in New Testament, and means, liteally, to bring in by the side of: adding your diligence to the divine promises. So Rev., adding on your part.
Add to your faith, etc. The A. V. is entirely wrong. The verb rendered add (ἐπιχορηγήσατε) is derived from χορός, a chorus, such as was employed in the representation of the Greek tragedies. The verb originally means to bear the expense of a chorus, which was done by a person selected by the state, who was obliged to defray all the expenses of training and maintenance. In the New Testament the word has lost this technical sense, and is used in the general sense of supplying or providing. The verb is used by Paul (2 Cor. 9:10; Gal. 3:5; Col. 2:19), and is rendered minister (A. V.), supply (Rev.); and the simple verb χορηγέω, minister, occurs 1 Pet. 4:11; 2 Cor. 9:10. Here the Rev., properly, renders supply.
To your faith (ἐν τῇ πίστει). The A. V. exhorts to add one virtue to another; but the Greek, to develop one virtue in the exercise of another: “an increase by growth, not by external junction; each new grace springing out of, attempting, and perfecting the other.” Render, therefore, as Rev. In your faith supply virtue, and in your virtue knowledge, etc.
Virtue. See on ver. 3, and 1 Pet. 2:9. Not in the sense of moral excellence, but of the energy which Christians are to exhibit, as God exerts his energy upon them. As God calls us by his own virtue (ver. 3), so Christians are to exhibit virtue or energy in the exercise of their faith, translating it into vigorous action.
Marvin Richardson Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament, vol. 1 (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1887), 678–679.
Word Studies in the New Testament
(1:5–7) Concerning the words, “and besides this,” Vincent says; “Wrong. Render, for this very cause.” Robertson concurs in this translation, and adds that this is a classic idiom. “Giving” is pareispherō, (παρεισφερω,) made up of pherō (φερω) “to bring,” eis, (εἰς,) “into,” and para, (παρα,) “alongside,” thus, “to bring in alongside, to contribute besides” to something. The R.V. translates, “adding on your own part.” Strachan says that the words “and besides this” emphasize the fact of the gifts spoken of in verse four as having their logical outcome in character, and quotes Bunyan as saying, “The soul of religion is the practical part.”“Diligence” is spoudē. (σπουδη.) The verb is spoudazō (σπουδαζω) which means “to make haste, be eager, give diligence, to do one’s best, to take care, to exert one’s self.” In verses two and three we have the divine provision and enablement given the believer in salvation, an inner dynamic, the divine nature which impels to a holy life, giving both the desire and power to do God’s will (Phil. 2:13). In verses five to seven, we have human responsibility, that of seeing to it that the various Christian virtues are included in one’s life. The divine nature is not an automatic self-propelling machine that will turn out a Christian life for the believer irrespective of what that believer does or the attitude he takes to the salvation which God has provided. The divine nature will always produce a change in the life of the sinner who receives the Lord Jesus as Saviour. But it works at its best efficiency when the believer cooperates with it in not only determining to live a life pleasing to God, but definitely stepping out in faith and living that life in dependence upon the new life which God has implanted in him. And this must not be a mere lackadaisical attempt at doing God’s will, but an intense effort, as shown by the word spoudē, (σπουδη,) translated “diligence.”
As to the translation, “add to your faith,” Vincent says; “The A.V. is entirely wrong. The verb rendered ‘add’ (epichorēgeō (ἐπιχορηγεω)) is derived from chorus, (χορυς,) a chorus, such as was employed in the representation of Greek tragedies. The verb originally meant ‘to bear the expense of a chorus,’ which was done by a person selected by the state, who was obliged to defray all the expense of training and maintenance.” Strachan adds, “It was a duty that prompted to lavishness in execution. Hence chorēgeō (χορηγεω) came to mean ‘supplying costs for any purpose,’ a public duty or religious service, with a tending, as here, towards the meaning, ‘providing more than is barely demanded.’ ” Thus, the word means “to supply in copious measure, to provide beyond the need, to supply more than generously.”
Saints are to supply or provide in their faith, virtue. Vincent says; “The A.V. exhorts to add one virtue to another; but the Greek, to develop one virtue in the exercise of another; each new grace springing out of, attempting and perfecting the other. Render, therefore, as Rev. In your faith supply virtue, and in your virtue, knowledge, etc.” The exhortation is that in the faith which the saints exercise in the Lord Jesus, they should provide for virtue. The believer exercises faith in the Lord Jesus to supply his needs, to guide him along life’s way. He should also exercise faith for the generating of virtue in his inner being by the Holy Spirit. This virtue, Vincent says, is in the form, “not of moral excellence, but of the energy which Christians are to exhibit, as God exerts His energy upon them. As God calls us by His own virtue (v. 3), so Christians are to exhibit virtue or energy in the exercise of their faith, translating it into vigorous action.” They are to provide in this virtue, knowledge (gnōsis (γνωσις)), and in this knowledge, temperance (egkrateia, (ἐγκρατεια,) self-control), holding the passions and desires in hand. The word was used of the virtue of one who masters his desires and passions, especially his sensual appetites. The Greeks used it of the one who had his sex passions under control. The papyri (Moulton and Milligan) quote the phrase, “a trusty dispenser of continence.” One can see what a blessing the fruit of the Spirit is when it provides the saint with a mastery of his sex passions (Gal. 5:23, temperance, egkrateia, (ἐγκρατεια,) self-control).
The saints are to provide generously in this self-control, patience. The word is hupomonē, (ὑπομονη,) literally, “to remain under,” thus, “to remain under trials and testings in a way that honors God.” Vincent translates, “remaining behind or staying.” He says further, “not merely endurance of the inevitable, for Christ could have relieved Himself of His sufferings (Heb. 12:2, 3, compare Matt. 26:53); but the heroic, brave patience with which a Christian not only bears but contends. Speaking of Christ’s patience, Barrow remarks, ‘Neither was it out of a stupid insensibility or stubborn resolution that He did thus behave Himself; for He had a most vigorous sense of all those grievances, and a strong (natural) aversation (act of turning away from) from undergoing them … but from a perfect submission to the divine will, and entire command over His passions, an excessive charity toward mankind, this patient, and meek behaviour did spring.’ The same writer defines patience as follows: ‘That virtue which qualifies us to bear all conditions and all events, by God’s disposal incident to us, with such apprehensions and persuasions of mind, such dispositions and affections of heart, such external deportment and practices of life as God requires and good reason directs.’ ”
Godliness is to be provided generously in patience. This is eusebeia, (εὐσεβεια,) a thorough treatment of which word was presented in the material of verse three, which please see. In this virtue of godliness is to be provided brotherly kindness. The word is philadelphia, (φιλαδελφια,) made up of phileō, (φιλεω,) “to have an affection for,” and adelphos, (ἀδελφος,) “a brother.” This affection or fondness for one’s Christian brethren is to be saturated with charity. The word is agapē, (ἀγαπη,) “that divine love which God is as to His nature, which is produced in the heart of the yielded believer by the Holy Spirit, and which impels him to deny himself for the benefit of the one loved.”
Translation. And for this very cause, having added on your part every intense effort, provide lavishly in your faith, virtue, and in your virtue, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, patience, and in your patience, godliness, and in your godliness, an affection for the brethren, and in your affection for the brethren, divine love.
Kenneth S. Wuest, Wuest’s Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: For the English Reader, vol. 12 (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997), 22–25.
The Bible Exposition Commentary
Faith Results in Spiritual Growth (2 Peter 1:5–7)Where there is life, there must be growth. The new birth is not the end; it is the beginning. God gives His children all that they need to live godly lives, but His children must apply themselves and be diligent to use the “means of grace” He has provided. Spiritual growth is not automatic. It requires cooperation with God and the application of spiritual diligence and discipline. “Work out your own salvation … For it is God which worketh in you” (Phil. 2:12–13).
Peter listed seven characteristics of the godly life, but we must not think of them as seven beads on a string or even seven stages of development. The word translated “add” really means “to supply generously.” In other words, we develop one quality as we exercise another quality. These graces relate to each other the way the branch relates to the trunk and the twigs to the branch. Like the “fruit of the Spirit” (Gal. 5:22–23), these qualities grow out of life and out of a vital relationship with Jesus Christ. It is not enough for the Christian to “let go and let God,” as though spiritual growth were God’s work alone. Literally, Peter wrote, “Make every effort to bring alongside.” The Father and the child must work together.
The first quality of character Peter listed was virtue. We met this word in 2 Peter 1:3, and it basically means “excellence.” To the Greek philosophers, it meant “the fulfillment of a thing.” When anything in nature fulfills its purpose, that is “virtue—moral excellence.” The word was also used to describe the power of the gods to do heroic deeds. The land that produces crops is “excellent” because it is fulfilling its purpose. The tool that works correctly is “excellent” because it is doing what a tool is supposed to do.
A Christian is supposed to glorify God because he has God’s nature within; so, when he does this, he shows “excellence” because he is fulfilling his purpose in life. True virtue in the Christian life is not “polishing” human qualities, no matter how fine they may be, but producing divine qualities that make the person more like Jesus Christ.
Faith helps us develop virtue, and virtue helps us develop knowledge (2 Peter 1:5). The word translated “knowledge” in 2 Peter 1:2–3 means “full knowledge” or “knowledge that is growing.” The word used here suggests practical knowledge or discernment. It refers to the ability to handle life successfully. It is the opposite of being “so heavenly minded as to be of no earthly good!” This kind of knowledge does not come automatically. It comes from obedience to the will of God (John 7:17). In the Christian life, you must not separate the heart and the mind, character and knowledge.
Temperance is the next quality on Peter’s list of spiritual virtues, and it means self-control. “He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city” (Prov. 16:32). “He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down and without walls” (Prov. 25:28). Paul in his letters often compared the Christian to an athlete who must exercise and discipline himself if he ever hopes to win the prize (1 Cor. 9:24–27; Phil. 3:12–16; 1 Tim. 4:7–8).
Patience is the ability to endure when circumstances are difficult. Self-control has to do with handling the pleasures of life, while patience relates primarily to the pressures and problems of life. (The ability to endure problem people is “long-suffering.”) Often, the person who “gives in” to pleasures is not disciplined enough to handle pressures either, so he “gives up.”
Patience is not something that develops automatically; we must work at it. James 1:2–8 gives us the right approach. We must expect trials to come, because without trials we could never learn patience. We must, by faith, let our trials work for us and not against us, because we know that God is at work in our trials. If we need wisdom in making decisions, God will grant that wisdom if we ask Him. Nobody enjoys trials, but we do enjoy the confidence we can have in trials that God is at work, causing everything to work together for our good and His glory.
Godliness simply means “God-likeness.” In the original Greek, this word meant “to worship well.” It described the man who was right in his relationship with God and with his fellowman. Perhaps the words reverence and piety come closer to defining this term. It is that quality of character that makes a person distinctive. He lives above the petty things of life, the passions and pressures that control the lives of others. He seeks to do the will of God and, as he does, he seeks the welfare of others.
We must never get the idea that godliness is an impractical thing, because it is intensely practical. The godly person makes the kinds of decisions that are right and noble. He does not take an easy path simply to avoid either pain or trial. He does what is right because it is right and because it is the will of God.
Brotherly kindness (philadelphia in the Greek) is a virtue that Peter must have acquired the hard way, for the disciples of our Lord often debated and disagreed with one another. If we love Jesus Christ, we must also love the brethren. We should practice an “unfeigned [sincere] love of the brethren” (1 Peter 1:22) and not just pretend that we love them. “Let brotherly love continue” (Heb. 13:1). “Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love” (Rom. 12:10). The fact that we love our brothers and sisters in Christ is one evidence that we have been born of God (1 John 5:1–2).
But there is more to Christian growth than brotherly love; we must also have the sacrificial love that our Lord displayed when He went to the cross. The kind of love (“charity”) spoken of in 2 Peter 1:7 is agape love, the kind of love that God shows toward lost sinners. This is the love that is described in 1 Corinthians 13, the love that the Holy Spirit produces in our hearts as we walk in the Spirit (Rom. 5:5; Gal. 5:22). When we have brotherly love, we love because of our likenesses to others; but with agape love, we love in spite of the differences we have.
It is impossible for fallen human nature to manufacture these seven qualities of Christian character. They must be produced by the Spirit of God. To be sure, there are unsaved people who possess amazing self-control and endurance, but these virtues point to them and not to the Lord. They get the glory. When God produces the beautiful nature of His Son in a Christian, it is God who receives the praise and glory.
Because we have the divine nature, we can grow spiritually and develop this kind of Christian character. It is through the power of God and the precious promises of God that this growth takes place. The divine “genetic structure” is already there: God wants us to be “conformed to the image of His Son” (Rom. 8:29). The life within will reproduce that image if we but diligently cooperate with God and use the means He has lavishly given us.
And the amazing thing is this: as the image of Christ is reproduced in us, the process does not destroy our own personalities. We still remain uniquely ourselves!
One of the dangers in the church today is imitation. People have a tendency to become like their pastor, or like a church leader, or perhaps like some “famous Christian.” As they do this, they destroy their own uniqueness while failing to become like Jesus Christ. They lose both ways! Just as each child in a family resembles his parents and yet is different, so each child in God’s family comes more and more to resemble Jesus Christ and yet is different. Parents don’t duplicate themselves, they reproduce themselves; and wise parents permit their children to be themselves.
Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 437–439.
The Bible Knowledge Commentary
B. The function of the divine nature (1:5–9)
In this beautiful paragraph Peter orchestrates a symphony of grace. To the melody line of faith he leads believers to add harmony in a blend of seven Christian virtues which he lists without explanation or description. A carnal Christian has spiritual myopia (v. 9), but a spiritual Christian is both effective and productive (v. 8) in his understanding of the Lord Jesus and his application of biblical principles to daily life.1. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE FUNCTION (1:5–7)
1:5–7. Peter referred back to the divine nature by beginning this new paragraph with the words for this very reason. The words make every effort translate a participle (pareisenenkantes, “applying, bringing to bear alongside of”; used only here in the NT) and spoudēn pasan (“all diligence” or “all zeal”; spoudē in Rom. 12:11 is rendered “zeal”). It takes every bit of diligence and effort a Christian can muster, along with the enabling power of the Holy Spirit, to “escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires” (2 Peter 1:4) and to bring in alongside of his faith a complement of virtue. He should work hard at cultivating the seven qualities Peter listed in verses 5–7. As a Christian does so, he becomes more like Christ, participating more fully in God’s divine nature.The word add, in the imperative, translates epichorēgēsate, from which come the English words “chorus,” “choreograph,” and “choreography.” In ancient Greece the state established a chorus but the director, the chorēgys, paid the expenses for training the chorus. Then the word came to be used of one who provides for or supports others or supplies something for them in abundance. A believer is to “furnish, supply, or support” his life with these virtues. (The same word is trans. “supplies” in 2 Cor. 9:10 and “supported” in Col. 2:19. Peter used it again in 2 Peter 1:11 where the NIV renders it “receive.”)
Faith in Jesus Christ is what separates Christians from all other people. Pistis, trust in the Savior which brings one into the family of God, is the foundation of all other qualities in the Christian life.
1. To his faith each believer should add goodness (lit., “moral excellency,” or “virtue”). In Greek the word is aretēn, which Peter also used at the end of verse 3 and in 1 Peter 2:9 (“praises” in the NIV).
2. Knowledge (gnōsin; cf. 2 Peter 1:2; 3:18) comes not from intellectual pursuits, but is spiritual knowledge which comes through the Holy Spirit and is focused on the person and Word of God.
3. Faith, goodness, and spiritual knowledge are not enough for a Christian’s walk. He must also make every effort to practice self-control (enkrateian; used only two other times in the NT, in Acts 24:25; Gal. 5:23). This means to have one’s passions under control. It contrasts sharply with the anarchy and lack of control on the part of the false teachers whom Peter exposed (chap. 2). In an increasingly anarchistic society Christians do well to let the music of self-control be played in their lives.
4. Believers living in the latter days, especially when surrounded by scoffers and false teachers, also need perseverance. This word hypomenēn means “staying under.” It is frequently used in the New Testament to refer to constancy or steadfast endurance under adversity, without giving in or giving up (cf. Rom. 5:3–4; 15:4–5; 2 Cor. 1:6; 6:4; Col. 1:11; 1 Thes. 1:3; 2 Thes. 1:4; James 1:3).
5. Godliness (eusebian, also used in 2 Peter 1:3 and 3:11 and 10 times [in the Gr.] in the Pastoral Epistles) refers to piety, man’s obligation of reverence toward God. The fourth-century church historian Eusebius was named for this lovely Greek word. How unfortunate that the words “piety” and “pious” have fallen on hard times in current usage.
6. The first five virtues pertain to one’s inner life and his relationship to God. The last two relate to others. Brotherly kindness translates the Greek philadelphian, a fervent practical caring for others (1 John 4:20). Peter already urged this attitude on his readers in his first epistle (1 Peter 1:22; cf. Rom. 12:10; 1 Thes. 4:9; Heb. 13:1).
7. Whereas brotherly kindness is concern for others’ needs, love (agapēn) is desiring the highest good for others. This is the kind of love God exhibits toward sinners (John 3:16; Rom. 5:8; 1 John 4:9–11).
Interestingly this “symphony” begins with faith and ends with love. Building on the foundation of faith in Christ, believers are to exhibit Christlikeness by supplying these seven qualities that climax in love toward others (cf. faith and love in Col. 1:4–5; 1 Thes. 1:3; 2 Thes. 1:3; Phile. 5).
2. CONSEQUENCES OF THE FUNCTION (1:8)
Kenneth O. Gangel, “2 Peter,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 865–866.Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible: Complete and Unabridged
Verses 5–11In these words the apostle comes to the chief thing intended in this epistle—to excite and engage them to advance in grace and holiness, they having already obtained precious faith, and been made partakers of the divine nature. This is a very good beginning, but it is not to be rested in, as if we were already perfect. The apostle had prayed that grace and peace might be multiplied to them, and now he exhorts them to press forward for the obtaining of more grace. We should, as we have opportunity, exhort those we pray for, and excite them to the use of all proper means to obtain what we desire God to bestow upon them; and those who will make any progress in religion must be very diligent and industrious in their endeavours. Without giving all diligence, there is no gaining any ground in the work of holiness; those who are slothful in the business of religion will make nothing of it; we must strive if we will enter in at the strait gate, Lu. 13:24.
I. Here we cannot but observe how the believer’s way is marked out step by step. 1. He must get virtue, by which some understand justice; and then the knowledge, temperance, and patience that follow, being joined with it, the apostle may be supposed to put them upon pressing after the four cardinal virtues, or the four elements that go to the making up of every virtue or virtuous action. But seeing it is a faithful saying, and constantly to be asserted, that those who have faith be careful to maintain good works (Tit. 3:8), by virtue here we may understand strength and courage, without which the believer cannot stand up for good works, by abounding and excelling in them. The righteous must be bold as a lion (Prov. 28:1); a cowardly Christian, who is afraid to profess the doctrines or practise the duties of the gospel, must expect that Christ will be ashamed of him another day. “Let not your hearts fail you in the evil day, but show yourselves valiant in standing against all opposition, and resisting every enemy, world, flesh, devil, yea, and death too.” We have need of virtue while we live, and it will be of excellent use when we come to die. 2. The believer must add knowledge to his virtue, prudence to his courage; there is a knowledge of God’s name which must go before our faith (Ps. 9:10), and we cannot approve of the good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God, till we know it; but there are proper circumstances for duty, which must be known and observed; we must use the appointed means, and observe the accepted time. Christian prudence regards the persons we have to do with and the place and company we are in. Every believer must labour after the knowledge and wisdom that are profitable to direct, both as to the proper method and order wherein all Christian duties are to be performed and as to the way and manner of performing them. 3. We must add temperance to our knowledge. We must be sober and moderate in our love to, and use of, the good things of this life; and, if we have a right understanding and knowledge of outward comforts, we shall see that their worth and usefulness are vastly inferior to those of spiritual mercies. Bodily exercises and bodily privileges profit but little, and therefore are to be esteemed and used accordingly; the gospel teaches sobriety as well as honesty, Tit. 2:12. We must be moderate in desiring and using the good things of natural life, such as meat, drink, clothes, sleep, recreations, and credit; an inordinate desire after these is inconsistent with an earnest desire after God and Christ; and those who take more of these than is due can render to neither God nor man what is due to them. 4. Add to temperance patience, which must have its perfect work, or we cannot be perfect and entire, wanting nothing (Jam. 1:4), for we are born to trouble, and must through many tribulations enter into the kingdom of heaven; and it is this tribulation (Rom. 5:3) which worketh patience, that is, requires the exercise and occasions the increase of this grace, whereby we bear all calamities and crosses with silence and submission, without murmuring against God or complaining of him, but justifying him who lays all affliction upon us, owning that our sufferings are less than our sins deserve, and believing they are no more than we ourselves need. 5. To patience we must add godliness, and this is the very thing which is produced by patience, for that works experience, Rom. 5:4. When Christians bear afflictions patiently, they get an experimental knowledge of the loving-kindness of their heavenly Father, which he will not take from his children, even when he visits their iniquity with the rod and their transgression with stripes (Ps. 89:32, 33), and hereby they are brought to the child-like fear and reverential love wherein true godliness consists: to this, 6. We must add brotherly-kindness, a tender affection to all our fellow-christians, who are children of the same Father, servants of the same Master, members of the same family, travellers to the same country, and heirs of the same inheritance, and therefore are to be loved with a pure heart fervently, with a love of complacency, as those who are peculiarly near and dear to us, in whom we take particular delight, Ps. 16:3. 7. Charity, or a love of good-will to all mankind, must be added to the love of delight which we have for those who are the children of God. God has made of one blood all nations, and all the children of men are partakers of the same human nature, are all capable of the same mercies, and liable to the same afflictions, and therefore, though upon a spiritual account Christians are distinguished and dignified above those who are without Christ, yet are they to sympathize with others in their calamities, and relieve their necessities, and promote their welfare both in body and soul, as they have opportunity: thus must all believers in Christ evidence that they are the children of God, who is good to all, but is especially good to Israel.
II. All the forementioned graces must be had, or we shall not be thoroughly furnished for all good works—for the duties of the first and second table, for active and passive obedience, and for those services wherein we are to imitate God as well as for those wherein we only obey him—and therefore to engage us to an industrious and unwearied pursuit of them, the apostle sets forth the advantages that redound to all who successfully labour so as to get these things to be and abound in them, v. 8–11. These are proposed,
1. More generally, v. 8. The having these things make not barren (or slothful) nor unfruitful, where, according to the style of the Holy Ghost, we must understand a great deal more than is expressed; for when it is said concerning Ahaz, the vilest and most provoking of all the kings of Judah, that he did not right in the sight of the Lord (2 Ki. 16:2), we are to understand as much as if it had been said, He did what was most offensive and abominable, as the following account of his life shows; so, when it is here said that the being and abounding of all Christian graces in us will make us neither inactive nor unfruitful, we are thereby to understand that it will make us very zealous and lively, vigorous and active, in all practical Christianity, and eminently fruitful in the works of righteousness. these will bring much glory to God, by bringing forth much fruit among men, being fruitful in knowledge, or the acknowledging of our Lord Jesus Christ, owning him to be their Lord, and evidencing themselves to be his servants by their abounding in the work that he has given them to do. This is the necessary consequence of adding one grace to another; for, where all Christian graces are in the heart, they improve and strengthen, encourage and cherish, one another; so they all thrive and grow (as the apostle intimates in the beginning of v. 8), and wherever grace abounds there will be an abounding in good works. How desirable it is to be in such a case the apostle evidences, v. 9. There he sets forth how miserable it is to be without those quickening fructifying graces; for he who has not the forementioned graces, or, though he pretends or seems to have them, does not exercise and improve them, is blind, that is, as to spiritual and heavenly things, as the next words explain it: He cannot see far off. This present evil world he can see, and dotes upon, but has no discerning at all of the world to come, so as to be affected with the spiritual privileges and heavenly blessings thereof. He who sees the excellences of Christianity must needs be diligent in endeavours after all those graces that are absolutely necessary for obtaining glory, honour, and immortality; but, where these graces are not obtained nor endeavoured after, men are not able to look forward to the things that are but a very little way off in reality, though in appearance, or in their apprehension, they are at a great distance, because they put them far away from them; and how wretched is their condition who are thus blind as to the awfully great things of the other world, who cannot see any thing of the reality and certainty, the greatness and nearness, of the glorious rewards God will bestow on the righteous, and the dreadful punishment he will inflict on the ungodly! But this is not all the misery of those who do not add to their faith virtue, knowledge, etc. They are as unable to look backward as forward, their memories are slippery and unable to retain what is past, as their sight is short and unable to discern what is future; they forget that they have been baptized, and had the means, and been laid under the obligations to holiness of heart and life. By baptism we are engaged in a holy war against sin, and are solemnly bound to fight against the flesh, the world, and the devil. Often call to mind, and seriously meditate on, your solemn engagement to be the Lord’s, and your peculiar advantages and encouragements to lay aside all filthiness of flesh and spirit.
2. The apostle proposes two particular advantages that will attend or follow upon diligence in the work of a Christian: stability in grace, and a triumphant entrance into glory. These he brings in by resuming his former exhortation, and laying it down in other words; for what in v. 5 is expressed by giving diligence to add to faith virtue, etc., is expressed in v. 10 by giving diligence to make our calling and election sure. Here we may observe, (1.) It is the duty of believers to make their election sure, to clear it up to themselves that they are the chosen of God. (2.) The way to make sure their eternal election is to make out their effectual calling: none can look into the book of God’s eternal counsels and decrees; but, inasmuch as whom God did predestinate those he also called, if we can find we are effectually called, we may conclude we are chosen to salvation. (3.) It requires a great deal of diligence and labour to make sure our calling and election; there must be a very close examination of ourselves, a very narrow search and strict enquiry, whether we are thoroughly converted, our minds enlightened, our wills renewed, and our whole souls changed as to the bent and inclination thereof; and to come to a fixed certainty in this requires the utmost diligence, and cannot be attained and kept without divine assistance, as we may learn from Ps. 139:23; Rom. 8:16. “But, how great soever the labour is, do not think much of it, for great is the advantage you gain by it; for,” [1.] “By this you will be kept from falling, and that at all times and seasons, even in those hours of temptation that shall be on the earth.” When others shall fall into heinous and scandalous sin, those who are thus diligent shall be enabled to walk circumspectly and keep on in the way of their duty; and, when many fall into errors, they shall be preserved sound in the faith, and stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. [2.] Those who are diligent in the work of religion shall have a triumphant entrance into glory; while of those few who get to heaven some are scarcely saved (1 Pt. 4:18), with a great deal of difficulty, even as by fire (1 Co. 3:15), those who are growing in grace, and abounding in the work of the Lord, shall have an abundant entrance into the joy of their Lord, even that everlasting kingdom where Christ reigns, and they shall reign with him for ever and ever.
Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible: Complete and Unabridged in One Volume (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1994), 2434–2435.
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