1 Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have been divinely allocated a faith equal in honour to that of our own, by the saving act of our God and Saviour, Jesus Christ: ² Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, ³ whose divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, by means of a true knowledge of Him who called us (to attain) to His own glory and virtue. ⁴ Through these (means of grace) He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world on account of lust (2Pet1:1-4).

Translation rationale

In this opening passage of Peter’s second letter I have made a point of translating it in such a way as to draw out the distinctive (and glorious) facets of being a Christian believer. In particular highlighting the Greek words λαχοῦσιν^G2975 = divinely allocated (v1),  ἰσότιμον^G2472 = equal in honour or value (v1), ἰδίᾳ^G2398 = to (attain to) His own (glory/virtue) (v3) and κοινωνοὶ^G2844 = partakers (of the divine nature) (v4). Those who share Martin Luther’s distrust of “a theology of glory” might wish to read any further – this is about as glorious as it gets, and the Christian’s personal effort is heavily involved in the process.

Chosen by lot?

Firstly, λαχοῦσιν^G2975 (v1) which, as it’s translation elsewhere demonstrates, is related to the drawing of lots. Human lotteries usually depend on luck, not so the drawing of lots in the bible. Back in Acts, Matthias was appointed 12^th apostle to replace Judas by the casting of lots – not a question of good fortune but divine decree. Likewise the elect of God Peter was addressing in 2Pet1:1 were “λαχοῦσιν”. But as his fellow Apostle Paul in particular has emphasized, such divine choosing has nothing to do with innate virtue – the Christian slaughtering zeolite Saul of Tarsus himself being the prime example (1Tim1:15-16).

That most valued faith

But to what gift or commodity does this divine allocation pertain? It is a faith “equal in value and honour” (ἰσότιμον) to that which the apostles had received. For as I  set out in an earlier post, there is faith and there is FAITH. In terms of the former, all who respond positively to the light of Christ as it functions within their conscience exercise a form of faith, and one that, to a degree, justifies in the sight of God. This innate quality was described by second century Clement of Alexandria as “a common faith which lies beneath as a foundation that is built upon and consummated in those who come to faith in Christ”. It is of itself  insufficient to “attain to Christ’s own glory and virtue” that Peter’s alludes to by his use of ἰδίᾳ^G2398 in verse 3. Such holiness, says Peter, requires “a personal knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord  whose divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness”.

Escaping worldly corruption

Without this “exceedingly abundant grace which is in Christ Jesus” (1Tim1:14), we cannot whilst in mortal flesh “become partakers [κοινωνοὶ^G2844] of the divine nature”.  For except we die in infancy, we shall not entirely  “escape the corruption that is in the world on account of lust” (v4; cf. Rom7:22-25). And as the Apostle John later indicated, that “lust” does not just pertain to inordinate sexual desire but “all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, (which) is not from the Father but is of the world (1Jn2:16).

Co-operating with grace

Christ’s perfect life and sacrificial death  provided the means by which such deliverance can be attained. But clearly, “escaping corruption” cannot merely be a matter of guilt or pardon – something that can be imputed by a Saviour. Rather, that Saviour by His death, resurrection and the divine teaching that preceded it has provided the means by which those “called to glory and virtue” (v3) can become conformed to the image of Christ, and so fulfil their destiny (Rom8:29).

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