which, though the suffering is common to all, yet the hope is also
common, and the victory is promised to all, the Apostle does not speak
of the converts as a multitude of brethren, but uses a noun in the
singular number, naming them (as the margin of the Revised Version
indicates) "a brotherhood" (ἀδελφότης). And when they
regarded themselves as "a brotherhood in the world," the thought would
have its comforting as well as its painful aspect. The world, as
Scripture speaks of it, is void of faith. Hence the believer, while he
lives in it, is amid jarring surroundings, and is sure to suffer. "In
the world ye shall have tribulation." But it is not to last for ever,
nor for long. "The world passeth away, but he that doeth the will of
God abideth for ever." And though the brotherhood in the world must
suffer, yet there is that other brotherhood beyond; and there the
suffering will not be remembered for the glory that shall be revealed
in us.
_And the God of all grace, who called you unto His eternal glory in
Christ, after that ye have suffered a little while, shall Himself
perfect, stablish, strengthen you._ Being now about to sum up the
great work of Christian advancement, in which from first to last the
power is bestowed by God, St. Peter finds no title more fitting to
express the Divine love than "the God of _all_ grace." The invitation
to become partakers of the glory which Christ has won by His
sufferings, won that He may bestow it upon men, was God's free call.
Our sufferings, the discipline which the Father employs to purge and
purify us, are to last but a little while. Then those whom He has
called He will also justify, and those whom He justifies He will in
the end glorify. Thus St. Paul (Rom. viii. 30) describes the
operations of Divine grace. St. Peter, with the same lesson, uses
words more after his own graphic manner. He gives us a picture of
God's work in its several stages. First God will complete in all its
parts the work which He has begun. He will make it so that He can
pronounce it very good, as He did when the worlds _were perfected_ in
the first creation (Heb. xi. 3), making His people to be so
_perfected_ that they may be as their Master (Luke vi. 40). Then He
will sustain and support that which He has brought to its best estate.
There shall not be, as in the first creation, any falling away. New
gifts shall be bestowed by the Holy Spirit, through the ministration
of the word. It was for such a purpose that St. Paul longed to visit
the Roman Church, that he might impart unto them some spiritual gift,
to the end that they might be _established_. And what has been
perfected and established shall also by the same grace be made strong,
that it may endure and withstand all assaults.
In many ancient texts a fourth verb is given, which the Authorised
Version renders "settle." It signifies "to set on a firm foundation,"
and it is of the figurative character which marks St. Peter's
language, and, beside this, is not uncommon in the New Testament
(Matt. vii. 25; Luke vi. 48; Heb. i. 10, etc.). But the verbs
immediately preceding have no direct reference to a building, and the
addition arises probably from a marginal note, made to illustrate the
text and by some later scribe incorporated with it. The whole passage
brings to mind Christ's injunction to the Apostle, "When thou art
converted, strengthen thy brethren."
_To Him be the dominion for ever and ever. Amen._ A fitting doxology
to follow the Apostle's enumeration of the riches of Divine grace. He
who feels that every gift he has is from above will with ready
thankfulness welcome God's rule, and seek to submit himself thereto,
making it the law of his life here, as he hopes it will be hereafter.
_By Silvanus, our faithful brother, as I account him, I have written
unto you briefly._ Silvanus was that Silas who accompanied St. Paul in
his second missionary journey through the districts of Phrygia and
Galatia (Acts xvi. 6), to which St. Peter addresses his letter. To
send it by the hand of one known and esteemed among these Churches for
his former labours and for his friendship with the great Apostle of
the Gentiles would secure acceptance for it, while the bearer would
testify to the unity of the doctrine preached by the two Apostles. He
who had been a faithful brother to St. Paul was so also to St. Peter,
and was by him commended to the Churches. For the expression, _I
account him_, implies no doubt or question in the Apostle's own mind.
It is the utterance of a matured opinion. The verb (λογίζομαι)
is that which St. Paul uses: "I _reckon_ that the sufferings of this
present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall
be revealed in us" (Rom. viii. 18). To St. Paul something of the
future glory had been shown, and he had felt abundance of present
suffering. He had taken account of both sides, and could speak with
certainty. The brevity of St. Peter's letter could be supplemented by
the words of his messenger. For Silas himself was a prophet (Acts xv.
32), and fitted to exhort and confirm the brethren.
_Exhorting, and testifying that this is the true grace of God: stand
ye fast therein._ The grace in its several stages has just been
summarised: the calling, the perfecting, stablishing, strengthening;
and the whole letter is occupied in showing that at every advance God
puts His servants to the test. But the Apostle knows that agents of
the adversary are busily scattering the tares of doubt and disbelief
where God had sown His good seed. The wrestling is not against flesh
and blood alone, but against the world-rulers of this darkness,
against the spiritual host of wickedness. Hence the form of his
exhortation: _Stand fast_.
_She that is in Babylon, elect together with you, saluteth you; and so
doth Mark my son. Salute one another with a kiss of love._ It is most
natural to refer these words to a Church, and not to any individual.
Some have interpreted them as an allusion to St. Peter's wife, whom,
as we know from St. Paul (1 Cor. ix. 5), he sometimes had as a
companion in his travels. But there is a degree of inappropriateness
in speaking of a single person as elect along with these various
Churches of Asia, whereas the Church in Babylon might fitly have such
a distinction. It is unnecessary, too, to explain Babylon (as some
have done) as intended for Rome. There was no conceivable reason in
St. Peter's day why, when he was writing to lands under Roman
dominion, if he meant to speak of the city in Italy, he should not
call it by its real name. The Mark here named was most probably the
John whose surname was Mark (Acts xii. 12), whose mother was a friend
of St. Peter's from the earliest days of his apostolic labours. He,
too, had been a companion of St. Paul for a time, and made another
link between the two great Apostles. St. Peter calls him "son" because
it is likely that both the mother and her son were won to the new
teaching by him, and he employs the term of affection just as St. Paul
does of Timothy, his convert (1 Tim. i. 2, 18; 2 Tim. i. 2). The
salutation by a kiss is frequently mentioned. It is called "a holy
kiss" (Rom. xvi. 16; 1 Cor. xvi. 20; 2 Cor. xiii. 12; 1 Thess. v. 26)
in St. Paul's language. We find from Justin Martyr[12] that it had
come to be used in his day as part of the ceremonial preceding the
Holy Communion. It was to be a token of perfect love, according to the
name which St. Peter here gives it. An evil construction was soon put
upon it by the enemies of the faith; and after a long history it fell
into disuse, even in the East, where such manner of salutation is more
common than in the West. In his final words the Apostle has embodied
the benediction of which the kiss was meant to be the symbol.
[12] _Apol._ i. 65.
_Peace be unto you all that are in Christ._ This is the bond which
unites believers into one fellowship. To be in Christ is to be of the
brotherhood which has been so significantly marked just before for its
unity. And in these last clauses we have examples of the force of the
tie. Individuals are brought by it into close communion, as Peter
himself with Silas and with Mark, whom he speaks of in terms of family
love. To the Churches Silas is commended as a brother in the faith,
which faith establishes a bond of strength between the distant
Churches which have been called into it together. Well might the
heathen, wonderstruck, exclaim, "See how these Christians love one
another!" And the Apostle's own words mark the all-embracing character
of the love: _all that are in Christ_. They are all brethren, children
of the common Father, inheritors of the same promises, pilgrims on the
same journey, sustained by the same hope, servants of the same Lord,
and strengthened, guided, and enlightened by the one Spirit, who is
promised to abide with Christ's Church for ever.
THE SECOND EPISTLE OF ST. PETER
XIX
_THE SAVING KNOWLEDGE OF GOD_
"Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that
have obtained a like precious faith with us in the righteousness
of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be
multiplied in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing
that His Divine power hath granted unto us all things that
pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him
that called us by His own glory and virtue; whereby He hath
granted unto us His precious and exceeding great promises; that
through these ye may become partakers of the Divine nature,
having escaped from the corruption that is in the world by
lust."--2 PETER i. 1-4.
In the salutation of this second letter the Apostle describes himself
in fuller form than in the first: _Simon Peter, a servant and apostle
of Jesus Christ_. Some have seen in this description a testamentary
character, as though the Epistle contained his parting counsels. The
words form an epitome of his whole life. As Simon, son of Jonas, he
lived his life in Judaism until Christ's call summoned him to be a
fisher of men. "Peter" is the Christ-given name, which marked an
advance in spiritual illumination, an advance that fitted him to be
one of the chief heralds of God manifest in the flesh. As a servant
(or rather, bondservant) of Jesus Christ, he stands on the same level
with those to whom he writes, though the service to which he has been
called may be in character different from theirs. Jesus had said to
the twelve, and through them to the whole body of believers, "One is
your Master, even the Christ. But he that is greatest among you shall
be your servant" (Matt. xxiii. 10). And here comes forward that other
aspect of Christian service. The servants of Christ are, for His sake,
servants to all the brotherhood (2 Cor. iv. 5). As an apostle he
speaks with authority, an authority greater than can be possessed by
any future age. The solemn character of the office is stamped by
Christ's words, "As My Father sent Me, even so send I you"; and the
Churches are reminded, as they think of the apostolic office, that the
Lord who commissioned the twelve to be His servants said, "He that
heareth you heareth Me, and He that despiseth you despiseth Me."
St. Peter does not, as in his former letter, name the Churches to
which he is writing; but afterwards (iii. 1) he states that this is
his second letter to them. We may therefore conclude that the same
persons are addressed as before. Here he speaks of them as _them that
have obtained a like precious faith with us in the righteousness of
our God and Saviour Jesus Christ_. Some have thought that here the
Apostle's words are specially addressed to those among the converts
who had been won from heathendom, and now were made partakers of the
same faith with himself and others who, like him, had been born Jews,
and so heirs in part to God's precious promises. But, as he has just
made mention of his apostolic office, it seems easier to refer "us" to
the Apostles. If this be the sense, then--though in the allusion to
his office and authority they must have recognised the points wherein
his communing with Christ had made him to differ from them--these
words set forward that aspect of the Christian life wherein all the
faithful are equal. The graces, gifts, and opportunities which God
bestows are according to men's power to improve them; but faith, in
its saving efficacy and preciousness, is the same for every believer.
And when he speaks of this faith as being in the righteousness of our
God and Saviour Jesus Christ, we see that he is thinking of
righteousness in that sense in which he uses the word afterwards in
this Epistle (iii. 13): as that perfect righteousness which belongs to
the new heavens and the new earth, and hence to God Himself.
To this righteousness each "stranger and sojourner" in the world is
striving to attain by faith, and by each exercise thereof he is raised
nearer to his lofty aim. His faith, like the patriarch's of old, is
counted unto him for righteousness. The fruit of each man's faith will
be ἰσότιμος--"alike precious"--when the journey is ended.
For it will be salvation in the presence of the perfect righteousness.
As in the Saviour's parable the welcome was the same to him who had
rightly used his two talents as to him who had done the like with
five, so each faithful servant of Christ, working righteousness
according to his power here, shall be called up into the joy of his
Lord. For the joys of heaven all will not have the same capacity; but
for each, according to his power to receive it, there will be fulness
of joy. Nor should the word "obtained" pass unnoticed. It is the word
used of Judas (Acts i. 17), who _obtained_ part of the apostolic
ministry on the call of Jesus. So here, too, the call into the faith
is of God; and it is when men obey it that they progress in Divine
graces and go forward unto righteousness.
_Grace to you and peace be multiplied in the knowledge of God and of
Jesus our Lord._ The first words are the same with the Apostle's
prayer in the opening of the First Epistle. And to no stage of the
Christian life can such a wish be inappropriate. To grow in grace, and
so in peace, is the Christian's daily bread; and the thought of this
seems to be uppermost in St. Peter's mind in this letter, that thus
the falling away, to which he sees the converts are likely to be
exposed, may be counteracted. The danger was arising from the boastful
parade of a knowledge (γνῶσις) falsely so called (1 Tim. vi.
20). Before this letter was written teachers had risen within the
Church who professed to have a deeper and more mysterious
interpretation of the doctrines of the Gospel. This esoteric
enlightenment they specially named "knowledge," and led men astray by
profitless inquiries concerning the absolute nature of God and the
manner of His communication with the world. To this teaching St. Paul
is referring when he speaks of "foolish questions" and "endless
genealogies," and it is this which St. Peter rebukes so vehemently in
the next chapter of this letter. As an antidote for the poison, he
urges the converts to seek after a true and full knowledge (ἐπίγνωσις)
of the Father and the Son. No single word can adequately
represent this term, which became the watchword of all the Christian
teachers. It is that knowledge of the truth which St. Paul so often
commends to Timothy (1 Tim. ii. 4; 2 Tim. iii. 7) and speaks of as
that acknowledging of the truth, allowing it to be effective on the
life, which follows repentance (2 Tim. ii. 25); it is specially the
knowledge of God and of things Divine; it is that knowledge which must
temper religious zeal (Rom. x. 2) that it may be effective; it is the
knowledge against which if a man sin (Heb. x. 26) he is verily
reprobate. And this true knowledge can only come of faithful service.
He shall know the Lord who loves to do His will. Do the works, and ye
shall know of the doctrine.
_Seeing that His Divine power hath granted unto us all things that
pertain unto life and godliness._ The work, though great, becomes not
impossible; the dangers and difficulties, though abundant, are not
insurmountable. For it is not on us that the victory depends. God hath
begotten us again unto a lively hope through Christ's resurrection;
and Christ has promised to be with His servants all the days, even
unto the end of the world. There is a free gift of Divine power for
all our needs, everything to foster the spiritual life and to guide
into the way of holiness. Wisdom will be given that we may understand
God's will and choose aright, strength to persevere in the midst of
trial, boldness to make confession of the Lord before men, and
watchfulness lest we, as did the teachers of error, wax overconfident.
All things are granted; all things may be ours.
_Through the knowledge of Him that called us by His own glory and
virtue._ Here the same full knowledge (ἐπίγνωσις) of which
the Apostle has just been speaking is to become the channel of all our
blessings: to know God, who has made Himself to be known through
Christ Jesus. God's glory and virtue--that is, His Divine power--have
been manifested in Him. The disciples beheld them in Christ's
miracles. "This beginning of His signs did Jesus, ... and manifested
His glory; and His disciples believed on Him" (John ii. 11), and of
His whole life St. John says, "We beheld His glory, glory as of the
only-begotten from the Father. He dwelt among us full of grace and
truth" (John i. 14). This is what St. Peter means by "virtue." And
still in the hearts of men through the Spirit the same manifestation
is given. He illumines them, to give the light of the knowledge of
the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
_Whereby He hath granted unto us His precious and exceeding great
promises._ In Christ God has offered men all the blessings of the new
covenant: repentance; faith; justification; eternal life. He, with the
Son and the Spirit, comes unto the faithful and makes His abode with
them. Thus they are made members of Christ's mystical body. He dwells
in their hearts by faith; He gives them power to become sons of God:
they are adopted of God, who sent His only-begotten Son into the world
that they might live through Him. These are the precious promises
granted, but not forced upon men, set forth in all their greatness in
the life and love of Jesus; and men are invited to choose them. And
the choice is made by patiently doing the will of God so far as it is
revealed to each man; after that we shall receive the promises (Heb.
x. 36).
_That through these ye may become partakers of the Divine nature._
This is the Divine scheme for man's restoration; this is the change of
which St. Paul speaks to the Corinthians (2 Cor. ii. 18), and which he
illustrates by the glorified face of Moses. The prophet was called up
into Mount Horeb, and drew near to the presence of Jehovah; the Lord
spake with him face to face out of the midst of the fire, and his
countenance was illumined by the eternal glory. But the radiance was
bestowed on Moses alone; the people might not draw near: and the glory
shed on him was transient, so that he veiled his face lest the people
should mark its passing away. But since the manifestation of God in
Christ all men may draw near, and be made partakers of unfading glory.
It is not with Zion as with Sinai. The way is open to all, nor will
the glory pass away from those who have been blessed with it. For now
we all, with unveiled face, reflect as a mirror the glory of the Lord,
and, with progress in holiness, are transformed into the same image,
as from the Lord the Spirit. Thus men _become_--for it is a gradual
process--partakers of the Divine nature, and being drawn more near to
God while they live here, are fitted through His mercy, when the last
call comes, to go up higher and sit down at the marriage-supper of the
Lamb, their life having been a constant putting on of the wedding
garment.
_Having escaped from the corruption that is in the world by lust._
This is the victory that overcometh the world, but it is a conquest
which men cannot win unaided, nay, where the truest bravery, the
surest hope, is in speedy flight. Like Lot from Sodom must the
Christian hasten away from the lusts of the world, casting no look
behind him, nor tarrying to dally with them for a moment. For the
flesh is weak, and the prince of this world is mighty in his evil
domain, and, that he may lead men astray, will ofttimes transform
himself into an angel of light; and within the soul of man he has his
confederate powers, the cravings of this human nature, which thinks
the baits of the enemy are pleasant to the eyes, and it may be they
look fit to make one wise. And so in the eyes of the tempted ones, as
in the eyes of the senseless bird of the Proverbs, the net seems
spread in vain; in their own fancy they seem able to go on without
being entangled, and Satan encourages the delusion. After that the
stages are easy, but they are all downhill. Men first walk after their
own lusts; then they are led by them, then obey them, and at last
become their slaves. This is the corruption, the ruin, from which the
Christian is aided to flee through seeking the glory of God as it is
set before him in the Saviour's works and words. Drawn by these, he
turns away his gaze from the world and its lusts; his eyes no longer
behold vanity to love it. He has begun to learn of Jesus, and every
new lesson makes him stronger in the faith; and by degrees he is
enabled to bring forth into light, and bear witness to, the knowledge
which he has gained of the glory of God as it shines in the face of
Jesus Christ. So not he alone, but those who behold his escape and
mark his growth in grace, may give God the praise, saying, "This hath
God wrought," for they shall perceive that it is His work.
XX
_WHO SHALL ASCEND INTO THE HILL OF THE LORD?_
"Yea, and for this very cause adding on your part all diligence,
in your faith supply virtue; and in _your_ virtue knowledge; and
in _your_ knowledge temperance; and in _your_ temperance
patience; and in _your_ patience godliness; and in _your_
godliness love of the brethren; and in _your_ love of the
brethren love. For if these things are yours and abound, they
make you to be not idle nor unfruitful unto the knowledge of our
Lord Jesus Christ. For he that lacketh these things is blind,
seeing only what is near, having forgotten the cleansing from his
old sins. Wherefore, brethren, give the more diligence to make
your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye
shall never stumble: for thus shall be richly supplied unto you
the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour
Jesus Christ."--2 PETER i. 5-11.
The Apostle has just set forth in all their fulness the riches of
Divine grace: the precious faith, followed by the bestowal of all
helps toward life and godliness, and with the large promises of God to
rely on for the future, promises whereby those who seek to renounce
the things which are not of the Father, but of the world, may become
partakers of the Divine nature. These blessings are assured, are in
store, but only for those who manifest a desire to receive them. How
this desire shall be shown, how it shall constantly grow stronger and
be ever fulfilling, until it attain perfect fruition in Christ's
eternal kingdom, is the next instruction. _Yea, and for this very
cause adding on your part all diligence, in your faith supply
virtue._ The plenteousness of the Divine bounty is proclaimed that it
may evoke an earnest response from all who receive it. What shall I
render unto the Lord for all the benefits which He hath done, and is
doing, unto me? is to be the heart's cry of the feeblest of God's
saints. For the boundless ocean of grace asks that there should be
mingled with it some drops of human duty. God will heal the bite of
the serpents in the wilderness, but to gain the blessing the wounded
ones, even in their suffering, must turn their eyes to the appointed
symbol of healing. Christ's power will cure ten lepers, but He first
sends them away to do their little in the path of obedience: "Go, show
yourselves to the priest." Thus the Apostle's exhortation here,
_Adding on your part all diligence_. The diligence of which he speaks
is that sort of endeavour which springs from a sense of duty: an
earnest zeal and will to accomplish whatever it finds to do; that does
not linger till some great work offers, but hastens to labour in the
immediate present. This is the spirit in which Christian advance will
be made. And the lines on which such progress will go he now describes
as though each new step were evolved from, and were a natural
development of, that which preceded it. The faith which the Christian
holds fast is the gift of God, and it contains the germs of every
grace that can follow. These the believer is to foster with diligence.