Excerpts from the CNT:

Second Peter 1:1-18 is a particular and crucial portion of the holy Word, which reveals excellent points regarding our experience and enjoyment of Christ as our God and Savior. We need to dwell on this portion of the Word so that we may not only appreciate and apprehend but also experience and enjoy the Christ unveiled therein.

a. Jesus Christ

Verse 1 speaks of “our God and Savior, Jesus Christ.” Jesus Christ is both our God and our Savior. This indicates that Jesus Christ is God being our Savior. He is the God whom we worship, and He became our Savior to save us. At Peter’s time this designated the believers in Christ and separated them from the Jews, who believed Jehovah the Creator to be God yet did not believe that Jesus Christ was God, and from the Gentiles, particularly the Romans, who believed that Caesar, not Jesus Christ, was God. [3916]

b. In His Righteousness

We Having Been Allotted Equally Precious Faith

Second Peter 1:1 tells us that in the righteousness of Christ as our God and Savior, we “have been allotted faith equally precious as ours.”

(1) In His Righteousness

The righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ, is a double portion, consisting of both the righteousness of Christ and the righteousness of God. Our God is righteous. Through His righteousness He has allotted the precious faith as a divine portion equally to all believers in Christ, both Jewish and Gentile, without respect of persons. Now He is not only our God but also our Savior. Thus, His righteousness now is not the righteousness only of God nor only of Christ, but the righteousness of both our God and our Savior, Jesus Christ.

In that the Lord is our Savior, His righteousness is His righteous act, His death on the cross in absolute obedience (Phil. 2:8), by which He accomplished redemption for us (Heb. 9:12), enabling us to be justified by God (Rom. 5:18). The righteousness of Christ refers to His righteous deeds, His righteous acts. When He lived, walked, and worked on earth as a man, He did everything righteously; all His acts, deeds, and works were righteous. In particular, when He died on the cross, becoming obedient to God, that obedience was a righteous deed. The Lord’s death on the cross was in absolute obedience to God and fulfilled all the requirements of God’s righteousness and gave the righteous God the legitimate position to justify all those who believe in this righteous deed of Christ. In other words, the righteousness of Christ is the factor and base for God to justify us. Christ lived righteously, obeyed righteously, and died righteously, thereby building up His righteousness as a base for God to justify those who believe in Christ.

In that the Lord is our God, His righteousness is His justice, since, based on the righteous act, the redemption of our Savior Jesus Christ (3:24-25), He justifies all the believers in [3917] Christ (v. 26), both Jewish and Gentile (v. 30). In and by such a twofold righteousness, the righteousness of both our God and our Savior, Jesus Christ, the precious faith, the precious substantiation of the New Testament blessing, has been allotted equally to all believers among all nations.

In 2 Peter 1:1 two kinds of righteousness—the righteousness of God and the righteousness of Christ—are put together. The righteousness of Christ accomplished redemption. Now God in His righteousness justifies us. It is in the sphere of and by means of this twofold righteousness that the precious faith has been allotted equally to all believers.

Peter’s word concerning the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ, is rich in what it indicates and implies. The common thought among the Jews at Peter’s time was that God gave them certain blessings for their enjoyment. Those blessings were given according to their own righteousness. The Jews thought that if they lived and acted righteously, they would have their own righteousness before God. That was the righteousness according to the law. Hence, it is called the righteousness of the law. This means that our own righteousness is the righteousness of the law. Paul refers to this in Romans 10:3: “Because they were ignorant of God’s righteousness and sought to establish their own righteousness, they were not subject to the righteousness of God.” In Philippians 3:9 Paul declared that his desire was to be found in Christ, “not having my own righteousness which is out of the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is out of God and based on faith.”

It is not according to the righteousness of the law that God has allotted us our New Testament portion. The New Testament portion is allotted to us by God in and by the kind of righteousness that is both the righteousness of God and the righteousness of Christ. The righteousness of God is versus our own righteousness, and the righteousness of Christ is versus the righteousness of the law.

Peter’s word regarding the righteousness of our God and Savior indicates that the dispensation has changed. In the Old Testament the basis upon which people were blessed was their righteousness according to the law. This means that [3918] they were blessed according to man’s righteousness, which is also the righteousness of the law. But now, in the New Testament, God gives us a wonderful portion, not because of our own righteousness according to the law but because of His righteousness according to Christ’s redemption. Instead of going back to the law, we need to come to Christ. What we have is not our righteousness according to the Mosaic law; it is God’s righteousness fulfilled by the righteous act of Christ on the cross. It is in and by this righteousness that God has allotted to us our New Testament inheritance.

(2) Our Having Been Allotted Faith Equally Precious as Ours

Second Peter 1:1 tells us that we “have been allotted faith equally precious as ours.” The God-given faith is allotted to all believers as a common precious portion. As long as we have this gift, we have the lot of God’s inheritance, for living faith equals the lot of God’s inheritance. When Paul indicated in Colossians 1:12 that Christ is the allotted portion of the saints, he had in view the allotment of the good land of Canaan given to the children of Israel for their inheritance. Likewise, Peter had the same view in mind when he in 2 Peter 1:1 spoke of our being allotted faith equally precious as ours. Peter realized that just as the children of Israel were allotted a piece of the good land (Josh. 13:6; 14:1-5; 19:51), all the New Testament believers are the children of God who inherit that which has been promised by God, that is, faith that has been allotted to them. This implies that the “all things which relate to life and godliness” (2 Pet. 1:3), including the divine nature (v. 4) partaken of by the believers through the equally precious faith according to the precious and exceedingly great promises, are the real inheritance given to the believers by God in the New Testament. The good land, the portion of the children of Israel in Old Testament times, typifies the all-inclusive Christ. As the good land was the portion of the Old Testament saints, so Christ is the portion of the New Testament believers. Furthermore, in the Old Testament the good land was allotted to the twelve tribes, and in the New Testament precious faith is allotted to us. [3919]

How can faith be our allotted portion? According to the Bible, Christ is our portion. This means that it is Christ who has been allotted to us. But 2 Peter 1:1 says that we have been allotted faith equally precious. To speak of Christ being our portion may be somewhat doctrinal. It is more experiential to say that faith is our portion. If Christ were merely Christ to us and not also faith, we would not be able to participate or share in Him. In order for us to partake of Christ, He must become our faith. Such a faith has been allotted by God to all believers in Christ as their portion. Faith has become our portion of the New Testament inheritance.

Faith is not merely a means; it is also a portion. A means is an instrument through which we obtain something, but a portion is the thing we obtain. In 2 Peter 1:1 faith is not a means; rather, it is the thing, the object, we receive. Therefore, in this verse faith equals the inheritance. According to the New Testament, faith in a certain sense is a means. In particular, faith is the means by which we receive salvation and eternal life (Eph. 2:8). But in 2 Peter 1:1 faith is not considered as a means but an allotment, a portion of the New Testament inheritance allotted to us by God.

Faith in 2 Peter 1:1 is equal to the New Testament inheritance. Our portion is Christ, the embodiment of the Triune God. This Christ is revealed in the New Testament and conveyed to us through the New Testament. The New Testament is a container of the Christ who embodies the Triune God. This container conveys Christ to us mainly by way of the preaching and teaching of the Word. The preaching and the teaching of the apostles always convey Christ to others. The Triune God is embodied in Christ, and Christ is contained in the New Testament. Then this Christ is conveyed to us through the preaching and teaching of the Word. The New Testament contains Christ, and those who preach the New Testament bring this container to us. Through this means this container conveys Christ to us. Faith, then, comes from hearing, and hearing comes from the word (Rom. 10:17). The function of the Word is to convey Christ to us. Therefore, Christ comes to us through the preaching and teaching of the word of the New Testament. [3920]

The all-inclusive Christ is not only the Word but also the life-giving Spirit. While Christ is preached to us through the Word and conveyed by the Word, He simultaneously works within us as the Spirit to produce faith in us. The issue of the faith produced within us is that whatever Christ is according to the word of the New Testament is imparted to us. As a result, we have the reality of Christ.

Faith and Christ are one. The faith, which is the response to the content of the Word is actually Christ. This means that the response is one with that to which it is responding. When in our experience our response and the Christ conveyed to us through the preaching of the Word become one, faith is produced within us. Therefore, our faith and Christ, who is the object of our faith, are actually one. This is the portion of the New Testament inheritance that God has allotted to us.

Faith is not initiated by us, and it is not something that is out of us. On the contrary, faith is out of God, it is initiated by God, and it is allotted to us by God. Faith comes to us by the word in God’s revelation. When this word is preached to us, it conveys the reality of the New Testament inheritance. As this word is preached to us, simultaneously the Spirit works with it. Actually, according to the Bible, the word and the Spirit are one. In John 6:63 the Lord Jesus said, “The words which I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.” The word is the Spirit, and the Spirit is the word (Eph. 6:17). Therefore, through the spoken word and by the working, the inspiring, of the Spirit, faith is produced within us. This is the way that God allots to us the equally precious faith. Through the spoken word and by the inspiring Spirit, God infuses faith into our being. Once this faith has been imparted into us, we have our portion of the New Testament inheritance.

The Greek word translated “equally precious” means “of equal value or honor”; hence, equally precious. It does not mean equal in measure but in value and honor to all those who receive it. Faith is equally precious to all the believers in Christ, no matter whether they are Jews or Gentiles. We have the same faith that Peter had. Although Peter was a great apostle, in quality the faith he had was not different from the faith that we have. He and we share the equally precious [3921] faith. All the believers in the Gentile world share with all those in the Jewish land the same precious faith, which enables them to substantiate the blessing of life of the New Testament as their common portion allotted to them by God.

The expression allotted faith equally precious as ours in 2 Peter 1:1 indicates that in the whole universe there is only one faith as a portion allotted to all God’s redeemed people. In the Old Testament the land of Canaan was the unique good land allotted by God as an inheritance to His people Israel. When the people of Israel entered into the good land and possessed it, that one good land was divided into portions and allotted to each family of the twelve tribes of Israel (Num. 33:51-54). Similarly, there is one great matter which is called faith. God has allotted a portion of this unique faith to each of His chosen people. Thus, we all have the same unique faith. We all have an allotted portion of this one faith.

At the juncture when we believed, it was we who were believing, but it was God who was allotting a portion of the unique faith into us. The name of that unique faith is Jesus Christ. The faith that we have to believe in Christ is Christ Himself (Rom. 3:22; Gal. 2:16a). There is only one Jesus who is faith to us. Therefore, our faith is uniquely one.

We all have the same precious faith in quality, but the quantity of faith that we have depends upon how much we contact the living God so that we may have Him increased in us (Rom. 12:3; Heb. 11:1, 5-6, 27; Col. 2:19). When God increases in us, faith grows in us.

Peter calls the faith, which has been allotted to us through God’s exceedingly abundant grace, “precious.” Faith is precious. It enables us to believe in what we could never believe in, and when it enters into us, it is obtained once and for all and will never leave us. It is impossible for any man to believe in the mystery and centrality of the gospel of God by his natural life. According to human reasoning, it is not believable that the Lord Jesus is God incarnated, was born of a virgin, died to propitiate man’s sins, rose from the dead, ascended into the heavens, is seated at the right hand of God, and will return one day. But when this precious faith enters into our being, we can and must believe. The more we believe, [3922] the more we feel pleasant and comfortable. Once we obtain this precious faith, it can never be lost. Once we obtain this precious faith, we will never disbelieve. It is impossible for us to truly not believe, even though we may occasionally deny Him, because the precious faith given to us is in us.

Faith is the substantiation of the substance of the things hoped for (Heb. 11:1). The substance of the New Testament blessings is invisible, abstract, and mysterious; it cannot be felt by our emotion or be seen by our eyes. We cannot see the divine life by our natural sight, nor can we sense or touch the divine life by our natural feeling. Furthermore, God Himself, who is the greatest of all the New Testament blessings, is invisible, mysterious, and abstract. None of our physical senses can substantiate Him. In order to substantiate all the New Testament blessings, we need another sense, that is, faith. Faith is the substantiation of the divine, spiritual, and heavenly substance of the New Testament blessings. Faith substantiates God as the main substance of the New Testament blessings. It also substantiates the divine life, the Spirit of God, and the law of the Spirit of life. Faith is an exceedingly great matter. It is not of ourselves; rather, it is a gift granted to us by God and a portion allotted to us by God. If we have the divine faith as our allotted portion, we have all the reality of God’s New Testament economy with all its blessings.

Faith is also the substantiation of the substance of the truth (v. 1), which is the reality of the contents of God’s New Testament economy. The contents of God’s New Testament economy are composed of the “all things which relate to life and godliness” (2 Pet. 1:3), that is, the Triune God dispensing Himself into us as life within and godliness without. The equally precious faith, allotted to us by God through the word of God’s New Testament economy and the Spirit, responds to the reality of such contents and ushers us into the reality, making its substance the element of our Christian life and experience. Such a faith is allotted to all the believers in Christ as their portion, which is equally precious to all who have received it. As such a portion from God, this faith is objective to us in the divine truth. But it brings all the contents of its [3923] substantiation into us, thus making them all, with itself (faith), subjective to us in our experience. This can be compared to the scenery (truth) and the seeing (faith) being objective to the camera (us). But when the light (the Spirit) brings the scenery to the film (our spirit) within the camera, both the seeing and the scenery become subjective to the camera.

God’s economy, God’s plan, is to dispense Himself into our being as our life and life supply. Therefore, God’s New Testament economy is simply for God’s dispensing. This economy has a content, this content has a reality, and this reality is the truth revealed in the Bible. The Bible is not merely a book of doctrine; it is a revelation of the truth, which is the reality of the content of God’s economy. This reality has a substance. Only faith can substantiate this substance. Hence, faith is the substantiation of the substance of the reality of the New Testament economy.

This faith is the real portion of God’s allotment. It is the reality of the New Testament economy allotted to us in and by the righteousness of God, which is also the righteousness of our Savior, Jesus Christ. This twofold righteousness—the righteousness of God and of Christ—is the sphere in which and the means by which the New Testament portion has been allotted to us.

c. Grace and Peace Being Multiplied to Us in the Full Knowledge of God and of Jesus Our Lord

Second Peter 1:2 says, “Grace to you and peace be multiplied in the full knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.” In this verse there are also two crucial points. The first is related to grace and peace. The words grace to you and peace in verse 2 indicate that grace and peace come to us. After grace and peace come to us, they will be multiplied in the sphere of the full knowledge of God and our Lord and by the means of this full knowledge. Because a wonderful portion—the Triune God Himself—has been allotted to us, grace and peace have come to us. Grace is the enjoyment of our portion of the New Testament inheritance, which is actually the processed Triune God. In simple terms, grace is the enjoyment of the Triune God. [3924]

Peace is the condition that results from grace. To have grace and peace is to have the enjoyment of the Triune God and the issue of this enjoyment. When we enjoy the Triune God, the result is a tranquil condition or situation with both God and man.

The second crucial point in verse 2 concerns the words in the full knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. As in verse 1, the preposition in here means “in the sphere of, or by means of.” Grace and peace come to us in a sphere and by a particular means—the full knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. The full knowledge of the Triune God is for our participation in and enjoyment of His divine life and divine nature. It is not a mere doctrinal knowledge; it is an experiential knowledge, a knowledge that is full.

The Greek word rendered “full knowledge” is composed of the word gnosis plus the prefix epi, which means “upon.” This word indicates a thorough, experiential knowledge. This kind of knowledge is not superficial or general. Rather, it is a knowledge that is deep, thorough, and experiential. This is not simply a mental knowledge; it is experiential knowledge in our spiritual understanding and apprehension. The full knowledge of God and of Christ is a deep, practical, thorough, and experiential knowledge of God and our Lord. This full knowledge is both the sphere in which and the means by which the Triune God can be enjoyed by us in order that we may have a peaceful situation with Him and with all men.

Grace and peace came to us through the God-allotted faith, which substantiates the life-blessing of the New Testament (v. 1). This faith was infused into us through the word of God, which conveys to us the real knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. In the sphere of the full knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, and by means of this increasing and increased knowledge, the grace and peace that we have received will be multiplied.

In his Epistles Paul frequently says, “Grace to you and peace” (Rom. 1:7; 1 Cor. 1:3; 2 Cor. 1:2; Phil. 1:2). In 2 Peter 1:2, after saying, “Grace to you and peace,” Peter adds the expression be multiplied. This expression indicates that grace and peace are not light or small; they are within us, [3925] multiplying all the time. We need to sense that the divine grace and peace are daily multiplying within us. Moreover, Peter says in verse 2 that grace and peace are multiplied “in the full knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.” At the end of this Epistle, Peter tells us to grow in the “knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (3:18). In a very real sense, we the believers do know God and Jesus, but we need to realize that our knowledge of God and of Jesus may be inadequate. Among a great many believers, there is a great shortage in knowing the Triune God—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit—and His New Testament economy. Multiplication of grace and peace within us is according to the increase of our knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ. We must have the full knowledge of God and Jesus Christ in order that grace and peace in us would be multiplied. For this reason, the burden of the ministry in the Lord’s recovery is to help the believers to come to the full knowledge of the Triune God and His economy (1 Tim. 2:4).

In 2 Peter 1:3 Peter speaks of “His divine power.” The pronoun His is singular, but in verse 2 there are two antecedents of this pronoun—God and Jesus our Lord. If we study the Word carefully and properly, we will pay attention to the fact that in verse 2 we have two antecedents for the singular pronoun His in verse 3. This indicates that our Lord Jesus is God Himself and that our God is actually the Lord Jesus. Otherwise, Peter would have said, “As Their divine power has granted to us all things.”

We have seen that grace is multiplied as His divine power has granted to us all things which relate to life and godliness. Life is within for us to live, and godliness is without as the outward expression of the inward life. Life is the inward energy, inward strength, to bring forth the outward godliness. All things relating to life within and godliness without have already been given to us by the divine power. Now grace must be multiplied according to the giving of this divine power.

d. His Divine Power Having Granted to Us All Things Which Relate to Life and Godliness, through the Full Knowledge of Him Who Has Called Us to His Own Glory and Virtue

Second Peter 1:3 says, “Seeing that His divine power has granted to us all things which relate to life and godliness, through the full knowledge of Him who has called us by His own glory and virtue.”

(1) His Divine Power

In verse 3 the word divine denotes the eternal, unlimited, and almighty divinity of God. Hence, divine power is the power of the divine life, which is related to the divine nature. God has given us the marvelous and mysterious divine power. God as the divine power passed through creation, redemption, and resurrection to become the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45b). This divine power is nothing less than the life-giving Spirit, who is God Himself as life to us in resurrection. The visible things of the creation came into being through God’s power. Redemption was also accomplished by the divine power. The one man Jesus could die on behalf of all men to accomplish an eternal redemption (Heb. 9:12) because of the divine power. Today as the life-giving Spirit, He offers Himself to us as the divine power in resurrection. When we receive [3928] the Lord Jesus, the Triune God enters into us as life in resurrection. This life in resurrection is the divine power, which is God Himself as the life-giving Spirit.

The divine power in 2 Peter 1:3 is the power of the divine life, and this divine life power has given us all things that relate to life and godliness. The things that relate to life are inexhaustible. They include the law of life (Rom. 8:2; Heb. 8:10), humility, wisdom, rejoicing, love, joy, hope, submission, goodness, meekness, kindness, longsuffering, and peace. Everything related to life has been given to us. The life power within the seed of a certain plant includes everything related to the plant—the stem, branches, leaves, blossoms, flowers, and fruit of the plant. Within the power of the divine life as the seed in us are all the things necessary for the growth of the divine life. In the divine power there are virtues such as love, patience, humility, kindness, and longsuffering. The divine power, the power of life, includes all things needed not only for life inwardly but also for godliness outwardly.

The divine power in 2 Peter 1:3 is the power of the divine life related to the divine nature. It is beyond our ability to measure this divine power. In the realm of human power we are impressed by the kind of power that it took to land a man on the moon. But how much more power was necessary to raise Christ to the third heaven, to the center and height of the universe!

Paul speaks clearly of this divine power in Ephesians 1 when he prays that we would know “what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the operation of the might of His strength, which He caused to operate in Christ in raising Him from the dead and seating Him at His right hand in the heavenlies” (vv. 19-20). This divine power has exalted Christ over all and has put everything under His feet. Now Christ is seated on the highest peak of the universe, far above everything on earth and “far above all rule and authority and power and lordship and every name that is named” (v. 21). In Ephesians 1 Paul goes on to indicate that the divine power that raised Christ from the dead and seated Him at God’s right hand in the heavenlies, far above all, has been applied to us (v. 22). [3929]

(2) Having Granted to Us All Things Which Relate to Life and Godliness

In 2 Peter 1:3, Peter says that this divine power has granted to us all things which relate to life and godliness. The word granted here means “imparted, infused, or planted.” All things which relate to life and godliness have been imparted into us, infused into us, by the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit, who regenerates us and indwells us (2 Cor. 3:6, 17; John 3:6; Rom. 8:11).

“All things which relate to life and godliness” in 2 Peter 1:3 are the various aspects of the divine life, typified by the riches of the produce of the good land in the Old Testament. They are the substance of our faith’s substantiation allotted to us by God as our portion for our inheritance. Life is within, enabling us to live, and godliness is without as the outward expression of the inward life. Life is the inward energy, the inward strength, to bring forth the outward godliness, which leads to and results in glory.

The “all things” in verse 3 pertain to the divine life, to zoe, not to the life that is for our pleasure. All things have been given, imparted, and infused into us so that we may live the divine life and also live out this life. The life is inward, but godliness is outward, for it is God Himself expressed. In all our living we should express God. We should testify of God and speak about Him. When God becomes our expression, this is godliness. In our conversation we should express God. If we are expressing God, surely we could not engage in gossip. We should have God in our being and also in our living. Our mind should be filled with Him, and the fiber of our being should be constituted of Him. Then we will have godliness, the outward expression of the inward life.

The imparting into us of all the things of life is through the full knowledge of God, which is conveyed and revealed to us through His word. This becomes the faith (objective), in which our faith (subjective) is produced.

(3) Through the Full Knowledge of Him Who Has Called Us by His Own Glory and Virtue

In verse 3 Peter says that the divine power has granted to [3930] us all things which relate to life and godliness “through the full knowledge of Him.” This full knowledge is a deep, thorough, experiential knowledge.

The preposition through used in relation to full knowledge indicates that we need to pass through a process. If we have the practice of gossiping, this practice is an indication that we have not yet passed through the process leading to the full knowledge of the One who has called us. If we have the full knowledge of the One who has called us to His glory and virtue, we will not waste our time gossiping.

The divine power has infused us with all things pertaining to life and godliness. However, this infusion, this impartation, requires that we have the full knowledge of God. If we do not pass through the process to gain the full knowledge, it will seem that what the divine power has planted in us has been in vain. The divine power is operating, but there is the need for us to cooperate with this operation. There is the need for us to be trained by the Lord so that we may gain the full knowledge of the One who has called us.

In verse 3 Peter does not speak of the knowledge of God nor of the knowledge of the Father, Son, and Spirit. Instead, he speaks of the full knowledge of the One who has called us to His glory and virtue. Here Peter does not say that God has called us to heaven, nor even that He has called us to redemption or sanctification. In this verse Peter says that God has called us to His own glory and virtue. We need to have the full knowledge of this. We can know the One who has called us to His own glory and virtue only by passing through a long process.

We definitely need the full knowledge of the One who has called us for the purpose of bringing us into His glory and virtue. If we have such an experiential knowledge of Him, the divine power will operate in us effectively. For the divine power to work in us, we daily need to cooperate with God. In the morning we should open to Him and say, “Lord, I am here before You. Go on, Lord. I would not hinder You. Rather, I would give You a free way within me. Lord, whatever You speak to me I will proclaim.” The more we cooperate with the divine power within us, the more we are brought into God’s glory, enjoy His virtue, and express this virtue as godliness. [3931]

Glory is the expression of God, God expressed in splendor. Literally, the Greek word rendered “virtue” means “excellency,” denoting the energy of life that enables us to overcome all obstacles and to carry out all excellent attributes. Glory is the divine goal; virtue is the energy and strength of life that enable us to reach the goal. This virtue, with all things relating to life, has been given to us by the divine power, but it needs to be developed on the way to glory.

God has called us to His glory and virtue, but this calling needs to be worked out. Although we have been called into God’s glory and virtue, are we actually in this glory, and are we participating in this virtue? The truth is that sometimes we are in the glory, and sometimes we participate in this virtue. God’s calling us to His glory and virtue can be worked out through His precious promises (v. 4).

e. On the Basis of His Glory and Virtue He Having Granted to Us Precious and Exceedingly Great Promises, That through These We Might Become Partakers of the Divine Nature

Second Peter 1:4 goes on to say, “Through which He has granted to us precious and exceedingly great promises that through these you might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption which is in the world by lust.” The Greek word translated “through” in this verse means “on account of, on the basis of.” The Greek word has an instrumental sense, but here it also denotes cause. The relative pronoun which in 2 Peter 1:4 refers to glory and virtue in verse 3. Through and on the basis of the Lord’s glory and virtue, by and to which we have been called, He has given us His precious and exceedingly great promises, such as in Matthew 28:20; John 6:57; 7:38-39; 10:28-29; 14:19-20, 23; 15:5; and 16:13-15. All these promises are being carried out in His believers by His life-power as the excellent virtue, unto His glory.

According to 2 Peter 1:3, the Lord has called us not only by His glory and virtue but also to His glory and virtue. The disciples saw the Lord’s glory and virtue. During the time He was with them, they saw the virtue in His conduct and daily living. They also saw His glory on the Mount of Transfiguration. [3932] They saw the Lord’s glory at other times as well, for example, when He fed the five thousand and when He called Lazarus out of the tomb. Having seen the Lord’s glory and virtue, the disciples were attracted. This means that they were called by the Lord’s glory and virtue. After the Lord’s resurrection, on the day of Pentecost, Peter was full of glory and virtue. The disciples were in a situation that was full of glory and full of virtue, the glory and virtue to which they had been called.

Through this glory and virtue God has given us promises. This means that because of the glory and virtue, God has given us the precious and exceedingly great promises. Because we all have been called to glory and virtue, God has given us promises in order that He may work out this virtue and glory for us.

The impartation into us of all things which relate to life and godliness is through the full knowledge of God, the One who has called us by and to His own glory and virtue. How can we live a life that expresses God as our godliness? We live it through knowing Him. Therefore, we need to know the One who has called us by and to His glory and virtue. Furthermore, through this glory and virtue He has granted to us precious and exceedingly great promises. By these promises He assures us that He will work out the virtue so that we may reach His glory.

(1) Partakers of the Divine Nature

Second Peter 1:4 speaks of the “partakers of the divine nature.” This is the highlight of Peter’s ministry. As those who have received equally precious faith, we, the believers in Christ, should be partakers of the divine nature. For God to be our life is a deep subject, but for God’s nature to be our nature is an even deeper matter.

The divine nature refers to what God is, that is, the riches, the elements, and the constituents of God’s being (John 4:24; 1 John 1:5; 4:8, 16). The divine nature, which mainly refers to the constitution of the divine life, the constitution of God, is constituted with Spirit, love, and light. The divine life and the divine nature are inseparable; the divine nature is the substance of the divine life and is within the divine life (1:1-2; [3933] 5:11-13). As the children of God, we are God-men, born of God, possessing the life and nature of God, and belonging to the species of God (3:1; John 1:12-13). At our regeneration, another nature was imparted into us; this is the nature of God, the divine nature. Because the divine nature is in the divine life, the divine life with which we were born again has the divine nature within it (3:3, 5-6, 15). Whoever believes into the Son of God is born of God and has the right to become a child of God; thus, a believer has the right to partake of, to enjoy, the nature of God (1:12-13).

Through incarnation Christ put humanity upon Himself and thereafter had two natures, the divine nature and the human nature. Through His resurrection and through coming into us as the Spirit, Christ has brought divinity into us. Therefore, we also have two natures, the human nature and the divine nature. By being born of the Spirit, we have become partakers of the divine nature. We can say, “Lord, just as You have two natures, so we have two natures also. You are divine and human, and we are human and divine. We are the same as You! Lord, You have our nature, and we have Yours. You are both divine and human, and we are both human and divine. Lord, You are the Son of God, and we are sons of God.” By our first birth we partook of the human nature. Now that we have been begotten of God by the new birth, we partake of the divine nature. Our status is both human and divine. We are not merely sons of man but sons of God as well.

We, the sons of God, have all become partakers of the divine nature. To us, God is no longer merely the creating God but also the begetting Father. He has imparted His life, His nature, and even His being into our being. God the Father has become our nature and life. Because we have been born of God, in life and nature we are the same as God. In other words, we are God in life and in nature but not in His Godhead. On the one hand, the New Testament reveals that the Godhead is unique and that only God, who alone has the Godhead, should be worshipped. On the other hand, the New Testament reveals that we, the believers in Christ, have God’s life and nature and that we are becoming God in life and in nature but will never have His Godhead. Regeneration does [3934] not make us part of the Godhead. To say that believers become part of the Godhead as objects of worship is to blaspheme God. We cannot share in the Godhead, but we can partake of the divine nature. What a great blessing it is to be one with God in His life and nature!

The greatest blessing in the universe is that we can partake of God’s nature. The Christian life is a life of enjoying the divine nature. We are partaking of the divine elements of God’s being. A partaker of the divine nature is one who enjoys and participates in the divine nature. If we would be partakers of the divine nature, we need to live by the divine life within which is the divine nature (1:4; 10:10; 11:25; 6:57b). We live the divine life by God’s promises. In order that we may enjoy all that He is, God will do many things for us according to His promises. We need to live by the divine life so that we may be partakers of the divine nature. Although we received the divine life at the time we believed, the divine nature must be continually enjoyed by us. This enjoyment requires the grace of God. God’s sufficient grace will work within us day by day so that we may enjoy the divine nature. The more we enjoy the divine nature, the more we have His virtue, and the more we are brought into His glory.

The riches of what God is are the content of the living hope mentioned in 1 Peter 1:3. According to His great mercy, God the Father has regenerated us unto a living hope. This living hope is actually a hope of life. Having this hope of life, we expect to enjoy daily the riches of the divine life. Actually, to enjoy the divine life is simply to partake of the divine nature. Therefore, partaking of the divine nature is related to our living hope of enjoying all the riches of the divine life.

When we were regenerated, we were enlivened by God. The divine life came into the center of our being. From that time onward, we have had a living hope, a hope of life. Our hope is that every part of our being will be enlivened. Regeneration, therefore, has brought in a living hope. Regeneration is unto the enjoyment of the riches of the divine life, and the riches of this life are the divine nature. Hence, to partake of the divine nature is to enjoy the riches of God.

When we received the divine life and were regenerated, we [3935] became a new being—a partaker of the divine nature. The expression partakers of the divine nature in 2 Peter 1:4 indicates that the Triune God is our portion. If God were not our portion, we could not partake of His nature. Every day we should partake of the divine nature. Our partaking of the divine nature must be constant, not occasional. In our Christian life, we must eat, drink, and even breathe the divine nature.

The matter of nature is very important. Hens lay eggs because it is according to their nature. The apple tree and all fruit trees bring forth fruit also by and according to their natures. This means that if we have a particular nature, we are able to do things that are by and according to that nature, and if we do not have a certain nature, we are not able to do things that are according to that nature. As believers in Christ, we have God’s nature. We desire to be holy, godly, and spiritual because these things are according to God’s nature, of which we partake. To do the things of God is natural to us because the divine things are according to the divine nature within us.

We have the divine nature within. The divine nature means everything in our Christian life. Since we have the divine nature, we do not need outward regulations to adjust our hair, clothes, and behavior. Any adjustments that we make should be made according to the divine nature within. Everything we do, say, and are should be checked with the divine nature. Every newborn child has the human nature. While little babies do not have any knowledge of outward regulations, they still have the human nature that regulates what they eat. You do not need to teach them about sweet and bitter because they have the human nature with its human taste. As Christians, we have a nature that is much higher than the human nature. We have the divine nature with a divine taste. We must live a life that matches the divine nature within us.

Since we have the life of God, we also have the nature of God. The emphasis on life is on the capacity to live, and the emphasis on nature is on the inclination of our living. We desire to be heavenly because the nature of God, the inclination of God, is heavenly. We desire to be holy because God’s nature and inclination are holy. We feel uneasy when we are proud, and we feel comfortable when we are humble because this is [3936] the nature and inclination of God. We feel uneasy when we take advantage of others and very happy when we share with others, because this is God’s nature and inclination. These are all matters of nature and inclination. If we realize that the divine nature within us has a particular taste, we will see that it is easy to be freed from the world and not love sin and evil. God is in us not only as our life but also as our nature. Within us He is the capacity to live, and He has also become our taste in our living. His life and nature in us make it very easy for us not to love the world and to overcome sins and evil.

If we enjoy God and partake of the riches of His being, we will be constituted with the divine nature, becoming the same as God in life and nature but not in the Godhead and expressing Him in all that we are and do. If we partake of God day by day, eventually we will partake of Him unconsciously. We all should be fully saturated with the nature of God. The more we are saturated with God, the more we will express Him. When others contact us, they will see in us the expression of the Triune God. We may even give off a divine fragrance.

The enjoyment of the divine nature is both for the present and for eternity. For eternity we will continue to partake of the divine nature. This is illustrated by the tree of life and the river of water of life in Revelation 22:1 and 2. The river of life flows out from the throne of God and of the Lamb. This signifies God flowing out to be the enjoyment of His redeemed ones. That flowing river will saturate the entire city of New Jerusalem. Furthermore, the tree of life that grows along the river will supply the redeemed ones with God as their life supply. This is a picture of what it means to partake of the divine nature. To eat the fruit of the tree of life is to partake of God’s nature; to be partakers of the divine nature is to be the eaters of the tree of life. God’s nature is holy, loving, righteous, kind, and pure. Actually, God’s nature is all-inclusive. The more we partake of the divine nature, the more we have holiness, love, righteousness, kindness, and all manner of divine attributes. These attributes then become our virtues, which eventually will consummate in God’s glory. We should praise the Lord that we human beings can have God’s life, enjoy God’s nature, live as God lives, express Him [3937] as our godliness, and have all the excellent virtues that will consummate in glory.

In his second Epistle, the apostle Peter unveils the energy, the strength, by which the believers are enabled to escape the corruption in lust and the result of that escape. The energy is the virtue of the divine life, and the result is that the believers partake of the divine nature and thus enjoy all the riches of what the Triune God is. In our partaking of the divine nature and in our enjoying of all that God is, all the riches of the divine nature will be fully developed, as described in verses 5 through 7 of chapter 1. Having escaped the corruption of lust in the world and having thus removed the barriers to the growth of the divine life in us, we are freed to become partakers of the divine nature and to enjoy its riches to the fullest extent in its development by the virtue of God unto His glory. Day after day we must partake of the divine nature, which is the glory. Eventually, this divine nature will glorify us, causing us to shine with God’s element. We were made children of God and sons of God in order to be partakers of the divine nature so that we may be glorified with the divine glory (v. 4; Rom. 8:30; Heb. 2:10).

It is a wonderful fact that as believers we possess the divine nature. The way to enlarge the sphere of the divine nature within us is to take the word of Christ not only by reading but also by praying, singing, psalming, and thanking the Lord (Col. 3:16). If the word of Christ is to dwell in us richly, we need to open our entire being and exercise our spirit. Then the word of Christ will enter into us, stir us up, and become mingled with us, causing us to be one with the Lord in an actual and practical way. As a result, the sphere of the divine nature in us will be enlarged.

In 2 Peter 1:4 there is a condition for becoming partakers of the divine nature: the condition is “having escaped the corruption which is in the world by lust.” Lust is a barrier that keeps us from enjoying the divine nature. Christ died to redeem us from the vain manner of life (1 Pet. 1:18-19), and now, as redeemed ones, we should abstain from fleshly lusts (2:11) and no longer live in the flesh in the lusts of men (4:2). This is to escape the corruption that is in the world through [3938] lust. The more we escape this corruption, the more we will enjoy the nature of God. Likewise, the more we partake of the divine nature, the more we will escape the corruption that is in the world by lust. This is a cycle of escaping and partaking and of partaking and escaping. If this cycle of partaking and escaping works within us in a strong, rapid way, it will be difficult for us to take in any of the corruption of the world. We partake of the divine nature, and this divine nature strengthens us to stay away from corruption. Then the more we stay away from the corruption of the world, the more we enjoy the riches of the divine nature. This is the experience of God’s economy.

In brief, we should partake of the divine nature and enjoy what God is, the contents, the ingredients, of His being. By what way do we enjoy the divine nature? First, we enjoy the divine nature by the full knowledge of the One who has called us by His glory and virtue and to His glory and virtue. Because of this, He has given us many precious and exceedingly great promises. Second, we need to escape the corruption which is in the world by lust; that is, we need to abstain from lustful living. Indulging the lusts of the flesh annuls our right to enjoy God’s nature. But if we escape the corruption which is in the world by lust, we will cooperate with the God who is now operating in us according to His promises to carry out His virtue and glory. If we cooperate with God’s operation, we will become those who enjoy the divine nature.

(2) Precious and Exceedingly Great Promises

Through the precious and exceedingly great promises we, the believers in Christ, who is our God and Savior, have become partakers of His divine nature in an organic union with Him, into which we have entered through faith and baptism (John 3:15; Gal. 3:27; Matt. 28:19). The virtue (energy of life) of this divine nature carries us into His glory (godliness becoming the full expression of the Triune God).

Based upon the glory and virtue to which we have been called by God, He gives us promises. He promises us that He will be responsible to work out this glory and virtue. As we have seen, glory as the expression is the goal, and virtue is [3939] the energy of life. Virtue is the excellent attributes of God becoming to us the energy of life. This means that we have the energy and strength to reach glory. By God’s promises we have the energy to express His glory.

God has called us to His own glory and virtue. This goal is great, vast, and profound. Who is able to reach God’s own glory and virtue? None of us is able to arrive at this goal. Therefore, there is the need of God’s word of promise to assure us, encourage us, strengthen us, and speed us on our way toward this goal. Knowing our need for assurance, encouragement, and strength, God has given us precious and exceedingly great promises.

We cannot reach the high goal of God’s glory and virtue by ourselves. For this, we need the Lord. Because we do not know what lies ahead of us, God has given us precious promises. One of these great promises is in Matthew 28:20: “Behold, I am with you all the days until the consummation of the age.” No doubt, this promise was an encouragement to all the disciples.

The Lord’s promises encouraged Peter and the other disciples on their way toward the goal of God’s glory and virtue. When Peter and the eleven stood up to preach on the day of Pentecost, God’s glory and virtue were with them. The disciples manifested divine virtues, not natural human virtues. In Acts 3 a lame man looked to Peter and John for a gift of money. Peter said to him, “Silver and gold I do not possess, but what I have, this I give to you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene rise up and walk” (v. 6). Then Peter took him by the hand and lifted him up, and immediately the lame man was healed. “Leaping up and about, he stood and began to walk, and he entered with them into the temple, walking and leaping and praising God” (v. 8). On that occasion, they manifested God’s virtue and glory. This was carried out by the promise of the Lord that He would be with them all the days until the completion of this age. By means of the Lord’s promises the early disciples were encouraged to press on to reach God’s glory and attain the divine virtues.

The New Testament is filled with promises. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 12 that he had a thorn in his flesh that caused [3940] him to suffer. He prayed three times to the Lord that the thorn might depart from him. But the Lord said to him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness” (vv. 7-9). This shows us that the Lord’s grace and power were sufficient to sustain and supply Paul and to bring him through these sufferings and difficulties. Therefore, Paul said that he would rather boast in his weaknesses so that the power of Christ might tabernacle over him. The original meaning of the word tabernacle here is “to fix a tent or a habitation upon something.” This portrays the power of Christ, which is Christ Himself, being like a tent tabernacling over us, overshadowing our weaknesses.

Every time we feel heavily burdened, we need to listen to the Lord’s voice saying, “My grace is sufficient for you. My power is perfected in weakness.” If we consider ourselves to be strong, then we will not be able to enjoy the Lord’s power. Therefore, our weakness is precious. It is due to our weaknesses that the Lord’s power has the ground to manifest itself, and we are able to enjoy His power. God’s sufficient grace will work within us day by day so that we may enjoy the divine nature.

The promises in 2 Peter 1:4 are mainly related to our spiritual life. These are promises for the inner life and the outward expression of life. One such promise is in Ephesians 3:20, which says, “To Him who is able to do superabundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power which operates in us.” This promise to do above all that we ask or think does not concern the material things of the present life but the spiritual things for the church life. The Lord will do superabundantly above all that we ask or think for the church life, according to the inner working power that operates in us.

In the New Testament there are great promises, which clearly indicate that our experience of God involves our enjoyment of the divine nature within us in order that His divine nature would become our enjoyment. For example, 1 Thessalonians 5:23 says, “The God of peace Himself sanctify you wholly, and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” This verse contains a great promise that God would [3941] sanctify us wholly, that is, our spirit, soul, and body. By this promise we may enjoy the holy divine nature which we have within us. We may be careless concerning holiness because although we have received the divine nature, we may not enjoy it. Yet when we read the great promise in 1 Thessalonians 5:23, we are helped, encouraged, and strengthened to live a holy life. Upon reading this verse, we are assured by the promise that God will sanctify us both in our daily walk and in our tripartite being—our spirit, soul, and body. Consequently, we would be careful in the details of our daily walk in order to live a holy life. This is our experience of the enjoyment of the divine nature on the basis of a great promise given to us by God.

Another great promise of God is found in 2 Corinthians 6:16 through 7:1, which says, “What agreement does the temple of God have with idols? For we are the temple of the living God, even as God said, ‘I will dwell among them and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they will be My people.’ Therefore ‘come out from their midst and be separated, says the Lord, and do not touch what is unclean; and I will welcome you’; ‘and I will be a Father to you, and you will be sons and daughters to Me, says the Lord Almighty.’ Therefore since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and of spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” Holiness is separation unto God from all things other than Him (Rom. 1:1-2; Eph. 1:4). To perfect holiness is to make this separation full and perfect, to have our entire being—spirit, soul, and body—fully and perfectly separated, sanctified, unto God (1 Thes. 5:23). A believer who loves the Lord and reads this portion of the Word may be helped, encouraged, and strengthened to live a holy life that matches God’s holy nature. On the basis of the great promise in this passage, he would certainly enjoy the holy divine nature that is in him.

Second Corinthians 9:6-10 also contains great promises of God. Here Paul says, “Take note of this: He who sows sparingly shall also sparingly reap; and he who sows with blessings shall also with blessings reap; each one as he has purposed in his heart, not out of sorrow or out of necessity, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound unto [3942] you, that, in everything always having all sufficiency, you may abound unto every good work; even as it is written, ‘He has scattered abroad; he has given to the poor; his righteousness abides forever.’ Now He who bountifully supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed and cause the fruits of your righteousness to increase.” In this passage we see at least two great promises. On the one hand, if we sow with blessings, we will reap with blessings, for God will bountifully supply seed to us. On the other hand, if we sow sparingly, we will reap sparingly. Consequently, we will be unable to enjoy the generous divine nature within us and to see God’s blessing in His generosity. Based upon these promises, may we learn to be the partakers of the divine nature, those who enjoy the divine nature always, not occasionally.

When we spend time reading this portion of the Word prayerfully, we will be stirred up to give according to the generous divine nature of God. God is full of generosity and liberality; generosity is a characteristic of God’s divine nature. When we dwell on this passage, we will be encouraged and reminded to give generously according to the divine nature within us. As a result, we will begin to practice generosity, thereby enjoying the generous divine nature.

To partake of the divine nature is to enjoy the divine nature, and to enjoy the divine nature is to enjoy God Himself, that is, to enjoy all that God is. The entire New Testament is a book of precious and exceedingly great promises. Every portion of the New Testament is a promise that the Triune God will do everything for us to enjoy Himself as the divine nature.

The precious promises are embodied in the divine Word. By pray-reading the promises, we partake of and enjoy the divine nature, and by partaking of the divine nature we develop in the divine life. The more we pray-read the promises, the more we enjoy the divine nature, and the more we enjoy the divine nature, the more we grow and develop in the divine life.

f. Our Being Richly and Bountifully Supplied the Entrance into His Eternal Kingdom

Second Peter 1:11 says, “In this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be richly and bountifully supplied to you.” The eternal kingdom in this verse refers to the kingdom of God, which was given to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (Dan. 7:13-14) and which will be manifested at His coming back (Luke 19:11-12). It will be a reward to His faithful believers, who pursue the growth in His life unto maturity and the development of the virtues of His nature that in the millennium they may participate in His kingship in God’s glory (2 Tim. 2:12; Rev. 20:4, 6). To enter thus into the eternal kingdom of the Lord is related to entering into God’s eternal glory, to which God has called us in Christ (1 Pet. 5:10; 1 Thes. 2:12).

In 2 Peter 1:3-11 we see that the development of the kingdom within us is actually our entrance into the kingdom. In verses 3 and 4 Peter speaks of the divine power granting to us all things which relate to life and godliness and of becoming partakers of the divine nature. Then in verses 5 through 11 we have the development through growth in life unto the rich entrance into the eternal kingdom. [3944]

In verses 5 through 7 Peter says, “Adding all diligence, supply bountifully in your faith virtue; and in virtue, knowledge; and in knowledge, self-control; and in self-control, endurance; and in endurance, godliness; and in godliness, brotherly love; and in brotherly love, love.” Here we see the development of the divine life in us through a number of steps. Then in verse 11 Peter concludes, “For in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be richly and bountifully supplied to you.”

The bountiful supply that we enjoy in the development of the divine life and divine nature (vv. 3-7) will bountifully supply us a rich entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord. It will enable and qualify us to enter into the coming kingdom by all the riches of the divine life and divine nature as our excellent virtues (energy) unto the splendid glory of God. This is not merely to be saved but, after being saved, to pursue the growth and maturity in the divine life and thereby receive the kingdom reward.

The entrance into the kingdom is a matter of the development of the divine life within us. The growing of Christ within us is our entering into the kingdom. The reason that the growth of Christ in us is our entrance into the kingdom is that this growing is the developing of the kingdom. As we develop the kingdom, we enter into it.

We cannot simply walk into the kingdom; we must grow and develop into the kingdom. The secret of entering into the kingdom is simply to grow in life. The seed of life is already within us; it simply needs to grow and develop. We enter the kingdom day by day by the growth of the inner life.

Since the day we believed in the Lord Jesus, we received a little seed sown into us. Actually, there is no need for us to grow so fast. We need to simply go to the Lord, open to Him, enjoy Him, thank Him, and praise Him. Thank the Lord that He has sown Himself into us and that He is growing and spreading within us. If we sow a carnation seed into the ground, we do not need to pray and fast. We simply need to sow the seed properly and then go home and rest. Occasionally, we need to come and water the seed. It will grow without our effort. Likewise, to enter into the kingdom we simply [3945] need to grow in life and grow in grace. To enter into the kingdom we need the maturity of life, the full growth of life.

How can the kingdom develop within us? If we would have the kingdom develop in us, we need to humble ourselves, empty ourselves, and unload ourselves. We should not be occupied with culture, religion, ethics, morality, philosophy, improvement of character, or the effort to be spiritual, scriptural, holy, and victorious. We should care only for Christ and for the growth of Christ within us. All the ground within us should be made available for Him to grow in us. The entrance into the kingdom is supplied to us by the Lord through our growth in His life and through the development of this life within us.

We also can have a rich entrance by losing our soul today (Matt. 16:25-28). When we lose our soul and its enjoyment, we are undergoing transformation. The losing of the soul today actually transforms the soul, but the saving of our soul today frustrates the transformation. If we lose our soul in all things related to our daily living, we will gradually be transformed. The more we lose the enjoyment of the soul, the richer an entrance we will have.

According to 2 Peter 1:1-4, God has given the seed of faith, the growing power, and He has given the promises that He will send the rain, the growth, and the harvest if we cooperate with Him. With God’s giving, we must be diligent to develop the seed of faith by taking the promises, by receiving His word. The best way to receive His word is to pray-read the word. The more we pray-read all the promises, the more we will enjoy the divine nature. As we enjoy this divine nature, we have the growth in life, the maturity in life, and the harvest of life. This maturity is the entrance into the kingdom of the Lord Jesus. We all need to grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.

g. His Coming in Power, Majesty, and Glory as the Beloved Son of God Revealed on the Holy Mountain

In order to bring us into the eternal kingdom, Christ will come in power, majesty, and glory as the beloved Son of God revealed on the holy mountain. Verses 16 through 18 say, “We [3946] did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we became eyewitnesses of that One’s majesty. For He received from God the Father honor and glory, a voice such as this being borne to Him by the magnificent glory: This is My Son, My Beloved, in whom I delight. And this voice we heard being borne out of heaven while we were with Him in the holy mountain.” Myths were the superstitious stories cleverly devised in Greek philosophy, which was related to the apostasy. The apostles preached and taught concerning the power and coming (Gk. parousia, presence) of the Lord Jesus Christ. To unbelievers, the preaching concerning the Lord’s coming sounded very much like a myth or a superstitious tale. But here Peter says that the apostles did not follow cleverly devised myths when they made known the power and coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Concerning the word eyewitnesses, Darby comments, “‘Admitted into immediate vision of the glory,’ a word used for full initiation into the mysteries.” Peter realized that he, James, and John had been admitted into the highest degree of initiation at the Lord’s transfiguration, admitted to be the initiated spectators of His majesty. He considered the transfiguration of the Lord a figure of His second coming, even as the Lord did in Luke 9:26-36. The Lord’s transfiguration in glory was a fact, and he was in it. The Lord’s coming back in glory also will be a fact, as real as the Lord’s transfiguration, and he will be in it as well.

Peter says that the apostles became eyewitnesses of the Lord’s majesty. This majesty denotes magnificence, greatness in splendor, honor, and glory, even magnificent glory (2 Pet. 1:17), as that which appeared to the eyes of Peter and the other two disciples in the Lord’s transfiguration (Matt. 17:1-2; Luke 9:32).

In 2 Peter 1:16 Peter indicates that the Lord Jesus will come back in glory. This is not a tale or a myth. Even when He was on earth, the glory came out of Him, and He was transfigured. Peter, James, and John saw His majesty when they were with Him on the mountain. They were eyewitnesses and were initiated into a vision of His glory.

Verse 17 tells us that Christ received from God the Father honor and glory. Honor is a matter of position, and glory is a [3947] matter of state. On the Mount of Transfiguration, the Lord was in a position of honor and in a state of glory.

Peter says that a voice was borne to the Lord by the magnificent glory. This magnificent glory denotes the overshadowing cloud at the Lord’s transfiguration (Luke 9:34-35), like the shekinah glory overshadowing the expiation cover (Exo. 25:20; 40:34).

If we read the accounts in Matthew, Mark, and Luke concerning the Lord’s transfiguration, we will see that the magnificent glory in 2 Peter 1:17 refers to the overshadowing cloud. Peter, James, and John saw the cloud, and that cloud was the glory. Likewise, after the tabernacle had been erected in ancient times, it was filled with the glory of God, for the cloud of God’s glory overshadowed the tabernacle. It would have been difficult to discern the cloud from the glory, because the cloud was with the glory.