2 Peter 1:8

For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. BE, [ huparchonta (G5225), 'Aleph (') B C; paronta, present, A, Vulgate] - 'subsist;' i:e., supposing these things to have an actual subsistence in you: "be" would express the mere fact. ABOUND, [ pleonazonta (G4121)] - more than in others. MAKE, [ kathisteesin (G2525 ] - 'constitute you,' by the very fact of possessing these graces. BARREN - `inactive,' as a field lying unworked [ argous (G692)], so useless. UNFRUITFUL IN, ...

8._For if these things be in you. _Then, he says, you will at length prove that Christ is really known by you, if ye be endued with virtue, temperance, and the other endowments. For the knowledge of Christ is an efficacious thing and a living root, which brings forth fruit. For by saying that these things would make them _neither barren nor unfruitful, _he shews that all those glory, in vain and falsely, that they have the knowledge of Christ, who boast of it without love, patience, and the like gifts, as Paul also says in Ephesians 4:20, “Ye have not so learned Christ, if so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus, that ye put off the old man,” etc. For he means that those who possess Christ without newness of life, have never been rightly taught his doctrine. But he would not have the faithful to be only taught patienc

1-11 Faith unites the weak believer to Christ, as really as it does the strong one, and purifies the heart of one as truly as of another; and every sincere believer is by his faith justified in the sight of God. Faith worketh godliness, and produces effects which no other grace in the soul can do. In Christ all fulness dwells, and pardon, peace, grace, and knowledge, and new principles, are thus given through the Holy Spirit. The promises to those who are partakers of a Divine nature, will cause us to inquire whether we are really renewed in the spirit of our minds; let us turn all these promises into prayers for the transforming and purifying grace of the Holy Spirit. The believer must add knowledge to his virtue, increasing acquaintance with the whole truth and will of God. We must add temperance to knowledge; moderation about worldly things; and add to temperance, patience, or cheerf...

Verse 8. _FOR IF THESE THINGS BE IN YOU AND ABOUND_] If ye possess all there graces, and they increase and abound in your souls, _they will make_-show, you to be neither αργους, _idle_, nor ακαρπους, _unfruitful, in the acknowledgment of our Lord Jesus_ _Christ_. The common translation is here very unhappy: _barren_ and _unfruitful_ certainly convey the same ideas; but _idle_ or _inactive_, which is the proper sense of αργους, takes away this tautology, and restores the sense. The graces already mentioned by the apostle are in themselves active principles; he who was possessed of them, and had them _abounding_ in him, could not be _inactive_; and he who is not inactive in the way of life must be _fruitful_. I may add, that he who is thus active, and consequently fruitful, will ever be ready at all hazard to acknowledge his Lord and Saviour, by whom he has been brought into this state of...

FOR IF THESE THINGS BE IN YOU, AND ABOUND - If they are in you in rich abundance; if you are eminent for these things. THEY MAKE YOU THAT YE SHALL NEITHER BE BARREN NOR UNFRUITFUL - They will show that you are not barren or unfruitful. The word rendered “barren,” is, in the margin, “idle.” The word “idle” more accurately expresses the sense of the original. The meaning is, that if they evinced these things, it would show. (1)That they were diligent in cultivating the Christian graces, and, (2)That it was not a vain thing to attempt to grow in knowledge and virtue. Their efforts would be followed by such happy results as to be an encouragement to exertion. In nothing is there, in fact, more encouragement than in the attempt to become eminent in piety.

EXPOSITION 2 PETER 1:1 SIMON PETER. "Symeon" seems to be the best-supported spelling in this place. The same form of the name is found in Luke 2:25 and Acts 13:1; it also occurs in Acts 15:14, where St. James refers to St. Peter's speech on the great question of the circumcision of Gentile Christians. It is the form always used in the Septuagint Version of the Old Testament. The old man's thoughts go back to his early years; he describes himself by the familiar name of his youth; he uses that Greek form of it which was most distinctively Jewish. But he joins with the old name, which spoke of Judaism, the

FOR IF THESE THINGS BE IN YOU,.... Are wrought in you by the Spirit of God, and exercised and performed by his assistance, who works in his people both to will and do: AND ABOUND; increase in their acts and exercises by the frequent performance of them: they make you; both by way of influence and evidence, [THAT YE SHALL] NEITHER [BE] BARREN NOR UNFRUITFUL IN THE KNOWLEDGE OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. There is a knowledge of Christ which is barren and fruitless; and those that have it are so in their conversations, and it will be of no avail to them another day: and this is a mere notional and speculative knowledge, such as is not attended with any inward experience and application of Christ to themselves, or any fruits of righteousness in their lives, and is a bare theory of things relating to his person, offices, and works; but there is a knowledge of him that is spiritual and experimen...

2 Peter 1:1. _Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, Peter was pleased to be able to write those words._ There was a time when he had thrice denied his Master, but now he is glad to call himself «a servant of Jesus Christ.» Once he had said, «I know not the man,» but now he claims that he has been sent out by that glorious Lord to be his apostle,-a sent one,-«a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ.» Probably he had ringing in his ears, at that moment, those blessed words, «Feed my sheep; feed my lambs;» and he was going to do that work again in this his second general Epistle. 2 Peter 1:1. _To them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ._ These Epistles are not written to everybody. Som

ANALYSIS AND ANNOTATIONS I. THE GRACIOUS PROVISIONS OF GOD CHAPTER 1 _ 1. God's gracious provisions in Christ (2 Peter 1:1)_ 2. The development of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:5) 3. The promises of prophecy (2 Peter 1:12) 2 Peter 1:1 We are not left in doubt who the writer is, not a pseudo Peter, but Simon Peter, the fisherman of Galilee. With this second Epistle he finishes the task given him by the Lord “to strengthen his brethren.” The opening verse of the third chapter shows that the Epistle is addressed to the same persons to whom he wrote the first Epistle. He gives his old name, Simon (or

The author writes to those who possess a faith not less honourable (precious) than that of the apostles themselves, since they, too, possess all things pertaining to life and godliness. But effort on their part is necessary if they would make their calling sure. The lack of such effort involves stumbling and implies forgetfulness of their baptismal cleansing possibly, forgetfulness that the special cleansing of baptism cannot be repeated (Bigg). The Gospel is not a cloke for libertinism. 2 PETER 1:3. HIM THAT CALLED US: _i.e._ Christ: the reference is to the call of the apostolate. In this section we and us refer to the apostles, you to those who have received the apostolic message....