Johann
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2 Peter 1:3 seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness , through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. (NASB: Lockman)
Greek: os panta hemin tes theias dunameos autou ta pros zoen kai eusebeian dedoremenes (RMPFSG) dia tes epignoseos tou kalesantos (AAPMSG) hemas idia doxe kai arete,
Amplified: For His divine power has bestowed upon us all things that [are requisite and suited] to life and godliness, through the [full, personal] knowledge of Him Who called us by and to His own glory and excellence (virtue). (Amplified Bible - Lockman)
NLT: As we know Jesus better, his divine power gives us everything we need for living a godly life. He has called us to receive his own glory and goodness! (New Living Translation - Tyndale House)
Phillips: He has by his own action given us everything that is necessary for living the truly good life, in allowing us to know the one who has called us to him, through his own glorious goodness. (New Testament in Modern English)
Wuest: Seeing that all things to us His divine power has generously given, the things which pertain to life and godliness, through the experiential knowledge [which the believer has] of the One who called us [into salvation] by means of His own glory and virtue, (Eerdmans)
Young's Literal: As all things to us His divine power (the things pertaining unto life and piety) hath given, through the acknowledgement of him who did call us through glory and worthiness,
SEEING THAT HIS DIVINE POWER HAS GRANTED US EVERYTHING: hos panta hemin tes theias dunameos autou ta pros zoen kai eusebeian dedoremenes (RMPFSG):
His divine power: Ps 110:3 Mt 28:18 Jn 17:2 2Co 12:9 Eph 1:19, 20, Ep 1:21 Col 1:16 Heb 1:3
2 Peter 1 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries
GOD'S POWER
FOR GODLY LIVING
Granted us everything - How much? What is lacking? Then why are we so anxious? (Mt 6:25-note, Mt 6:31-note, Mt 6:34-note) Why do we so often have an attitude of grumbling instead of an attitude of gratitude? (Php 2:14-note). This magnificent truth is echoed in other passages (Ps 23:1-note; Ro 8:32-note; Php 4:19-note; Ps 84:11-note)
Everything (pas) means just that...everything with no exceptions. Of course in the context of His good and perfect will, this refers to everything that is good for us to grow spiritually. You will note that the order in the original Greek is first "everything He has granted..." (Young's Literal -see above- is always a good source to look for the original word order if you are unable to read the Greek) emphasizing the total sufficiency available in Christ. When we are born into the family of God by faith in Christ, we are born complete in Christ (Col 2:10-note). God gives you everything you will ever need “for life and godliness.” Nothing has to be added! “And ye are complete in Him” (Col. 2:10).
The divine bestowal is fully sufficient to resist all the assaults of the false teachers (remember the context of the book). We are possessors of everything we need to live the Christian life! Let us quit seeking broken cisterns that hold no Living Water (read God's diagnosis of Judah in Jer 2:13). The goal is that we obtain life and become godly people that glorify our Father. The source of this life and godliness is divine power and the means by which this power produces this life and godliness is through the full knowledge of God and Jesus Christ.
His divine power - God's omnipotence at work for us and in us! Amazing truth! God's power is not far off in some distant galaxy but is always abiding, always available and always adequate.
THOUGHT - Have you experienced His divine power in your life? Have you been born again? Then you have experienced His divine power! Have you been able to truly forgive another who has unfairly wronged you? Then you have experienced His divine power!
Divine (2304) (theios) describes an attribute of God such as His power and not His character in its essence and totality. See ISBE note below.
See also the commentary associated with tó theíon in Acts 17:29+, the the commentary associated with tó theíon in 2 Pe 1:3,4+; the commentary associated with theiótēs in Ro. 1:20+; and the commentary associated with theótēs in Col. 2:9+);
Theios is used five times in the Septuagint (LXX) (Ex. 31:3; 35:31; Job 27:3; 33:4; Pr 2:17) three times in the NT (Acts 17:29; 2Pe 1:3, 4) and is translated divine, 2; divine nature, 1. The KJV translates theios once as "Godhead".
Theios pertains to having the nature of God or as related to God by nature. In the next verse theios is used to refer to believers, not to be God or "gods" but to be a "partaker of the divine nature." Some teach a "modern theology" that believers are now "little gods" which is a lie. We are complete in Christ but we are not little gods. He Alone is God. The "Source" however does assure the efficacy and reliability of the gift to follow. The idea is that this is power which belongs to deity, here specifically to Jesus Christ Who is God. Christ’s power is the source of the believer’s sufficiency and perseverance. Just as His power saves us in the first place, so His power energizes us to live holy lives from then on. As Lenski has said "The deity of Jesus is the foundation of this entire epistle. Cancel it and a jumbled ruin is left."
In Acts Paul used theios in his famous sermon on the Areopagus refuting the thought that God was an idol (cf the altar inscription under an object of worship "TO AN UNKNOWN GOD" Acts 17:23+) declaring that God
"made from one, every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times, and the boundaries of their habitation, that they should seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, 'For we also are His offspring.' "Being then the offspring of God (as even the pagan poets acknowledged), we ought not to think that the Divine Nature (theios - "the Godhead") is like gold or silver or stone (the logic is that God must be more than a man-made idol), an image formed by the art and thought of man. "Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all everywhere should repent." (Acts 17:26-30+)
ISBE (Revised) entry under "Deity" - DEITY [Gk. tó theíon] (Acts 17:29+); AV GODHEAD; [theiótēs] (Ro. 1:20+); AV GODHEAD; [theótēs] (Col. 2:9+); AV, NEB GODHEAD. These three closely related Greek terms are descriptive of the basic nature of God. They seem to vary but slightly in connotation.
A. Tó Theíon. Tó theíon (theios) “the divine thing,” is derived from the adjective theíos, meaning “pertaining to God,” “divine” (2 Pet. 1:3f+). It signifies “God” in an impersonal sense. In Acts 17:29+, in Paul’s speech to Greek intellectuals on Mars Hill, the term tó theíon draws attention to the qualitative aspect of God. Paul demonstrates the Greeks’ shallow conception of God, seeking to heighten their receptivity to the revealed truth of the gospel of Christ. The term tó theíon was common in their discussions, being used to designate the deity apart from any reference to a particular god. Paul focuses attention upon that quality of “the divine” which distinguishes God from all else. English terms based on the word “divine,” however, are used too commonly and are therefore inadequate to set forth the connotation of tó theíon (see II. A, B below). The idea is more adequately represented by “the Deity,” so that an appropriate translation of Acts 17:29 might be: “It is inconceivable that ‘the Deity’ can be appropriately represented by the artistic talents of men working with mere earthly elements.”
B. Theiótēs The term theiotes is an abstract noun closely related to tó theíon, derived from the same adjective, theíos. It is commonly understood as a summary term for the attributes of deity. However, the term merely “defines” with regard to essence, signifying “the quality of the divine,” that character which makes God God, and sets Him apart as worthy of worship. The Greeks used the term of their deities. Later it was applied to men by the Roman imperial cult as a term for the divinity of imperial majesty. It is rarely used in later Jewish works and occurs in biblical literature only in Wisd. 18:9 and Ro 1:20+. The term is not as impersonal as tó theíon, but its abstractness does not lend a readily discernible distinction. Its meaning is approximated by “deity,” perhaps “divineness.”
In Ro. 1:20+ theiótēs is used of that nature of the Creator discernible to the mind by observation of the existing worlds. Verse 19 states, “For what can be known about God is plain to them, because he has shown it to them.” Verse 20 affirms that man’s mind is able to form a concept of the invisible nature of God by visual perception of the universe. The discernible features of His transcendent being (“his invisible nature”) are specifically His “eternal power” and “deity.” The universe displays the eternal power it took to bring the universe into existence; in addition it displays the divine character of the one who created it, i.e., His deity. Specific attributes are not in view in the term theiótēs, simply His quality of “Godness,” which depicts Him as worthy of worship. But men suppressed this truth in unrighteousness (v 18), and are without excuse, subject to the wrath of God revealed from heaven (v 20). They did not acknowledge “his deity” as it is discernible in the things He has created.
C. Theótēs - Theotes is a kindred term (to theiotes), but is distinctive in that it is derived from the word “God” (theós). On this basis it is the most personal of the three terms (to theion - Acts 17:29+, theiotes - Ro 1:20+, theotes - Col 2:9+), and is nearly a name. Whereas tó theíon marks “the quality of deity,” and theiótēs connotes “that which makes God God,” theótēs signifies “the being of God.” Theótēs apparently denotes the utmost idea of God. On heathen lips it could do no more than designate their highest concept of God, “The Supreme Being.” In Col. 2:9+ Paul uses theótēs in declaring that “the whole fulness of deity dwells bodily” in Christ. Although it conveys the idea of a “being,” the use of “Divine Being” here would impersonalize the total expression, “the whole fulness of the Divine Being.” The term “deity,” or even “the Deity,” is likewise impersonal; furthermore, the connotation “being” is lacking. A term that better preserves the personal and qualitative aspect of theótēs is “godhead” (see III below). The total expression “the whole fulness of the Godhead,” then, signifies the sum of all that enters into the conception of “Godhead,” God in nature, character, and being. All this dwells in Christ “bodily,” i.e., in such a manner as to be shown in a bodily organism. Cf. Jn. 14:9, where Philip’s request that Jesus show them the Father was met by the Lord’s response, “He who has seen me has seen the Father.”
II. English Terms
In English the words most representative of these three Greek terms are “deity,” “divinity,” and “godhead.”
A. Deity “Deity” means “divine character” or “nature” and is used of false gods as well as of the persons of the trinity. “Deity” is qualitative in its import. The expression “the deity of Christ” is much stronger than “the divinity of Christ,” probably because “divinity” is commonly applied to men and things. When used with the article, the resultant term “the Deity” becomes a designation of God the Supreme Being, although it can also be used of specific lesser deities. Hence, the term “deity,” when used with the article, is qualitative and somewhat personal in connotation.
B. Divinity The term “divinity” is much like “deity” in that it refers to divine character or nature. But although it is used in connection with the persons of the trinity, it lacks the force of “deity.” These Latin derivatives bring into English the basic distinction created by the Latin fathers. Before the controversy about the deity of Christ, Latin had only the general term divinitas. The Latin fathers coined the term deitas as a distinctive rendering of the Gk. theótēs, and employed it to express the “deity” of the persons of the trinity. They, as well as the Greek fathers, needed unique terms to combat the attempt to ascribe to the Son and the Spirit a reduced “divinity.” This distinctiveness is largely preserved in English, although there is a tendency for “divinity” and “deity” to merge in meaning.
C. Godhead The English term “godhead” was originally a synonym for “Godhead,” a word that has all but passed out of use. As manhood is that quality which makes a man a man, so godhead is that which makes God God. This significance, however, is not readily discernible in the term today. It is presently a somewhat neutral term for the essential being of God as unique. By prefixing the article, the term becomes an abstract way of saying “God.” In fact, the article prefixed to any of these terms, “the Deity,” “the Divinity,” or “the Godhead,” draws attention to the constitutive qualities that make God the kind of being we call “God.” In strength of affirmation, or personalizing force, “godhead” seems most substantial, with “deity” nearly as strong and “divinity” weakest in this regard. All are abstract terms, nearly synonymous in meaning, yet the context will often decide the choice of one word over another.
III. Summary
Since the context of Col. 2:9+ deals with the person of Christ, Paul apparently chose a term distinctive in that respect, theótēs. The contexts of Acts 17:29+ and Rom. 1:20+ emphasize the character rather than the person of God. The terms used are impersonal in connotation. Because of these differences in context and word derivation it is preferable to use distinctive English terms. “Deity” seems appropriate for the concept of tó theíon in Acts 17:29+ and for theiótēs in Rom. 1:20+, but inadequate for theótēs in Col. 2:9+. “Godhead” more adequately portrays the truth that all that constitutes God in person, character and being dwells in Christ the Son. Speaking of God in respect to His “Godness” the term “deity” is sufficient, but in reference to His person and/or being a designation with the word “god” seems preferable. (G. E. Montgomery)
www.preceptaustin.org
Shalom
Johann
Greek: os panta hemin tes theias dunameos autou ta pros zoen kai eusebeian dedoremenes (RMPFSG) dia tes epignoseos tou kalesantos (AAPMSG) hemas idia doxe kai arete,
Amplified: For His divine power has bestowed upon us all things that [are requisite and suited] to life and godliness, through the [full, personal] knowledge of Him Who called us by and to His own glory and excellence (virtue). (Amplified Bible - Lockman)
NLT: As we know Jesus better, his divine power gives us everything we need for living a godly life. He has called us to receive his own glory and goodness! (New Living Translation - Tyndale House)
Phillips: He has by his own action given us everything that is necessary for living the truly good life, in allowing us to know the one who has called us to him, through his own glorious goodness. (New Testament in Modern English)
Wuest: Seeing that all things to us His divine power has generously given, the things which pertain to life and godliness, through the experiential knowledge [which the believer has] of the One who called us [into salvation] by means of His own glory and virtue, (Eerdmans)
Young's Literal: As all things to us His divine power (the things pertaining unto life and piety) hath given, through the acknowledgement of him who did call us through glory and worthiness,
SEEING THAT HIS DIVINE POWER HAS GRANTED US EVERYTHING: hos panta hemin tes theias dunameos autou ta pros zoen kai eusebeian dedoremenes (RMPFSG):
His divine power: Ps 110:3 Mt 28:18 Jn 17:2 2Co 12:9 Eph 1:19, 20, Ep 1:21 Col 1:16 Heb 1:3
2 Peter 1 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries
GOD'S POWER
FOR GODLY LIVING
Granted us everything - How much? What is lacking? Then why are we so anxious? (Mt 6:25-note, Mt 6:31-note, Mt 6:34-note) Why do we so often have an attitude of grumbling instead of an attitude of gratitude? (Php 2:14-note). This magnificent truth is echoed in other passages (Ps 23:1-note; Ro 8:32-note; Php 4:19-note; Ps 84:11-note)
Everything (pas) means just that...everything with no exceptions. Of course in the context of His good and perfect will, this refers to everything that is good for us to grow spiritually. You will note that the order in the original Greek is first "everything He has granted..." (Young's Literal -see above- is always a good source to look for the original word order if you are unable to read the Greek) emphasizing the total sufficiency available in Christ. When we are born into the family of God by faith in Christ, we are born complete in Christ (Col 2:10-note). God gives you everything you will ever need “for life and godliness.” Nothing has to be added! “And ye are complete in Him” (Col. 2:10).
The divine bestowal is fully sufficient to resist all the assaults of the false teachers (remember the context of the book). We are possessors of everything we need to live the Christian life! Let us quit seeking broken cisterns that hold no Living Water (read God's diagnosis of Judah in Jer 2:13). The goal is that we obtain life and become godly people that glorify our Father. The source of this life and godliness is divine power and the means by which this power produces this life and godliness is through the full knowledge of God and Jesus Christ.
His divine power - God's omnipotence at work for us and in us! Amazing truth! God's power is not far off in some distant galaxy but is always abiding, always available and always adequate.
THOUGHT - Have you experienced His divine power in your life? Have you been born again? Then you have experienced His divine power! Have you been able to truly forgive another who has unfairly wronged you? Then you have experienced His divine power!
Divine (2304) (theios) describes an attribute of God such as His power and not His character in its essence and totality. See ISBE note below.
See also the commentary associated with tó theíon in Acts 17:29+, the the commentary associated with tó theíon in 2 Pe 1:3,4+; the commentary associated with theiótēs in Ro. 1:20+; and the commentary associated with theótēs in Col. 2:9+);
Theios is used five times in the Septuagint (LXX) (Ex. 31:3; 35:31; Job 27:3; 33:4; Pr 2:17) three times in the NT (Acts 17:29; 2Pe 1:3, 4) and is translated divine, 2; divine nature, 1. The KJV translates theios once as "Godhead".
Theios pertains to having the nature of God or as related to God by nature. In the next verse theios is used to refer to believers, not to be God or "gods" but to be a "partaker of the divine nature." Some teach a "modern theology" that believers are now "little gods" which is a lie. We are complete in Christ but we are not little gods. He Alone is God. The "Source" however does assure the efficacy and reliability of the gift to follow. The idea is that this is power which belongs to deity, here specifically to Jesus Christ Who is God. Christ’s power is the source of the believer’s sufficiency and perseverance. Just as His power saves us in the first place, so His power energizes us to live holy lives from then on. As Lenski has said "The deity of Jesus is the foundation of this entire epistle. Cancel it and a jumbled ruin is left."
In Acts Paul used theios in his famous sermon on the Areopagus refuting the thought that God was an idol (cf the altar inscription under an object of worship "TO AN UNKNOWN GOD" Acts 17:23+) declaring that God
"made from one, every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times, and the boundaries of their habitation, that they should seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, 'For we also are His offspring.' "Being then the offspring of God (as even the pagan poets acknowledged), we ought not to think that the Divine Nature (theios - "the Godhead") is like gold or silver or stone (the logic is that God must be more than a man-made idol), an image formed by the art and thought of man. "Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all everywhere should repent." (Acts 17:26-30+)
ISBE (Revised) entry under "Deity" - DEITY [Gk. tó theíon] (Acts 17:29+); AV GODHEAD; [theiótēs] (Ro. 1:20+); AV GODHEAD; [theótēs] (Col. 2:9+); AV, NEB GODHEAD. These three closely related Greek terms are descriptive of the basic nature of God. They seem to vary but slightly in connotation.
A. Tó Theíon. Tó theíon (theios) “the divine thing,” is derived from the adjective theíos, meaning “pertaining to God,” “divine” (2 Pet. 1:3f+). It signifies “God” in an impersonal sense. In Acts 17:29+, in Paul’s speech to Greek intellectuals on Mars Hill, the term tó theíon draws attention to the qualitative aspect of God. Paul demonstrates the Greeks’ shallow conception of God, seeking to heighten their receptivity to the revealed truth of the gospel of Christ. The term tó theíon was common in their discussions, being used to designate the deity apart from any reference to a particular god. Paul focuses attention upon that quality of “the divine” which distinguishes God from all else. English terms based on the word “divine,” however, are used too commonly and are therefore inadequate to set forth the connotation of tó theíon (see II. A, B below). The idea is more adequately represented by “the Deity,” so that an appropriate translation of Acts 17:29 might be: “It is inconceivable that ‘the Deity’ can be appropriately represented by the artistic talents of men working with mere earthly elements.”
B. Theiótēs The term theiotes is an abstract noun closely related to tó theíon, derived from the same adjective, theíos. It is commonly understood as a summary term for the attributes of deity. However, the term merely “defines” with regard to essence, signifying “the quality of the divine,” that character which makes God God, and sets Him apart as worthy of worship. The Greeks used the term of their deities. Later it was applied to men by the Roman imperial cult as a term for the divinity of imperial majesty. It is rarely used in later Jewish works and occurs in biblical literature only in Wisd. 18:9 and Ro 1:20+. The term is not as impersonal as tó theíon, but its abstractness does not lend a readily discernible distinction. Its meaning is approximated by “deity,” perhaps “divineness.”
In Ro. 1:20+ theiótēs is used of that nature of the Creator discernible to the mind by observation of the existing worlds. Verse 19 states, “For what can be known about God is plain to them, because he has shown it to them.” Verse 20 affirms that man’s mind is able to form a concept of the invisible nature of God by visual perception of the universe. The discernible features of His transcendent being (“his invisible nature”) are specifically His “eternal power” and “deity.” The universe displays the eternal power it took to bring the universe into existence; in addition it displays the divine character of the one who created it, i.e., His deity. Specific attributes are not in view in the term theiótēs, simply His quality of “Godness,” which depicts Him as worthy of worship. But men suppressed this truth in unrighteousness (v 18), and are without excuse, subject to the wrath of God revealed from heaven (v 20). They did not acknowledge “his deity” as it is discernible in the things He has created.
C. Theótēs - Theotes is a kindred term (to theiotes), but is distinctive in that it is derived from the word “God” (theós). On this basis it is the most personal of the three terms (to theion - Acts 17:29+, theiotes - Ro 1:20+, theotes - Col 2:9+), and is nearly a name. Whereas tó theíon marks “the quality of deity,” and theiótēs connotes “that which makes God God,” theótēs signifies “the being of God.” Theótēs apparently denotes the utmost idea of God. On heathen lips it could do no more than designate their highest concept of God, “The Supreme Being.” In Col. 2:9+ Paul uses theótēs in declaring that “the whole fulness of deity dwells bodily” in Christ. Although it conveys the idea of a “being,” the use of “Divine Being” here would impersonalize the total expression, “the whole fulness of the Divine Being.” The term “deity,” or even “the Deity,” is likewise impersonal; furthermore, the connotation “being” is lacking. A term that better preserves the personal and qualitative aspect of theótēs is “godhead” (see III below). The total expression “the whole fulness of the Godhead,” then, signifies the sum of all that enters into the conception of “Godhead,” God in nature, character, and being. All this dwells in Christ “bodily,” i.e., in such a manner as to be shown in a bodily organism. Cf. Jn. 14:9, where Philip’s request that Jesus show them the Father was met by the Lord’s response, “He who has seen me has seen the Father.”
II. English Terms
In English the words most representative of these three Greek terms are “deity,” “divinity,” and “godhead.”
A. Deity “Deity” means “divine character” or “nature” and is used of false gods as well as of the persons of the trinity. “Deity” is qualitative in its import. The expression “the deity of Christ” is much stronger than “the divinity of Christ,” probably because “divinity” is commonly applied to men and things. When used with the article, the resultant term “the Deity” becomes a designation of God the Supreme Being, although it can also be used of specific lesser deities. Hence, the term “deity,” when used with the article, is qualitative and somewhat personal in connotation.
B. Divinity The term “divinity” is much like “deity” in that it refers to divine character or nature. But although it is used in connection with the persons of the trinity, it lacks the force of “deity.” These Latin derivatives bring into English the basic distinction created by the Latin fathers. Before the controversy about the deity of Christ, Latin had only the general term divinitas. The Latin fathers coined the term deitas as a distinctive rendering of the Gk. theótēs, and employed it to express the “deity” of the persons of the trinity. They, as well as the Greek fathers, needed unique terms to combat the attempt to ascribe to the Son and the Spirit a reduced “divinity.” This distinctiveness is largely preserved in English, although there is a tendency for “divinity” and “deity” to merge in meaning.
C. Godhead The English term “godhead” was originally a synonym for “Godhead,” a word that has all but passed out of use. As manhood is that quality which makes a man a man, so godhead is that which makes God God. This significance, however, is not readily discernible in the term today. It is presently a somewhat neutral term for the essential being of God as unique. By prefixing the article, the term becomes an abstract way of saying “God.” In fact, the article prefixed to any of these terms, “the Deity,” “the Divinity,” or “the Godhead,” draws attention to the constitutive qualities that make God the kind of being we call “God.” In strength of affirmation, or personalizing force, “godhead” seems most substantial, with “deity” nearly as strong and “divinity” weakest in this regard. All are abstract terms, nearly synonymous in meaning, yet the context will often decide the choice of one word over another.
III. Summary
Since the context of Col. 2:9+ deals with the person of Christ, Paul apparently chose a term distinctive in that respect, theótēs. The contexts of Acts 17:29+ and Rom. 1:20+ emphasize the character rather than the person of God. The terms used are impersonal in connotation. Because of these differences in context and word derivation it is preferable to use distinctive English terms. “Deity” seems appropriate for the concept of tó theíon in Acts 17:29+ and for theiótēs in Rom. 1:20+, but inadequate for theótēs in Col. 2:9+. “Godhead” more adequately portrays the truth that all that constitutes God in person, character and being dwells in Christ the Son. Speaking of God in respect to His “Godness” the term “deity” is sufficient, but in reference to His person and/or being a designation with the word “god” seems preferable. (G. E. Montgomery)
2 Peter 1:3-4 Commentary | Precept Austin
Shalom
Johann
