What Does 2 Peter 1:3 Mean?
As his divine power has given us all things that belong to life and awe, through the full knowing of the one who called us to weight and strength.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:THE KEY
Knowing the caller is the channel for an already-completed gift, so life begins in recognition of what has been given.
THE MEANING
His divine power has already granted what pertains to your life and godliness. You encounter that provision through knowing the one who calls you; his own weight and excellence meet you in the call. The giver is calling now, and the gift is already given.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The belief that you must first produce enough spiritual capacity to qualify for life dissolves here. What is needed is given, and the way into it is knowing its giver.
THE ROOT
δεδωρημένης
dedōrēmenēs
GROWS FROM
δωρ-
dōr-
Gift; what is bestowed.
“given” in this verse is dedōrēmenēs. The perfect participle presents the granting as already accomplished, with its result standing now. The gift-family keeps the emphasis on what is bestowed, so the verse’s abundance begins as something received.
ALSO GROWS
dōreomai: To give freely; to grant.
δωρέομαι
This is the verb behind “given,” showing the provision as a bestowal.
dōrea: Gift; free grant.
δωρεά
This related gift-word echoes the verse’s claim that what pertains to life is granted.
ἐπιγνώσεως
epignōseōs
GROWS FROM
γνω-
gnō-
To know, recognize, or perceive.
“full knowing” in this verse is epignōseōs. This knowing is directed toward the one who calls: it is how the given provision opens into life. The root points to knowing by encounter, not merely holding information about someone.
ALSO GROWS
ginōskō: To know or perceive.
γινώσκω
This is the same knowing-family used when Jesus describes life as knowing the Father.
epiginōskō: To recognize or come to know.
ἐπιγινώσκω
This related verb brings recognition into view, fitting the verse’s focus on knowing the caller.
THE PATTERN
Life’s provision is given by God and encountered through knowing the giver.
For with you is the spring of life; in your light we see light.Every good giving and every complete gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no shifting and no shadow cast by turning.And this is the life of the ages, that they might know you, the only God of truth, and Jesus, the Anointed One, whom you have sent.THE THREAD
And this is the life of the ages, that they might know you, the only God of truth, and Jesus, the Anointed One, whom you have sent.Both verses use ζωή (zōē, life), and the knowledge in 2 Peter belongs to the γινώσκω (ginōskō, know or perceive) family that John uses directly. John makes the link explicit: life of the age is knowing the Father and the one he sent, opening what Peter describes as the gift given through knowing the caller.
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