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2 Peter 1:12
Therefore, I
will
always be
ready to
remind you of
these
things,
even
though you
already know them, and have been
established in
the
truth which is
present with
you. (NASB:
Lockman) |
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Greek:
Dio
melleso
(1SFAI)
aei
humas
hupomimneskein
(PAN)
peri
touton,
kaiper
eidotas
(RAPMPA)
kai
esterigmenous
(RPPMPA)
en
te
parouse
(PAPFSD)
aletheia.
KJV: Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance
of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the
present truth.
NLT: I plan to keep on reminding you of these things--even though you
already know them and are standing firm in the truth. (NLT
- Tyndale House)
Phillips: I shall not fail to remind you of things like this although you know
them and are already established in the truth. (Phillips:
Touchstone)
Wuest: Wherefore, I intend always to be reminding you concerning these things
even though you know them and have become firmly established in the
truth which is present with you. (Erdmans)
Young's Literal: Wherefore, I will
not be careless always to remind you concerning these things, though,
having known them, and having been established in the present truth, |
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THEREFORE
I SHALL ALWAYS
BE READY: dio melleso (1SFAI) aei:
Note that the
KJV derived from the Greek Textus Receptus reads
"Wherefore I will
not be negligent to put you always in remembrance
Most textual critics feel that this represents a scribal error as it is
not found in more modern Greek manuscripts.
Therefore
(1352)
(dio) marks a close connection with
the truths Peter had just
mentioned (a faith same kind as Peter's, everything necessary for life &
godliness, God's precious & magnificent promises, partakers of the
divine nature as manifest in 7 godly traits, escapees from the world's
corruption). Peter knows that the best defense against false teaching
is true living and that a church filled with saints maturing in the
faith is not likely to fall prey to false teachers pushing their
counterfeit brand of "Christianity".
They find it easy to deceive people who do not know the Word of God and
who instead are more desirous of subjective experiences. This sounds
very relevant to our modern American church doesn't it? As Peter will
show in the next chapter building one's spiritual house on subjective
experiences alone while ignoring God's objective revelation is a
surefire formula for disaster.
And
so for the remainder of the chapter Peter seeks to exhort and equip his
readers concerning the inerrant authority of God's revealed Word.
Be ready
(3195)
(mello)
means to be about to, to be
on the point of doing something. Mello was used
in classical Greek, with a sense of certainty conveying the idea "I
shall be sure". The idea is that "I shall take care
to remind you...".
When?
Always
(104) (aei)
means always or ever and thus Peter is saying that he will be
perpetually, incessantly, invariably ready to remind his readers and was
thus not a passing fancy nor a fad. The sense in the Greek is, “I will
be intending to remind you always.”
Why?
Because it was Peter's call...to feed the sheep (Jn 21:15-17)
...to strengthen the brethren (Luke
22:32). So
Peter remained ready at any & every occasion to remind them of these
things. Peter knew as do all God's anointed preachers & teachers that
even where knowledge and establishment exist, there is always a need for
motivation and exhortation.
Spurgeon writes that...
He who exhorts others to be diligent
must not himself be negligent, and Peter most appropriately writes,
“Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of
these things”
We are not merely to preach new
truths which people do not know, but we are also to preach the old
truths with which they are familiar. The doctrines in which they are
well established are still to be proclaimed to them. Every wise preacher
brings forth from the treasury of truth things both new and old;-new,
that the hearers may learn more than they knew before; old, that they
may know and practice better that which they do already know in part.
TO REMIND YOU:
humas hupomimneskein (PAN) :
Remind (5279) (hupomimnesko
from hupó = under
+ mimnesko = to remind)
(Click word study of
hupomimnesko) means
to put another in mind of something, to cause one to remember, bring to
one's mind, remind (remind suggests a jogging of one’s memory by
an association or similarity).
The English word memorial
refers to a structure or statue established in memory of a person or
event.
Hupomimnesko conveys
the idea of making a memorial of what God is doing in your life and what
is the hope set before you!
Encourage others to make similar memorials because the way
you think affects the way you behave, remembering that we are called out
to be holy (wholly devoted) to Him. The sense in the Greek is, “I will
be intending to remind you always.” Even where knowledge and
establishment exist, there is still need for motivation and exhortation.
Albert Barnes writes that...
It was important for Peter to bring
known truths to remembrance. Believers are apt to forget them, and then
they do not exert the influence that they ought. Amid the cares, the
business,
the amusements, and the temptations of the world, the ministers of the
gospel render us an essential service, even if they do nothing more than
remind us of truths which are well understood, and which we have known
before. A pastor need not always aim at originality; he renders an
essential service to mankind when he reminds them of what they know but
are prone to forget. He endeavors to impress plain and familiar truths
on the heart and conscience, for these truths are most important for
mankind. Though we may be very firm in our belief of the truth, yet it
is appropriate that the grounds of our faith should be stated to us
frequently, that they may be always in our remembrance. (Barnes NT
Notes)
Peter knowing his days
were numbered was committed to a "ministry of remembrance" and greatly
desired for his readers to retain the truths that they already knew (you
cannot remind one of something they don't already know) and so 3x in
only 4 verses he expressed this desire to remind them (see notes
2 Peter 1:12,
1:13,
1:15).
Later in not to mention a similar statement in (see note
2 Peter 3:1)
we find a similar statement. Peter himself knew the tragic consequences
of forgetting what you know, having deserted his Lord even though
forewarned it would happen. In fact if one were to survey both the Old
and New Testaments, he would find that "remembering & forgetting" are
important concepts throughout Scripture. Just prior to entering into the
Promised Land God warned Israel
"Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God by not keeping His
commandments and His ordinances and His statutes which I am commanding
you today" for when they were satisfied and content "then your heart
will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God who brought you
out from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery." (Dt 8:11,14).
OF THESE
THINGS EVEN THOUGH YOU ALREADY KNOW THEM: peri touton kaiper eidotas (RAPMPA):
Know
(1492)
(eido,
oida - eido is used only in the
perfect tense
= oida) literally means perception by sight (perceive, see) as in Mt 2:2
where the wise men "saw His star". The meaning of eido is
somewhat difficult to convey but in general this type of "knowing" is
distinguished from ginosko (and epiginosko, epignosis), the other
major NT word for knowing, because ginosko refers to knowledge obtained
by experience or "experiential knowledge" whereas eido often
refers to more intuitive knowledge, although the distinction is not
always crystal clear.
Eido (oida) then is not so much by experience as an
intuitive insight that is "drilled into your heart". In spiritual terms,
eido is that perception, that being aware of, that understanding,
that intuitive knowledge that only the Holy Spirit of God can give. It
is an absolute knowledge, a knowledge that is without a doubt. Oida
describes absolute, positive, beyond a peradventure of a doubt,
knowledge.
Oida
suggests fullness of knowledge, rather than progress in knowledge, which
is expressed by ginosko, a distinction illustrated in John 8:55, (Jesus
said "you have not come to know {ginosko} Him, but I know
{oida} Him). Here Jesus says in essence "I know God perfectly (oida)".
In John 13:7 Jesus addresses Peter (Jesus answered and said to him,
"What I do you do not realize {oida} now, but you shall
understand {ginosko} hereafter.")
Know (oida)
then carries the idea of having the "know how" , the knowledge or skill
necessary to accomplish a desired goal. It means to see with the mind’s eye,
and signifies a clear and
primarily mental perception.
In sum
eido/oida describes the divinely given intuitive knowledge which Peter's readers had received when they were born again
and became partakers of the divine nature (see note
1 Peter 1:18).
Human beings simply cannot know divine truth intuitively unless they
become members of God's family.
The readers also would already know
them these things because they had received Peters first letter (First Peter)
and this gave them a background for this second epistle. Many of the things discussed in 2 Peter are also found in
1 Peter.
What are these things? (see
1 Peter 1:3-11) The things before this verse and the things after this
verse. The whole chapter is a list of things that we are never to
forget. Though we already know them and are already established in them,
unless we continue to exercise our minds and exercise our wills in those
things, they will slip from our grasp.
AND HAVE BEEN
ESTABLISHED:
kai
esterigmenous
(RPPMPA):
Established
(4741)
(sterizo) (Click word study of
sterizo) means to set up, establish (make
firm or stable, put beyond doubt), to strengthen, to fix firmly in a
place, to cause to be inwardly firm or committed or to (confirm
= the removing of doubts by an authoritative statement or indisputable
fact).
strengthen. The basic idea is that of
stabilizing something by providing a support or buttress (a projecting
structure of masonry or wood for supporting or giving stability to a
wall or building), so that it will not totter.
Vine feels that
stērízō is derived from stērix, a prop (something that
sustains or supports
Perfect tense indicates they were established in the truth
in the past and continue into the present in that state. The perfect tense
indicates settled state of solid grounding in the truth.
Wuest adds
These saints had become
stabilized in the truth and were in a state of being set fast, placed
firmly on it.
Their knowledge of the Word and the cardinal doctrines of the Christian
faith were set in their thinking.
(Wuest,
K. S. Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmans
or
Logos)
Barclay
writes that stērízō
means to make as solid as granite.
Suffering of body and sorrow of heart do one of two things to a man.
They either make him collapse or they leave him with a solidity of
character which he could never have gained anywhere else. If he meets
them with continuing trust in Christ, he emerges like toughened steel
that has been tempered in the fire." (Barclay,
W: The Daily Study Bible Series, Rev. ed. Philadelphia: The Westminster
Press or
Logos)
Sterizo is used in Second
Thessalonians, Paul writing that when confronted by
"perverse and evil men, for
not all have faith, the
Lord is faithful (trustworthy, worthy of confidence, dependable,
reliable) and He will strengthen (stērízō)
and protect (military term -
of a sentinel keeping guard, of the garrison of a city guarding it
against attack from without > to guard against robbery or loss, watch
over and defend, keep a person so that they remain safe) you from the
evil one." (2Thes
3:2-3)
Paul teaches that we are to look away
from faithless men to our never-failing God, Who will firmly establish
us on the inside and guard us on the outside from the evil one (probably
a reference to our "adversary, the devil... a roaring lion" and the
ruler over evil men).
Sterizo is the same
word used by the Lord Jesus Christ in His exhortation to Peter that
once you have turned again,
strengthen (aorist
imperative = Do it
now! Do it effectively! Sense of urgency) your brothers. (Luke
22:32)
Jesus warns the church at
Sardis
Wake up
(gregoreuo as in
1 Peter 5:8 (note)
"be on the alert" - there was no time for indifference; they could not
just go with the flow, they had to reverse it), and strengthen (stērízō
- aorist active imperative - command to do this now - it is urgent)
the things that remain, which were
about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of
My God." (see note
Revelation 3:2)
The God of all
grace will Himself make you stable, firmly fixed on the Rock of your
salvation, the One Who is the Truth, and in so doing, resolutely setting
your will toward your eternal home. The believer who is established will
not be moved by the lion's loud roar (see note
1 Peter 5:10)
IN THE TRUTH
WHICH IS PRESENT WITH YOU: en te parouse (PAPFSD) aletheia:
In the present truth
(the truth present to you).
In a parallel
passage that speaks of the value of truth, Paul like a commanding
general instructs his troops to...
Stand firm
(aorist
imperative)
therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, and HAVING PUT
ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, (see note
Ephesians 6:14)
Truth (225)
(aletheia from a = without + lêthô = that which is
hidden or concealed, the combination meaning out in open) is the the
unconcealed reality lying at the basis of and agreeing with an
appearance; the manifested, the veritable essence of matter.
The basic understanding of aletheia is that it
is the manifestation of a hidden reality. For example, when you are a
witness in a trial, the attendant says "Raise your right hand. Do you
swear that you will tell the truth and nothing but the truth so help you
God?" And you say, "I do" and you sit down. The question is asking "Are
you willing to come into this courtroom and manifest something that is
hidden to us that only you know so that you will bear evidence to that?"
And when you do speak the truth, you are manifesting a hidden reality.
Truth then
is the correspondence between a reality and a declaration which
professes to set it forth. To say it another way, words are true when
they correspond with objective reality. Persons and things are true when
they correspond with their profession. Hence a truth is a declaration
which has corresponding reality, or a reality which is correctly set
forth. Since God is Himself the great reality, that which correctly sets
forth His nature is pre-eminently the Truth.
Truth is the
property of being in accord with fact or reality as defined by God.
Whatever God says is Truth. Truth is a person, Jesus.
John writes
that...
For the Law was given through Moses;
grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. (John
1:17)
Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and
the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through
Me. (John
14:6)
TDNT
explains the origin of this word this way...
Etymologically aletheia means
“nonconcealment.” It thus denotes what is seen, indicated, expressed, or
disclosed, i.e., a thing as it really is, not as it is concealed or
falsified. aletheia is “the real state of affairs,” e.g., the
truth in law, or real events in history, or true being in philosophy...
aletheia is “that which has certainty and force”... aletheia
is “that on which one can rely”...aletheia is “the state of
affairs as disclosed”... aletheia is “truth of statement” used
with speaking (Lk. 4:25) or teaching (Mk. 12:14).... aletheia is “true
teaching or faith” (2 Cor. 13:8; 4:2; Gal. 5:7; 1 Pet. 1:22) (Kittel,
G., Friedrich, G., & Bromiley, G. W. Theological Dictionary of the New
Testament. Eerdmans)
Is
present (3918)
(pareimi from pará = near, with + eimí = to be)
conveys the idea of a continually being beside another. The
present tense
speaks of continual presence beside hem. These believer's
are firmly established in the truth, but Peter is eager to make them
stronger because he knows what is coming in the next chapter (false
teachers! see notes
2 Peter 2:1) and the best defense
against false teaching is the pure milk of the Word, the whole Truth and
nothing but the Truth! A problem in many churches today is
not that believers do not know what God expects of them, but they either
forget or are unwilling to live out the truth
they now have. |
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2 Peter 1:13 I
consider it
right, as
long as I
am in
this earthly
dwelling, to
stir you up by
way of
reminder, (NASB:
Lockman) |
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Greek:
dikaion
de
hegoumai, (1SPMI)
eph'
oson
eimi (1SPAI)
en
touto
to
skenomati,
diegeirein (PAN)
humas
en
hupomnesei,
KJV: Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir
you up by putting you in remembrance;
NLT: Yes, I believe I should keep on reminding you of these things as long
as I live. (NLT
- Tyndale House)
Phillips: I consider it my duty, as long as I live in the temporary dwelling of
this body, to stimulate you by these reminders. (Phillips:
Touchstone)
Wuest: Indeed, I consider it due you as long as I am in this tent, to keep on
arousing you by means of a reminder, (Erdmans)
Young's Literal: and I think right, so long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up
in reminding you, |
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AND I CONSIDER IT RIGHT: dikaion de hegoumai (1SPMI):
Consider
(2233) (hegeomai)
(present
tense
= continually) primarily signifies to lead, then, to
consider (give thought to in order to reach a suitable
conclusion, opinion, or decision). Hegeomai was a mathematical
term conveying the idea "Think about it and come to a conclusion." Considering
involves careful thought, not quick decision. Peter considers this to be
his solemn duty or "right" -- “I consider it my duty” (see notes
Philippians 3:1;
Ephesians 6:1)
Right
(1342)
(dikaios
from dike =
right, just) defines that which is in accordance with or conforming to high standards of
moral integrity or morally correct behavior. It is that which is in right relation to another and so in
reference to persons defines the one who is morally and ethically
righteous, upright or just.
The
basic meaning of the adjective dikaios
describes that which is proper, right, fitting, fair, righteous, just
(acting or being in conformity with what is morally upright or good).
From a legal viewpoint dikaios refers to one who is law-abiding (doing
all that law or justice requires), honest and good in behavior and from
a religious viewpoint one who is rightly related to God. In simple terms
this trait describes being in accordance with what God requires. The
righteous man does what he ought. He is the person who conforms to the
standard, will or character of God. For example, Luke describes
Zacharias and Elizabeth (John the Baptist's parents) as
both righteous (dikaios) in
the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and
requirements of the Lord. (Lu 1:6)
They
were rightly related to God and because of that right relationship, they
walked accordingly. Again we see righteous character is associated with
righteous conduct. That's what Paul is calling for in those men who
would lead God's church.
Dikaios
means keeping the commands of God, guiltless and is used to describe the
person whose way of thinking, feeling, and acting is wholly conformed to
the will of God. In the present context it is better thought of that
which is proper and fitting.
Dikaios
refers to that which is expected as duty and which is claimed as a right
because of one’s conformity to the rules of God. It was Peter's duty to
admonish them. It was the right, fitting and proper thing for him
to do. He bore a personal responsibility as an apostle who had
personally been instructed by Jesus to strengthen his brethren. (Lu 22:32)
AS LONG AS I AM IN THIS DWELLING: eph oson eimi (1SPAI) en touto to
skonomati:
Dwelling
(4638) (skenoma
from skenóo = to pitch a tent <> from skenos
= tent, tabernacle) refers to a tabernacle, booth or tent which was
pitched & which conveyed the picture of a temporary, transitory dwelling.
Peter uses the
related root word
skene
in (Mt 17:4)
where he speaks of making three tents.
Here Peter uses skenoma as a figurative expression for his body
just as Paul used (skenos)
describing his body as a "tent" in (2Cor 5:1,
4).
These bondservants of Christ Jesus were fully aware of the brevity of their
earthly life and both were desirous to fulfill the stewardship allotted
to them (cf
Moses "prayer" in
Ps 90:12).
All God's saints need to remind themselves that their bodies
are pilgrims passing through, "tents" temporarily placed on
earth for a purpose, perched on the edge of eternal bliss and should
order their steps accordingly!
TO STIR YOU UP: diegeirein (PAN) humas:
Spurgeon
writes...
When people are as they should be, it
is worth while to stir them up. You do not want to stir up dirty water,
but you may stir that which is pure and sweet as much as ever you like.
And a good fire sometimes becomes a better one by a little stirring up.
Stir up
(1326)
(diegeiro from dia = through +
egeiro = awaken, raise, rouse) in the active voice means to cause
to wake up or to awaken (as in Lu 8:24) and in the passive voice to
become awake. Figuratively it was used of a of a calm sea become stormy
or turbulent, a picture the author would have been quite familiar with.
Another figurative use is in reference not to the sea but to mental
activity to be roused or stirred up (as in the present verse).
Diegeiro is used
7 times in the NT in the NASB...
Matthew 1:24
And
Joseph arose from his sleep, and did as the angel of the Lord commanded
him, and took her as his wife,
Mark 4:37
And there arose a fierce gale of wind, and the waves
were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling
up.
38 And He
Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they awoke Him and
said to Him, "Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?"
39 And
being aroused, He rebuked the wind and said to the sea, "Hush, be
still." And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm.
Luke 8:24
And they
came to Him and woke Him up (diegeiro), saying, "Master, Master, we are perishing!"
And being aroused (egeiro), He rebuked the wind and the surging waves, and they
stopped, and it became calm.
John 6:18
And the
sea began to be stirred up because a strong wind was blowing.
2 Peter 1:13 (note) And I
consider it right, as long as I am in this earthly dwelling, to stir you
up by way of reminder,
2 Peter 3:1 (note)
This
is now, beloved, the second letter I am writing to you in which I am
stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder,
Rienecker
says the preposition "dia" in this compound is
"perfective" conveying the idea to stir up or wake up
thoroughly.
Kenneth Wuest
agrees writing that
"the prefixed preposition (dia) adds the idea of doing a thorough piece of work in arousing their
minds".
(Wuest,
K. S. Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmans
or
Logos
In sum, diegeiro means
to awaken out of literal sleep. Figuratively as used twice by Peter,
diegeiro means to arouse or stimulate to mental action. And
so it means to stimulate one's thinking or to refresh their memory.
Peter knew that our minds have a tendency to get accustomed to truth and
then to take it for granted. We forget what we ought to remember and
remember what we ought to forget! We are in a spiritual war, stakes are high & we
face a deadly deceptive foe. Peter says it
is duty (cf
Luke 22:32)
to continually (present
tense) shake his
readers
out of their lethargy, to agitate them and arouse them fully out of
their
somnolent state. There is a similar idea in Peter's first epistle...
Therefore, gird your minds for
action, keep sober in spirit,
fix your hope (aorist
imperative
- do it now!) completely on the grace
to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. (see
note
1 Peter 1:13)
Be of sober spirit
(aorist
imperative
- do it now!)
be on the alert.
(aorist
imperative
- do it now!) Your adversary, the
devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. (see
note
1 Peter 5:8)
Paul
issues similar calls to stir up believers...
And this do, knowing the time, that
it is already the hour for you to awaken (egeiro) from sleep; for now
salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. (see note
Romans 13:11).
For this reason it says, "Awake
(egeiro -
present imperative),
sleeper, and arise
(aorist
imperative
- do it now!) from the dead, And
Christ will shine on you." (see note
Ephesians 5:14)
BY WAY OF REMINDER: en hupomnesei:
Reminder
(5280)
(hupomnesis
from hupó = under + mimnesko = to remind)
is the act of calling something to mind or remembering. It means to
think about again (active) or be caused to think about again (passive).
Thayer says that hupomnesis refers to a remembrance prompted by another
whereas a closely related word anamnesis denotes an unassisted recalling
(although he goes on to state these two words are easily interchangeable
in Classical Greek).
In the active sense (reminding) it represents a definite act of the
person's will. In the passive sense it refers to a recollection or
reminder. | | |