Jesus as Yahweh in 2 Peter 1:1
There is not nearly as much exegetical evidence in the context of 2 Peter 1:1 to consider in
seeking to understand what Peter meant by calling Jesus Christ “God.”
However, what evidence
there is once again supports the conclusion that Peter meant this in the highest possible sense –
that is, identifying Jesus Christ as Yahweh.
First of all, everything that was said with reference to Titus 2:13 about the significance of
the expression “our God and Savior” also applies here. As in Titus 2:13, the expression identifies
Jesus as Yahweh because of the frequent association of the two titles for Yahweh in the LXX.
Again it must be emphasized that the OT uses these two titles together for no one other than
Yahweh.
In discussing Titus 2:13 we mentioned Isaiah 45:21, where the Lord says through Isaiah,
“I am God [ho theos], and there is no other besides me, a righteous [God] and Savior [dikaios kai
sôtêr].”
This verse provides the closest OT background to Peter’s phrase, “the righteousness of
our God and Savior” (dikaiosunê tou theou hêmôn kai sôtêros). In the immediate context of
Isaiah, Yahweh goes on to say that “righteousness” (dikaiosunê) will come from him (v. 23).
This OT background further confirms that when Peter calls Jesus God, he means that he is
Yahweh, the only God and Savior of the OT.
There is at least one other reason from the context in support of understanding Peter to be
identifying Jesus as Yahweh. In the very last verse of 2 Peter, after urging his readers to “grow in
the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,” (3:18a), Peter adds immediately,
“To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen” (3:18b).
As Harris notes, there
is absolutely no ambiguity about the fact that the closing line is a doxology to Jesus Christ.80
To
this observation we would add one additional point. This doxology, coming at the very end of the
epistle, completes what is known as an inclusio with the reference to Jesus as God at the very
beginning of the epistle. In an inclusio the opening and closing of a text are closely related or
parallel, resulting in the text coming “full circle” back to where it began. This inclusio
strengthens the argument for applying the noun theos to Jesus.
The epistle would then open with
Peter referring to “our God and Savior Jesus Christ” and close with him referring to “our Lord
and Savior Jesus Christ.” What is already grammatically clear enough, that in both texts one
person is meant, is confirmed by the relationship between the two verses in the inclusio.
80Harris, Jesus as God, 235.
Bowman/Sharp’s Rule – page 41
Moreover, the doxology shows that we are to honor Jesus as the Lord God. It is fitting that an
epistle that ends with a doxology to Jesus Christ opens with an affirmation of the divine dignity
that justifies such a doxology.
The contextual evidence, then, shows that in 2 Peter 1:1, as in Titus 2:13, Jesus Christ is
given the title “God” in a way that clearly identifies Jesus as the God of the OT – Yahweh.
Fully in agreement here-and @synergy We have the LXX-my advise to you would be to read rabbinical sources.
Just go through my posts and see where I find them.
Shalom brother.
J.
https://www.google.com/search?q=Sharp’s+Rule+and+Anti+Trinitarian+Theology:&spell=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwijn4r74cqAAxUpWkEAHb34Bw4QkeECKAB6BAgIEAE
He is such a great man of God, a defender of truth and a great apologist. I have learned allot from him over the years.
