Biblical Foundations

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Topics
    • Apologetics
    • Biblical Interpretation
    • Biblical Theology
    • Jesus, Christmas & Easter
      • Jesus
      • Christmas
      • Easter
    • John’s Writings
    • Marriage & Family
    • Missions & Discipleship
    • New Testament
    • Paul’s Writings
    • Women
  • Resources
    • Articles
    • Audio
    • Podcasts
    • Books
    • Courses
    • Editorials
    • Essays
    • Helpful Links
    • Interviews
    • Reviews
    • Supplementary Resources
    • Video
  • Blogs
    • All Blogs
    • Biblical Foundations Book Awards
    • Subscribe to Blog
  • Publications
  • About
    • Mission of Biblical Foundations
    • What People Are Saying About Biblical Foundations
    • Contact

January 18, 2012 By Andreas Köstenberger

Cultivating Christian Virtues

Peter wrote his second letter not to tell his readers something new, something they didn’t already know. Instead, he wrote to remind them of things they already knew (2 Pet 3:1). In this Peter’s audience was like many of us who basically know what we should be doing in our Christian lives but who need occasional (or frequent) reminders to help us stay on course or get back on track.

Most distinctive is the “staircase of Christian virtues” Peter lists in the opening chapter of his letter. After assuring his readers that God had given them everything they needed to live a godly life, including his “very great and precious promises” (2 Pet 1:4), he urged his readers to supplement their faith with

 

goodness

goodness with knowledge

knowledge with self-control

self-control with endurance

endurance with godliness

godliness with brotherly affection

and brother affection with love (2 Pet 1:5–7).

There does not appear to be any necessary reason to the order of these virtues as if we must cultivate one before progressing to the next, except that it is probably no coincidence that love is the climactic virtue as in other similar lists (compare 1 Cor 13:13; Gal 5:22–23). While many of these virtues are standard fare and are found also in Paul’s writings (note, for example, that goodness and self-control are mentioned in Gal 5:22–23), one word catches our attention, however, the word “godliness” (Gr.eusebeia).

This word is found three times in 2 Peter 1 (in vv. 3, 6, and 7) and once in 2 Pet 3:11, for a total of 4 out of 15 NT occurrences (see Acts 3:12; 1 Tim 2:2; 3:16; 4:7, 8; 6:3, 5, 6, 11; 2 Tim 3:5; Titus 1:1). Related forms are found 7 times in the NT: the verb eusebeö in Acts 17:23 and 1 Tim 5:4; the adjective eusebēs in Acts 10:2, 7 and 2 Pet 2:9; and the adverb eusebōs in 2 Tim 3:12 and Titus 2:12. Interestingly, therefore, the word group only occurs in Acts, the Pastoral Epistles; and 2 Peter.

What this means, most likely, is that eusebeia was a term used in the larger Greco-Roman world of the first century, denoting a person’s religious piety or devotion not necessarily in a Christian sense, and that Christians were initially reluctant to incorporate this term into their vocabulary but eventually, toward the end of the NT era, decided to Christianize it. Hence we find the word characterizing the Gentile centurion Cornelius in Acts 10:2 and a devout soldier in Acts 10:7.

So it is only in the Pastorals and 2 Peter that believers are urged to “live peaceful lives in allgodliness and holiness” (1 Tim 2:2); and that Timothy is exhorted to “train yourself to be godly,” for“godliness has value for all things” (1 Tim 4:7–8; see 1 Tim 6:11), while false teachers are excoriated for their lack of true godliness (1 Tim 6:5; 2 Tim 3:5). In Titus 1:1, Paul expresses his conviction that it is the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness. Peter tells his readers to engage in holy conduct and godliness in light of the second coming (2 Pet 3:11).

There is therefore nothing wrong—to the contrary—for Christians to cultivate Christian virtues, as long as they remember that their quest for godliness is not to be done in self-effort through a regimen of religious disciplines (such as prayer, fasting, reading God’s Word, and so on), no matter how good they may be in and of themselves. As Peter reminds us, it is his divine power that has given everything required for living a godly life (2 Pet 1:3), and so the power for advancing in Christian virtues comes not from ourselves but from God.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Devotional

Author Spotlight

  • Bio
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Latest Posts
Andreas Köstenberger

Andreas Köstenberger

Dr. Andreas Köstenberger is Founder of Biblical Foundations™ and Research Professor of New Testament and Biblical Theology and Director of the Center for Biblical Studies at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is the author, editor, or translator of over 50 books on a large variety of topics. He is also the editor of the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society and several series on New Testament Greek (EGGNT) and biblical theology (BTNT, BTCP). Dr. Kostenberger and his wife Margaret have four children.
Andreas Köstenberger

@akostenberger

Andreas Köstenberger
Andreas Köstenberger

Latest posts by Andreas Köstenberger (see all)

More Books by Author

  • Signs of the Messiah: An Introduction to John’s Gospel

    Signs of the Messiah: An Introduction to John’s Gospel

  • Equipping for Life: A Guide for New, Aspiring & Struggling Parents

    Equipping for Life: A Guide for New, Aspiring & Struggling Parents

  • Charts for Intermediate Greek Grammar and Syntax

    Charts for Intermediate Greek Grammar and Syntax

  • The History of the Christ: The Foundation of New Testament Theology

    The History of the Christ: The Foundation of New Testament Theology

  • The Theology of the Apostles: The Development of New Testament Theology

    The Theology of the Apostles: The Development of New Testament Theology

  • Do We Know Jesus?: Daily Insights for the Mind and Soul

    Do We Know Jesus?: Daily Insights for the Mind and Soul

  • Jesus and the Future

    Jesus and the Future

  • Women in the Church

    Women in the Church

  • Which Bible Translation Should I Use?

    Which Bible Translation Should I Use?

  • The Challenge of Bible Translation

    The Challenge of Bible Translation

  • Salvation to the Ends of the Earth

    Salvation to the Ends of the Earth

  • Read the Bible for Life

    Read the Bible for Life

  • Quo Vadis, Evangelicalism?

    Quo Vadis, Evangelicalism?

  • Marriage and Family in the Biblical World

    Marriage and Family in the Biblical World

  • Jesus & the Feminists

    Jesus & the Feminists

  • Invitation to Biblical Interpretation

    Invitation to Biblical Interpretation

  • Inductive Bible Study

    Inductive Bible Study

  • Hearing the Old Testament in the New Testament

    Hearing the Old Testament in the New Testament

  • For the Love of God’s Word

    For the Love of God’s Word

  • Father, Son & Spirit: The Trinity in John’s Gospel

    Father, Son & Spirit: The Trinity in John’s Gospel

  • Commentary on the NT Use of the OT

    Commentary on the NT Use of the OT

  • Biblical Theology: Retrospect and Prospect

    Biblical Theology: Retrospect and Prospect

  • A Theology of John’s Gospel & Letters

    A Theology of John’s Gospel & Letters

  • 40 Questions about Biblical Interpretation

    40 Questions about Biblical Interpretation

  • New Dictionary of Biblical Theology

    New Dictionary of Biblical Theology

  • Biblical Theology of the New Testament Series

    Biblical Theology of the New Testament Series

  • Encountering John

    Encountering John

  • The Missions of Jesus & the Disciples According to the Fourth Gospel

    The Missions of Jesus & the Disciples According to the Fourth Gospel

  • Excellence: The Character of God & The Pursuit of Scholarly Virtue

    Excellence: The Character of God & The Pursuit of Scholarly Virtue

  • The Final Days of Jesus: The Most Important Week of the Most Important Person Who Ever Lived

    The Final Days of Jesus: The Most Important Week of the Most Important Person Who Ever Lived

  • The First Days of Jesus: The Story of the Incarnation

    The First Days of Jesus: The Story of the Incarnation

  • Truth Matters: Confident Faith in a Confusing World

    Truth Matters: Confident Faith in a Confusing World

  • Truth in a Culture of Doubt: Engaging Popular Distortions of the Bible

    Truth in a Culture of Doubt: Engaging Popular Distortions of the Bible

  • The Heresy of Orthodoxy

    The Heresy of Orthodoxy

  • Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus

    Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus

  • Whatever Happened to Truth?

    Whatever Happened to Truth?

  • The Holman Apologetics Commentary on the Bible: The Gospels and Acts

    The Holman Apologetics Commentary on the Bible: The Gospels and Acts

  • Commentary on 1-2 Timothy and Titus

    Commentary on 1-2 Timothy and Titus

  • God’s Design for Man & Woman

    God’s Design for Man & Woman

  • Marriage and the Family: Biblical Essentials

    Marriage and the Family: Biblical Essentials

  • God, Marriage & Family: Rebuilding the Biblical Foundation

    God, Marriage & Family: Rebuilding the Biblical Foundation

  • Exegetical Guide to the Greek New Testament

    Exegetical Guide to the Greek New Testament

  • The Book Study Concordance

    The Book Study Concordance

  • Going Deeper with New Testament Greek

    Going Deeper with New Testament Greek

  • Understanding the Times: New Testament Studies in the 21st Century

    Understanding the Times: New Testament Studies in the 21st Century

  • The Lion and the Lamb: New Testament Essentials from the Cradle, the Cross and the Crown

    The Lion and the Lamb: New Testament Essentials from the Cradle, the Cross and the Crown

  • The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown: An Introduction to the New Testament

    The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown: An Introduction to the New Testament

Recommended Ministries

Books at a Glance

Gospel Centered Life

Bible Mesh

Recent Posts

  • Understand the God Who Speaks Podcast

  • Cave to the Cross Apologetics Interview

  • Expositors Collective: Character Formation and Biblical Interpretation

  • Janet Mefferd Today: Signs of the Messiah

Longing to See All the World Rest on Biblical Foundations

The mission of Biblical Foundations is to help restore the biblical foundations for the family, the church, and society. In order to help believers defend biblical, historic Christianity, this site provides biblically based, theologically grounded, and missionally oriented resources on a variety of topics.

© 2022 • Biblical Foundations™ • All rights reserved