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Theophylact of Ohrid

Medieval · AD 800–1500 · d. AD 1107 · 1,244 passages across 17 books

Commentary

1,221–1,240 of 1,244
2 Peter 1:3

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:

Grace and peace are the means by which God gives us everything we need in order to live godly lives.

Commentary on 2 Peter

2 Peter 1:5

And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;

Peter lays out here the order which we are to follow to come into full maturity. First of all comes faith, which is the foundation and source of all good works. Next comes virtue, by which he means good works, for without them faith is dead, as Saint James said. Next comes knowledge. What is that? It is an understanding of the secret things hidden in God which are not revealed to everyone, but only to those who continue faithfully in the works already mentioned.

Commentary on 2 Peter

2 Peter 1:6

And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;

Next in the list comes abstinence, or temperance. This is necessary in order to ensure that those who get this far are not carried away by the magnitude of the gift they have received and become haughty as a result. Patience follows next, because it takes time to acquire temperance, and without patience a person is liable to give up and fall into something even worse than what he has been delivered from. Patience increases our trust in God, which is why godliness comes next.

Commentary on 2 Peter

2 Peter 1:7

And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.

The more we are like God, the more we are compelled by that likeness to love others, which is why brotherly love is next in the list. Finally, there is charity, the perfection of all virtues, as Paul also confirms.

Commentary on 2 Peter

2 Peter 1:14

Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me.

Peter explains that he keeps repeating the same things to his hearers because he knows that his end is coming quickly and that he will soon be delivered from his body.

Commentary on 2 Peter

2 Peter 1:17

For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

Peter knew that Jesus received the Father’s confirmation from heaven on three different occasions, in his baptism, at his passion and on the mountain. However, this was the one which he himself witnessed.

Commentary on 2 Peter

2 Peter 2:21

For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.

Peter is saying that the evil awaiting those who turn away from their faith is so great that it would have been better if they had never accepted it in the first place. At least that way their wickedness would seem natural, instead of being as bizarre as a dog returning to its own vomit.

Commentary on 2 Peter

2 Peter 3:3

Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,

These scoffers were the Gnostics and other similar heretics who appeared at that time.

Commentary on 2 Peter

1 John 1:1

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;

When John talks about having seen this life, he means that the disciples understood its meaning, and when he says that they touched it, he means that they had investigated it thoroughly.

Commentary on 1 John

1 John 1:4

And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.

John says that having his hearers as fellow participants in the grace of eternal life will make him and the other disciples happy in the same way that a sower is happy to have the reapers alongside him on the day of harvest.

Commentary on 1 John

1 John 2:10

He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.

Even the Gentiles have always accepted the law or command which appears to derive from nature, that we should do good to those who are of the same nature as we are. The reason for this is that man is a rational and social animal who cannot exist without mutual love. Ancient tales even relate that there were many people who were prepared to sacrifice themselves on behalf of others, and the Savior himself calls this the highest form of love: “Greater love has no man than this, that a man should lay down his life for his friends.”

Commentary on 1 John

1 John 2:25

And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life.

What is eternal life? It is that we should know the one true God and Jesus Christ whom he has sent.

Commentary on 1 John

1 John 3:3

And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

Note that John uses the present tense when he talks about our need to purify ourselves. The practice of virtue is an ongoing thing and has its own inner dynamic. If we stop living this way or put it off until some future time, there is nothing virtuous about that at all.

Commentary on 1 John

1 John 3:4

Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.

Sin is a falling away from what is good, whereas iniquity is transgression of the law. The first is a rejection of good as a general principle, the second is a particular violation of a law. The sinner therefore is someone who goes against nature, and it is the nature of human beings to live rationally. Sin is therefore something which must be regarded as absurd.

Commentary on 1 John

1 John 3:22

And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.

If we obey God’s commands, then our obedience will bear fruit, for we shall receive whatever we ask for.

Commentary on 1 John

1 John 3:23

And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.

The first point to be made here is that we must love one another according to the faith which we have in the name of Jesus Christ, for it is by this that we know that the grace of the Holy Spirit given to us will be firmly planted in us. The second thing to notice is the use of the word name, which is quite frequent in Scripture. It includes the will, the glory and the honor of the one who bears it, and his will is that everyone everywhere should be baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Commentary on 1 John

1 John 4:3

And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

The antichrist will be a man who bears Satan inside him and who exalts himself above everything which is called God or which is worshiped. For that reason he will spurn idolatry and demand that people worship him instead.

Commentary on 1 John

1 John 4:4

Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

You have overcome the false prophets because the God who is in you is greater than the one by whom the false prophets have chosen to live. There is another sign of false prophets, which is that they make simple believers sad. There must be many who react very badly when they see the so-called prophets being given the highest honors while they themselves are treated with disrespect by the world.

Commentary on 1 John

1 John 4:5

They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.

Those who teach what the world wants to hear will always find followers in it, for the perverted love each other. We on the other hand will never be accepted by them.

Commentary on 1 John

1 John 5:2

By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.

If we love God, then we must also love those whom God has brought to birth and who have become our brothers and sisters. Loving one another is a sign of how much we love God.

Commentary on 1 John

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