2 Peter 1:1b
To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours: (NIV)

1. Some Trinitarians try to force this verse to “prove” the Trinity by what is known as the Granville Sharp Rule of Greek grammar.  We have shown that this is not a valid proof of the Trinity (see Ephesians 5:5,  “The Granville Sharp Rule”).

2. This verse is generally translated one of two ways: “Our God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Revised Version, RSV, NIV, etc.) and “God and our Savior Jesus Christ (KJV).  Although it is possible that the word “God” (Greek = theos) is here being used in its lesser sense, i.e., of a man with divine authority (see Hebrews 1:8), it is more likely that it is referring to the true God as distinct from Jesus Christ.  This is certainly the way the context is leading, because the very next verse speaks of them separately.

Alford recognizes that two beings are referred to in the verse and writes, “Undoubtedly, as in Titus 2:13, in strict grammatical propriety, both “God” and “Savior” would be predicates of Jesus Christ.  But here as there, considerations interpose, which seem to remove the strict grammatical rendering out of the range of probable meaning” [1]

3.  There is absolutely no reason to force this verse to make Jesus Christ into God.  It is the opening verse of the epistle, and reading all of the epistles will show that it is customary in the New Testament to introduce both God and Christ at the opening of each one.  Furthermore, it is through the righteousness of both God and Christ that we have received our precious faith.  It was through God in that it was He who devised the plan of salvation and was righteous in His ways of making it available to us.  It was through Christ in that by his righteous life he carried out the plan so that we can have what we now have.  Both God and Christ had to be righteous in order for us to enjoy our current status in the faith, and we think the evidence is conclusive that they are both present in the verse.

Broughton and Southgate, p. 202

Buzzard, p. 129

Back to the list of “Verses Used to Support the Doctrine of the Trinity”


Endnotes:

1. One Trinitarian scholar who did recognize this delineation was E.W. Bullinger, whose book, The Giver And His Gifts, is footnoted in this book. Back to top

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