Seeing
that His divine power has granted to us everything pertained to life and
godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and
excellence. (2 Pet 1:3 NASB)
This is a "proof-text" for Sola
Scriptura that a few Protestants appeal to. It is not as popular as 2 Tim
3:16-17 and Acts 17:11, and for good reason. Consider the following problems
with the “Sola Scriptura” reading of the text:
- If 2
Pet 1:3 is teaching Sola Scriptura, all books written after 2 Peter is
superfluous and are not needed (except as being 'useful' like 1 Clement or
the Didache). This would mean that, if they wish to be consistent, reject
texts written after 2 Peter such as the Book of Revelation.
- For
Peter, there were other sources beyond inscripturated revelation among the
"all things" God has given that pertain to life and godliness,
such as the Church (both local and universal [Acts 15; 1 Tim 3:15] and
divinely-inspired oral revelation [1 Thess 2:13; 2 Thess 2:15; 1 Cor
11:23ff, etc]).
- One
has to read into this verse a teaching that the source of 'all things' is
exhausted in 'the Bible.’ This is refuted by the Greek. Peter uses πάντα (neuter
pl.) but γραφη is feminine. πασα
(or the pl. πασας) should have been used if
'scripture’ alone was in view.
- No
one in the early and Medieval Christian periods understood this verse to
teach the formal sufficiency of the Bible. If a Protestant wishes to claim
2 Pet 1:3 does indeed teach Sola Scriptura/the formal sufficiency of the
Bible, they will have to claim that the correct interpretation of this
passage, allege ding teaching a key doctrine (Sola Scriptura is the formal
doctrine of Protestantism) was lost from the time Peter wrote his epistle
until the Reformation era. On this, consider the following from a Protestant
work on how the verse was interpreted in the patristic and Medieval-eras:
1:3 All
Things That Pertain to Life and Godliness
Granted All Things. Hilary of Arles [c.
401-449]: Here
Peter is talking about the Scriptures, the miracles which Christ did in the
flesh, the work of baptism and the doctrine which was preached, all of which
bring us into the enjoyment of eternal life. Introductory
Commentary on 2 Peter [PL Supp.
3:107].
Through the Knowledge of Him Who Called Us. Bede [c. 673-735]: This verse follows on
what has gone before, because it is by the knowledge of our Lord and Savior
that we come to understand all the mysteries of his divinity, by which we have
been saved. For he did not send an angel or an archangel to save us, nor did he
find anything in us which might allow us to contribute to our own salvation,
but when he saw that we were weak and had nothing to boast of, he came in his
own glory and power and redeemed us. On
2 Peter [PL 93:69].
Pertaining to Life and Godliness. Theophylact [c.
1050-1108]:
Grace and peace are the means by which God gives us everything we need in order
to live godly lives. Commentary on
2 Peter [PG 125:1257]. (Gerald
Bray, ed., James, 1-2 Peter, 1-3 John, Jude [Ancient Christian
Commentary on Scripture; Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 2000], 132,
comments in square brackets added)
As with so many proof-texts for Sola
Scriptura, if it proves something, it proves too much for the Protestant
apologist.
Further Reading
Not By Scripture Alone: A Latter-day Saint Refutation of Sola Scriptura
