94 SCOTT HAFEMANN God’s “virtue”, as the display of the glory of his “nature”, is already seen in the granting of his promises (1,4a: δι᾽ὧν [referring back to do,xh| kai. avreth|/] ... δεδώρηται) and will be seen fully at the eschatological consummation (cf. 2 Pet 1,11.16-17; 2,8-9; 3,11-13.18). The fact that the promises are an expression of God’s own glory as seen in his virtue (δι᾽ ὧν) finds its counterpart in the description of these promises as τίµια καὶ µέγιστα, the third hendiadys in 1,3- 4. The promises are “precious” (τίµια) in that they are “very great” (µέγιστα) 45. Their origin in God’s glory and the display of that same glory in their eschatological fulfillment determine their value as “precious”. In the thought of 2 Peter, the greatness of their con- tent, which is nothing less than the coming cosmic judgment and new creation, reflects just how valuable these promises are. God’s promises express his glorious nature as Savior (1,1) and Lord (1,2), who, as an expression of his virtue, will judge the world, vindicate his righteousness and rescue his people in the age to come (cf. 2,9- 10; 3,7-13). A transformation of the primitive Christian eschato- logy, which “centers round the question of whether God is indeed God and when he will fully assert himself as such”, into a “purely man-centered” doctrine focused on divine retribution and apothe- osis, in which “the Judge of the world has become the instrument of the apotheosis of the pious man”, is therefore foreign to the thought of 2 Peter 46. 2 Peter does not abandon, but establishes “the peculiar theme of the primitive Christian eschatology”, in which, as Käsemann himself put it, “the Kyrios comes to take possession of his creatures and his world” 47. In what sense, then, are God’s promises given to believers in order that they might become κοινωνοί of the divine nature? In distinction to both the verb, κοινωνe,w, and the feminine, abstract noun, koinwni,a, the masculine noun, κοινωνός, refers to those who are partners or fel- 164, who lists the noun doublets in 1,2.3(2x).4.10.16.17; 2,8.11.12.13.17.22; 3,2.5.7(2x).10.11.12.13.14.16.18, and the participle doublets in 1,12; 2,10; 3,3-4.12. The superlative functions here as the elative. D.B. WALLACE, Greek 45 Grammar Beyond the Basics (Grand Rapids, MI 1996) 303, points out that the superlative is used about as frequently for the elative as it is for the su- perlative proper. This is the only superlative form in the NT; for the related noun, µeγιστα,n, see Mark 6,21; Rev 6,15; 18,23. Contra KÄSEMANN, “Apologia”, 181-182. 46 “Apologia”, 182-183. 47 © Gregorian Biblical Press 2012 - Tutti i diritti riservati