NOTES for Pe2 1:5-7
Peter describes an interesting chain: from trust to what is called by the Greek word arete, from it to knowledge, from knowledge to what in Russian might be called restraint or self-control, and then to perseverance and piety, followed by brotherly love and love. What does the apostle mean? The Greek word arete is usually translated as "virtue," but this is not about virtues as good deeds or good qualities of the soul. The word arete means, above all, the striving to follow principles that lead to the good, roughly what in the language of Yahwism and Judaism is called the striving for righteousness. Without such striving, normal spiritual life is impossible for a Christian. This striving helps the seeker acquire the knowledge, which a believing Yahwist or a Jew of the postexilic period would have called "wisdom," that helps the one seeking the righteous path not to lose it. And if the one seeking the righteous path succeeds in mastering this "knowledge," which should more properly be called an ability or skill, he acquires what Judaism calls the inner Torah: every deed, every word, and every choice ceases to be accidental or spontaneous; first it is tested against the Torah and the commandments given by God, and only after that is it spoken or done. The apostle, writing in Greek, used for this inner state of the Christian a word that could be translated as "restraint" or "self-control." The word "abstinence" later received a somewhat different, specific meaning in Christian usage, though in its original sense it would perhaps fit as well. When the one seeking the righteous path acquires the skill of such restraint or self-control, one can say that the inner Torah has become an inseparable part of his spiritual life; he acquires what the apostle calls "piety." Only now does it become possible to speak of brotherly love, of an attitude toward the brothers that can be called love, when one wishes only good for everyone with whom one has to deal, regardless of that person's behavior and attitude toward oneself. And only after this can one speak of the love about which the Savior spoke to His disciples at the Last Supper: He spoke of love as the environment and space of the Kingdom, which can exist in Christian gatherings, as the Kingdom that has appeared in the world, only as long as brotherly love is preserved in relations among members of the community. Thus the apostle describes the path into the Church and the path into the Kingdom: from the striving for righteous life to the moment when the life of the Kingdom opens to the seeker in all its fullness.