But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory in Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a little, will himself perfect you and confirm you and establish you.
ο δε θεος πασης χαριτος ο καλεσας υμας εις την αιωνιον αυτου δοξαν εν χριστω ιησου ολιγον παθοντας αυτος καταρτισαι υμας στηριξει σθενωσει θεμελιωσει
6 Church Fathers comment on this verse
At the beginning of the epistle (1 Pet 2:3) the Apostle said that the Father had mercy on us through the Son. Now, at its end, he teaches that the same Father called us through the Son. For this is the aim of the apostles: to preach the mystery, even when they do so together with exhortation.
He said, “of all grace,” because He Himself is good and the Giver of every good thing.
See how he defines here the same beginning and end. He says that the Father had mercy on us through the Son, and again that the same Father called us into His eternal glory through Jesus Christ.
But the God of all grace, and so forth: the readers of the epistle could receive great consolation in their condition from the thought that their brethren in the world endure the same sufferings they endure. Yet the apostle offers them still higher consolation by pointing to the grace of God.
This grace will help them bear every sorrow and temptation in the hope of eternal glory. The apostle ends this with a doxology to God.
The God of all grace means God as the self-existent source of grace and as its giver to men. Grace is understood here as a divine gift to man (1 Pet 4:10), not merely as one gift or another, but as a multitude, or more precisely, the totality of gifts.
This is indicated by the expression all grace; cf. 1 Pet 3:17; Jas 1:17; 1 Cor 12:6; Heb 4:16; Rom 1:5.
Who called us, all believing Christians, out of the darkness of ignorance and sin into the light of truth and holiness (1 Pet 1:15), into eternal glory in Christ. This calling itself serves as a pledge or guarantee that the one called will inherit eternal glory.
God has prepared that glory for those who love Him, in Christ Jesus; cf. 1 Pet 5:1; 1 Pet 4:13; 1 Pet 1:11.
After a brief suffering: the apostle foretells that their sufferings will be short-lived. They are brief not only in comparison with the eternal glory to which they are called, but also in comparison with the general shortness of the sorrow that has befallen them. This sorrow, then, will pass after a certain time.
May He perfect you: may He make you perfect, make you more complete, fill up and correct the deficiencies that are in you. This is the general concept of perfection, or being perfected.
It is more particularly defined by the following expressions: may He establish, strengthen, and make you unshakable. These expressions form, as it were, shades of this general concept.
May He establish means may He make you firm, so that you do not sway from side to side like a reed shaken by the wind.
May He strengthen means may He make you strong, like a solid rock, wall, or fortress.
May He make you unshakable means, properly, may He found you, lay a foundation like that for a building, so that it will not fall; cf. Mt 7:25; Heb 1:10.
Saint Apostle Peter concludes his epistle with good wishes and greetings, both from himself personally and on behalf of the church chosen in Babylon and Mark, his son. The Apostle prays benevolently for his disciples: may the Lord perfect them, establish them, strengthen them, and ground them, that is, make them unshakable.
In keeping with the counsels he has given, the apostle also expresses his wishes. He prays that God would send His all-powerful grace to help them bear every suffering in the hope of eternal glory, which God has prepared for those who love Him; see Rom 5:2.
Then, consoling them by foretelling the brief duration of the sufferings that have befallen Christians, the apostle Peter repeats the thought about the beneficent character of sufferings which he has expressed more than once before; cf. Mt 10:22; Heb 4:10.
Therefore it is understandable that Christians not only cannot complain about their sufferings, but on the contrary must thank God for such providential care over them and send up glory to Him.
The apostle himself gives them an example of this. Whenever his speech touches the mystery of the gracious action of God the Father upon men through the Son, he sends up glory to God; cf. 1:3 and 4:11.
Passages read together with this verse.
Greek text, 22 words with lemma, transliteration and Strong’s number. Tap to expand.
THEOSIS