2 Peter 1:4 Explained in Context

Selected verse

Verse 4. Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions

Quick Meaning

This verse states the purpose of great promises: participation in divine nature and escape from desire-driven corruption.

Gift first: life and godliness, not a catalog of extras

This verse is one part of that explanation in 2 Peter 1:3–4. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.

Read It With

2 Peter 1:3–4

Read 2 Peter 1:4 with 1:3–4. This verse states the purpose of great promises: participation in divine nature and escape from desire-driven corruption. The complete unit establishes this movement: Divine power has supplied what life and godliness require through knowing the caller; great promises aim at participation in divine nature and escape from desire-driven corruption.

Why This Verse Appears Here

Gift precedes effort. The ethical sequence that follows is response to divine power, calling, glory, virtue, and promise rather than self-salvation. Within that movement, this verse states the purpose of great promises: participation in divine nature and escape from desire-driven corruption.

Follow the Context

Divine power has given what pertains to life and godliness through knowledge of the caller.
Calling is associated with glory and excellence, though the exact preposition and agency are textually discussed.
Great promises aim at participation in divine nature.
That participation is paired with escape from corruption produced by disordered desire.

Phrase-by-Phrase Explanation

“partakers of the divine nature”

In plain language: The phrase names shared participation in God's life and moral likeness, not identity with God.

States the purpose of great promises: participation in divine nature and escape from desire-driven corruption. Salvation includes real holy participation without erasing creaturely identity or embodiment.

Why it matters: The wording carries interpretive or ethical risk that requires the full unit and its stated limits.

How certain? probable

What This Verse Is Not Saying

Participation in divine nature does not make humans divine by essence, omnipotent, entitled to worship, or free to despise bodies.

What Remains True

Salvation includes real holy participation without erasing creaturely identity or embodiment.

How It Can Shape Life

Pursue communion and character while honoring bodies, consent, ordinary pleasure, and material creation.

Teach It Back

Explain 2 Peter 1:4's contribution to 2 Peter 1:3–4: States the purpose of great promises: participation in divine nature and escape from desire-driven corruption. Include what the surrounding verses add, the stated uncertainty, and what this verse does not authorize.

Explain the verse in context

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Continue in Context

Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.

Read 2 Peter 1:3–4 — Divine Power Gives Life, Godliness, Promises, and Escape

Sources used for this Verse Lens

How certain is this explanation? probable

Where care is needed

Christian traditions describe this participation through several related but non-identical theological models.

These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.

Biblical text

King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006

eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society

USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.

Supports: Exact reader-facing Scripture wording, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.

Exact location: 2 Peter 1:3–4, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus

Open source ↗

Greek textual evidence

The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition

Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos

Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010

Supports: Greek wording, clause relationships, repeated terms, and the base text used for original-language discussion.

Exact location: SBLGNT official text file 2Pet.txt, 1:3–4

Open the 2 Peter Greek text file ↗

Translation and textual notes

NET Bible — 2 Peter with translators' and textual notes

Biblical Studies Press

Biblical Studies Press, 2005–2026 online edition

Supports: Verse-level Greek, syntax, KJV-era wording, textual variants, and interpretive alternatives.

Exact location: NET Bible 2 Peter PDF, 1:3–4 translation and attached translator, study, and textual notes

Open the official NET 2 Peter PDF ↗

Open the complete thought-unit research record