This section is focused on developing some general statements regarding the processes involved in moving from one level to the next. One important statement that you will hear repeatedly is that the sequence of virtues specified by 2 Peter is not invariant. That is to say, the way people actually live their lives can 'add' these qualities in wildly different orders. Why might this be? The whole 2 Peter sequence is driven by a single imperative verb, ἐπχορηγήσατε [supply/add].
The key take-away from a consideration of this Greek word is it's imperative mood. An imperative is a command. Yet, being a command, the person listening may or may not obey the command. Human beings have free will. God may command "Thou shalt not steal", but some people do so. Thus, Peter may command that to our Faith we are to 'add Virtue'. Some people may do so, some may not. The realities of the human condition are such that the observed spiritual development process must allow for individual choice in the matter.
As one considers the variability of human Spiritual experience, one is struck by the possibility of Episodic Growth. While the bulk of one's lifetime may be spent in the slow, grinding effort of 'working out your salvation' (Phil 2:12), there can also be occasions in which one experiences relatively brief periods of an elevated level of Spiritual maturity. For some minutes, or hours, one may seem to live at a higher level of Spiritual functioning during which one may gain insight into the goals of one's maturation and inspiration to achieve them.
Following a brief review of the Greek grammar of the 2 Peter sequence, this author concluded that the Instrumental of Means was the correct understanding of the first virtue in each pair cited in the sequence. This implies that the nature of the first element in each pair somehow produces the second element. Clearly, as the virtues typifying each level are different, the 'causal agents' at each level are different, so the processes they use at each level to produce these changes should be expected to be different.
This section on the Sequencing of 2 Peter ends with an extended discussion of 'stage' theories. In Psychology the term 'stage' has a distinct meaning. While the 2 Peter passage looks very much like a 'stage' theory, I do not believe that it is one. Following a lengthy review of the characteristics of 'stages', several differences were found between the 'stages' and what I am terming the 'levels' of the 2 Peter Theory. Principal among these differences is the basic nature of Man assumed by Psychology and the 2 Peter Theory. Psychology approaches these issues from a Natural Law perspective. The processes underlying growth in Psychology's view are ultimately reducible to chemical and biological processes. The 2 Peter Theory approaches growth from a position of Moral Law. Change here is based upon one's choice. Does one choose to strive to do what is right, or not? Moral Law evaluates behavior in terms of right and wrong, and seeks to motivate disciples to follow the right.
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