Terrance Callan, «The Christology of the Second Letter of Peter», Vol. 82 (2001) 253-263

The Christology of 2 Peter is very exalted. The author calls Jesus God and speaks of his divine power. He uses the title ‘Lord’ both for Jesus and for God; in the latter cases there is usually some ambiguity about which of them is meant. However, the author presents God as a person distinct from Jesus, and there is no suggestion that the author would affirm the existence of two Gods. The transfiguration revealed Jesus as the son of God. It may be understood as an epiphany of the divine Jesus. It was a moment when Jesus received glory from God, in virtue of which he is praised like God.
        2 Peter reflects a stage in early Christian thinking when the word ‘god’ was used in two ways. Usually it was a proper noun that designated the one who revealed himself in the Hebrew scriptures. Occasionally it was used as a common noun that designated those who belonged to the category of the divine. In this way 2 Peter can call Jesus God without either identifying Jesus with God or seriously affirming the existence of two Gods. Eventually these uses were related in the doctrine of the Trinity.

        The description of Jesus in 2,11 as the master who has purchased his followers might allude to the practice of sacral manumission at Delphi¹⁶. This involved sale of slaves to a god in order to free them. If this is what the author of 2 Peter has in mind, he thinks of those purchased by Jesus as effectively freed, and only nominally transferred to another owner. This would be another instance of 2 Peter’s presentation of Jesus as divine.

2. Jesus as distinct from God

        Although 2 Peter calls Jesus God and consistently presents him as divine, God and Jesus are clearly distinguished in 2 Peter. They are first distinguished from one another in 1,2, where the author wishes that peace might be multiplied for the readers by the knowledge of both God and Jesus our Lord. Because this phrase closely follows and parallels the phrase in 1,1 that refers to Jesus as God, it is sometimes used to argue that Jesus is not being called God in 1,1¹⁷. However, we see a similar alternation between identifying Jesus with, and distinguishing him from, God in the first verses of the gospel according to John. In John 1,1-2 the author first says that the Word was with God, then that the Word was God, then (again) that the Word was with God¹⁸. It seems most likely that both 2 Peter and John consciously intend to identify Jesus with God and to distinguish him from God.

        In addition to the two occurrences of ‘God’ in 1,1-2, 2 Peter uses the word five other times. These five uses of ‘God’ present the following picture of God:
        (1) there were of old heavens and earth created by the word of God (3,5). 2 Peter does not say explicitly that God created the present heavens and earth, but this can probably be assumed;
        (2) God did not spare the angels who sinned, but sent them to hell (2,4);
        (3) God did not spare the ancient world (cf. 3,6), but preserved Noah (2,5);
        (4) God condemned Sodom and Gomorrah, reducing them to ashes and establishing them as a sign of what will happen to the ungodly (2,6), but saved Lot (2,7-8);
        (5) the prophets were men who spoke from God (1,21);
        (6) God the father gave Jesus honor and glory when a voice was conveyed to him by the majestic glory, ‘This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased’ (1,17);
        (7) the present heavens and earth have been treasured up by the word of God for fire on the day of judgment (3,7); this is also the day of God (3,12).