Participation

“May grace and peace be lavished on you as you grow in the rich knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord! I can pray this because his divine power has bestowed on us everything necessary for life and godliness through the rich knowledge of the one who called us by his own glory and excellence. Through these things he has bestowed on us his precious and most magnificent promises, so that by means of what was promised you may become partakers of the divine nature, after escaping the worldly corruption that is produced by evil desire.” (2 Peter 1:2–4, NET 2nd ed.)

Lexham Theological Wordbook χάρις

χάρις (charis). n. fem. grace, good will, favor. Conveys the sense of a gift of kindness and favor given to a person or persons.

κοινωνός (koinōnos). n. masc. companion, partner, sharer. A person who participates in something with another.

This term is related to the quality of koinōnia but denotes the person who shares and participates with another. In the nt, it describes a sharer (koinōnos) in glory (1 Pet 5:1), suffering (2 Cor 1:7), and the divine nature (2 Pet 1:4), as well as a partner (koinōnos) in ministry (2 Cor 8:23). Also, in Luke 5:10, James and John are called partners (koinōnos) of Simon in fishing.

Justin Langford, “Friendship,” in Lexham Theological Wordbook, ed. Douglas Mangum et al., Lexham Bible Reference Series (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2014).

The NET Bible (Second Edition)

tn Grk “through them.” The implication is that through inheriting and acting on these promises the believers will increasingly become partakers of the divine nature.