<p>3:14 <i>For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast to our original confidence, remaining firm to the end</i>- The word for &quot;partakers&quot; is used of how we are His &quot;fellows&quot; or co-partakers (1:9); we partake in the heavenly calling (:1) and in the Holy Spirit (6:4). We are saved, and yet not finally; we are partakers, but only completely so at the last day, after we have held firm unto the end. The &quot;original confidence&quot; implies they were totally confident of their salvation when they were first baptized; &quot;he that believes and is baptized shall be saved&quot; (Mk. 16:16) rang so simply true to them. Salvation is on account of being &quot;in Christ&quot;, but we must abide in Him to the end of our lives. It is then that we are &quot;partakers of Christ&quot;. Paul envisaged the Lord's return in the lifetime of believers, and so uses &quot;the end&quot; as a reference to both the end of a believer's life and also to the Lord's coming. The Lord Himself several times defined &quot;the end&quot; as the day of His return (Mt. 24:6,13,14). Paul asks us to hold our faith unto &quot;the end&quot; (6:11), which seeing death is unconsciousness means that he intended us to hold the faith until &quot;the end&quot; of our lives. And yet in effect, our death is His return, for the next conscious moment for us will be His return.</p>