Peter 2 is about teaching and learning the truth and error of what Peter’s readers were exposed to. He was stressing that because the truth or the error involves our eternal destiny then the stakes only go up. The Christian faith that Peter preached about was a matter of eternal life and death, not philosophy. He was urging the people to stay focused and not be distracted by the heretical teachings that were contradicting the truth of God’s word. In this book Peter felt the necessity to confront the falsehoods so the people wouldn’t mistake them for truth.
2 Peter 1 NIV
1 Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours: 2 Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
Confirming One’s Calling and Election
3 His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
Peter addresses this epistle (letter) to “…those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours:”, speaking to all believers, everywhere. The letter also address his readers as people on his level, making it clear they are no lower than he in the eyes of God.
Here Peter speaks in a manner that points to Jesus being both God and Savior, and that through His righteousness or justice gives us “precious promises”. And faith; the ability to believe. The God given capacity to trust Christ for salvation.
The idea of Christian knowledge is vital in 2nd Peter. He was battling heretical teachings for which Christian knowledge is the best defense.
In verse 1 Peter describes the resources his readers have that will make growth in grace and knowledge possible. His first resource is his apostleship. “a faith as precious as ours:”: Anyone who has faith in Jesus has the same access to God as any other believer. This access is the second resource. He is showing us that God has provided all that we need of a godly life, through our knowledge of Him. Peter stresses that the knowledge possessed by those in apostolic circles met the spiritual needs of the people. True godliness is the genuine reverence for God that rules one’s attitude toward all areas of life. Glory and goodness speak to the excellence of God’s being; His attributes. Goodness depicts His excellence expressed in His deeds; the giving of “precious promises”; His virtue in action. God used both to bring forth our salvation. Peter tells us that God, in all His glory, has given us great promises. The nature of the promises are suggested in the description “divine nature” and “having escaped from worldly corruption”.
5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.
Peter is showing us here the virtues that produce a godly life: a well rounded and fruitful Christian life. As these virtues are added, one to another in our lives, they seem to simply create the next from our mastering of the former.
Everything for a godly life: Faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, mutual affection and love. The scope of the list demonstrates that God wants us to have a well-rounded Christian life, complete in every area. We can’t be content with an incomplete Christian life. Faith is the root of the Christian life, we begin our life with God with faith and when one lives a life of faith they produce goodness. Knowledge refers to our knowledge of God. When we cultivate a knowledge of God we become aptly equipped to fulfill this list Peter gave the people. Self- control, in the Greek means a person who is able to live without their desires ruling them. When all of these virtues are attained we are able to persevere in brotherly love, which we know is that love that produces natural hospitality or caring toward our fellow believers and the ability to love unconditionally, like God loves us.
8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.
Peter illustrates for us that these qualities will bring about spiritual growth that will increase in measure and will be evidence of our knowledge of Jesus. If we lack these things, it shows we have “eye trouble.” We are shortsighted, unable to see God, only ourselves. This makes us virtually blind, showing we have forgotten that we were cleansed from the old sins; having shut our eyes to the truth.
10 Therefore, my brothers and sisters,[a] make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, 11 and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
By cultivating the virtues that Peter listed we are assured that God has called and elected us. We are called and elected by doing these things spoken of in 2 Peter 1:5-7 in obedience. As we see these things in our life, we know that our lives are becoming more like the nature of Jesus. It shows that we are being conformed to the image of His Son (Romans 8:29). Peter is pointing out to the reader that God elects and calls those of us who are in obedience (1 Peter 1:2; Ephesians 1:3-6). In pursuing these things we keep from stumbling. Continual growth and progress in the Christian life is the sure way to keep from stumbling. Peter here reminded his readers of the great reward of a calling and election made sure. They would enter heaven gloriously, not as through fire (1 Corinthians 3:15).
Prophecy of Scripture
12 So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have.
The need to be reminded. Paul explains why he writes about things they have heard before – the basics of Christian living.
“So I will always remind you …” Peter just wrote about the promise of entrance into the everlasting kingdom of God (2 Peter 1:11). Because coming to that kingdom is so important, it is helpful and necessary for Peter to remind us always of the basics of the Christian life. Even though his readers knew the truth, in light of what was at stake – their eternal destiny – he felt it necessary to go over these ideas again and again. For this reason Christians should never get tired hearing the basics of the Christian life. We should rejoice every time Jesus Christ and His gospel and plan for our lives is preached.
The word established, here, is the same word translated strengthen in Luke 22:32, when Jesus told Peter “when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.” Here, Peter fulfilled that command of Jesus. He would establish and strengthen us by reminding us of the basics of the Christian life.
13 I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, 14 because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me.
This letter of Peter’s has an urgency to it. Because of what is at stake, Peter knew it was right to remind people constantly, especially because he knew that the days of his earthly life were soon coming to an end. Peter considered his body no more than a tent. As we know a tent is a temporary place to live. Our bodies should be taken care of but our more permanent place to live is heaven, and we should invest more in heaven than in our physical body. How did Peter know that soon I put it aside? Perhaps it was because Peter was simply getting old. Perhaps it was because the flames of persecution were getting hotter around him. Church history tells us that Peter did die a martyr, just as our Lord Jesus Christ showed him (John 21:18-19).This shows that Peter believed that the prophetic words of Jesus were to be fulfilled literally. Jesus showed Peter that he would die a martyr, and he believed it.
15 And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things.
Peter put this reminder in a letter, so the people of God would have a constant reminder even after his departure. In reference to “after my departure” Peter seems aware of the significance of the passing of the apostles and the need to preserve the authoritative teaching of the apostles and prophets.
16 For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 He received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”[b] 18 We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.
Peter’s letters were based on his eyewitness account of the life of Jesus. In these verses he stresses this to his readers so that they would know that what he was teaching them was not just “cleverly devised stories” like those being taught by the false teachers in their midst. Peter knew Jesus personally, as we know. By the witnessing of Christ’s transfiguration the disciples saw what his returning would be like when he returned to the eternal kingdom Matthew 16:28, Matthew 17:1-8, Mark 9:1-9, and Luke 9:28-36. We know this because Peter quoted here what God the Father said to Jesus at the Transfiguration: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Those words from heaven were important because Jesus had just told His disciples that He would have to be crucified and His followers would also have to take up their cross to follow Him (Mark 8:31-38). His disciples needed this word of assurance to keep their confidence in Jesus and needed to hear that Jesus was still well pleasing to the Father, even though He said He would be crucified.
19 We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.
Peter’s message rests on two distinct foundations. The voice of God at Christ’s transfiguration and the always significant testimony of God’s word. Peter’s experience at the transfiguration was amazing. But the testimony of God’s word about Jesus was even more sure than Peter’s personal experience. The fulfillment of the prophetic word confirmed is a certain, reliable testimony of the truth of the Scriptures.
When we consider the prophetic testimony to Jesus, we do well to heed it. There are at least 332 distinct Old Testament predictions regarding the Messiah that Jesus fulfilled perfectly. The combination of this evidence together is overwhelming. However, like Peter’s experience, these are a light for us in a dark world that we can use to guide and comfort us.
20 Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. 21 For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
Peter stresses that no prophesy originates through the prophets own interpretation. He makes clear that all prophesy is from God and comes forth by the prophets. In Peter’s day, and still today, enemies of Jesus twisted the prophecies, giving them personal and bizarre meanings attempting to exclude Jesus from their fulfillment. But Peter says that prophecy is not of any private interpretation; its meaning is evident and can be confirmed by others. Peter is pointing out that it is wrong and invalid to twist prophecy to one’s own personal meaning, because prophecy does not come from man but from God. It does come through holy men of God – but only as they are moved by the Holy Spirit. “As they were carried along by the Holy Spirit: the ancient Greek word translated “moved” in other translation, has the sense of carried along, as is used here in the NIV, illustrated as a ship being carried along by the wind or the current (the same word is used of a ship in Acts 27:15, 17).
Footnotes:
- a 2 Peter 1:10 The Greek word for brothers and sisters (adelphoi)
refers here to believers, both men and women, as part of God’s
family.
- b 2 Peter 1:17 Matt. 17:5; Mark 9:7; Luke 9:35
end of footnotes end of crossrefs
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