Peter begins his second epistle, and right away, having just read 1 Peter, you will notice the language seems quite different, leading some to question whether the 2 letters have the same author or not. Addressing some of those concerns in the introduction, we move on with the understanding that the same apostle Peter wrote both letters bearing his name. He again has the goal of encouraging his audience to holy living in light of the suffering they are enduring, and they can stand firm in their faithfulness because of God’s power in them. Let’s take a look.
1) V1-4 – 1Simon 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: 2Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. 3His 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. 4Through 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 begins by referring to himself both as an apostle – seen as the highest position one could obtain in the Kingdom of God – and as a servant, or bondservant, or slave – seen as the lowest position one could obtain. Peter held both positions, which were anything but mutually exclusive. In fact, it could be argued that the positions must be identical, as Jesus said in Matthew 23:11, “The greatest among you will be your servant.” Likewise, He said in Matthew 20:25-28: “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave, For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”
Peter addresses his audience as those who have received a precious faith. Faith is a gift of infinite value. Jesus likens it to the pearl of great price, or the treasure in the field (Matthew 13:44-46). Think of Gollum in The Lord of the Rings referring to the ring as “My Precious;” its value was such that it literally possessed him. That’s what the gift of faith is to us. Our faith possesses us more so than we have it. But do not allow yourself to miss what Peter is saying here. We do not conjure up this precious faith in Christ from our dead in sin natural selves; we receive it by grace, made alive by God to believe in Jesus. We are saved by grace, through faith, which is not from ourselves; faith is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8-9). Many Christians – some form of arminians – deny the sovereignty of God in salvation. They want to maintain some response ability of mankind. And their reason for doing so is a good one – to deny that God is to blame for people failing to believe in Jesus. Mankind is to be held accountable for disbelief, no doubt about it. But as we noticed several times in Peter’s first epistle – most notably in chapter 2 – Peter will never attribute faith to man. It is of God. John, Paul, Luke, Jude, and even James, are in agreement on this fact.
This faith that believers receive from God comes to us “through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.” Again, don’t miss Peter’s extremely clear reference to the divinity of Jesus. Our faith, a gift from God the Father by His degree of election, born in us by the work of His Holy Spirit, is a fruit of Christ’s righteousness. Two interpretations are possible here. Either Christ’s perfect righteousness is the object of our faith; in other words, we trust in His goodness for salvation and not our own. Or Christ’s righteousness determines that we should believe in Him for salvation; in other words, He has determined rightly that faith should be the determining factor of whether or not a person gains salvation from sin.
We come finally to v2, in which Peter issues the standard benediction, a greeting of grace and peace, but his twist is to add that this grace and peace comes through a growing knowledge of God through Jesus. This greeting foreshadows the conclusion to the letter, a command to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18). V3-4 can be difficult, as much of 2 Peter can be, due to the use of language that is found sparingly, if at all, elsewhere in the New Testament. Nevertheless, the gist of Peter’s claim is that God’s power at work in us is all we need to live holy lives, despite the crushing influences of the corrupt world around us and the evil desires within us. Knowing Him is enough.
2) V5-11 – 5For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. 8For 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. 9But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins. 10Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, 11and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Since we have God’s power at work in us, since we know Him who is good, since He is helping us live holy lives for His glory, we ought to strive for growth. Specifically, we should add to our faith – which accompanies justification – a number of godly characteristics that not only build on each other, but are also certain to accompany sanctification: goodness (virtue), knowledge (wisdom), self-control, perseverance, godliness, mutual affection, and love.
Peter confirms that believers are in fact to grow in these qualities (possess them in increasing measure), and growing in these attributes will ensure that our knowledge of Christ will be put to good use (effective and productive). Just as faith without deeds is dead (James 2:14-19), so knowledge with productivity and effectiveness is worthless. Peter says that lacking these qualities is no sign of a faithful believer (v9), so we need to work hard to confirm that we are, in fact, true believers – make your calling and election sure (v10). Peter is not preaching a gospel of good works, but one of transforming grace. In other words, when God saves us by grace through faith, He makes us into the image of Christ, who was a model servant for mankind. James preaches this same message when he mentions that faith without deeds is worthless. Paul says a similar thing in Philippians 2:12-13, “Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose.” It is true that we are saved by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone. Saving faith is meant to be robust, not naked.
Peter wraps up this passage by encourage us to growth in Christ, striving to build character as we serve one another. He says we “will never stumble” (v10), and we “will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (v11). Peter is not saying that believers who are growing will never sin; he is saying that if we are constantly striving to grow in Christ, constantly focusing on the good of others instead of focusing selfishly on ourselves, then we will be far less likely to get caught up in the repeat, habitual sins that can trap us if we aren’t striving to grow in Christ. As we strive for goodness, we can focus on the prize, that phrase from Matthew 25:21-23 that all believers yearn to hear when they enter heaven, “Well done good and faithful servant. You have been faithful with what you have been given. Enter the joy of your Master.”
3) V12-18 – 12So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. 13I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, 14because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. 15And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things. 16For 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. 17He 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’ [Matthew 17:5; Mark 9:7; Luke 9:35]. 18We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with Him on the sacred mountain.
Many will read v9-11 and see them as proof that we can lose our salvation if we fail to grow, that we can fall away from grace if we fail to add to our faith godly qualities. But as Peter declares here in v12-15, believers won’t fall away or lose their salvation; God is at work in them, and “He who began a good work in you will see it through to completion” (Philippians 1:6). Believer, however, do need to be warned and encouraged to grow repeatedly, as Peter claims to be doing here.
Coming to v16-18, Peter turns our attention to Jesus, as he rightly did so often in his first epistle. He points to the power and majesty and glory and honor of Jesus Christ, as revealed by the Father when His voice was heard audibly a number of times in the gospel accounts, which Peter himself heard.
4) V19-21 – 19We 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. 20Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. 21For 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 wraps up this chapter confirming the reliability of God’s prophetic word; he was, after all, an eyewitness to the truthfulness of a majority of Biblical prophecy (the coming, life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ). Therefore, he wants his audience not only to pay attention to it, but also to understand that it was never manmade. The Biblical prophets didn’t secretly decide what to say and merely claim that their words were from God, although false prophets did exactly that. Rather, true prophets, truly human Peter ensures us, “spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” That’s the best way to describe what Paul says in 1 Timothy 3:16, “All Scripture is God-breathed.”
Finally, though Peter doesn’t elaborate on this much here, we may wonder why it’s so important to consider prophecy reliable and worthy of our closest attention. The reason is simple: God’s prophetic word accomplishes the purposes for which it was sent (Isaiah 55:11); His people are sustained by His powerful word, “until the day [of the Lord] dawns and the morning star rises in [our] hearts” (v19). In other words, God uses His prophetic word to preserve His people until He comes again. Without it, we perish. As Jesus said in Matthew 5:17-18, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.”
Footnotes
- 1:17 Matt. 17:5; Mark 9:7; Luke 9:35
Bible text from Gospelcom.net. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society.