The Apostle Peter is, besides Jesus Himself and the Apostle Paul, perhaps the most prominent figure in the New Testament. Though he wrote less than Luke and John, at least preserved for us in the Bible, his dynamic personality and growth into obvious leadership role leave a lasting impression for those of us who study God’s word. There is little doubt that Peter wrote the first epistle bearing his name, just as there is little doubt that he heavily influenced Mark’s writing of his Gospel account. (Some would even go so far to say that Mark’s Gospel is the Gospel according to Peter.) But the same cannot be said of 2 Peter. As one of the last books included in the New Testament – along with Jude (which is quite similar in content to 2 Peter), Hebrews (because of its anonymity), and Revelation (because of its apocalyptic style, imagery, and content) – 2 Peter has been most criticized because of the language used (several of the Greek words used in 2 Peter appear nowhere else in all of Scripture) and uncertainty regarding its authorship. But I think as we study 1 and 2 Peter, we find that they not only can be seen to have the same author; in fact, they should be seen to have the same author (2 Peter 3:1).
Peter came a long way in his discipleship under the Lord Jesus Christ. And he came a long way farther once Jesus had ascended and sent the promised Holy Spirit to indwell His disciples. And Peter came further still in his journey of faithfulness to Jesus under the influence – like it or not – of the Apostle Paul. I won’t go into the details of that here, but it becomes obvious if you study Peter after having studied Paul. Numerous times, Peter effectively paraphrases Paul’s teaching; he even alludes to Paul’s teaching as difficult but authoritative. Perhaps Peter learned most of all from Paul’s example to show no distinction with the gospel. Paul went to the pagan gentiles of all people, and though Peter may have struggled with that concept early on, especially in light of peer pressure from James, and John to a lesser extent, we also see clearly that Peter came to cherish his own ministry to the Gentiles late in his life, as evidenced by the epistles bearing his name found in the Holy Scriptures.
We come to 1 Peter, written sometime between 60-68 AD, most likely from Rome (Babylon in 1 Peter 5:13). The letter is addressed, perhaps surprisingly to some, in carefully Jewish-sounding rhetoric to suffering Christian Gentiles throughout the land of Asia (modern day Turkey). It’s a circular letter, intended for multiple congregations in the region, and it has 5 chapters. Peter’s primary interest is “to stimulate wholesome thinking” (2 Peter 3:1). In other words, he wants to bring encouragement in light of suffering, and his primary method of encouraging is simply yet elegantly to point to Jesus. We see his efforts, much like those of Paul, to explain to his audience who they are, reminding them of ancient truths applicable to their very lives, and then call them to actually be who they are in Christ. In other words, Peter says, “This is who you are; now be who you are.” It’s an important message, and just as applicable today as it was so long ago.
2 Peter, written a bit later, still focuses on that same message. We could say that where 1 Peter focused largely on the suffering brought on his audience as a result of external relationships – factors outside the visible body of believers (persecution from masters towards slaves and unbelieving husbands toward believing wives, for example) – 2 Peter seems to address more boldly and passionately the sinister reality of persecution from within the visible body of believers. Indeed, as Paul had become more passionate about the flock’s inner-integrity later in his ministry, so Peter seems to do the same. It is greatly upsetting to Peter, as it should be, that some within the congregation, false teachers – ultimately proving themselves to be unbelievers – would rise up within the church seeking their own glory rather than God’s glory, bringing erroneous and deceitful teaching before the church of God. So 2 Peter, in 3 short chapters, addresses the flock, and the outsiders within, on handling this situation and maintaining faithfulness and purity through the suffering caused by it. Let’s take a look.