Lesson 1 – 2 Peter Chapter 1:1-3
As we leave the book of First Peter and enter his second letter, we should take a brief look back to First Peter to remember the jewels of wisdom with which we were blessed.
Peter’s letter reached far and wide, and his audience was Jews, Christians, pagans, free citizens and slaves – and of course, the millions of people that would read his letter in the years that followed.
We found that a life lived for God can result in some kind of persecution at times. This would mean not living as a stealthy Christian, but as one who is unashamed of Christ, willing to take up his or her cross daily. By doing this, we know that difficulties can come from family, friends, strangers, and even governmental authorities.
Peter taught us to take on an attitude of submission in all these areas. By living this way, it shows that we are growing in Christlikeness, which is pleasing to God. Perhaps one of the most beneficial results of submission is found in marriage, where the husband and wife are willing to submit to each other on a daily basis.
Peter gave us the great command to be holy. Being holy is having a relationship with God defined by obedience to His will and being shaped to have His character – again, being Christlike in all our actions. Every situation we find ourselves in, calls for Christlikeness.
In summary, the First Epistle of Peter offers guidance on redemption, perseverance, and righteous living, providing comfort and encouragement to early Christians and it continues to inspire believers today.
I hope by now you feel comfortable with Peter. We know Peter’s history with Jesus, having his strengths and weaknesses. We’ve seen accounts in the gospels of Peter talking when he should’ve been listening, sleeping when he should have been praying, stepping out when he should have held back, and holding back when he should’ve stepped out in faith.
Personally, I find Peter as a person you could grow close to very easily, it will be fun to meet Peter on the other side. After Peter was filled with the Spirit, he became a great soldier of Christ, this should give us cause to know that God is willing to use us, just as He used Peter to expand His kingdom.
The primary purpose of Second Peter is to warn us against false teachers who were attacking the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. These teachers circulated misleading doctrines, and Peter sought to counter their influence. It’s important for believers today to keep their guard up because these false teachers exist today. I also like to think of Second Peter as his letter of reminders written to us.
2 Peter 3:1-2
“This is now, beloved, the second letter I am writing to you in which I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, that you should remember the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles.”
No matter where we’re at in our walk with the Lord, we need sound teaching to remind us often of the basic truths of our faith so that we stay on course. Some say that there is also plenty of evidence showing that we will not act if we are not reminded to do so. But if we expose ourselves over and over again to the truth of God’s Word, these reminders we find will help us to press on in the race set before us.
2 Peter 1:1
“Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ:”
Some say Simon Peter isn’t the author of this letter, but here the Greek text actually reads, “Simeon Peter,” using the Hebrew form of Peter’s name. The only other place we find Simeon is in Acts 15:14. This only strengthens the author’s claim to be Peter, since any forger would not likely have used an obscure form of Peter’s name.
Peter starts his second letter similar to his first in that he calls himself an apostle of Jesus Christ, but he also refers to himself as a bond-servant. A few other translations use the word “slave.” This is familiar to us because we’ve seen Paul describe himself this way as well.
We can take this small phrase as our first reminder, that we should have the same mind-set as these two apostles, that we see ourselves as servants of God. In society today, the term “slave” has all negative connotations when talked about, but for the believer, it’s a good thing to see yourself as a slave to God. We know that God is safe and He would never be an evil task-master.
Peter was serious about serving God, as should we. Serving God all the days of your life can be very satisfying, giving you a heart that is joyful. Being a servant of God involves submission, duty, and obedience to God.
To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours… or “who have obtained like precious faith.”
Peter sent this letter to those same believers who received his first letter. They were comprised mostly by Gentiles, but most certainly you would find Messianic Jews among them as well. When Peter says, who have received, he’s implying that they have received God’s free gift of salvation. This phrase is interesting in the Greek, it means; “to receive by divine allotment.” We can only receive salvation through Jesus Christ.
The same kind as ours… infers “equally valuable” or “equal privilege.” I like the NKJV which says “precious faith.” In chapter 1 of first Peter he talks about “the precious blood.” Peter will go on and say precious promises, and in chapter 2 of this letter “a precious stone.” When you think about it, you can’t really see a big’ol fisherman like Peter using the word precious… but it’s really perfect, because it literally means “beyond calculation.” And really, when it comes to God saving us and giving us all His promises, they are truly immeasurable.
Looking at this precious faith, we have Eph. 2:8-2:
“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
With that, you have to ask yourself, “Is your faith precious to you?” The faith we have is given to us by God, and it is by faith in Jesus that we are saved. Faith is nothing we do in our own power or achieve it by our own resources… it’s important we realize that. Faith isn’t something we gain of ourselves, it is given to us by Go, and what a precious gift from God it is.
So, when Peter says, “precious faith,” it means that our standing before God today is identical to that of the apostles two thousand years ago. They don’t have any special advantages over us simply because they had the awesome privilege of being with Jesus. Peter spelled it out for us in First Peter 1:8: “And though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,”
So yes, every believer has the same kind of faith the apostles had. God gives all Christians the same saving faith with all its privileges.
By the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ…
Why is faith available to us? It is because of the righteousness of Jesus Christ. By Peter saying, our God and Savior, Jesus Christ he is describing Jesus, the One who he walked on water with, lived with, and joked around with for three years, as GOD… Jesus is God.
Righteousness… means integrity, virtue, purity of life, rightness, correctness of thinking feeling, and acting. What we have here in this context is “perfect righteousness.” Before each of these characteristics we must add the word perfect… perfect integrity, perfect virtue, perfect purity of life.
We have eternal life because Jesus imputed His perfect righteousness to us. Imputation shows an “accrediting of something to a person,” or “a setting of something to one’s account.”
The concept of God imputing His righteousness upon us is a profound expression of His unmerited favor and undeserved kindness. It beautifully illustrates the essence of His grace… the unearned gift of salvation.
We need the righteousness of Christ imputed to us because we have no righteousness of our own.
We are sinners by nature, and we cannot make ourselves righteous no matter how hard we try. We cannot place ourselves in right standing with God on our own. Even Mother Teresa couldn’t be righteous without Jesus in her heart. We need Christ’s righteousness imputed to us – meaning, we need His holiness before God credited to our account.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus makes our need for righteousness clear. He says, “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). Our natural response is, “But I can’t be perfect,” which is absolutely true, we can’t be perfect on our own, and we are not righteous on our own.
Isaiah 64:6
“For all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like filthy rags;”
We just can’t be good enough, we need an imputed righteousness, and for that we must look to Jesus.
II Cor. 5:21
“He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
We can say that Jesus took on our sin and “filthy rags” and nailed it to the cross. We just celebrated Easter/Resurrection Sunday, where we observe the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. The moment that took place was the moment when God’s righteousness became available to us.
Through the blood of Jesus we are now positionally righteous; even though we still sin, we are forensically or legally righteous. God has credited the righteousness of Christ to our account, and He did this when He saved us. Now God sees us as perfectly righteous. Can I get an amen?
I Cor. 1:30-31
“But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, “Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
By having the righteousness of Christ imputed to us, we can be seen as sinless, as Jesus is sinless. This is amazing grace!
We can never be righteous in and of ourselves; rather, we possess Christ’s righteousness… which is applied to our account.
This gift of righteousness we receive by faith, the same faith as the apostles.
2 Peter 1:2
“Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord;”
The more we grow in the knowledge of Jesus Christ, the more we will truly understand that our God is a God of grace… grace without end.
Grace (charis) is God’s free, unmerited favor towards sinners, which grants to those who believe the gospel, complete forgiveness, forever through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Peace (i-ray’-nay) is the tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and content with its earthly lot, of whatsoever sort that is. Peace with God and from Him in all of life’s circumstances is the effect of God’s grace.
Col. 1:19
“For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.”
At the outset of Billy Graham’s ministry, he was often referred to as “God’s Machine Gun.” But as he grew in his knowledge of the Lord, he found himself becoming more and more oriented toward grace… so much so that many Christians scratched their heads and wondered how he was so open to so many. People would scoff, “That denomination can’t be Christian.” Or say things like, “Surely, those people can’t be saved.” But Billy had a remarkable way of embracing people without compromising. And in his own writings, he explains, that as he grew older in the Lord, he was more and more amazed by the grace of the Lord.
We read in the Scriptures; “grace and peace,” or “grace to you and peace from God,” in fact it occurs 73 times depending on what translation you read. You won’t find peace coming before grace. Grace always brings benefits, and one of these benefits is reflected in the word “peace” which the apostles always associate with God’s grace. In fact, the order is significant. First grace and then peace. Until we know and appropriate God’s grace, we can’t experience His peace.
Romans 5:1-2
“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.”
The next time you read “grace and peace” in the Bible, don’t rush over it (like many of us do) just because it’s so familiar, take it in and meditate on it for a while.
Grace and peace be multiplied to you… this is a blessing from Peter.
Multiplied: means to be increased, come in unending, like abundant streams of grace and peace to God’s children.
Bible commentary; “The unique thing about a spoken blessing is that it is bi-directional. It is addressed both to man and God. When we say, “The Lord bless you and keep you” (Numbers 6:24), we are asking the Lord (vertically) to bless you (horizontally). So it is with Peter’s words, “May grace and peace be multiplied (by God) to you.” God is being addressed. And the church is being addressed. And these words are not spoken in vain. Peter speaks them because he believes they matter. They are a means of bringing about what they aim at. They aim at more grace and more peace. So Peter believes that asking God to do this work, will in fact be an instrument in bringing it about. God answers prayer. We should believe that too when we say these words over ourselves or others.”
John 1:15-16
John the Baptist testified about Jesus and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’” For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.”
John MacArthur says, “Grace upon grace is an expression that defines the boundless flow of divine favor, while peace comes with such fullness that it is divine beyond human understanding.”
As believers, we receive God’s “surpassing grace” for every sin, and His abundant peace for every trial we go through.
John 14:27
“Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.”
All this grace and peace we’ve been talking about comes through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord…
If you haven’t given your life to Christ, you’re not going to have a clue as to what these Scriptures are saying, especially when it comes to the knowledge of God.
Knowledge… in this context it implies an intimate and personal relationship with God, that it would be full, rich, and thorough. The substance of our salvation is this kind of rational, objective knowledge of God through His Word.
Eph. 1:17
“That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him.”
When we are sealed with the Holy Spirit, we are given the knowledge of God, and the more we cultivate our relationship with God, the more we grow in this knowledge.
We should never be satisfied with just knowing that He saved us, we should want to get as intimate with Him as possible on this side of eternity.
2 Peter 1:3
“Seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.”
Whatever spiritual capabilities we have as believers, it’s not due to anything we’ve generated within ourselves, it comes from His divine power. The divine power that is in us is the very same power that raised Jesus from the dead.
Eph 3:20
“Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us,”
Isn’t it amazing to know that through the Holy Spirit, God’s power is in us. This doesn’t mean that we are just like God and can perform miracles whenever we choose, it means we have the power that enables us to do good works that please and glorify God.
If we had the exact power of God, it wouldn’t be long before we destroyed the whole world.
Pihl. 4:13 [But if I want to do what pleases God…]
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
Bible commentary, “God’s supply of spiritual power for believers never fails. They may distance themselves from the divine source through sin, or fail to minister and use what is available, but from the moment they experience faith in Jesus Christ, God has granted His power to them.”
Has granted… means that in the past, and with continuing results in the present, God permanently bestowed His power on believers.
Everything pertaining to life and godliness…
Christians have received everything in the form of divine power necessary to equip them for sanctification – being separated unto God for every good work. In other words, we have all the power we need to live a life according to God’s will.
II Tim. 2:21
“Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.”
Bible commentary says, “Because of their constant sins and failures as Christians, many find it hard not to think that even after salvation something is missing in the sanctification process. This faulty idea causes believers to seek “second blessings,” “spiritual baptisms,” tongues, mystical experiences, special psychological insights, private revelations, “self crucifixion,” the “deeper life,” heightened emotions, demon bindings, and various ones of all those… in an attempt to attain what is supposedly missing from their spiritual resources. All manner of ignorance and Scripture twisting accompanies these foolish pursuits, which at their corrupt roots are failures to understand exactly what Peter says here.”
Through the Holy Spirit, God gives us everything we need. When you think about it, there is no temptation or attacks from satan and his demons that we cannot overcome.
I Cor. 10:13
“No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.”
We have received from God… Everything pertaining to life and godliness. Through the Holy Spirit, God is using Peter to express this reality to us, therefore we are without excuse. Our sufficiency is in Jesus Christ! Guys, we’ve got the power! Everything we need to live a godly life has already been given to us the moment we gave our life to Christ.
Through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence…
Now that we’ve highlighted the divine power and God’s provision available to every believer, we can ask the question, “How does a person experience those things to the fullest?”
Peter is using the word “knowledge” again, which refers to a knowledge that is deep, genuine, and real.
Phil. 1:9-10
“And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ;”
Peter is referring to more than a superficial knowledge of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. Remember, even the demons have knowledge of Jesus.
Matt. 7:21-23
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.”
It’s one thing to know about Jesus, but it’s quite another thing to have a deep and genuine knowledge of Him, making Him Lord of your life.
Of Him who called us…
Theologically, God’s call includes two features: the “general” call and the “effectual” call. The first one you should know all about, the general call comes from hearing the Gospel, where God is calling you to His salvation.
We see this in John 7:37:
“Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.”
The “effectual” call is fruitful, it results in salvation.
Romans 8:30
“And these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.”
When it comes down to it, Peter’s use of the word called here refers to the effectual and irresistible call to salvation. It’s my prayer that all our family members will find the call to salvation that is irresistible.
We are called by His own glory and excellence…
Quite simply, Jesus attracts people who are enslaved by sin, by His own moral excellence and the total impact of His glory.
As followers of Jesus, we transition from being slaves to sin to being free slaves of God. Accepting His sacrifice liberates us from the bondage of sin.
Jesus displayed deep compassion for people, especially those who were considered outcasts or sinners. He didn’t shy away from engaging with them, and He showed genuine care and concern. For instance, when a woman caught in adultery was brought before Him, Jesus responded with compassion rather than condemnation. People who are not attracted to Jesus most likely are more attracted to the sin they’re engaged in. When God draws sinners to Himself, they see not only Christ’s glory as God, but also His excellence as a man.
Matt. 20:28
“Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
In three short verses, we’ve been reminded that we are bond-servants of God, we share the same faith as the Apostles, God sees us through Christ’s righteousness, we have a knowledge of God that only believers can understand, that God has given us all the power we need to live a godly life, and that God called us to all this… by His own glory and excellence. We are blessed indeed!