2 Peter 1
June 17
Reading: 2 Peter 1
1 Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: 2 May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
3 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, 4 by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.
5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. 10 Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. 11 For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
12 Therefore I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have. 13 I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder, 14 since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. 15 And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things.
16 For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased," 18 we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain.
19 And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, 20 knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. 21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
2 Peter is all about “the prophetic word more sure.” (1:19) This letter is an aggressive encouragement to remain true to our calling in Jesus Christ, amid false prophets who abound, because Jesus Christ is coming back.
Verses 1-4 begin the letter with assurance to those whom God has “called to his own glory and excellence.” (vs. 3) God has given us all that we need; power, knowledge, promises; so that we can “become partakers of the divine nature,” rather than be like the world. (vs. 4) Simply put, this means that God is making us in the likeness of Christ. The message of this chapter and the next could be an exposition of Ephesians 4:13-15.
Until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ.
Verses 5-11 present a pattern by which the Lord is accomplishing this in our lives. Following this pattern is how we can “be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election.” (vs. 10) It is in following this pattern that we can be assured of our “entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” Because the bodies we now have will not last. (vss. 12-14)
In verses 16-21 we are prepared for the persistent warnings of chapter 2. Peter and the apostles are not false teachers. They did not make this stuff up, or follow others who did, to fool people or promote themselves. They are witnesses to events that really happened. In verses 17-18, Peter recalls the transfiguration of Jesus on the mountain. (Matthew 17:1-13, Mark 9:1-8, Luke 9:28-36) This prophetic word that Peter is preaching was given by God to His messengers, thus “men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” (vs. 21)
If the Bible is made up of words that God spoke through human beings, how should you and I think about those words? How often should we read them? How should we respond to them?