2 Peter: Faith in Growth

Introduction and Chapter 1

John Gentry
Introduction
The letter of 2 Peter is a very interesting letter that encourages and challenges his readers, as well as arms
them for the fight against false teachers. Peter is about to die and wants to make sure he leaves these
brethren with what they need to continue in the faith while on this earth and to prepare them for spending
eternity with God when Jesus returns. Ultimately, Peter desires his readers to grow in the grace and
knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Pet 3.18).
In this lecture we will discuss the context of the writing of this letter and the contents of the first chapter.
Discussion
I. Introduction to 2 Peter
A. Author
1. Peter is identified as the author in 2 Peter 1.1 (see below).
2. There are words and phrases that are unique to 2 Peter and 1 Peter: May grace and
peace be multiplied to you, 2 Peter 1.2 and 1 Peter 1.2; excellence / virtue, 2 Peter 1.3, 5
(2x) and 1 Peter 2.9 (cf. Phil 4.8); removal / putting off, 2 Peter 1.14 and 1 Peter 3.21;
blots and blemishes / no-blots and no-blemishes / no-blemishes and no-blots, 2 Peter
2.13, 3.14 and 1 Peter 1.19.
3. There are words and phrases that are unique to 2 Peter and the words and events of Pe-
ter in Acts: punish / punishment in 2 Peter 2.9 and Acts 4.21; power and godliness in
2 Peter 1.3 and Acts 3.12; reward / wage of wickedness in 2 Peter 2.13, 15 and Acts 1.18.
4. There are personal reminiscences of one of Jesuss inner circle, of which Peter was a
member, in 2 Peter 1.1318.
5. Application: these points can help us provide evidence of the authenticity of this letter
and therefore its inspiration.
B. Audience
1. Peter does not identify a specific addressee of this letter (see below). However, there
are some things we do know about the intended audience.
2. According to 2 Peter 3.1, the recipients of the letter had received a previous letter from
Peter. This is perhaps the letter we know as 1 Peter, but there is no way of knowing this
for certain.
3. According to 2 Peter 3.15, the recipients of the letter had also previously received at
least one letter from the apostle Paul, whether directly or as a copy from another
church. If the recipients of 2 Peter are the same as 1 Peter, the letters we have from Paul
that were also written to the same people are Galatians, Ephesians, Colossians, and
1 Timothy (written while Timothy was in Ephesus). Because Peter is discussing the pa-
tience of our Lord as salvation in 2 Peter 3.15, he may have been referring to the con-
text of 1 Timothy 1.16. Since Peter possibly wrote 2 Peter from Rome, it is also possible
that he was referring to the context of Romans 2.4.
4. Whoever the original recipients were, false teachers were threatening their faith and
they needed to be reminded of the truth and encouraged to remain faithful and to grow
(see below on Structure and themes).
5. Application: thinking through these points helps us to have a better understanding of
the context of this book, as well as the context of some other books of the New Testa-
ment; we can better understand the needs being addressed when we better understand
who the original audience was.
C. Place of writing
1. Although Peter does not state his location when writing this letter (cf. 1 Pet 5.13), he
does imply that he was writing this letter toward the end of his life in 2 Peter 1.14.
2. Early history / tradition tells us that Peter died in Rome, so it is likely that 2 Peter was
written from Rome.
3. Application: thinking through these things can also help provide additional context.
D. Structure and themes
1. 2 Peter is organized in a chiasmus:
A 1.115, make every effort to grow
B 1.1621, hold fast to the reality of Christs return
C 2.122, description and denunciation of false teachers
B 3.113, hold fast to the reality of Christs return
A 3.1418, make every effort to grow
2. This arrangement emphasizes three things: 1) the reality and danger of false teachers,
2) the need to not lose faith and hope in the second coming of Christ despite the efforts
of the false teachers, and 3) the need to grow in our faith in order to be armed against
the false teachers.
3. Application: recognizing the structure and theme(s) of a book of the Bible can help us
better understand the major message or messages that God desires for us to gain from
a study of that book. Knowing the themes and structure of 2 Peter will help us to take
courage against false teachers of our day and to continue in faith, hope, and the
knowledge of Jesus.
E. Relationship to Jude
1. A fascinating characteristic of 2 Peter is the many parallels to Jude.
2. 2 Peter Description Jude
1.2 May grace, peace, [love] be multiplied to you 2
2.1 [they] deny the Master and Lord 4
2.3 the false teachers condemnation from the past 4
2.4 angels confined for judgment in gloomy darkness 6
2.6 Sodom and Gomorrah serve as an example 7
2.10 they despise / reject authority 8
2.11 angels do not pronounce a blasphemous judgment 9
2.12 irrational / do not understand, instinct, destroyed 10
2.13 false teachers are blemishes (temptations RST) 12
2.17 waterless springs and mists driven by a storm 12
waterless clouds, swept along by winds
2.18 speaking load boasts 16
3.2 remember the predictions 17
3.3 scoffers will come in the last days, sinful desires 18
3. Application: these parallels can provided additional context and commentary to the
passages we are studying.
II. 2 Peter 1.115, Make Every Effort to Grow
A. 2 Peter 1.12, author, audience, and address
1. Author: Simeon / Simon, to whom Jesus gave the nickname Peter (Greek, Cephas in Ar-
amaic). Peter identifies himself as a slave and apostle of Jesus Christ.
2. Audience: no specific church or group of churches, but rather to all who have obtained
faith (meaning to receive by divine will, cf. Eph 2.8 for the same concept and Acts 1.17
for the same word), even the same faith as the apostles. This faith is made possible by
the righteousness of Jesus, whom Peter identifies as both our God and Savior (cf. Jude
4; Titus 2.13). If 1 Peter is the first letter Peter references in 2 Peter 3.1, then the audi-
ence would be the same as those mentioned in 1 Peter 1.1, namely, To those who are
elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia.
3. Address: the typical Christian dual greeting of grace and peace is used (cf. all of Pauls
letters), but Peter takes it further by saying that he wanted this grace and peace to be
multiplied (cf. 1 Pet 1.2; Jude 2). Peter states that this grace and peace is found in the
knowledge of God and Jesus (cf. 2 Pet 1.3). This knowledge is not a simple or surface
knowledge; Peter uses a specific word that means full knowledge or true knowledge.
4. Though this is simply the introduction to the letter, it must not be overlooked. It sets an
encouraging tone for the letter and introduces several key themes of the letter.
B. 2 Peter 1.311, Christian Characteristics
1. The gift of Christ, 2 Peter 1.34: not only does God give us grace and peace in the full
knowledge of Jesus, but through this full knowledge he also gives everything we need
to live the kind of godly life God wants to live. Through Gods glory and excellence by
which he called us, he has given us three additional things:
a. He has granted (past tense) his precious and very great promises (Greek mega-
promises);
b. He has granted through these promises that we may (present tense) become par-
takers of the divine nature (cf. Eph 3.19); and
c. He has granted through these promises that we can escape (present tense) from
the corruption in the world.
2. The growth of the Christian, 2 Peter 1.57: because of all of the provisions God has
made for us (in verses 34), we should react by making every effort (cf. 2 Pet 1.15; 3.14)
to fully supply our faith with the characteristics in this list. Peter says we begin with faith
(which we received from God, see above) and fully supply our faith with all of the char-
acteristics that lead us to love (cf. 1 Cor 13.13; 14.1; 16.14; 1 Tim 1.5).
3. The guarantee of the Kingdom, 2 Peter 1.811: Christians who possess and practice the-
se qualities 1) are made effective and fruitful, 2) confirm their calling and election, 3)
never fall, and 4) are richly provided an entrance into the eternal kingdom of Jesus!
C. 2 Peter 1.1215, Reminders and Reasons for Writing
1. Peter understood the great value in regular reminders of the truth of Gods word (cf. Phil
3.1). Effective teachers need to take note of the need for regular reminders. These regu-
lar reminders confirm the truth and allow the student to be able to recall the truth at
any time.
2. Peter understood the great need for these regular reminders because his life was near-
ing its end (cf. John 21.1819). He wanted to take advantage of every opportunity to stir
up the Christians to whom he was writing, not by writing something new, but by re-
minding them of the exciting truth they were already established in. Preachers and
teachers today do not need to be looking for something new to preach and teach; in-
stead we need to be reminding everyone of the exciting and encouraging truth found in
Gods word. (Interestingly Peter uses the word departure (lit. exodus) to describe his
death, which is the same word used to describe the death of Jesus in Luke 9.31 in Lukes
account of the transfiguration which Peter discussed in the next section.)
III. 2 Peter 1.1621, The Reality of Christs Return
A. After encouraging the readers to growth in the knowledge of Jesus, Peter now gets into the
body of his discussion and introduces his subject; namely, the second coming of Jesus. He be-
gins this discussion by introducing two arguments: 1) the transfiguration, itself a precursor to
the second coming, that was witnessed by some of the apostles, and 2) the prophetic word of
God.
B. 2 Peter 1.1618, the reality of Jesuss coming is based on eyewitness testimony.
1. In these verses Peter moves to one of his main themes: the certainty of Christs coming.
It is this fundamental, foundational doctrine of faith that the false teachers of chapter
two attack in the various ways mentioned in the first part of chapter three.
2. Peter assures the audience of the reality of Jesuss return by reminding them of the
events some of the apostles witnessed at the transfiguration of Jesus in Matthew 17.18
and parallels. Peter and the other apostles present saw Jesuss transfigured body, as
well as those of Moses and Elijah, and they heard the voice of God from heaven (cf.
men spoke from God in verse 21), as well as the conversation between Jesus, Moses,
and Elijah. These transfiguration events foreshadowed the second coming of Jesus.
3. Being able to read the eyewitness testimony of Peter (as well as the testimony in the
gospels) gives us evidence and hope of the reality of the Lords return!
C. 2 Peter 1.1921, the reality of Jesuss coming is based on the prophetic word.
1. In addition to the transfiguration, a very certain evidence of the certainty of Christs
coming is the prophetic word of God, which is either the entire Old Testament, all of the
prophetic parts of the Old Testament, or simply the specific prophecies of the second
coming. Peter says his readers would do well, meaning they could do what is right, by
paying attention or heeding this prophetic word.
2. But what is so special about this prophetic word? Why should Peters readers heed this
word? Peter gives two primary reasons: 1) the prophetic word is a lamp shining in a dark
place (cf. Ps 119 [118].105; for the phrase until the day dawns and the morning star ris-
es in your hearts cf. Num 24.17; Rev 22.16), and 2) this word is not the product of peo-
ple, but of God!
3. As Peter is getting ready to discuss false teachers and those who mock the second com-
ing of Jesus, the readers needed to be reminded of the absolute certainty of the second
coming and especially of the confidence they could maintain in the word, prophecy, and
promise of God.
Conclusion
What an encouraging beginning to this letter! Peter says his readers (including his readers today) have the
same quality of faith as the apostles. He tells his readers of the infinite blessings given to us in the
knowledge of Christ. He encourages his readers to continual growth in characteristics that help us to be all
Christ wants us to be on this earth and will assure our eternal life with God. He reminds his readers of the
things he wants them to continue in even after Peter is dead. And he cites the certainty of the second com-
ing of Jesus on two powerful proofs! With this preparation made, Peter, and his readers, is now ready to
take on the false teachers.