2nd peter......overview and chapter 1
We have already seen that the second letter of Peter was modelled on the book of Deuteronomy which contains the last words of Moses to Israel. Last words of leading men are very important and we have records of some who were given the opportunity to speak prior to their death: Jacob in Genesis 49; Moses in Deuteronomy; Joshua in chapter 24; David in 2nd Samuel 23; the Lord Jesus in John 14-17; Paul in 2nd Timothy; and now 2nd Peter. All the law courts in the world will accept the words of a dying man as truthful and carrying some considerable weight, and it should be no different in spiritual matters. Note in this 2nd letter the references to his passing; chapter 1 v14 “..knowing that I must shortly put off my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me”; 1 v15 “..after my decease..”. He was facing death by execution for his faith, and such a prospect as no one would want. These words from Peter are all the more powerful for the situation from which he was writing. Note also the repeated appeal to “remember”, which is a key phrase in Deuteronomy: chapter 1 v12 “Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things..”; chapter 1 v13 “Yea I think it meet as long as I am in this tabernacle by putting you in remembrance...”; chapter 1 v15 “Moreover I will endeavour that ye may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance”; chapter 3 v1 “This second epistle beloved I now write unto you in which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance..”; chapter 3 v2 “..that ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before...”. A look over Deuteronomy reveals 13 occurrences of the injunction to remember.
Another similarity is the structure of Deuteronomy, being three sermons of Moses (chapters 1-4, a review of God’s faithfulness; chapters 5-26, a reiteration of the law; and chapters 27-30, a reminder of covenant responsibilities) and the emphasis on “the words”. In like manner this second epistle focuses on “the words”, (chapter 1 v19, and chapter 3 v2), and can be divided into three sermons as follows:
Chapter 1 True believers; the genuine Christian, the true child of God and what should be the hallmarks of their lives.
Chapter 2 Apostates; differentiated from the backslider, as those who have renounced faith in Christ.
Chapter 3 Scoffers; those without faith who openly oppose the truth of God.
2nd peter 1.........true believers
Chapter 1 is further subdivided into two parts; a) verses 1-11 General responsibility of all believers, using personal pronouns “them”, “you”, “us”, “your”, speaking to all God’s people; b) verse 12-21 Apostolic responsibility in confirming old testament revelation, and promoting the new. He uses the pronouns “I” and “we”, linking himself with the other apostles as being authoritative in the things of God, and responsible for the accurate communication of the truth of God. The need for this will become evident in chapters 2/3.
Verses 1-11 In the first part verses 1-4 we have Divine resources, what we have been given v1 “we have obtained like precious faith”; v3 “His Divine power has given unto us”; v4 “we have been given exceeding great and precious promises”.
In the second part, verses 5-11, we have Human response, what we have to add, namely seven graces supplied by us in response to the gift of God’s grace....”giving all diligence add to your faith...”. Others have entitled these two sections as Divine beneficence (verses 1-4), and human diligence (verses 5-11).
Verses 1-4 Divine resources In 1st Peter, he signs himself “Peter an apostle”, in the second as “Simon Peter a servant and an apostle...”. Peter , nearing the end of his life, feeling the passing of time, and the weakness of the body, acknowledges the great Divine work in him that converted Simon to Peter. This is a lovely human touch.
The first gift from God deals comprehensively with our past “..obtained (by lot) like precious faith with us..”. The phrase “obtained by lot” is linked to election and without going into the depths of this great truth, it means we are a very special people. We have obtained, not by chance but by Divine decision (see old testament references to “the casting of lots”), something that is very valuable indeed Out of all the people in the world, which includes many unbelievers and apostates and scoffers of Divine truth, we have been set apart, privileged to receive the gift of faith from a sovereign God. This faith we share in common with all believers, and the apostles of Christ it is “like precious faith”. This came to us freely but at great cost to God, it is “precious faith”, more valuable than all the wealth of the world. It was accomplished “by the righteousness of Jesus Christ” that is the judicial saving act of righteousness to make us right with God; also it is a faith which brings to us multiplied grace and peace in a never ending supply; and the essence of it is the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, personal knowledge of Divine beings!
Next He deals with our present, for the whole of life “According as His Divine power has given to us all things that pertain unto life and godliness...” The second supplies power to live the kind of life as God intends, we have been given all things that pertain to life and godliness. This comes to us by Divine power, which power is greater than all other, whether it be the power of sin, or of self or of Satan, or of sinners all around us. He fitted us for heaven by grace, He fits us for earth by power. This power comes through personal knowledge of God, “..through the knowledge of Him who has called us...”. It is in fellowship with Divine beings, with their life flowing through us we can live the life. We are fitted for a life of godliness that properly answers to our high calling. We tap this power through knowing, in a real way, the God “who has called us by His glory and virtue(excellence)”. Christian life is all about character, about moral excellence, about living out His glory.
Thirdly He has dealt with our future, “whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises...”. What a comprehensive salvation of Divine beneficence is this, all our past present and future sorted. Great promises, exceeding great promises, precious promises, way beyond any earthly computation, reserved for us as the gift of God. These promises are bible wide, they don’t all belong to the saints of the present day, there being many promises to Israel, but just as they will share in ours, so we will share in theirs. A scan of all the promises of God to His people will reveal the glorious future ahead. We must get to know them and understand them and live in the good of them. They are to be the incentive for our lives now as being “partakers of the Divine nature”, we are to express the character of God in holiness, having escaped the corruption of the world.
Verses 5-11 Human response The construction in the Greek puts diligence at the very start and the verse could be rendered “Diligence having been brought in...supply it alongside your faith...”. There is to be no half heartedness in connection with these mighty gifts of God, we are to be active, zealous, to supply graces outlined that are the hallmark of every Christian. There is an old English word for people who take everything and give nothing back and it is the word “Cad”. It is out of use now but once was the most derogatory term to humiliate people. No one wanted the tag of being a Cad, they were considered to be takers, not givers, social parasites, people who live on the generosity of others. What will we bring to a generous and beneficent God who has showered us with benefits? What is our response to the great Giver? Will we be spiritual “Cads”? Well, says Peter there are some things you can bring, and it all has to do with character, what kind of person you will be, how we will properly reflect the glory of the God who has called us He lists seven qualities of life that should mark the grateful believer and it should be said these are not the qualities of “super” Christians but of normal ones. This is the standard for all of us.
So what are the Christian graces that we can add to our faith? He presents them as a ladder that will take us to spiritual maturity, with each step complimenting the other and rising higher in the pathway to moral excellence.
Faith with virtue Faith must have evidence, and virtue means moral excellence, an attribute of God (verse 3-same word), which will be reproduced in us if faith is real.
Virtue with knowledge Moral excellence is clearly defined in scripture, not the concoction of some kind of religious sanctimoniousness (holy-sounding behaviour).
Knowledge with self-control Knowledge without self control is arrogance “knowledge puffs up”. The knowledge we gain is to be directed to ourselves to change behaviour.
Self-control with endurance Trying circumstances and difficult people may cross our pathway for long and weary. One of the great attributes of God is His longsuffering, the ability to live with imperfection. Since we live in such a world and are imperfect ourselves, we need the quality of endurance.
Endurance with godliness Godliness is God-likeness, as we cultivate long endurance, it should be with a deep piety, a reverence of God and a reflection of His ways.
Godliness with brotherly love In our devotions to God we must balance it with humanitarian care, looking out for the needs of the family of God, whether material or spiritual. The summary of the law is “Love God” and “Love your neighbour”.
Brotherly love with Divine love The kind of love that is God’s own love, one which takes no account of the object of love, or the cost required to effect it. This is sacrificial love and is the zenith of Christian experience. Love that blesses enemies, that forgives tormentors.
There now follows in verses 8-11 three possible outcomes ; verse 8 “For if these things be in you and abound..”; verse 9 “..he that lacks these things...”; verse 10 “..if ye do these things..”. Abundance of them, lack of them, practice of them, these are the possibilities so where are we in this?
Verse 8 In the first of these, if the graces are in us and abounding(growing), there are two evidences of this; we will not be idle, we will have plenty to do, and the work is within ourselves...we are not here thinking of evangelism but the building of character in our lives. God is much more concerned with our character than our service, this much is clear from scripture. Again we will not be unfruitful, there will be evidence of the growth for all to see. We are on this earth to produce spiritual fruit which can only come from a growing knowledge of the Lord.
Verse 9 If these things are lacking it is evidence of the absence of: spiritual insight (blind), no discernment, no understanding; spiritual foresight (cannot see afar off), living only for the present, unable to bring the glorious future to bear on present behaviour; spiritual hindsight (has forgotten that he was purged from his old sins), still living in the flesh.
Verse 10 Spiritual character, if it is to be developed, requires diligence to make it work. He describes it as something we all have to do if we are to “make our calling and election sure”, not that the Lord needs any convincing, but our brethren and the world at large need to see the evidence of our faith. Also we need to have confidence ourselves that we are truly the Lord’s, we need that assurance if we are to progress. “If ye do these things you shall never fail”. If these graces of life he has enumerated become the habitual practice of your life, if they become part of your lifestyle, you will never stumble, you will never fall you will never drift away from the Lord. Faith, virtue, knowledge, self control, endurance, godliness, philanthropy, love, these are the hallmarks of Christian life.
Verse 11 “For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ”. In verse 5 it is what we are to supply, here in verse 11 it is what will be supplied to us. An abundant entrance into the kingdom will mean the compensations will be great, for the benefits will be superior and eternal. The rigours are temporal, the rewards are eternal. Will my entrance be minimal or will it be abundant?
Verses 12-21 Apostolic responsibility. a) In verses 12-15 we have Apostolic diligence and b) in verses 16-21 Apostolic defence. Note the change of pronouns to “I” and “we”.
verses 12-15 Apostolic diligence The apostles never asked believers to do what they did not do themselves; having encouraged the saints to be diligent, they must also be diligent. This is the point of these verses, and phrases like “I will not be negligent”...”I think it meet as long as I am in this tabernacle to stir you up”...I will endeavour” underline this fact. Their diligence was because of the transience of time and the imminence of death. "Not negligent” is amelio which is not careless, not taking lightly, being serious. “Stir you up” is diegiere to arouse, to wake fully; “Endeavour” is spoudazo to use speed, to be prompt, making full use of the time. This is what Peter calls diligence, do we have that kind of urgency in the work we do, because time is short and we only have this life to prepare for eternity?. Peter was acutely aware of his approaching demise, v13 “..as long as I am in this tabernacle..”; v14 “..knowing that shortly I must put off my tabernacle..”; v15 “..after my decease..”. Do we think of our lives as a tent, which is only temporary and fragile and live and serve as though every day is our last? This would concentrate the mind on the importance of making every day count, and the apostles are our examples, all of them had this mentality.
Verses 16-21 Apostolic defence Malicious accusation was circulating that they were peddling “cunningly devised fables”, some kind of religious dogma being propagated in order to gain a following. Peter’s defence was twofold; verses 16-18 the evidence of our eyes and ears, and in verses 19-21, the evidence of scripture. Now, taken together this forms a convincing defence. We must ever be aware of slanderous opposition in the preaching of the word.
16-18 The evidence of personal witness. In verse 12 Peter made reference to the Kingdom of our Lord, here he reveals that the commencement of that kingdom will be established in power at His second coming. His first advent was in humility and weakness, His second advent will be in power and glory. He is referring to the event on the mount of transfiguration, recorded in Matthew 17, Mark 9 and Luke 9. There is nothing “devised” about this. What we saw with our eyes was the display of majesty, and not any earthly majesty.....”His face as the sun” Matthew 17 v2; “..His raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow so as no fuller on earth can white them”. Mark 9 v3. What we saw was someone from another realm, and two men who had left this earth hundreds of years before appeared in the glory with Him! We witnessed things from another world! Our ears heard a voice, it was the voice of God from heaven, an unmistakeable voice which said “This is My beloved Son hear Him!” This is no fabrication this was the voice of the Father pronouncing upon Him honour and glory, we witnessed it, we saw it, we heard it. There is no court on earth could dismiss evidence like this.
19-21 The evidence of holy scripture; Three times in these verses we have the word “prophecy” which is the instrument of Divine communication. This word can mean the foretelling or the forth telling of Divine truth; it is how God speaks to the world. In verse 19 we have the confirmation of prophecy; in verse 20 the interpretation; and in verse 21 the inspiration. Confirmation/interpretation/inspiration of the word of God, what more do we need?
Confirmation v19
“We also have a more sure word of prophecy...” should properly read, “we also have the prophetic word confirmed”. That is on the mount of transfiguration, what the apostles witnessed was a preview of the glorious kingdom as predicted of old, confirmed by the presence of Moses and Elijah representing the law and the prophets. There can be no more doubt that the prophecy will be fulfilled. Because of that, says Peter, we do well to take heed “as unto a light shining in a dark place”. In the confusion of error all around the truth of God shines as a beacon, a true guiding light. Prophecies like Genesis 49 vv8-10; Psalm 2 v6; Isaiah 9 vv6-7; Isaiah 32 v1; Psalm 72 v8; Micah 5 v2, and a host of other prophecies too numerous to mention.
The light of truth shines “in a dark place...” in a murky place, this world contaminated with falsehoods and lies, a world of error and confusion. This light will go on shining to the end of time “until the day dawn and the daystar arise in your hearts”. The concept of the daystar is a beautiful one, it seems at the dawning of any new day there is a leading star, (called the morning star) which proclaims the start of a new day, in which light will go on shining. Like the seventh day of creation this day will have no night, all darkness will be dispelled forever and the light of truth will shine in unending bliss. That day has not yet come but it can ”arise in our hearts” even now!
Interpretation v20
Here Peter is strongly recommending the study of the prophetic scriptures, but sounds a warning. “No prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation...”, better “is of it’s own solution”, that is the details of prophecy are difficult to interpret and we must compare scripture with scripture to obtain a balanced view. The interpretation of prophecy requires a long- view consideration This is because God did not give the revelation to any one man, and we need to read them all to understand the whole.
Inspiration v21 These precious things came to us by Divine revelation and inspiration. They are not the thoughts of men they are from God who transmitted them to men by miraculous revelation. These scriptures are from the very breath of God and cannot be altered in any way, they are infallible, they are inviolable, they are truth against which everything else is a lie. They were given to “holy men”, that is men in a fit state from God’s point of view to receive them. They were “moved” or “borne along”(phero) by the Holy Spirit of God. Like Paul said to Timothy, their words were “God breathed”, not only the ideas but the very words used were inspired of God (see John 17 v8, v14; 1st Timothy 6 v3; 2nd Peter 3 v2). “Borne along” means carried along like persons on a ship in the midst of the seas or like leaves carried along in the wind. The idea is that they played no part in the revelation, it came from an outside agency, namely the Spirit of God. The prophecy came the same way to a multitude of men yet there are no contradictions or deviations from truth in them all. No less than 17 prophets are indicated, not including the likes of Abel, Noah, Abraham, Jacob Joseph, Moses, and a host of others. We must be persuaded that these are the very words of God, what has come to be known as “the verbal plenary inspiration of holy scripture”. We must be persuaded that what we have in our hands is the word of God, to reverence it, to study it carefully, to interpret it properly, to make it practical in our lives. This is life indeed, getting to know the written and the Living Word!!
We have already seen that the second letter of Peter was modelled on the book of Deuteronomy which contains the last words of Moses to Israel. Last words of leading men are very important and we have records of some who were given the opportunity to speak prior to their death: Jacob in Genesis 49; Moses in Deuteronomy; Joshua in chapter 24; David in 2nd Samuel 23; the Lord Jesus in John 14-17; Paul in 2nd Timothy; and now 2nd Peter. All the law courts in the world will accept the words of a dying man as truthful and carrying some considerable weight, and it should be no different in spiritual matters. Note in this 2nd letter the references to his passing; chapter 1 v14 “..knowing that I must shortly put off my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me”; 1 v15 “..after my decease..”. He was facing death by execution for his faith, and such a prospect as no one would want. These words from Peter are all the more powerful for the situation from which he was writing. Note also the repeated appeal to “remember”, which is a key phrase in Deuteronomy: chapter 1 v12 “Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things..”; chapter 1 v13 “Yea I think it meet as long as I am in this tabernacle by putting you in remembrance...”; chapter 1 v15 “Moreover I will endeavour that ye may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance”; chapter 3 v1 “This second epistle beloved I now write unto you in which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance..”; chapter 3 v2 “..that ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before...”. A look over Deuteronomy reveals 13 occurrences of the injunction to remember.
Another similarity is the structure of Deuteronomy, being three sermons of Moses (chapters 1-4, a review of God’s faithfulness; chapters 5-26, a reiteration of the law; and chapters 27-30, a reminder of covenant responsibilities) and the emphasis on “the words”. In like manner this second epistle focuses on “the words”, (chapter 1 v19, and chapter 3 v2), and can be divided into three sermons as follows:
Chapter 1 True believers; the genuine Christian, the true child of God and what should be the hallmarks of their lives.
Chapter 2 Apostates; differentiated from the backslider, as those who have renounced faith in Christ.
Chapter 3 Scoffers; those without faith who openly oppose the truth of God.
2nd peter 1.........true believers
Chapter 1 is further subdivided into two parts; a) verses 1-11 General responsibility of all believers, using personal pronouns “them”, “you”, “us”, “your”, speaking to all God’s people; b) verse 12-21 Apostolic responsibility in confirming old testament revelation, and promoting the new. He uses the pronouns “I” and “we”, linking himself with the other apostles as being authoritative in the things of God, and responsible for the accurate communication of the truth of God. The need for this will become evident in chapters 2/3.
Verses 1-11 In the first part verses 1-4 we have Divine resources, what we have been given v1 “we have obtained like precious faith”; v3 “His Divine power has given unto us”; v4 “we have been given exceeding great and precious promises”.
In the second part, verses 5-11, we have Human response, what we have to add, namely seven graces supplied by us in response to the gift of God’s grace....”giving all diligence add to your faith...”. Others have entitled these two sections as Divine beneficence (verses 1-4), and human diligence (verses 5-11).
Verses 1-4 Divine resources In 1st Peter, he signs himself “Peter an apostle”, in the second as “Simon Peter a servant and an apostle...”. Peter , nearing the end of his life, feeling the passing of time, and the weakness of the body, acknowledges the great Divine work in him that converted Simon to Peter. This is a lovely human touch.
The first gift from God deals comprehensively with our past “..obtained (by lot) like precious faith with us..”. The phrase “obtained by lot” is linked to election and without going into the depths of this great truth, it means we are a very special people. We have obtained, not by chance but by Divine decision (see old testament references to “the casting of lots”), something that is very valuable indeed Out of all the people in the world, which includes many unbelievers and apostates and scoffers of Divine truth, we have been set apart, privileged to receive the gift of faith from a sovereign God. This faith we share in common with all believers, and the apostles of Christ it is “like precious faith”. This came to us freely but at great cost to God, it is “precious faith”, more valuable than all the wealth of the world. It was accomplished “by the righteousness of Jesus Christ” that is the judicial saving act of righteousness to make us right with God; also it is a faith which brings to us multiplied grace and peace in a never ending supply; and the essence of it is the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, personal knowledge of Divine beings!
Next He deals with our present, for the whole of life “According as His Divine power has given to us all things that pertain unto life and godliness...” The second supplies power to live the kind of life as God intends, we have been given all things that pertain to life and godliness. This comes to us by Divine power, which power is greater than all other, whether it be the power of sin, or of self or of Satan, or of sinners all around us. He fitted us for heaven by grace, He fits us for earth by power. This power comes through personal knowledge of God, “..through the knowledge of Him who has called us...”. It is in fellowship with Divine beings, with their life flowing through us we can live the life. We are fitted for a life of godliness that properly answers to our high calling. We tap this power through knowing, in a real way, the God “who has called us by His glory and virtue(excellence)”. Christian life is all about character, about moral excellence, about living out His glory.
Thirdly He has dealt with our future, “whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises...”. What a comprehensive salvation of Divine beneficence is this, all our past present and future sorted. Great promises, exceeding great promises, precious promises, way beyond any earthly computation, reserved for us as the gift of God. These promises are bible wide, they don’t all belong to the saints of the present day, there being many promises to Israel, but just as they will share in ours, so we will share in theirs. A scan of all the promises of God to His people will reveal the glorious future ahead. We must get to know them and understand them and live in the good of them. They are to be the incentive for our lives now as being “partakers of the Divine nature”, we are to express the character of God in holiness, having escaped the corruption of the world.
Verses 5-11 Human response The construction in the Greek puts diligence at the very start and the verse could be rendered “Diligence having been brought in...supply it alongside your faith...”. There is to be no half heartedness in connection with these mighty gifts of God, we are to be active, zealous, to supply graces outlined that are the hallmark of every Christian. There is an old English word for people who take everything and give nothing back and it is the word “Cad”. It is out of use now but once was the most derogatory term to humiliate people. No one wanted the tag of being a Cad, they were considered to be takers, not givers, social parasites, people who live on the generosity of others. What will we bring to a generous and beneficent God who has showered us with benefits? What is our response to the great Giver? Will we be spiritual “Cads”? Well, says Peter there are some things you can bring, and it all has to do with character, what kind of person you will be, how we will properly reflect the glory of the God who has called us He lists seven qualities of life that should mark the grateful believer and it should be said these are not the qualities of “super” Christians but of normal ones. This is the standard for all of us.
So what are the Christian graces that we can add to our faith? He presents them as a ladder that will take us to spiritual maturity, with each step complimenting the other and rising higher in the pathway to moral excellence.
Faith with virtue Faith must have evidence, and virtue means moral excellence, an attribute of God (verse 3-same word), which will be reproduced in us if faith is real.
Virtue with knowledge Moral excellence is clearly defined in scripture, not the concoction of some kind of religious sanctimoniousness (holy-sounding behaviour).
Knowledge with self-control Knowledge without self control is arrogance “knowledge puffs up”. The knowledge we gain is to be directed to ourselves to change behaviour.
Self-control with endurance Trying circumstances and difficult people may cross our pathway for long and weary. One of the great attributes of God is His longsuffering, the ability to live with imperfection. Since we live in such a world and are imperfect ourselves, we need the quality of endurance.
Endurance with godliness Godliness is God-likeness, as we cultivate long endurance, it should be with a deep piety, a reverence of God and a reflection of His ways.
Godliness with brotherly love In our devotions to God we must balance it with humanitarian care, looking out for the needs of the family of God, whether material or spiritual. The summary of the law is “Love God” and “Love your neighbour”.
Brotherly love with Divine love The kind of love that is God’s own love, one which takes no account of the object of love, or the cost required to effect it. This is sacrificial love and is the zenith of Christian experience. Love that blesses enemies, that forgives tormentors.
There now follows in verses 8-11 three possible outcomes ; verse 8 “For if these things be in you and abound..”; verse 9 “..he that lacks these things...”; verse 10 “..if ye do these things..”. Abundance of them, lack of them, practice of them, these are the possibilities so where are we in this?
Verse 8 In the first of these, if the graces are in us and abounding(growing), there are two evidences of this; we will not be idle, we will have plenty to do, and the work is within ourselves...we are not here thinking of evangelism but the building of character in our lives. God is much more concerned with our character than our service, this much is clear from scripture. Again we will not be unfruitful, there will be evidence of the growth for all to see. We are on this earth to produce spiritual fruit which can only come from a growing knowledge of the Lord.
Verse 9 If these things are lacking it is evidence of the absence of: spiritual insight (blind), no discernment, no understanding; spiritual foresight (cannot see afar off), living only for the present, unable to bring the glorious future to bear on present behaviour; spiritual hindsight (has forgotten that he was purged from his old sins), still living in the flesh.
Verse 10 Spiritual character, if it is to be developed, requires diligence to make it work. He describes it as something we all have to do if we are to “make our calling and election sure”, not that the Lord needs any convincing, but our brethren and the world at large need to see the evidence of our faith. Also we need to have confidence ourselves that we are truly the Lord’s, we need that assurance if we are to progress. “If ye do these things you shall never fail”. If these graces of life he has enumerated become the habitual practice of your life, if they become part of your lifestyle, you will never stumble, you will never fall you will never drift away from the Lord. Faith, virtue, knowledge, self control, endurance, godliness, philanthropy, love, these are the hallmarks of Christian life.
Verse 11 “For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ”. In verse 5 it is what we are to supply, here in verse 11 it is what will be supplied to us. An abundant entrance into the kingdom will mean the compensations will be great, for the benefits will be superior and eternal. The rigours are temporal, the rewards are eternal. Will my entrance be minimal or will it be abundant?
Verses 12-21 Apostolic responsibility. a) In verses 12-15 we have Apostolic diligence and b) in verses 16-21 Apostolic defence. Note the change of pronouns to “I” and “we”.
verses 12-15 Apostolic diligence The apostles never asked believers to do what they did not do themselves; having encouraged the saints to be diligent, they must also be diligent. This is the point of these verses, and phrases like “I will not be negligent”...”I think it meet as long as I am in this tabernacle to stir you up”...I will endeavour” underline this fact. Their diligence was because of the transience of time and the imminence of death. "Not negligent” is amelio which is not careless, not taking lightly, being serious. “Stir you up” is diegiere to arouse, to wake fully; “Endeavour” is spoudazo to use speed, to be prompt, making full use of the time. This is what Peter calls diligence, do we have that kind of urgency in the work we do, because time is short and we only have this life to prepare for eternity?. Peter was acutely aware of his approaching demise, v13 “..as long as I am in this tabernacle..”; v14 “..knowing that shortly I must put off my tabernacle..”; v15 “..after my decease..”. Do we think of our lives as a tent, which is only temporary and fragile and live and serve as though every day is our last? This would concentrate the mind on the importance of making every day count, and the apostles are our examples, all of them had this mentality.
Verses 16-21 Apostolic defence Malicious accusation was circulating that they were peddling “cunningly devised fables”, some kind of religious dogma being propagated in order to gain a following. Peter’s defence was twofold; verses 16-18 the evidence of our eyes and ears, and in verses 19-21, the evidence of scripture. Now, taken together this forms a convincing defence. We must ever be aware of slanderous opposition in the preaching of the word.
16-18 The evidence of personal witness. In verse 12 Peter made reference to the Kingdom of our Lord, here he reveals that the commencement of that kingdom will be established in power at His second coming. His first advent was in humility and weakness, His second advent will be in power and glory. He is referring to the event on the mount of transfiguration, recorded in Matthew 17, Mark 9 and Luke 9. There is nothing “devised” about this. What we saw with our eyes was the display of majesty, and not any earthly majesty.....”His face as the sun” Matthew 17 v2; “..His raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow so as no fuller on earth can white them”. Mark 9 v3. What we saw was someone from another realm, and two men who had left this earth hundreds of years before appeared in the glory with Him! We witnessed things from another world! Our ears heard a voice, it was the voice of God from heaven, an unmistakeable voice which said “This is My beloved Son hear Him!” This is no fabrication this was the voice of the Father pronouncing upon Him honour and glory, we witnessed it, we saw it, we heard it. There is no court on earth could dismiss evidence like this.
19-21 The evidence of holy scripture; Three times in these verses we have the word “prophecy” which is the instrument of Divine communication. This word can mean the foretelling or the forth telling of Divine truth; it is how God speaks to the world. In verse 19 we have the confirmation of prophecy; in verse 20 the interpretation; and in verse 21 the inspiration. Confirmation/interpretation/inspiration of the word of God, what more do we need?
Confirmation v19
“We also have a more sure word of prophecy...” should properly read, “we also have the prophetic word confirmed”. That is on the mount of transfiguration, what the apostles witnessed was a preview of the glorious kingdom as predicted of old, confirmed by the presence of Moses and Elijah representing the law and the prophets. There can be no more doubt that the prophecy will be fulfilled. Because of that, says Peter, we do well to take heed “as unto a light shining in a dark place”. In the confusion of error all around the truth of God shines as a beacon, a true guiding light. Prophecies like Genesis 49 vv8-10; Psalm 2 v6; Isaiah 9 vv6-7; Isaiah 32 v1; Psalm 72 v8; Micah 5 v2, and a host of other prophecies too numerous to mention.
The light of truth shines “in a dark place...” in a murky place, this world contaminated with falsehoods and lies, a world of error and confusion. This light will go on shining to the end of time “until the day dawn and the daystar arise in your hearts”. The concept of the daystar is a beautiful one, it seems at the dawning of any new day there is a leading star, (called the morning star) which proclaims the start of a new day, in which light will go on shining. Like the seventh day of creation this day will have no night, all darkness will be dispelled forever and the light of truth will shine in unending bliss. That day has not yet come but it can ”arise in our hearts” even now!
Interpretation v20
Here Peter is strongly recommending the study of the prophetic scriptures, but sounds a warning. “No prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation...”, better “is of it’s own solution”, that is the details of prophecy are difficult to interpret and we must compare scripture with scripture to obtain a balanced view. The interpretation of prophecy requires a long- view consideration This is because God did not give the revelation to any one man, and we need to read them all to understand the whole.
Inspiration v21 These precious things came to us by Divine revelation and inspiration. They are not the thoughts of men they are from God who transmitted them to men by miraculous revelation. These scriptures are from the very breath of God and cannot be altered in any way, they are infallible, they are inviolable, they are truth against which everything else is a lie. They were given to “holy men”, that is men in a fit state from God’s point of view to receive them. They were “moved” or “borne along”(phero) by the Holy Spirit of God. Like Paul said to Timothy, their words were “God breathed”, not only the ideas but the very words used were inspired of God (see John 17 v8, v14; 1st Timothy 6 v3; 2nd Peter 3 v2). “Borne along” means carried along like persons on a ship in the midst of the seas or like leaves carried along in the wind. The idea is that they played no part in the revelation, it came from an outside agency, namely the Spirit of God. The prophecy came the same way to a multitude of men yet there are no contradictions or deviations from truth in them all. No less than 17 prophets are indicated, not including the likes of Abel, Noah, Abraham, Jacob Joseph, Moses, and a host of others. We must be persuaded that these are the very words of God, what has come to be known as “the verbal plenary inspiration of holy scripture”. We must be persuaded that what we have in our hands is the word of God, to reverence it, to study it carefully, to interpret it properly, to make it practical in our lives. This is life indeed, getting to know the written and the Living Word!!
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