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:
Peter introduces himself by using both the Greek form of his Hebrew name “Simeon” and Peter (Greek ‘petros’ meaning stone, the name Jesus gave him) to avoid any confusion as to who the author was. Simon was a very popular name in his time (including several listed in the Bible). He also calls himself a ‘servant’ or ‘doulos’ referring to his willing and humble submission to Jesus’ authority. Interestingly, he uses a humbling reference (servant) and one of authority (apostle) in the same sentence undoubtedly to make a point that what he is about to talk to us about comes to us with authority, or in other words “listen up!”
Peter then explains that he is addressing people who have received a faith of equal standing with his (the pronoun used ‘ours’ highlights the fact that there is no favoritism by God). Note that when we obtain that faith; it is not something we develop for ourselves. Our faith and belief that God will indeed fulfill His promise of eternal life with Him, is the central theme of Christianity. We are made righteous by our faith (see Habakkuk 2:4, see also the wonderful trilogy of Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11, and Hebrews 10:39 where each quote the same Habakkuk verse). You might ask how is that possible? Peter gives us the simple, yet accurate answer, that it is through “the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.” These words also sound very similar to Paul’s words when he wrote to Titus (see Titus 2:13).
1:2 May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
It shouldn’t be surprising to us that Peter follows this information with an acknowledgment of God’s grace. Peter says “may grace” (God’s unmerited favor) “and peace be multiplied to you” (the reader) “in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.” The Greek word used by Peter for ‘knowledge’ in this verse is not the normal word for ‘knowledge’ (gnōsis) but is ‘epignōsei’ which is actually more intense than ‘gnōsis’ as it expresses a more thorough participation in the acquiring of knowledge.[1] Variations of this word can be found 20 times in the New Testament (four times in this book), Peter undoubtedly uses it here to emphasize the need to avoid any misunderstanding of God’s Word that then could lead to other incorrect interpretations and errors. The word is at times translated ‘acknowledge’, underscoring the need to do something beyond knowing, we need to acknowledge Jesus as Lord not only for salvation, but also as Lord of our lives (read Romans 5:1-5). However, Peter will begin with the subject of salvation to help us understand the need to recognize false teachers and false teaching.
Before continuing this study, let me ask a quick question, how much God do we need in our lives? I know, that’s a weird question, there really is no way to answer that. Perhaps it would be best to phrase it like this…how much of God do we need to live a Christian life? We know we have His grace (see 2 Corinthians 9:8; Philippians 4:19), but what about what we need for our salvation? Paul would reminds us that Jesus did it all (see Romans 3:21-26). So what about now (today), do we have what we need for our sanctification? Even though we have many assurances of this in the Bible (see Exodus 34:6; Psalms 42:8; 84:11; 103:11; 107:8; John 1:26; 10:10; Romans 5:15, 20-21; 8:16-17, 32; 1 Corinthians 2:9; 3:21-23; Ephesians 1:3-8; 3:4-7; 3:17-19; 1 Peter 5:7 for a few examples) many Christians are not always sure about having what they need to ‘make it’ in this life. Paul gave a stern warning to the church at Colossae about accepting alternate worldviews and thinking like non-believers, he reminds us that God provides everything we need for this life and our future life eternal with Him, “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.” (Colossians 2:8-10, see also Romans 12:3-8; Ephesians 3:20-21).
1:3 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,
In this verse, Peter is referring to Jesus when he said, “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness.” In the Greek the word translated here in this verse as ‘power’, is the word ‘dynameōs’, which is often translated as ‘mighty work’. Remember the same power that raised Jesus from the dead is available to us today. Alfred Nobel (a Christian) invented “Dynamite” a very powerful explosive and named it after this Greek word. It doesn’t take a lot of imagination to see why he named it dynamite! Even though we might think we need something more than what God provides for us…let me stop mid-sentence and add that even though you might have answered ‘correctly’ those two questions I asked at the beginning of the last paragraph with “I rely on God for all things,” or perhaps “I need God 100% of the time,” we all know that isn’t how we actually think. We might start the day off with a prayer dedicating our lives to Jesus every morning but it doesn’t take long before some distraction, diversion, or something else that gets in the way between you and Him. Another example of that is when we come together to discuss a family or church budget, we always seem to look on how we are going to provide rather than depend on the Great Provider! We don’t always get what we want or in the way we want it. One might think it would be easier to evangelize if we were all made perfect and got everything we wanted when we wanted it. No, God provides everything we need that pertains to life and godliness. We need to trust Him and acknowledge who and what He is in our lives every day. We have everything we need and remember if we don’t have something we think we need, what do we need to do? Pray and ask! (See Matthew 7:7-11; 18:19; 21:22; Luke 11:9-13; John 16:23-24; 1 John 5:13-15; James 1:5-6; 4:1-3)
Peter continues by letting us know the source of these great provisions. “Through the knowledge” (here for the second time in this epistle is a variation of the Greek word ‘epignosis’) “of Him who called us to His own glory and excellence.” This is one of those times where the word “wow!” comes to mind. To put it in a different way, God is willing to share His spotlight of glory with us! It is not what we did, it is all about Him and what He did for us. This is the exact opposite of what is often taught today, that life is all about us and what we do for ourselves, etc. Are we too involved in self-help to accept God’s help? Read Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 6:46; John 3:27; Romans 2:4; 1 Corinthians 4:7, and 1 Peter 2:21-23.
1:4 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.
Peter then reminds us that His glory and excellence comes to us through His precious and very great promises. Precious in the sense of high regard and honor, but also one that came with a great price (His suffering). The ‘very great’ reference is one Greek word ‘megaista’ which is often translated as magnificent or loud. God’s promises are indeed valuable and great! The phrase ‘he has granted’ in verse four is the verb ‘dedōrētai’ in the Greek and it is what is known as a “perfect tense,” meaning something that is ongoing and is a word implying a “middle voice.”[2] What does that mean? Peter is stating that Jesus will continually provide without end. Paul instructs us what we should do in response to God’s promises in 2 Corinthians 7:1 “Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God.” Here is a short list of some of God’s promises to us (not in any particular order): Eternal life (see John 11:25; 1 Corinthians 15:21-23), Spiritual life (see Romans 8:5-13), the Holy Spirit (see Acts 2:33; Ephesians 1:13), Abundant grace (see John 10:10; Romans 5:15-20; Ephesians 1:7), Instruction (see Psalms 32:8; John 14:26), Joy (see Psalms 132:18; Galatians 5:22), Wisdom (see Proverbs 2:6-8; Ephesians 1:17-18), Strength (see Psalms 16:2; Isaiah 40:31), Heaven (see John 14:1-3; 2 Peter 3:13), Guidance (see John 16:3), Help (see Isaiah 4:10-14; Romans 5:15-20; Ephesians 1:7), and Eternal rewards (see 1 Timothy 4:8; James 1:12).
Why the promises? Peter writes, “so that through the promises we may become partakers” (the Greek word ‘koinōnoi’, referring to fellowship or partnership), essentially the sharing of His divine nature. Peter once again informs us that we are to share in God’s glory, something I don’t think any person is capable of fully understanding. Peter tells us that we have escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desires (not just sin, but those sinful desires, this is a word that can also translated as lusts or passions). For us, that includes having a desire for what is forbidden.
Having ‘escaped’ essentially means we have, through Christ, successfully escaped the affects of sin. We are not to look within ourselves for our divine nature, like many pantheistic religions do, God wants to share His divine nature with us. Even though we are no longer condemned for our sin, we are still sinners and sin and lust can still influence our lives from time to time, therefore, we need to avoid sin as much as possible in our lives. Remember, we may be forgiven for our sins, but we are still responsible for the consequences of those sins, plus our sins keep us away from having close fellowship with Jesus. If (or should I say when) we do sin, we should immediately seek Him and ask Him for forgiveness, which is one of His promises to us, He will indeed forgive us.
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[1] Zodhiates, S. (2000). The complete word study dictionary: New Testament (electronic ed.). Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers. Strong’s Greek No. 1922
[2] Zodhiates, S. (2000). The complete word study dictionary: New Testament (electronic ed.). Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers. Strong’s Greek No. 1433