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DIGGING FOR
G O L D
IN II PETER
HOW TO HAVE WHOLESOME CHRISTIAN
THINKING (See 1:3)
by LARRY CORY
A SUMMARY OF
THE MESSAGE OF II PETER
INTRODUCTION (1:1-2)
MAKE YOUR CALLING AND ELECTION SURE (1:3-11)
1. Why we are able to grow in godliness (13-4)
2. How we are to grow in godliness (1:5-7)
3. What will be the result if we do not grow in godliness (1:8)?
4. What will be the result if we do grow in godliness (1:9)?
5. Therefore, we should be eager to grow in godliness (1:10a)
6. What more will result if we grow in godliness (1:10b-11)
a. We will never fall (1:10b)
b. We will joyfully enter God's kingdom (1:11)
REMEMBER THE FOUNDATIONS OF OUR CALLING AND
ELECTION (1:12-21)
1. Why they needed to remember (1:12-15)
a. Why he wanted them to remember #1: they needed to refresh their
memory (1:12-13)
b. Why he wanted them to remember #2: because he would soon leave them
(1:14)
c. Why he wanted them to remember #3: so they would remember after his
departure (1:15)
2. What they needed to remember (1:16-21)
a. They needed to remember that Peter and two other apostles were
eyewitnesses of Jesus' majesty (at the mount of transfiguration) (1:16-18)
b. They needed to remember that the words of the former prophets were
made more certain to Peter and the apostles (1:19a) (Paul was included in
the apostles—see 3:16)
c. They needed to pay attention to this new revelation—they saw God's glory
themselves (1:19b)
d. They needed to remember that the Scriptures were authored by God's
Spirit, not by men (1:20-21)
HAVE WHOLESOME THINKING—BEWARE OF FALSE TEACHERS
(2:1-22)
1. False teachers' heresies (2:1)
2. False teachers' shame (2:2)
3. False teachers' greed (2:3a)
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4. False teachers' false stories (2:3b)
5. False teachers' fate (2:4-10a)
6. False teachers' bold blasphemy (2:10b-12)
7. False teachers' punishment (2:13a)
8. False teachers' continual sin (2:13b-21)
a. They are lovers of sinful pleasure (12:13b-14)
b. They have left God's way as Balaam did (2:15-16)
c. They are full of emptiness (2:17)
d. They entice others to follow them in their sin (2:18-19)
e. They voluntarily choose to leave God's way and return to the vomit of the
world (2:20-22)
HAVE WHOLESOME THINKING BY LOOKING TO THE PAST AND
THE FUTURE (3:1-16)
1. A wholesome look at what was true in the past (3:1-2)
a. This is Peter's second letter (3:1a)
b. His purpose in writing both letters—to help them remember the words of
God's spokesmen in the past (3:1b-2)
2. A wholesome look to the future (3:31-16)
a. There will be scoffers who will mock your belief in Christ's second coming
(3:3-7)
b. The reason that Christ's coming is delayed—His desire for all to come to
repentance (3:8-9)
c. How Christ will come—like a thief in the night (3:10a)
d. How Christ will come—with fire (3:10b)
e. How Christ's coming should affect us-we should seek to live holy lives
(3:11-14)
f. A short comment about Paul's writing (3:15-16)
A SUMMARY CONCLUSION (3:17-18)
1. Be on guard against false teachers (3:17)
2. Grow in God's grace (3:18)
Introductory Information
about the Book of II Peter
1. The author: The author identifies himself in the first verse of the book:
"Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ." (II Peter 1:1) He refers to the
unique experience that James, John, and he had at the mount of transfiguration.
See 1:16-18 and Matthew 16:23-17:8 He states that this letter is his second letter.
See 3:1 He recalls Jesus' words to him about His death. See 1:14
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Nevertheless, through the years, it has been one of the books in the New
Testament most attacked as not being an authentic letter of Peter's. One of the
arguments that is used is that the Greek of II Peter is not as polished as I Peter and
that it has a different vocabulary than I Peter. A possible explanation is that Silas
had a hand in writing I Peter and did not have any role in writing II Peter. In I
Peter, Peter makes this statement: "With the help of Silas, whom I regard as a
faithful brother, I have written to you . . ." (I Peter 5:12) But there is nothing
about Silas in II Peter. There are, though, Greek scholars who do not see the
difference in the form of the Greek between the two letters to be that great. See
The Second Epistle of Peter and the Epistle of Jude by Michael Green for a wellresearched discussion of this topic.
Another argument against II Peter is that it is different in content from I Peter.
But, it is apparent when one studies the two books that they have two completely
different purposes. I Peter was written to comfort and encourage Christians going
through trials, and II Peter was written to protect Peter's readers against the very
real threat of false teachers.
A further argument against II Peter is that there is only a little historical support
that the early Christians recognized it as part of the New Testament canon.
Hiebert gives a possible explanation for the limited mention of it by early
Christians: "If this epistle were written during Peter's final incarceration and an
early persecution were harrying the groups of believers to whom it was
dispatched, it 'would certainly find some difficulties in the way of its rapid
dissemination. Persecution would require it be hidden for a time.'" "Taken from II
Peter and Jude by D. Edmund Hiebert. Copyright 1989 by BJU Press. He quotes
A. H. Strong."
Still another argument against II Peter is the similarity between II Peter chapter 2
and the book of Jude. As you read II Peter chapter 2 and the book of Jude, you
will see how similar they are to each other. Scholars argue as to which came first
without reaching an agreed-upon conclusion. A likely explanation is that they
both were following some common teaching of the day which they both added
their own personal styles to. Then, it would be similar to how gospel tracts are
very similar, but the authors have added their personal styles to them. For
example, the Bridge of the Navigators, Steps to Peace with God, and Four
Spiritual Laws are very similar, but they are also different in their exact wording
from each other.
A final issue with regard to II Peter is that the book was written by someone else
who wrote it as if he were Peter. Hiebert sums up the problem with this view with
these words: "Such a deception deliberately employed is inconsistent with the
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ethical standards of Christianity." "Taken from II Peter and Jude by D. Edmund
Hiebert. Copyright 1989 by BJU Press."
I close with the conclusion of Homer Kingsley Ebright: "When we discover an
epistle which has the dignity and originality and high ethical character of 2 Peter,
in which are no anachronisms [out of order chronologically] that the most
searching investigation can discover, and in which are found no absurd miracles or
foolish legends or heretical teaching contrary to the spirit and character of Peter,
but in which there are touches that remind one of the fiery apostle described in the
Acts and the Gospels, and in the very body of which there are claims of Petrine
authorship, and which commended itself in the course of years to the general body
of Christians when tested in the crucible of experience, then it is a fair conclusion
that we have here a genuine message of the Apostle-Preacher Peter, and the world
of the twentieth century can profit greatly by heeding his threefold message."
"Taken from II Peter and Jude by D. Edmund Hiebert. Copyright 1989 by BJU
Press."
2. The recipients of the letter: Since, it is called Peter's second letter (see 3:1),
then it is likely that the letter was also written to the same recipients as I Peter.
See Digging for Gold in I Peter for more information on I Peter's recipients.
3. The theme: Peter gives his purpose for writing this letter in 3:1: "Dear friends,
this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to
stimulate you to wholesome thinking." He wants them to have "wholesome
thinking" so that they will grow in the faith. See 1:3-11, 3:18 He wants them to
have "wholesome thinking" by remembering the foundations of their faith. See
1:12-21 He wants them to have "wholesome thinking" by rejecting false
teaching. See 2:1-22 He wants them to have "wholesome thinking" by
remembering the words of the prophets and the apostles. See 3:1-2 He wants them
to have "wholesome thinking" by looking to what is certainly going to happen in
the future. See 3:3-16
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THE MESSAGE OF I PETER
The church of Peter's time was under attack by false teachers. In this second letter
of Peter, he gave his readers a brief but thorough description of how they could
maintain a sound Christian view of life and maintain "wholesome thinking" in
the midst of the barrage of unwholesome thinking coming from the hardened false
teachers that were attacking the church of his time. We, today, are experiencing
attacks by false teaching even more than the attacks that the Christians of Peter's
time were experiencing. We are being attacked from every corner by the
distortions and perversions of the enemy. II Peter can also enable us to have the
"wholesome thinking" that is clearly presented in II Peter.
INTRODUCTION (1:1-12)
"Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who through
the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as
precious as ours: Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the
knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord."
Thought Question #1: How do you believe that "grace and
peace can be yours" in greater abundance than you are now
experiencing it?
Thought Question #2: Do you believe that Peter is stating
here that Jesus is God?
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"Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,"
Hiebert observes that "this is the only New Testament letter in which the writer
begins with a double name . . . 'Simon' was his old name, reminiscent of his years
as a Galilean fisherman; 'Peter' the name given him by Jesus during their first
personal encounter (John 1:40-42), speaks of the transforming work Christ that he
experienced." "Taken from II Peter and Jude by D. Edmund Hiebert. Copyright
1989 by BJU Press." See Matthew 16:16-18; Luke 5:8 Some Greek manuscripts
have "Simeon" rather than "Simon."
"a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ," The early apostles were not the rulers
of the church, they were the servants of the church. Peter, like the other apostles,
had earlier thought they would be co-rulers with Jesus in His messianic kingdom,
but Jesus taught them that they were to become sacrificial servants to His flock.
See John 13:1-17; Matthew 20:20-28; John 21:15-17 Peter now understood his
role as an apostle—he was to serve Jesus Christ by being "a servant" to His
church. See Romans 1:1 and Titus 1:1
The Greek word that is translated "servant" is not the Greek word diaconos from
which we get our word "deacon," but it is the Greek word doulos which "is the
most abject and servile term for slave of the five words the Greek used when
speaking of the one who serves. The verb form is deo, to 'to bind." Thus, a doulos
is bound to another as a slave. . . The word referred to one whose will is
swallowed up in the will of another. . . doulos refers to one who serves another to
the disregard of his own interests." "Word Studies in the Greek New Testament by
Kenneth Wuest. Copyright 1973 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company."
Certainly Peter fits this definition, for he was a willing servant even though it
ultimately ended in his death by crucifixion.
"To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ
have received a faith as precious as ours:" The Greek word translated "have
received" "means 'to obtain by lot.' (cf. Luke 1:9; John 1924), then simply 'to
obtain,' with the clear implication that it was not an attainment because of personal
merit or effort, but an allotment as a free gift." "Taken from II Peter and Jude by
D. Edmund Hiebert. Copyright 1989 by BJU Press." "The word means to receive
something by divine will, or to obtain something through the casting of lots. It is a
graphic word to use here. It points to God as the sovereign giver, and to us as
receiving as 'obtain by lot' in Lk 1:9; and 'cast lots' in John 19:24." Taken from
Transline New Testament by Michael Magill. Copyright 2002 by Zondervan." See
Acts 11:17 and 15:8-11
These words bring up at least two issues. First of all, is the "precious" "faith"
the "precious" gift from God that they believed in or did God give them the
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"precious" ability to believe? The words "as precious as ours" appears to be
pointing to what they believed in that was a treasure to them rather than to their
ability to believe. Jude speaks of this "faith" in verse 3: "Dear friends, although I
was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write
and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints."
(Jude 3) It appears that Peter and Jude are both referring to what we believe in—
our belief in Jesus Christ, what He did for us on the cross, and God's truths that we
find throughout the Bible that are very precious to all Christians.
The second issue is who are the "those" and the "ours" that Peter is referring to
here? Some believe that he is writing to Gentile Christians and is speaking of
these Gentile Christian as the "those" who now have the same "precious"
"faith" as the Jews have had since God chose them—Jewish believers then are
the "ours." The problem with this view is that the letter would then have had to
have been written only to Gentile Christians. A possible solution is that Peter is
including within the "ours" the Jewish Christians among the readers he is writing
to. He and the Jewish Christians were those who had the truths of the Bible as
theirs, and now the Gentile Christians also had these truths of God as also being
theirs. See Acts 11:17, 15:8-11
Another possibility is that the "ours" is those who are with him at the time and
the "those" are those he is writing to. Whichever two groups he is referring to, he
is clearly saying that the gospel message united both groups into one group—those
who together share in the "precious" "faith."
"To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus
Christ" It is "through" and because of God's "righteousness" that we are able
to be saved from the penalty of our sin. God remained righteous as He saved us,
for the righteous demand that our sins be penalized was paid for by "our Savior
Jesus Christ" when He paid that penalty for us on the cross. We have entered
into a righteous relationship with God only because God, in righteousness, made it
possible.
"of our God and Savior Jesus Christ" Is Peter speaking of two persons of the
Trinity—God the Father and Jesus Christ—or to just one Person—Jesus who is
both Savior and God? If Peter is referring to one person, he is stating that Jesus is
God. There are number of verses that state that Jesus is God. See John 1:1, 20:28;
Philippians 2:6; Colossians 1:15-20, 2:9; Titus 2:13, and Hebrews 1:8 Although
it is possible that Peter was referring to God the Father and Jesus Christ, the more
natural interpretation is that Peter is stating here that Jesus is God. "If one
assumes that Peter intended to distinguish two persons, 'our' (hemon) must go
exclusively with 'God,' but then 'Savior Jesus Christ' is an awkward expression left
standing alone. If Peter intended these words to stand alone, he would naturally
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have inserted another article before 'Savior.'" "Taken from II Peter and Jude by D.
Edmund Hiebert. Copyright 1989 by BJU Press." "From the grammatical aspect,
the two nouns are bound together by a single article, which strongly suggests that
a single Person is meant." "Taken from The Second Epistle of Peter and the
Epistle of Jude by Michael Green. Copyright 1968 by Wm. B. Eerdmans
Publishing Company." See 1:11, 2:20, 3:18 where "Lord and Savior" refer to one
person.
Since one of the errors of the false teachers is to teach falsely about Jesus Christ
and the Trinity, Peter begins his letter by describing the truth about the identity of
Jesus Christ. He is "our God and Savior Jesus Christ."
"Grace and peace be yours in abundance" It is grace—getting from God what
we do not deserve—that has provided the Christian life to us. God forgiving our
sins has come to us only through the ultimate sacrifice made by Jesus Christ for
us. It is through this sacrifice that God has made us rich both now and for eternity.
"Peace" with God, a freedom from fear and freedom from condemnation come to
us as a result of God's grace. But, here, Peter prays that they might experience this
"grace and peace" "in abundance." In other words, they were already
experiencing God's love and "grace"; Peter desires that they would experience it
more abundantly. In the rest of the verses, Peter explains how God's grace and
peace can be experienced more abundantly.
"through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord." The Greek word
translated "knowledge" is epignosis rather than gnosis. Although Bible scholars
do not agree as to how epi or "upon" adds to the meaning of gnosis, it must be
speaking of a "knowledge" beyond just an intellectual "knowledge" about
something. It also appears to be an important word in II Peter: "His divine power
has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of
him who called us by his own glory and goodness. . . . For if you possess these
qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and
unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ." (2 Peter 1:3,8) "It is a
strengthened form of gnosis (1:5-6; 3:18) and implies a more intimate and
personal relationship than the simple form." "Taken from II Peter and Jude by D.
Edmund Hiebert. Copyright 1989 by BJU Press." It describes a deeper and more
personal experience of God's grace and peace.
Also, as Barclay points out, there is a significant difference between a knowledge
of facts about a person and a knowledge of that person through a deepened
personal relationship. Then, certainly, it is a "knowledge of God" worth seeking
after. Peter explains that the purpose of his letter was to "stimulate" them "to
wholesome thinking." (3:1) We can easily conclude that part of this "wholesome
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thinking" comes as a result of their personal "knowledge of God." This
"knowledge of God" would enable them to easily recognize what was God's truth
and what was the error of the false teachers. So, let us read and study this letter so
that our "knowledge of God" will increase and so that our experience of God's
"grace and peace" will also increase.
"of God and of Jesus our Lord." The knowledge that will increase will be a
knowledge "of God and of Jesus our Lord." All of us, to one degree or another
have a marred and incomplete view "of God and of Jesus." Often, we see our
God as too small, somewhat indifferent to our needs, impatient, irritable, harsh,
disdainful, preoccupied, limited in His abilities, vindictive, and as possessing other
similar human imperfections. We have these feelings because it is what we see in
our attitudes toward others, in others' attitudes toward others, and in others'
attitudes toward us. It is difficult for us to fully believe personally that He is the
infinitely loving and gracious God that the Bible profoundly teaches us that He is.
We need a deeper and more personal "knowledge" (epignosis) of Him and of
Jesus Christ. And so with eagerness, we read on with the desire that we also will
grow in "the knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord."
WHOLESOME THINKING THAT RESULTS IN MAKING YOUR
CALLING AND ELECTION SURE (1:3-11)
1. We are able to grow in godliness. (1:3-4)
"His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness
through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.
Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that
through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the
corruption in the world caused by evil desires."
Thought Question: What is there in these verses that
encourages you that you can grow in godliness?
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"His divine power" Whose "divine power" is Peter speaking of here? Peter's
last words in verse two are "Jesus our Lord." "His" "most naturally refers back
to 'Jesus our Lord' in verse 2." "Taken from II Peter and Jude by D. Edmund
Hiebert. Copyright 1989 by BJU Press." It is His power that is now available to
every Christian. "His divine power" enabled Him to fully live a godly life while
He was on earth. It is that "power" that is available to us to live the Christian life.
"divine power" A part of the First Step of Alcoholics Anonymous is the
acknowledgement that one is powerless over alcohol. We need to acknowledge
that we are powerless over sin and the flesh and that we absolutely need Jesus'
"divine power." It is His "divine power" that is needed for us to live the
Christian life. For, the Christian life is Christ's life in us. "I have been crucified
with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I
live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."
(Galatians 2:20)
"has given us everything we need for life and godliness" "'Hath given' is
doreo, a stronger and more expressive word than didomi, 'to give.' [the normal
Greek word for give] It means 'to grant or bestow.' Strachan says that 'this word
and its cognates always carry a certain regal sense describing an act of largehanded generosity.'" "Word Studies in the Greek New Testament by Kenneth
Wuest. Copyright 1973 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company."
"everything we need for life and godliness" For many, "life and godliness" do
not seem to combine with each other. They would think that living a pious and
reverent style of life would be a boring and empty life. On the other hand, Jesus
said something that is quite astounding. "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst
for righteousness, for they will be filled." (Matthew 5:6) The full "life" is a life of
filled with "godliness."
"everything we need" As Christians, we can look at the Christian life in two
ways. First of all, we can feel that we need to seek to live a good Christian life in
our own strength. But the clear message throughout the Bible is that this is futile:
"Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must
remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the
vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much
fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." (John 15:4-5) The second way of
looking at the Christian life is that the full ability to live it comes from Christ's
strength in us. "I can do everything through him who gives me strength."
(Philippians 4:13)
"through our knowledge of him" In verse two, we learned that grace and peace
comes to us "through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord." Here, in
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verse 3, we learn that God's "divine power" comes to us through our
"knowledge" of Jesus Christ. Again, the word is not a form of gnosis, but a form
of epignosis. As we grow to know Jesus Christ more personally and intimately,
we grow in our understanding of His "divine power" that is now available to us
through His grace—His wonderful gift to us of His life. That this life comes
through a "knowledge" of our Lord Jesus Christ is supported by other comments
in II Peter: "For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will
keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord
Jesus Christ." (2 Peter 1:8) "If they have escaped the corruption of the world by
knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and
overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning." (2 Peter
2:20)
"by his own glory and goodness." In John 1:1 and 1:14, the apostle John
described Jesus' glory in this way: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word
was with God, and the Word was God." (John 1:1) "The Word became flesh and
made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and
Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." (John 1:14) And in I
John, John starts out his letter with these words: "That which was from the
beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we
have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the
Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim
to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us." God
came to earth, lived as a man, and He revealed to us His "glory and goodness."
That is the "glory and goodness" that now lives in every Christian.
"Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises," The
whole Christian life is trusting that what God promises to us is true. "And without
faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must
believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."
(Hebrews 11:6) We are to trust that what God says is true, even though we cannot
see that it is true. Through Jesus' "glory and goodness," these "precious
promises" have been made to us.
What are these "very great and precious promises"? Paul speaks of a new and
divine life now made available to us through the new covenant in Christ's blood.
"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being
transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the
Lord, who is the Spirit." (2 Corinthians 3:17-18) "You, however, did not come to
know Christ that way. Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in
accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your
former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its
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deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the
new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness." (Ephesians
4:20-24) Through our belief in Christ's blood, we have been promised a divine
ability to live a new Christ-empowered and Jesus-directed life.
"has given us" It is the same Greek verb as used in verse 3: "His divine power
has given us." "The perfect of the verb 'hath granted' (dedoretai) denotes a
permanent bestowal." "Taken from II Peter and Jude by D. Edmund Hiebert.
Copyright 1989 by BJU Press."
"great and precious" Paul speaks of the greatness of what God has done for us
in Ephesus 1:18-22. Peter and Paul certainly had a greater comprehension of what
is now ours in Christ than their readers comprehended. Our comprehension is like
theirs when we also speak with superlatives as they did of God's "great and
precious promises."
"so that through them you may participate in the divine nature" In the
NASV these words are translated: "in order that by them you might become
partakers of the divine nature." There is the additional word "become" which is
present in the Greek text but did not make it into the NIV translation. "The verb
'ye may become' [from ASV] (genesthe) basically denotes a process and implies
the ongoing growth that must characterize the Christian life." "Taken from II Peter
and Jude by D. Edmund Hiebert. Copyright 1989 by BJU Press."
Participation in the "divine" life requires growth. God's new life through Christ
now indwells us. Our partaking or sharing this "divine" life in our own
experience requires a growth process. We will see that in 1:5-11a and in 3:18a.
"But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." (2
Peter 3:18)
This "divine" life is available to us, but our old self-sufficiency and fleshly
desires are also available to us. We are to actively pursue this new divine life.
"Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my
presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your
salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act
according to his good purpose." (Philippians 2:12-13)
"Participation in the divine nature is the starting point, not the goal of the Christian
life." "Taken from The Second Epistle of Peter and the Epistle of Jude by Michael
Green. Copyright 1968 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company."
"participate in the divine nature" "Participate" is the Greek koinonia. We
use the word "koinonia" as a synonym for a time of fellowship—a time of sharing
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a common Christian view of life. Sharing in God's nature describes a uniting in
heart and mind with God's nature within us. It is the same idea that Jesus was
describing in John 15:4-5, 7-8: "Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No
branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear
fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man
remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do
nothing. . . . If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you
wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much
fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples." (John 15:4-5, 7-8)
"and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires." Escaping
"the corruption in the world caused by evil desires" occurs only as we
"participate in the divine nature." "So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not
gratify the desires of the sinful nature." (Galatians 5:16) "Do not get drunk on
wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit." (Ephesians
5:18) "Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what
that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their
minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind
controlled by the Spirit is life and peace;" (Romans 8:5-6)
As Christians, we have two choices. Our lives can become more and more corrupt
as we choose to follow the desires of the flesh, or we can grow to become more
like Christ as we seek after the desires within us that come from God. "I put this
in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to
offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing
wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness."
(Romans 6:19)
2. How we are to grow in godliness (1:5-7)
"For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to
goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control,
perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly
kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love."
Thought Question #1: According to these verses, are we to
take an active or a passive role in our growth in the Christian
life? Please explain your answer.
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Thought Question #2: Describe one way that you are
working on growing in one of the character qualities that are
listed above.
"For this very reason," In this section, Peter describes growth in God's life. We
will see that "spiritual growth in the Christian life calls for the strenuous
involvement of the believer." "Taken from II Peter and Jude by D. Edmund
Hiebert. Copyright 1989 by BJU Press." Philippians 2:12-13 is again appropriate:
"Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my
presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your
salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act
according to his good purpose." (Philippians 2:12-13) The "reason"we should
pursue to grow in the Christian life is that God has made His supernatural life
available to us at a very great cost to Himself!
"make every effort" We are to diligently pursue and eagerly seek after the life of
Christ that is now available to us. The Greek word translated "make every
effort" "means to 'to make haste, be eager, give diligence to do one's best, to take
care, to exert oneself." "Word Studies in the Greek New Testament by Kenneth
Wuest. Copyright 1973 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company." God has
given us the enabling power of His life in us. Now, what is our part? It is our
responsibility to diligently seek to fully experience this new life. "The divine
nature is not an automatic self-propelling machine that will turn out a Christian
life for the believer irrespective of what that believer does or the attitude he takes
to the salvation which God has provided." "ibid."
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"to add to your faith goodness;" "The word epichoregein, add is a fascinating
one. It is a vivid metaphor drawn from the Athenian drama festivals, in which a
rich individual, called the choregos, since he paid the expenses of the chorus
joined with the poet and the state in putting on the plays. This could be an
expensive business, and choregi vied with one another in the generosity of their
equipment and training of the choruses. Thus the word came to mean generous
and costly co-operation with God in the production of the Christian life which is a
credit to Him." "Taken from The Second Epistle of Peter and the Epistle of Jude
by Michael Green. Copyright 1968 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company."
The Greek word that is translated "add" can be translated "'bringing in alongside
of' and pictures this diligence on their part as something brought in alongside of
what God has already done." "Taken from II Peter and Jude by D. Edmund
Hiebert. Copyright 1989 by BJU Press." It is adding God's divine qualities to our
life so that His quality of life becomes our quality of life.
"to add to your faith goodness;" "Faith" is the starting point in the Christian
life. Our Christian life begins by putting our "faith" in what Jesus did for us.
Now, we are also to put our faith in Jesus' powerful and godly life being in us.
Next, we are "add to" our "faith goodness." "Goodness" was already
mentioned in verse 3: "him who called us by his own glory and goodness." We
are to first develop our "faith" in God's new life in us. As we believe that God's
life is in us, now we are able to move on to seek after the "goodness" of God that
is now present in us. "Goodness" speaks of the moral excellence of God. "Arete
["goodness"] is that virtue which makes a man a good citizen and friend; it is that
virtue which makes him an expert in the technique of living well." "Taken from
The Letters of James and Peter by William Barclay. Copyright 1976 by The
Westminster Press." We are to move forward based on our faith in God's
"goodness" that is in us by seeking to live a good life in every way. We are to
seek to do that which reflects the excellent character of God. This Greek word is
translated "excellent" in Philippians 4:8
"and to goodness, knowledge;" Peter closes this letter with these words: "But
grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be
glory both now and forever! Amen." (2 Peter 3:18) Paul describes the spiritual
growth of the church in this way: "It was he who gave some to be apostles, some
to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to
prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built
up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and
become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ."
(Ephesians 4:11-13) We can see from these verses that "knowledge" is an
important part of us growing in Christ's life. Paul stresses it again in Romans
12:1-2: "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your
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bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of
worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be
transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and
approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." (Romans 12:12) How can we know what God's "goodness" is without His "knowledge"?
But it is not the type of "knowledge" that "puffs up." (I Corinthians 8:1) Rather,
it is the spiritual "knowledge" about who Jesus is and about His ways. "I keep
asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the
Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better." (Ephesians
1:17) We are to seek after this "knowledge" with all diligence. We do this by
diligently seeking to understand better the teachings of the Bible. One of the ways
we grow in "knowledge" is to seek after the "goodness" of Jesus in us. See
Colossians 1:9
"and to knowledge, self-control;" "Self-control" is found in Paul's list of the
fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23. "It speaks of one who has power and
mastery over his sensual appetites." "Taken from Galatians by Ernest Campbell.
Copyright 1981 by Canyonview Press." When we abide in and depend on God's
Spirit, we will have "self-control."
"and to self-control, perseverance;" "The word is hupone, literally, 'to remain
under,' thus 'to remain under trials and testing in a way that honors God." "Word
Studies in the Greek New Testament by Kenneth Wuest. Copyright 1973 by Wm.
B. Eerdmans Publishing Company." It is patiently enduring under the burdens of
trials. It is "self-control" for long periods of time. It is essentially enduring trust
that God is using even our trials for His good purposes for us and others, even in a
very difficult time. "Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how
the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the
autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s
coming is near. Don’t grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged.
The Judge is standing at the door!" (James 5:7-9)
"and to perseverance, godliness;" The Greek word translated "godliness" is
eusebeia. "Eusebeia is a very practical awareness of God in every aspect of life."
"Taken from The Second Epistle of Peter and the Epistle of Jude by Michael
Green. Copyright 1968 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company." "Eusebia is
piety in its most practical aspect." "Taken from The Letters of James and Peter by
William Barclay. Copyright 1976 by The Westminster Press." Hopefully, we
have all known Christians who appear to be continually aware of God's presence
every minute of their lives. We often call that person a godly person. This is a
goal for us as we seek to grow in the Christian life—to live every moment
continually aware that we are living every moment in God's presence.
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"and to godliness, brotherly kindness;" "Brotherly kindness" is the Greek
word Philadelphia. The city of Philadelphia is called the city of brotherly love.
Philadelphia combines the Greek words phileo or "love" with aldephos or
"brother" equaling together "brotherly love." Here, the NIV translates it as
"brotherly kindness." It is said that the best way to gain friends is to be friendly.
Churches are often judged by whether or not they are friendly. In 1972, Christians
from all over the country gathered in Dallas, Texas for Explo '72. On the Sunday
of that event, some of us went to First Baptist church of Dallas. Those I went with
and I were able to sit in the back of the balcony. After the service, we were
invited out to dinner by the friendly members of that church who also were also
sitting in the back of the balcony. We were obviously surprised at their warm and
friendly spirit. Here in verse 7, we learn that we are to seek after this type of
"brotherly kindness" toward those inside of the church and outside of the
church. It is safer to keep to ourselves—us four and no more; but as Christians,
we are to develop the quality of "brotherly kindness." As a person who is more
inclined to shyness, I have needed to reach out in a friendly and kind way to
others, with Christ's life in me until it has become an easy pattern for me.
"and to brotherly kindness, love." Agape "Love" may be defined as actively
and affectionately seeking another's best no matter what the circumstances or cost.
It is a quality of Christian life that needs to be developed, for people are not
always loveable. They can be and often are stubborn, prideful, resentful, selfoccupied, impatient, demanding, controlled by their emotions, and the list goes on.
What has just has been listed describes each of us, and yet God loves us. "But
God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ
died for us." (Romans 5:8)
God desires today that we who are His people love others who are just like us with
this type of "love." Loving in this way is what we are to seek after—an
unconditional, persistent and caring seeking after the best for others, no matter
how difficult it may be. Paul's prayer for the Christians in Philippi describes the
type of love we are to seek after. "And this is my prayer: that your love may
abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight," (Philippians 1:9)
Genuine agape love is the ultimate goal of every Christian. And no matter how
loving we have become, we are to seek to grow in love; for our love is still
dwarfed when we compare it to Christ's love. "I pray that out of his glorious
riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so
that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being
rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to
grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this
love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the
fullness of God." (Ephesians 3:16-19)
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And so, we have seen the qualities of life that we are to wholeheartedly pursue.
We are able to pursue these qualities of life because Christ indwells us. No matter
how much we have grown, we still have much farther to go. Paul wrote the
following words after he had been a Christian about 30 years. "Not that I have
already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take
hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider
myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind
and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for
which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:12-14)
4. What will be the result of growth in godliness? (1:8)
"For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you
from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus
Christ."
Thought Question: According to this verse, what will be
some of the benefits of your growth in godliness?
Just as physical growth requires us to do specific activities like eating and exercise
in order for us to grow physically, so there are activities that we must do to grow
spiritually. We grow physically as we start with milk and graduate to solid foods,
and as we seek to expand our physical abilities—like walking and running. We
must also take an active role so that we will grow in the knowledge of our Lord
Jesus.
The Bible is clear; it is possible for us not to grow in knowing Jesus. "Brothers, I
could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave
you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not
ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you,
are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men?" (1 Corinthians 3:1-3)
"We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to
learn. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to
teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not
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solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with
the teaching about righteousness." (Hebrews 5:11-13)
Here in verse 8, we are given by Peter what growth in "knowledge of our Lord
Jesus Christ" will look like. We grow in the "knowledge of our Lord Jesus
Christ" as we see the godly qualities of Christ increase in our lives—as we grow
in "knowledge," "self-control," "perseverance," "godliness," "brotherly
kindness," and "love."
"they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your
knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ." If these qualities are increasing in our
lives, we each are effective and productive in our Christian life. "Inneffective"
combines the Greek word ergon or work with an a. The a negates the word
turning it into "not working." "Unproductive" combines the Greek word karpos
or fruitful with a = not fruitful. We are lazy and unfruitful Christians if we are not
growing in the character of Jesus Christ.
Do we want to be hard-working and fruitful Christians? Then, we should eagerly
seek to grow in the Christian character qualities that Jesus exhibited in His life and
are now present in our lives because of His present indwelling of us. The goal of
the church, above all, is to become like Him—we are to grow in our "knowledge"
of Him through becoming more like Him.
The Greek word for "knowledge" of "Jesus Christ" is, again, epignosis—that
deeper and intimate "knowledge" of Him. "It implies an intimate and growing
knowing of one whom they already know. It is knowledge 'of,' not merely 'about,'
a person whom Peter and his readers acknowledge as 'our Lord Jesus Christ.'"
"Taken from II Peter and Jude by D. Edmund Hiebert. Copyright 1989 by BJU
Press."
We can pursue knowing Jesus in many different ways. The mystics will give you
their steps. But, here in II Peter, Peter gives the sure way of knowing Jesus Christ.
He is in us to empower our lives. Now, it is up to us to grow to be like Him. As
we grow to become like Him—as we join Him in His type of life, we also get to
know Him. As we are patient with others, we will learn of His great patience with
us. As we truly love others, we will learn of His love toward them and us. For the
love with which we love others is His love in us.
4. What will be the result if we do not grow in goldliness? (1:9)
"But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has
forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins."
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Thought Question: What do you believe Peter means by
"nearsighted and blind"?
Why are there Christians who do not grow (like the Christians described earlier in
I Corinthians 3 and Hebrews 5 had not grown)? Peter gives us, here, an
explanation of why some Christians do not grow and mature into spiritual adults.
Peter says that they are "nearsighted and blind." This would be something very
unusual to say about someone's physical status. How could they be
"nearsighted" if they are "blind"? Spiritually, though, blindness can be caused
by nearsightedness—spiritual myopia. The Greek word is muopazon. What
motivates us to grow is seeing the big picture and not the little picture. We
remember that God has had a plan for us from eternity past and His plan for us
goes on to eternity future. In our personal history, Jesus cleansed us from our
"past sins." In the future, Jesus will return and we will stand before Him one day
to be rewarded for our service to Him. And in eternity, we will reign with Him as
members of His forever family. Also, beyond the world is a very real invisible
world in which God and the angels dwell.
What prevents us from growing is a nearsightedness that prevents us from seeing
the big picture that has been just described and limits our vision to only what is
happening today and only to what is taking place in the visible world. The
"nearsighted" are like Demas: "for Demas, because he loved this world, has
deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica." (2 Timothy 4:10) The "nearsighted"
live only for what they can get in this present world. "You say, ‘I am rich; I have
acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are
wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked." (Revelation 3:17) "Do not love the
world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is
not in him. For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his
eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but
from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the
will of God lives forever." (1 John 2:15-17) Those who do not grow are those
who, in their nearsightedness, focus only on this world and what it alone can offer
them.
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"and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins." Some
believe that Peter is describing non-Christians here; but since it is someone who
"has been cleansed from his past sins," it must be Christians whose
nearsightedness has led to his or her lack of spiritual growth. Has there been
growth in your life in the Christian character traits described in verses 5-7? Then,
you have the big picture in mind. You see what God has done for you and you
desire to be part of His eternal plan. A lack of growth, though, is caused by a
narrow focus on this world and on what you can gain from it. See James 1:22-25
5. What will be another result of growing godliness—assurance of salvation
(1:10-11)
"Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and
election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will
receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ."
Thought Question: What is there in these verses that
motivates you to grow as a Christian?
As we have seen in verses 4-9, God has "given us everything we need for life
and godliness." (1:3a) How do we know, though, that this is true? We can
simply trust that what God says in the Bible is true even though there is no
evidence that it is true. But the lack of evidence will gnaw at us, especially since
we have an enemy who will use the lack of evidence to fan the flame of doubt in
our souls.
Peter gives us God's solution; we appropriate the "life and godliness" that is in us
by eagerly seeking to grow in this "life and godliness." In fact, Peter does not
give us the option to not do this. "Be all the more eager" is an imperative. It is
imperative that we eagerly seek after this "life and godliness" that God has
graciously made available to us at great cost to Him.
Peter addresses them as "my brothers." So, he is speaking to Christians who
have been chosen by God to be His children. Nevertheless, their growth in
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"godliness" through diligently pursuing after God's life in them will provide them
with the evidence and encouragement that they are God's children. They were not
to be like those who had become "nearsighted and blind." Instead, he presses
on them that they should eagerly seek to grow so that this growth in God's type of
life will give them confidence that they are God's children.
"to make your calling and election sure." The Greek word translated "to
make" "is in the present middle, 'to be making for yourselves.' The middle voice
points to their own interest in the matter, while the present tense suggests this is a
lifelong responsibility." "Taken from II Peter and Jude by D. Edmund Hiebert.
Copyright 1989 by BJU Press." Our seeking after God's life will confirm God's
calling of us or our lack of seeking after God's life will cause us to be concerned
about whether or not God has called us.
"calling and election" The Bible is clear that both God chose us and we choose
Him. But, God's "calling and election" of us eternally preceded our choosing of
Him. "For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the
likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those
he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified,
he also glorified." (Romans 8:29-30) We now choose God because He in eternity
chose us. Does that mean that those who were not chosen by God have no choice
but to be damned to an eternity in hell? This conclusion does not fit God's own
description of Himself given to us in the Bible. What the Bible teaches about our
choices and God's choices leave some questions for us that will only be resolved in
heaven. Making one's "calling and election sure" is an appeal that goes to the
heart of the paradox of God's election and man's responsibility to make choices.
"The New Testament characteristically makes room for both without attempting to
resolve the apparent antinomy. So here; election comes from God alone—but
man's behavior is proof or disproof of it." "Taken from The Second Epistle of
Peter and the Epistle of Jude by Michael Green. Copyright 1968 by Wm. B.
Eerdmans Publishing Company."
"Sure" speaks of confidence. Confidence is a vital part of the Christian life. We
need to be confident of God's love. Confidence in God's love for us is reinforced
when we love others with God's type of love. "Dear children, let us not love with
words or tongue but with actions and in truth. This then is how we know that we
belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our
hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.
Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God." (1
John 3:18-21) Then, we will have confidence in our prayers. "Dear friends, if our
hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him
anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him." (1
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John 3:21-22) Our growth in God's life provided to us by God will give us
confidence that we are His children. Our "calling and election" will be "sure."
"For if you do these things, you will never fall," Again, "do these things"
refers back to a life of continued growth in our lives of Christian and godly
character. If we "do these things," we "will never fall." He does not say that
we will never fail. The Bible is filled with the failings of God's people. "Peter's
aorist tense points to a stumbling that is final, a fall from which there no arising . .
. they will complete their journey to their destiny." "Taken from II Peter and Jude
by D. Edmund Hiebert. Copyright 1989 by BJU Press."
"and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord
and Savior Jesus Christ." What will it be like when this life as we now know it
ends and we are suddenly in the presence of "our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ"? This verse gives us some insight into what that day will be like. Let us
look at some of the individual words that Peter uses here to gain insight about
what that day will be like.
"and you will receive" The Greek word which is translated using these words
was also used by Peter in verse 5. It speaks of a man generously contributing to a
local stage event. What is before us on that day when our temporal world will be
replaced by the eternal world will be given to us out of the unlimited riches of
God's generosity to us.
"a rich welcome" In our society, this type of "rich welcome" is given to a
professional sports' team that has just won the world series, the Super Bowl, or the
NBA finals. You probably have seen or heard the exuberance in which the
members of that victorious team are received into the city they represent. Could
we be received into God's "eternal kingdom" in heaven in this way? I believe
that our entrance into Jesus' "eternal kingdom" will far dwarf the entrance of
these teams into their home cities. We have been part of a team that has been
fighting for higher stakes, and our victory is of infinitely greater significance than
winning a sports' championship. "I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be
enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the
riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints," (Ephesians 1:18) "in order that in
the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in
his kindness to us in Christ Jesus." (Ephesians 2:7)
"into the eternal kingdom" Not only will there be infinite riches ahead as we
gloriously receive our inheritance in Jesus Christ, but we will enjoy that
inheritance for an infinite amount of time—it is an "eternal kingdom"! "The
seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which
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said: 'The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his
Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever.'" (Revelation 11:15)
Jesus makes this kingdom available to us today for all who desire it: "your
kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." (Matthew 6:10) For
those of us who seek after His rule in our hearts today, we will also experience
with great joy His rule forever.
"of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." Jesus' kingdom will be experienced by
those who can agree with these words: "our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."
"That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart
that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." (Romans 10:9) Notice that
we become Christians by choosing through faith to come under Jesus' Lordship.
And then He becomes our "Savior." Jesus created us. See John 1:1-3,14;
Colossians 1:15-17; Hebrews 1:1-2 He also died to save us. For those who turn
from unbelief to belief in Him, He becomes our eternal Ruler and the One who
saves us from eternal judgment. We look forward with certainty and expectancy
to that day when we "will receive a rich welcome into" His "eternal kingdom."
HAVE WHOLESOME THINKING BY REMEMBERING THE
FOUNDATIONS OF OUR FAITH (1:12-21)
1. Why they needed to remember (1:12-15)
a. Why he wanted them to remember #1: they needed to refresh their
memory (1:12-13)
"So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and
are firmly established in the truth you now have. I think it is right to refresh
your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body,"
Thought Question: Why is repetition of God's truth an
important part of Christian ministry?
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We find here that what Peter has just written was not new to his readers. They
"are firmly established in the truth." Why, then, is he teaching them what they
already knew? Peter gives the answer here. They needed to be reminded of it. He
says, "I will always remind you of these things." Those who have a heart for
God like to have their "memory" refreshed.
Not everyone likes this type of preaching and teaching. Isaiah said his critics
sarcastically described his teaching in this way: "For it is: Do and do, do and do,
rule on rule, rule on rule; a little here, a little there." But the pattern found in the
Bible and the method of teaching encouraged in the Bible is teaching by repetition.
See Romans 15:15; Philippians 3:1; Jude 5
What did Peter want to "remind" them of? It is what he had just stated in verses
1:1-11—the life that God has made abundantly available to them plus their
responsibility to eagerly pursue this new life.
"always remind you" Peter has left a permanent reminder to us as he left a
permanent reminder to the readers of this letter. Early in my Christian life, I
memorized verses 3-11 of this chapter. As a result, I have repeated these words
many times in personal discipleship, teaching, preaching, and in writing. For me,
it has "always" been a reminder of the truths that Peter taught.
"even though you know them" "'You know' (eidostus, 'knowing') denotes
knowledge that is present to the mind, while the use of ginoskontes would have
suggested a knowledge grounded in personal experience." "Taken from II Peter
and Jude by D. Edmund Hiebert. Copyright 1989 by BJU Press. He quotes from
Thayer's Lexicon."
"as long as I live in the tent of this body," A "tent" is a temporary living place.
Peter tells us here that these bodies we live in are our temporary living places.
"Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building
from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. . . . For while we
are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be
unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may
be swallowed up by life." (2 Corinthians 5:1,4) While I am writing these words,
my 95 year-old father is living with us. It is apparent that his body is not the body
it once was. We can be glad that God will, for believers in Christ, replace this
body with a permanent place for us to live. "But our citizenship is in heaven. And
we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power
that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly
bodies so that they will be like his glorious body." (Philippians 3:20-21)
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"I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this
body," Peter would, to his dying day, continue to teach and preach God's truths to
Christ's followers. He would "remind," "refresh," rekindle, stir up, and awake
Christians to the truths of the Bible. It is so easy for us to forget, grow drowsy,
and be mesmerized by the world. We need today to follow Peter's pattern "as
long as" we "live in the tent of this body." Listen to Paul's last words to his
follower Timothy: "Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season;
correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction." (2
Timothy 4:2)
b. Why he wanted them to remember #2: because he would soon leave
them (1:14)
"because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has
made clear to me."
Thought Question: Peter was near his death and wanted the
truths given to him to continue to influence people after his
death; what do you want to continue after your death?
Putting "aside" the tent is Peter's figurative description of his upcoming death.
The words "soon put" "aside" "may indicate the time of his death as
approaching speedily of it may describe the manner of his death as swift, that is
violent." "Taken from II Peter and Jude by D. Edmund Hiebert. Copyright 1989
by BJU Press." Jesus predicted Peter's death would come violently. "'I tell you
the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you
wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else
will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.' Jesus said this to
indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him,
'Follow me!'" (John 21:18-19) See also John 13:36 Tradition tells us that Peter
died by crucifixion at the hands of Nero. "We have already several such
statements by Origen who says that 'at last, having arrived in Rome, he was
crucified head downwards, having himself requested that he might so suffer.' The
Chronicon of Eusebius (Armenian version) puts the martyrdom of Peter under
Nero the thirteenth year of Nero's reign (A.D. 67-8), the probable year also when
Paul was beheaded by Nero's orders." "Taken from Epochs' in the Life of Simon
Peter, p. 319, by A. T. Robertson. Copyright 1976 by Baker Book House."
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Peter remembered Jesus' words predicting that he would follow Jesus and die in a
similar way in which Jesus died, and his older age indicated that it was coming
soon. So, he had a sense of urgency that the teachings given to him by Jesus
would continue on after his death.
c. Why he wanted to be remembered #3: so they would remember what he
taught them after he departed (1:15)
"And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always
be able to remember these things."
Thought Question: How can you "make every effort" to
pass on what God has taught you to the next generation?
Peter, here, tells his reader something that is very important to him. The Lord
Jesus Christ Himself gave Peter this responsibility. "Take care of my sheep. . .
Feed my sheep." (John 21:16-17) It was very important to Peter that he "take
care" of Jesus' "sheep." But Peter knew that his life was near its end. He felt the
keen responsibility that they remember what he had taught them after he was gone.
Paul also felt this responsibility and had this same deep concern. In his last letter
to Timothy, he gave Timothy this responsibility. "And the things you have heard
me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be
qualified to teach others." (2 Timothy 2:2)
Peter's goal, as expressed here, is that there would never be a time when they
would not remember what he had taught them. "He desires that they 'over learn'
them [his teachings] so that they spring readily to mind." "Taken from II Peter and
Jude by D. Edmund Hiebert. Copyright 1989 by BJU Press."
Peter may be referring to further information here that he would make available to
them beyond I and II Peter. It is believed that the Gospel of Mark, though written
by Mark, was Mark's writing down of what Peter recounted to him about Jesus'
life and ministry. "There seems no doubt at all that Mark has reproduced in his
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Gospel the substance of the very language of Peter in his discourses. He heard
Peter preach many times and knew Peter's story of the life and work of Jesus. In
fact the rough outline of Mark's Gospel corresponds with the sketch of Peter's
discourse in the house of Cornelius as reported by Luke (Acts 10:34-43). The
statements of the early writers do not agree in the precise relation of Peter to
Mark's Gospel, though all affirm that he was the actual instigator of the work
either directly or indirectly." He lists early Christian leaders and their different
views of Peter's role in the writing of the Gospel of Mark. He personally believed
that Peter dictated what to write to Mark. "Taken from Epochs' in the Life of
Simon Peter, pp. 265-268 by A. T. Robertson. Copyright 1976 by Baker Book
House." The Gospel of Mark would help his readers to "always remember"
Jesus' teaching. Whatever Peter is referring to here, Peter's message is still being
remembered even today.
Each generation has the responsibility to pass the teaching of the New Testament
on to the next generation. We also should feel this keen responsibility to not let
our generation be the last generation to pass on the exact message of the New
Testament to those who will be here after we are gone. Peter describes the
Christian life as a life of diligence and as "making every effort." (1:5) Part of this
earnestness and diligence is that we "make every effort" to pass on the writings
and truths recorded by Peter and the other Biblical writers to those who will come
after us.
"after my departure" The Greek word translated "departure" is exodon from
with we get our word "exodus." As the nation of Israel departed (the exodus of
Israel recorded in the book of Exodus) from Egypt, so Peter would soon
experience his exodus from life in "the tent of his body." (1:13) So, it is also
certain that we will depart our body at some time in the future. Let us now use our
time fully for Jesus' purposes, just as Peter did.
2. What they needed to remember (1:16-21)
a. They needed to remember that Peter and two other apostles were
eyewitnesses of Jesus' majesty. (1:16-18)
"We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the
power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his
majesty. For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the
voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, 'This is my Son, whom I
love; with him I am well pleased.' We ourselves heard this voice that came
from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain."
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Thought Question: Why do you believe that Peter shares with
his readers what happened to him and two others on the
Mount of Transfiguration?"
"We did not follow cleverly invented stories" Through the years, many cults
and off-shoots of orthodox Christianity have started as a result of "cleverly
invented stories." Individuals have contrived stories often about some unique
experience that they have had that gives them instant credibility as a spokesperson
for God. Joseph's Smith's discovery of some golden plates is an example.
"Suddenly a heavenly personage wearing a white robe appeared: '[H]is whole
personage was glorious beyond description and his countenance truly like
lightning.' The messenger from the great beyond declared himself to be Moroni, a
resurrected and glorified servant of the Lord i.e., an angel). He announced that
God had a mission for Joseph [Smith]; one involving a book of golden plates that
chronicled the history of America's former inhabitants." "Taken from One Nation
under Gods p. 23 by Richard Arbances. Copyright 2002 by Four Walls Eight
Windows." What Joseph Smith reported to have happened to him and what was
on the plates was either accurate history or it was one of the "cleverly invented
stories." If it is one of the "cleverly invented stories," as the evidence
substantiates, then a major religious group is based on "cleverly invented
stories."
Much the false teaching that was a threat to the early church was based on myths
and fables. "As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so
that you may command certain men not to teach false doctrines any longer nor to
devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. These promote controversies
rather than God’s work—which is by faith." (I Timothy 1:3-4) "They will turn
their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths." (II Timothy 4:4) See Titus
1:14
"when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but
we were eyewitnesses of his majesty." In Matthew 17:1-8; Mark 9:2-8; and
Luke 9:28-36 are descriptions of what Peter is describing in this verse and the two
following verses. "After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the
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brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was
transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as
white as the light." (Matthew 17:1-2) At that time, they heard these words from
heaven. "While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice
from the cloud said, 'This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.
Listen to him!'" (Matthew 17:5)
Peter is stating that they did not contrive or make up what they taught, but they
were "eyewitnesses." The apostle John makes the same type of claim in I John
1:1-3: "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have
seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we
proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and
testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and
has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you
also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with
his Son, Jesus Christ."
"the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ," The Greek words for
"power and coming" are (1) dunamin from which we get our words "dynamite"
and "dynamic" and (2) parousia which speaks of the presence of Jesus Christ. The
two words describe what it will be like when Jesus returns. Right now, we do not
see the presence of Jesus in our midst. When He returns, we will see His presence
and experience His power. "At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear
in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of
Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory." (Matthew
24:30)
Peter, James, and John experienced Jesus' presence in great "power" on the
mount of transfiguration during their lifetime. "And he said to them, 'I tell you the
truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom
of God come with power.' After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with
him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was
transfigured before them. His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone
in the world could bleach them." (Mark 9:1-3)
"but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty." Peter, James, and John saw who
Jesus really is in His full glory. The book of Revelation is the unveiling of the
glory of Jesus Christ. When we usually think of Him, we think of Him as the man
described in the Gospels. But that is not who He was previously to Him becoming
a man and that is not who He is now. "And now, Father, glorify me in your
presence with the glory I had with you before the world began." (John 17:5) Peter
and the two other apostles were "eyewitnesses" of this glory as they stood on that
mountain many years ago.
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"For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came
to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, 'This is my Son, whom I love; with
him I am well pleased.'" See Isaiah 42:1-4 Jesus, even though He was
transfigured and the three apostles saw His glory, He was also further glorified by
the pronouncement of the Father. For the Father made it clear in His words to the
three apostles that stood before His glorious Son that the transfigured Jesus Christ
was also the glorified Son of God. God the Father Himself made that clear by His
words about His Son.
"'This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.'" There may have
been times in our life when someone we greatly respected said something good
about us to another or to others. It gives us a good feeling when we are affirmed
by someone. Here, Jesus is affirmed by God the Father. The Father could not
have been more affirming of His Son. The Father expresses a fullness of love for
His Son and His total agreement and delight in what His Son was doing. When
Jesus finished His task by dying on the cross, we see the response of the Father in
Philippians 2:9-11: "Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him
the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should
bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
"when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory," "While he was still
speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, 'This is
my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!'" (Matthew
17:5) We are reminded of the Shekinah glory that led and accompanied Israel in
the wilderness. "But the whole assembly talked about stoning them. Then the
glory of the Lord appeared at the Tent of Meeting to all the Israelites." (Numbers
14:10) See Ezekiel 1:4
"We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with
him on the sacred mountain." Before Peter's death, he desires to recount to his
readers his eyewitness account of what he and the others saw and heard on that
never to be forgotten day on that "sacred mountain."
It was a "sacred mountain" because when God chooses to reveal Himself in
some place, that place becomes a place set apart for His holy purposes. "Moses
said to the Lord, 'The people cannot come up Mount Sinai, because you yourself
warned us, “Put limits around the mountain and set it apart as holy.”'" (Exodus
19:23) "Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of
Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to Horeb, the
mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire
from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up.
32
So Moses thought, 'I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does
not burn up.' When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him
from within the bush, 'Moses! Moses!' And Moses said, 'Here I am.' 'Do not come
any closer,' God said. 'Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing
is holy ground.'" (Exodus 3:1-5) See Exodus 19:1-23; Joshua 5:15
"with him" We have three Gospel accounts by Matthew, Mark, and Luke that
state that Peter, James, and John were "with" Jesus on that mountain. Two or
three witnesses add to the truthfulness of what occurred on that mountain.
Matthew, Mark, and Luke believed the account by Peter, James, and John and
recorded it in their Gospels. They wrote them down as an accurate account of
what actually occurred that day. Peter's words here in this letter add further
corroboration that Peter and the others saw the glorified Jesus and heard the words
of the Father. See Matthew 3:16-17 and John 12:20-28 for other times when the
Father spoke to Jesus and the words were heard by others.
b. They needed to remember that the words of the former prophets were
made more certain by what Peter and the apostles saw on "the sacred
mountain." (1:19a)
"And we have the word of the prophets made more certain,"
Thought Question: How do you believe what Peter just
shared about the Mount of Transfiguration made "the world
the prophets" "more certain"?
What Peter appears to be saying is that the transfiguration of Jesus Christ viewed
by the three apostles strengthened in the mind of believers their faith in the words
"of the prophets" which predicted the coming of God's Son as a man. Here are
some of those prophecies: "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The
virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel."
(Isaiah 7:14) "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government
will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." (Isaiah 9:6) "'But you, Bethlehem
Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come
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for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from
ancient times.'" (Micah 5:2) See also Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22 All of these
predictions by the prophets were supported and greatly reinforced by what James,
Peter and John saw on that "sacred mountain."
c. They needed to remember the words of the prophets and Jesus' glory
until they see His glory themselves. (1:19b)
"and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark
place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts."
Thought Question: How, according to these verses, is God's
word like the "morning star"?
Peter provides his readers with God's guidelines on how we grow in wholesome
thinking (see 3:11) so that we will "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord
and Savior Jesus Christ." (3:18) God's way for us to reach His goals is for us "to
pay attention" to "the word of the prophets" and the fulfillment of "the word
of the prophets."
"you will do well" How can we "do well" in the Christian life? We are to focus
continually on the truth given to us by God through the "prophets" and the
apostles. "Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my
servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may
be successful wherever you go. Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your
mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything
written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful." (Joshua 1:7-8) "Oh,
how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long. Your commands make me wiser
than my enemies, for they are ever with me. I have more insight than all my
teachers, for I meditate on your statutes. I have more understanding than the
elders, for I obey your precepts. I have kept my feet from every evil path so that I
might obey your word. I have not departed from your laws, for you yourself have
taught me. How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my
mouth! I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every wrong
path. . . ." (Psalm 119:97-104) "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you
teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns
and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God." (Colossians 3:16)
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"as to a light shining in a dark place," We live in a dark world. It is darkened
by man's sinfulness and our choice of lies over the truth. "For although they knew
God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking
became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be
wise, they became fools." (Romans 1:21-22) "For our struggle is not against flesh
and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this
dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."
(Ephesians 6:12) See Matthew 5:14-16 John 1:3-9, 3:19-21, 8:12; Ephesians 5:814; I Thessalonians 5:4 The purpose of the writings of the Bible is to bring light
into a "dark" world. "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path."
(Psalm 119:105)
"until the day dawns" "The day" will dawn when there is an end to darkness.
That "day" will dawn just as our days begin with the light breaking forth as the
sun rises and the night comes to an end. Right now we remain in a "dark" world.
But "the day" is coming. "The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let
us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light." (Romans 13:12)
"and the morning star rises in your hearts." "The morning star, usually the
planet Venus (though it is sometimes another of the visible planets) reflects the
light of the sun still below the horizon and so heralds the coming day."
"Taken from II Peter and Jude by D. Edmund Hiebert. Copyright 1989 by BJU
Press."
"rises in your hearts." Before Jesus returns and the day replaces darkness
completely, the hope of His coming "rises in" our "hearts." Just as the
"morning star" precedes the coming of the sun to usher in the physical day, so
our hope for the return of Jesus based on the Scriptures ushers in the day when
spiritual darkness will be replaced by "day." "'I, Jesus, have sent my angel to
give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of
David, and the bright Morning Star.'" (Revelation 22:16) See Revelation 2:28
d. The needed to remember that the Scriptures were authored by God's
Spirit, not by men. (1:20-21)
"Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about
by the prophet’s own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the
will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy
Spirit."
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Thought Question #1: According to these verses, how was
the Bible written? (What was man's part and God's part? Did
God dictate His message to them or did He use their
personalities and experiences?)
Peter now explains why we should "pay attention" to the "word of the
prophets." It is because what they said did not come from their human and
limited resources. Here in these verses, Peter gives one of the clearest teachings in
the Bible about how God authored the Scriptures through the men that He chose.
"Above all, you must understand" Green puts it this way: "recognize this truth
to be of utmost importance." "Taken from The Second Epistle of Peter and the
Epistle of Jude by Michael Green. Copyright 1968 by Wm. B. Eerdmans
Publishing Company." One of the greatest issues in the church in the twentieth
century was over what is meant by the inspiration of the Bible. Is every word in
the Bible completely accurate and inspired by God or is it a product of primitive
men with their very limited and dated understanding. It is very important, says
Peter here, that we "understand" that the Bible did not come to us from men but
from God.
"that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own
interpretation." Hiebert calls this "the comprehensive negation." "Taken from II
Peter and Jude by D. Edmund Hiebert. Copyright 1989 by BJU Press." Peter
definitely makes a completely comprehensive statement. "No prophecy of
Scripture" came from a man's own ideas.
"the prophet’s own interpretation." The meaning of the Greek word translated
"interpretation" (epilusis) is "to unloose, untie, to explain what is obscure and
hard to understand." "Word Studies in the Greek New Testament by Kenneth
Wuest. Copyright 1973 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company." In Mark
4:34, Jesus used a form of this word as he explained the meaning of His parables.
He explained what was "hard to understand." In short, Peter is stating that "no
prophecy" came from man using his own mental resources to explain about God
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and His ways. Then, he goes on to tell us where "prophecy of Scripture" came
from.
"For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from
God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit." Peter states once more
what Hiebert calls the "comprehensive negation": "For prophecy never had its
origin in the will of man." Peter's repetition of the very point he made in verse
20 re-emphasizes and makes absolutely clear that the Bible did not come from
primitive man's minds or from their very limited mental abilities and the very
limited resources of their day. Instead, the Bible came from God's unlimited
mental abilities and His infinite resources. What Peter is stating here is of
monumental importance to the Christian of this century. If God is the primary
author the Bible, His infinite knowledge and wisdom is as relevant and essential
today as it was 2000 years ago. It is not a relative and dated message from men; it
is an eternally true and always relevant message from the infinite God to very
finite men and women of every century.
There are those who claim to be speaking from God, but are actually only
speaking from themselves. "This is what the Lord Almighty says: 'Do not listen to
what the prophets are prophesying to you; they fill you with false hopes. They
speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord.'" (Jeremiah
23:16) See also Jeremiah 23:16-17, 21-22, 25-26, 30-32; Ezekiel 13:3-6
"but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit."
Here, Peter gives us how the Bible came into being. Paul states this same truth in
I Corinthians 2:10-13: "but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit
searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the
thoughts of a man except the man’s spirit within him? In the same way no one
knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the
spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what
God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human
wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual
words." In 2:13, Paul states the God guided the writers of Scripture even in the
selection of the words that His prophets and apostles were to communicate to us:
"words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words."
Here in I Peter, Peter puts the same truth in another way: "men spoke from
God." Here we have a cooperation between God and man in the writing of the
Scriptures. God did not in most cases dictate His message to men. Instead, He
used their personalities, experience, and backgrounds; for it was "men" who
spoke—they were active in the process. But, "men" were not alone in this
process, for they "spoke from God."
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"they were carried along by the Holy Spirit." "'Borne along' ["carried
along"] (pheronenoi) involves a maritime metaphor, being carried along like a
ship before the wind (act 27:15,17)." "Taken from II Peter and Jude by D. Edmund
Hiebert. Copyright 1989 by BJU Press." Without God's Spirit leading,
empowering, revealing truth, and guiding the authors of the Bible in choosing the
correct words to use, these men would have been unable to give us God's divine
perspective and His infinite wisdom. Although they were actively and personally
involved in the writing of Scripture, the authoritative content of Scripture is
emphatically and certainly from God alone. "All Scripture is God-breathed and is
useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the
man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." (2 Timothy 3:1617)
HOW WE MAINTAIN WHOLESOME THINKING: BY REJECTING
FALSE TEACHERS AND FALSE TEACHINGS (2:1-22)
1. Their heresies (2:1)
"But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be
false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies,
even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift
destruction on themselves."
Thought Question: How can you recognize "false teachers"
today?
"False prophets" and "false teachers" are those who are able to so decorate
their lies that they seem like an acceptable and appealing alternative to the truth
taught in the Bible. Peter confidently predicts that just as there were "false
prophets" and "false teachers" in the time of the prophets who gave us the
Scriptures, so there will be "false prophets" and "false teachers" in every age.
See Deuteronomy 13:1-11, 18:19-22 for teaching on "false prophets" and "false
teachers" in the Old Testament.
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The Greek words for "false prophets" and "false teachers" puts "pseudo" before
the words for "prophets" and "teachers." They were and are pseudo-prophets
and pseudo-teachers.
They "secretly introduce" their false teachings. In other words, they camouflage
their lies by cleverly using the right words with an altered meaning. For example,
they may say Jesus is the Son of God, but what they mean by it does not mean
what the Bible says it means. He may be presented as a creation of God like Arius
taught in the early days of the church. And so, their "heresies" and lies
"secretly" make their way into our culture and even into our churches. Paul
describes how this type of thing happened in the Galatian church: "This matter
arose because some false brothers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom
we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves."
The word "secretly" is not found in the Greek, but implied by the word that can
be translated "bring in alongside of." They bring their teachings alongside of the
truth.
"destructive heresies" "The word 'heresy' (hairesis) from the verb haireomai, 'to
choose') primarily means 'a choosing,' and so, 'that which is chosen, an opinion,'
with the implication that it is a deliberate, self-chosen opinion, with the
implication that it is a deliberate, self-chosen opinion. The term readily came to
denote the group, or school, that fostered its own opinions, a sect." "Taken from II
Peter and Jude by D. Edmund Hiebert. Copyright 1989 by BJU Press." God's
truth builds us up; the lies of the "false teachers" tear people down. Their
teachings take away life; whereas, the Scriptures are life-giving.
"even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them" These words clearly
teach that Jesus died for the sins of the whole world. "He is the atoning sacrifice
for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world." (1
John 2:2) But, any person can choose to do what these false teachers chose to do:
they can deny "the sovereign Lord who bought them."
Years ago, it worked out that two other Christians and myself were able to attend a
Jehovah Witnesses' training meeting. They were trying to win back a young man
who had just left them after praying to become a Christian. They asked him to
come to this meeting. He said he would only go if we went with him. It ended up
being a Christ-empowered opportunity to refute what was being taught. Yet, it
was done in a friendly way. Afterwards, I talked to their leader. I was shocked
and astounded as I realized that he understood the Bible and salvation as well as I
understood it. Yet, he denied "the sovereign Lord who bought" him.
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"bringing swift destruction on themselves." The teaching of the "false
teachers" is destructive and it leads ultimately to their own destruction. "'Swift'
(tachinen; . . .) here seems clearly to denote 'sudden, although not necessarily
'soon.'" "Taken from II Peter and Jude by D. Edmund Hiebert. Copyright 1989 by
BJU Press." These "false teachers"' future hope from God is not for reward, but
for sudden judgment when they come face to face with the One they have rejected.
See Matthew 7:13; Philippians 1:28; Hebrew 10:39; Revelation 17:8 where the
same Greek word for "destruction" is used.
There is no question that these "false teachers" who were "bought" by Christ
were never Christians, for they are headed not toward glory, but toward
"destruction." This verse refutes the Calvinists' teaching of limited atonement—
that Jesus died only for the elect. The Father gave His Son to die for the whole
world. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that
whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)
But those, like these "false teachers," who reject what Jesus has done for them
will never receive the eternal benefits of what He did for them. Instead, they will
receive the judgment that they deserve (and the judgment that we deserve and
would have received if we had not chosen to receive Christ as our Lord and
Savior). "He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.
Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right
to become children of God." (John 1:11-12)
2. Their shame (2:2)
"Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into
disrepute."
Thought Question: Give examples of those who have brought
"the way of truth into disrepute."
"Many will follow their shameful ways"
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"False teachers" often tell people that what the Bible clearly prohibits is okay.
As a result, "many will follow their shameful ways." For example, a religion
that teaches that sex outside of marriage is okay will gain many followers. If that
group calls themselves Christians, they "will bring the way of truth into
disrepute."
"Shameful" is a translation of the Greek word aselgeia: "'unbridled lust, excess,
licentiousness, lasciviousness, wantonness, outrageousness, shamelessness,
insolence.' The term does not refer to the heresies of the false teacher, but to their
immoral lives." "Word Studies in the Greek New Testament by Kenneth Wuest.
Copyright 1973 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company."
"The word aselgeia which describes the attitude of the man who is lost to shame
and cares for the judgment of neither God nor man." Taken from The Letters of
James and Peter by William Barclay. Copyright 1976 by The Westminster Press."
"False teachers" have become hardened in their consciences and can do wrong
without feeling bad about what they are doing. "For certain men whose
condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you.
They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for
immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord." (Jude 4)
"the way of truth" See Psalm 119:30 The Christian life is "a way of life in
harmony with the truth." If the Bible says that a certain practice is sinful, that is
the truth. Christians, then, are to choose to live according to this truth and are not
to do this sin. The "false teachers" chose to ignore this truth and to do what God
clearly prohibits.
"into disrepute" is a translation of the Greek word from which we get our word
"blaspheme." Christianity is blasphemed because of the blatant sinfulness and
immorality of the followers of these "false teachers."
3. Their greed (2:3a)
"In their greed these teachers will exploit you"
Thought Question: Give examples, if you can, of "false
teachers" in the past or in the present who have used or use
the ministry to "exploit" people out of their own greed.
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They are in it for the money. Secular news agencies often expose the corruption
of "false teachers." One television preacher said that if his listeners contributed
to his ministry and shared a prayer need, he would pray over each letter. A
television exposé program revealed that these letters never even reached the city
where he was located. The letters were opened in another city, the money was
removed, and the prayer needs were thrown into the garbage. This type of
hardened greed is characteristic of false teachers.
4. Their false stories (2:3b)
". . . will exploit you with stories they have made up."
Thought Question: Give examples, if you can, where "false
teachers," have made up stories to impress their audiences?
"False teachers" do not seek to come up with stories to help people to understand
God's truth and to help them with their needs; instead, they develop stories that
will enable them to get people's money. How much of what the television
preachers and others say about visions from God is actually a total lie? We do not
know, only God knows for sure; but sometimes they are caught in obvious
deception. For example, non-Christian skeptics uncovered one couple of
television preachers knowingly deceiving their audience. The husband said he
was getting revelations from God about personal details of people in the television
studio audience. But the investigators discovered that the wife was transmitting
this information to her husband by radio which he received in a hearing device
hidden in his ear. On the exposé show, they played the radio transmission that the
husband was hearing as he was saying that he was getting the information by
revelation from God. This example of clear fraud brought "the way of truth into
disrepute."
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5. Their fate (2:3b-10a)
". . . Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their
destruction has not been sleeping. For if God did not spare angels when they
sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held
for judgment; if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood
on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and
seven others; if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning
them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the
ungodly; and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the
filthy lives of lawless men (for that righteous man, living among them day
after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and
heard)— if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from
trials and to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment, while continuing
their punishment. This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt
desire of the sinful nature and despise authority. . . ."
Thought Question: According to these verses, how can we be
sure that "false teachers" will be judged severely for their
greedy and deceptive practices?
"Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction
has not been sleeping." We can conclude when we see "false teachers"
apparently benefiting from their lies by gaining large followings and by amassing
personal fortunes that God is not going to do anything about their treachery. But,
here in II Peter, Peter makes it clear that they already stand under God's judgment.
Their judgment "has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has
not been sleeping." Although God may appear not to be doing anything, He is
their Judge right now and they will with total certainty face His wrath one day.
"But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up
wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment
will be revealed. God 'will give to each person according to what he has done.'"
(Romans 2:5-6)
Verses 4-8 are one long conditional statement beginning with a chain of "if"s.
Then, in 9-10, Peter gives the conclusion that will result "if" these conditional
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statements are true. Since they are all true, what Peter states in 9-10 will occur!
"if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to
hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment, while continuing their
punishment. This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of
the sinful nature and despise authority. . . ."
Now, we will look at the "if" statements. "For if God did not spare angels
when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons
to be held for judgment;" These verses and the verses following are similar to
Jude 5-7. For example, this verse is similar to Jude 6. "And the angels who did
not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home—these he has
kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day."
The "false teachers" of Peter's time had not yet experienced their sure judgment.
But, just as certain as these "angels" are now in "gloomy dungeons" waiting for
their final "judgment," so these "false teachers" will be judged.
When did these "angels" sin? "The most likely option . . . seems to be that the
wicked angels noted in 2 Peter 1:4 were a part of the original group who fell with
Satan, but who then committed some subsequent sin—a sin so heinous that it
necessitated a more severe judgment then what already had befallen them. Peter
does not tell us what sin the angels committed." "Taken from Swindoll's New
Testament Insights on James, 1 & 2 Peter by Charles Swindoll. Copyright 2010
by Zondervan."
It is likely that the sin described in Genesis 6:2 is the sin that these angels
committed: "the sons of God [fallen angels] saw that the daughters of men were
beautiful, and they married any of them they chose." (Genesis 6:2) As Jude says,
they were angels "who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned
their own home—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for
judgment on the great Day." See also I Peter 3:19-20a
"For if God did not spare angels when they sinned," Peter's point is that if
even the "angels" of God did not get by with their sin, how can these "false
teachers" get by with their sin?
"but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for
judgment;" These angels were judged very severely. "Sent them to hell" is the
Greek tartarosas. It means that they were sent to "tartarus." "Tartarus" was a
familiar word to the Greeks. "The Greeks thought of tartarus as a 'subterranean
place lower than Hades where divine punishment is meted out.'" "Taken from II
Peter and Jude by D. Edmund Hiebert. Copyright 1989 by BJU Press. He quotes
Arndt and Gingrich' Greek-English Lexicon."
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From these verses, Luke 8:31, and Revelation 9:1, we learn that some angels are
put into a place of more severe isolation than other fallen angels. "And they
begged him repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss." (Luke 8:31) These
fallen angels will be temporarily released from the Abyss to torment the world as
part of God's judgment on the world in the very last days. "The fifth angel
sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth. The
star was given the key to the shaft of the Abyss. When he opened the Abyss,
smoke rose from it like the smoke from a gigantic furnace. The sun and sky were
darkened by the smoke from the Abyss. And out of the smoke locusts came down
upon the earth and were given power like that of scorpions of the earth."
(Revelation 9:1-3) This place of judgment is similar to the isolation cells in our
prisons that keep our worst criminal from the rest of those serving sentences.
"putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment;" The Greek
word that is translated "dungeons" could be either "dungeons" or "chains." The
difference between the two is one letter. Ancient manuscripts have both. Since
either possibility is found in the Bible (pit or Abyss in the verses just quoted and
"chains" in Jude 6), it is not a major concern. The NIV uses "dungeons" and puts
the possibility of "chains' in a note.
Peter's conclusion is that as God has dealt severely even with the "angels" who
rebelled against God and committed heinous sins, He most certainly will deal with
these false teachers. What Peter states here is a very important part of our faith in
God. We can be overwhelmed by the blatant sin of others if we are not confident
that God is always on top of the situation. Peter's conclusion is the following:
these "false teachers" will soon learn who it is that they are dealing with—the
same One who dealt justly and strongly with the "angels" who "sinned."
"if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its
ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven
others;" Peter brings out two certainties in verses 4-10: 1) the certainty that God
will judge the wicked and 2) the certainty that God will rescue the righteous. In
these verses, Peter recalls God's judgment on the wicked world of Noah's time
using a world-wide flood. See 3:6, Genesis 6-8, I Peter 3:20 But, here, Peter also
focuses on the rescue from judgment by God of Noah and his family.
Noah demonstrated his righteousness by being "a preacher of righteousness."
This is the only place in the Bible that states that Noah was a spokesman for God
to the people of his time. We do learn in Genesis 6:8-9 that Noah was a righteous
man. "But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. This is the account of Noah.
Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked
with God."
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Peter's point to his readers and to us is that Noah and his family were rescued by
God. So, will God be on our side and rescue us if we follow in Noah's footsteps.
Paul made the same observation at the end of his life, as he looked back on his
life. "But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the
message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was
delivered from the lion’s mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack
and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and
ever. Amen." (2 Timothy 4:17-18)
"if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to
ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly;
and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the filthy lives
of lawless men (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was
tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)"
In Genesis 18:20-21, God says these words to Abraham about the sinfulness of
Sodom and Gomorrah: "Then the Lord said, 'The outcry against Sodom and
Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous that I will go down and see if what
they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. . . .'" We are given an
example of the moral degeneration and the sin of these two cities when two angels
visited Sodom and the men of the city and "called to Lot, 'Where are the men who
came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them.'"
(Genesis 19:5) As a result of the sin in these cities being so great, God brought
down His judgment on them. "Then the Lord rained down burning sulfur on
Sodom and Gomorrah—from the Lord out of the heavens. Thus he overthrew
those cities and the entire plain, including all those living in the cities—and also
the vegetation in the land." (Genesis 19:24-25) God burnt "them to ashes."
"and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly"
Throughout history, "Sodom and Gomorrah" has been remembered as what a
society does not want to be like. That is, until recently. Our country is proudly
becoming sexually liberated, and sexual perversions are becoming more
acceptable. We, as a country, are taking the down escalator once more toward
"Sodom and Gomarrah." We are forgetting the "example" that God has given
to us. As Billy Graham once said of our country: "If God does not judge us, He
will need to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah." See Zephaniah 2:9
"and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the filthy lives
of lawless men" Lot was "distressed" by the sinfulness in "Sodom." This
should be true of every Christian in our world today. As our country sinks deeper
into the mire of immorality, can we watch and not be "distressed"? "The present
passive implies that their evil lives continued to be a burdensome weight upon him
personally . . . 'Our great security against sin lies in being shocked by it.'" "Taken
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from II Peter and Jude by D. Edmund Hiebert. Copyright 1989 by BJU Press. He
quotes Newman."
"(for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in
his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)" We see here that
living day after day in the sinful city of "Sodom" was not something that Lot had
grown personally accustomed to. Rather, it brought great pain to him
psychologically. He was "tormented" by it.
We have heard that a frog put into a pot of water on the stove will not jump out if
the heat slowly rises in temperature. Whether this is true or not is questioned, but
it does illustrate what can happen when immorality increases slowly in our society
without us realizing that we are beginning to accept what previously was
unacceptable to us. Lot should have moved out of "Sodom" sooner than he did.
He even needed to be taken out of Sodom by the angels who visited him there.
"When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his
two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the Lord was merciful to
them." (Genesis 19:16) In spite of his hesitancy, God rescued Lot from the
judgment on "Sodom and Gomorrah." What God did for Lot is meant by Peter
to give us hope that He will also judge the wicked and rescue us. May we, like
Lot, be "distressed" at the immorality in our society. "Flee the evil desires of
youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call
on the Lord out of a pure heart." (2 Timothy 2:22)
"if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to
hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment, while continuing their
punishment." In verses 4-8, Peter gives a chain of conditional statements: "if . . .
if . . . if . . . " Now, Peter gives what is true "if" all of these are true—and they
are. "If this is so, then . . ." What is Peter's conclusion? He makes two
conclusions: 1) "the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials" and 2)
He knows how "to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment, while
continuing their punishment."
"the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials." We desire to be those
that God rescues from trials. Since we are all so unlike God, we can see ourselves
as being more ungodly than "godly." We can find it hard to put ourselves in the
"godly" class. But, the Bible reveals sinful weaknesses in Lot also. He chose the
region of "Sodom" because it was more fertile and he did not mind that Abraham
received the less fertile land. See Genesis 13:5-13 He had other signs of weakness
and fallenness also. See Genesis 19:4-8, 30-33 But in spite of his weaknesses, he
is described as being "godly" by Peter.
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The Greek word translated "godly" here is eusebeis: "from eu, well and sebomai,
to be devout, denotes that piety which, characterized by a Godward attitude, does
that which is well-pleasing to Him." "Taken from Expository Dictionary of New
Testament Words by W. E. Vine. Copyright 1940 by Fleming H. Revell
Company." The "godly" are "those governed by a reverence toward God which
manifested itself in daily conduct." "Taken from II Peter and Jude by D. Edmund
Hiebert. Copyright 1989 by BJU Press." In our day, the godly are those who have
put their faith in Jesus' death on the cross for their sin, who seek to obey Him, and
who confess their sins to Him and others. See I John 1:5-2:11 If this describes
you and me, we are in the category of the "godly" and will be "rescued from
trials."
"from trials" "Note that God rescues 'out of' ["from"] (ek), not 'away from'
(apo) trials. Christianity is no insurance policy against the trials of life. God
allows them to befall the Christian; He meets us in them and delivers us out of
them." "Taken from The Second Epistle of Peter and the Epistle of Jude by
Michael Green. Copyright 1968 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company."
"and to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment," It is clear that the
"godly" are not rescued immediately from their trials. Joseph became, in the end,
the number two person of authority in all of Egypt. But, previously to that time he
languished in slavery and in prison. Also, it is clear that the "unrighteous" are
not punished immediately for their sins. But this verse makes it clear that their
punishment is certain. Even in the time between their wicked defiance of God and
their final judgment, they are being punished. Sin itself produces its consequences
on the sinner. "The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the
godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness."
(Romans 1:18) There are punishments that occur in this life. Prisons are filled
with those receiving governmental consequences for their sins. Also, previously
to the final judgment, there is punishment going on right now for the wicked. See
Luke 16:19-24
"This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the sinful
nature and despise authority." Here, Peter describes those who are
"especially" certain to face God's judgment. They are those "who follow the
corrupt desire of the sinful nature." "The root evil of the lust-dominated life is
that it proceeds on the assumption that nothing matters but the gratification of its
own desires and the expression of its own feelings." "Taken from The Letters of
James and Peter by William Barclay. Copyright 1976 by The Westminster Press."
Those who will receive God's severe and certain judgment are those who are
making lustful pleasure the primary goal in their lives. We learn of the earthly
consequences of these lifestyles as we learn of the fall of some once idolized
person. They go from those most envied persons in our society to those most
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despised or most pitied. They made pleasure their god rather than God. See II
Timothy 3:1-2; Jude 7
"and despise authority" We see this in the attitude of those in society who hate
the Bible, God, and what He requires of us. They want to remove any mention of
God in our world. Ultimately, they "despise" the "authority" of God in their
lives or in anyone's life.
6. Their bold blasphemy (2:10b-12)
"Bold and arrogant, these men are not afraid to slander celestial beings; yet
even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful, do not bring
slanderous accusations against such beings in the presence of the Lord. But
these men blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like brute
beasts, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like
beasts they too will perish."
Thought Question: How can what Peter prohibits here be
done today?
"Bold and arrogant, these men are not afraid to slander celestial beings;"
What is described here is the very opposite of what a Christian is to be like. We
are to be humble, God-fearing servants who are willing to submit to one another.
See 3:8-9; Ephesians 4:2, 5:21 Instead, "false teachers" are fearless before God,
defiant before authorities, and obstinate in their self-will. According to this verse,
the "false teachers" of Peter's time blasphemed and reviled "celestial beings."
The Greek word translated "celestial beings" is doxas which speaks of "glories."
There is some uncertainty as to whether Peter is referring to angels or to some type
of leaders (in the church or to civil leaders). Since Peter goes on to speak of
angels in verse 12 and Jude speaks of "false teachers" being arrogant toward
angels, there is some warrant for the view that Peter is speaking here of angels.
"In the very same way, these dreamers pollute their own bodies, reject authority
and slander celestial beings. But even the archangel Michael, when he was
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disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not dare to bring a
slanderous accusation against him, but said, 'The Lord rebuke you!'" (Jude 8-9)
Whatever Peter meant by doxas or "glories," he certainly meant that these "false
teachers" were arrogant before those they should have been humble before. To
be a "false teacher," a person needs to be defiant before God. "False teachers"
know that their teachings are not what God wants them to teach, so they need to
have hardened their consciences before they can boldly teach their lies. This
hardened boldness becomes characteristic of them.
"yet even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful, do not bring
slanderous accusations against such beings in the presence of the Lord."
"Angels," who are superior to these "false teachers" in every way are humble
and careful in what they say about those "angels" the "false teachers" are
blaspheming. Jude gives the following example of their humility and careful
choice of words in Jude 9: "But even the archangel Michael, when he was
disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not dare to bring a
slanderous accusation against him, but said, 'The Lord rebuke you!'"
"But these men blaspheme in matters they do not understand." These words
of Peter should caution us to acknowledge that God and His ways are beyond our
ability to understand. One brash young preacher was told by an older man that he
appeared to believe that he knew more than God. A mother told a teenage
daughter: "I wish I knew as much as you think you know." "False teachers" are
brash in this way about matters that are far beyond them. Romans 11:33-36
describes the attitude that we should have. "Oh, the depth of the riches of the
wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths
beyond tracing out! 'Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his
counselor?' 'Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?' For from
him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever!
Amen."
"They are like brute beasts, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and
destroyed," God made us in His image: "So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." (Genesis
1:27) Yet, when we choose "to follow the corrupt desire of the flesh" (2:10)
and our conscience ceases to be our guide, the flesh rules and we become like
beasts seeking only after fleshly and prideful indulgence.
"born only to be caught and destroyed, and like beasts they too will perish."
We treat animals much differently than we treat people. Many animals are killed
and eaten. Other animals are killed because they are a threat to human life. We
do not treat people in that way. But, we do take the life of those who act like
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beasts and murder others. These "false teachers" had lowered themselves until
they were no different from beasts. They were destroying themselves and others.
Ultimately, God would give them the judgment that they deserved.
7. Their punishment (2:13a)
"They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done."
There is a saying in our society that is similar to what Peter says here: "What goes
around comes around." Even in our secular society there is a realization that those
who do evil do not get by with it. God's word emphatically states that this is the
case. "He who digs a hole and scoops it out falls into the pit he has made. The
trouble he causes recoils on himself; his violence comes down on his own head."
(Psalm 7:15-16) "My son, if sinners entice you, do not give in to them. If they
say, 'Come along with us; let’s lie in wait for someone’s blood, let’s waylay some
harmless soul; let’s swallow them alive, like the grave, and whole, like those who
go down to the pit; we will get all sorts of valuable things and fill our houses with
plunder; throw in your lot with us, and we will share a common purse'— my son,
do not go along with them, do not set foot on their paths; for their feet rush into
sin, they are swift to shed blood. How useless to spread a net in full view of all the
birds! These men lie in wait for their own blood; they waylay only themselves!
Such is the end of all who go after ill-gotten gain; it takes away the lives of those
who get it." (Proverbs 1:10-19) See Proverbs 1:32, 5:22
8. Their continual sins (2:13b-21)
a. They are lovers of sinful pleasure. (2:13b-14)
"Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight. They are blots and
blemishes, reveling in their pleasures while they feast with you. With eyes full
of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce the unstable; they are
experts in greed—an accursed brood!"
Thought Question: How can someone get to this horrible
state?
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"Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight." The Greek word
translated "pleasure" is hedonen. We get our word "hedonist" from it.
"Hedonism" is the belief that seeking "pleasure" is the principle good." "Webster's
Dictionary." These "false teachers" were hedonists in the very worst sense.
They were hardened to the point that they were not ashamed and did not care if
everyone saw them doing it—they did it in "broad daylight." Typically,
pleasure-seeking is done at night: "For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those
who get drunk, get drunk at night." (1 Thessalonians 5:7)
Some time ago, I heard a false teacher, who taught that God wants all His people
to be wealthy, bragging on television about his airplanes and his wealth. Since his
wealth came from the giving of the people who watched him on television, it
seemed that he would want to keep people from knowing how much their giving
had enriched him. Instead, he believed that he had so brainwashed his viewers
that he could brag about his wealth. The false teachers of Peter's time appear to
have brainwashed their followers into believing that unbridled pleasure-seeking
was a pure and good pursuit that they could pursue wholeheartedly without a
twinge of conscience. I am aware of one cult today in which sexual pleasure
outside of marriage was considered a pure pleasure.
"They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their pleasures while they feast
with you." This verse sounds very similar to Jude 12: "These men are blemishes
at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm—shepherds who
feed only themselves. They are clouds without rain, blown along by the wind;
autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted—twice dead." The "love feasts" of
Christians at that time were meant to be celebration of God's love for them and
their caring love for each other. These false teachers appear to have participated
in these feasts, but their selfish pleasure-seeking did not at all fit in with what was
supposed to be the spirit of these occasions. See I Corinthians 11:20-22 They
were like stains on a new pair of pants, a dent in a brand new car, or acne on a
beautiful face. But, they were stains and "blemishes" on God's church.
"reveling in their pleasures while they feast with you." Due to differences in
ancient manuscripts, there is uncertainty about the words that were in the original
text. Bible scholars seek to discover what the original was by comparing ancient
manuscripts. Most often the manuscripts agree. But, on occasion, there are
differences in the ancient manuscripts. The normal approach is to trust that the
oldest manuscripts represent what was in the original—changes normally were
made in later manuscripts. Here, what the original words were is not certain.
"The reading 'in their deceivings' (en tais apatais auton) is beset with textual
uncertainty. Two readings, remarkably similar in spelling and sound, occur:
apatais ("deceivings") and agapais (love feasts). The former has stronger textual
support and is generally accepted today as the original reading." "Taken from II
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Peter and Jude by D. Edmund Hiebert. Copyright 1989 by BJU Press." The NIV
also translates apatais as "pleasures" rather than "deceptions" as it is in the
NASV. The NIV does translate this same word as "deceitful" and "deception" in
Ephesians 4:22 and Colossian 2:8. In short, "reveling in their deceit" has the
strongest support as being Peter's original meaning.
These "false teachers" enjoyed the fact that they were successful in
masquerading as Christians even when they knew that their goals were to use
Christians for their selfish purposes. Within Christianity today, there are wolves
in sheep's clothing who look and talk like us, whose real purpose is to devour and
feed off of us.
"With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce the
unstable;—an accursed brood!" These "false teachers" are seeking after the
very opposite of what we are to seek. When they look on a woman, the Greek
says here that they see a potential adulteress. "Alford and Robertson translate,
'having eyes full of an adulteress." "Word Studies in the Greek New Testament by
Kenneth Wuest. Copyright 1973 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company."
Does this happen in our society today? Tragically, there are men like them today.
These "false teachers" were not pursuing purity, but were primarily seeking what
would selfishly bring them pleasure—even if it was impure and sinful pleasure.
"they never stop sinning;" They were consumed with pursuing sin. "Jesus
replied, 'I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.'" (John 8:34)
When sin is chosen, it leads to slavery to sin—"slavery to impurity and everincreasing wickedness." (Romans 6:19)
"they seduce the unstable;" "False teachers" know what people want rather
than what they need. They use what people want as lures to "seduce" them
toward their teachings and ultimately to gain them money and gain them other
selfish and prideful goals. "False teachers" hook people with their bait and reel
them in. They reel in the "unstable" who are easily fooled by the false teacher's
clever tactics. As a fisherman, Peter would have been well aware the fisherman's
methods of catching fish. See James 1:13-15
"they are experts in greed" The Greek word translated "experts" is from
gumnazo; the core word from which we get our word "gymnasium." They have
trained themselves until they have become "experts in greed." In our society,
there are those have become expert con man. They, for example, will call the
elderly and convince them they can help their family out by investing their money
in a company that will quickly multiply their savings. These con artists improve
in their ability to fool people so that they get rich quickly and the people they
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deceive lose their precious savings. "False teachers" also are those who become
experts in deception.
"an accursed brood!" Their deliberate choosing of a life where they would gain
personally by deceiving and fleecing God's people, and their continued choosing
of this type of sin can only lead to God's ultimate curse. "Many will be purified,
made spotless and refined, but the wicked will continue to be wicked. None of the
wicked will understand, but those who are wise will understand." (Daniel 12:10)
"'Again, when a righteous man turns from his righteousness and does evil, and I
put a stumbling block before him, he will die. Since you did not warn him, he will
die for his sin. The righteous things he did will not be remembered, and I will hold
you accountable for his blood." (Ezekiel 3:20) "Let him who does wrong continue
to do wrong; let him who is vile continue to be vile." (Revelation 22:11) Those
who deliberately choose evil are heading toward a horrible fate before God. When
he judges them, they will experience his curse! "Then he will say to those on his
left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the
devil and his angels.'" (Matthew 25:41)
b. They have left God's ways as Balaam did. (2:15-16)
"They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of
Balaam son of Beor, who loved the wages of wickedness. But he was rebuked
for his wrongdoing by a donkey—a beast without speech—who spoke with a
man’s voice and restrained the prophet’s madness."
Thought Question: What was "the way of Balaam" and how
is it like the way of the "false teachers"?
Jesus said: I am the way . . ." (John 14:6) He described His "way" as "narrow."
"But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find
it." (Matthew 7:14) Peter has just described the Christian as a follower of "the
way of truth." (2:2) We are either eagerly seeking to stay on Jesus' narrow road of
truth and life or we have, as it says in Hebrews 2:1, begun to drift away: "We
must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do
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not drift away." (Hebrews 2:1) The "false teachers" had "left the straight way
and wandered off." See Acts 13:10
"to follow the way of Balaam son of Beor, who loved the wages of
wickedness." "Balaam" was a man who lived during the early days of the nation
of Israel. Because of the evil he did to the nation of Israel for money, he came to
represent to later Israelites a picture of a wicked man and a false prophet.
Here is how I described him in Digging for Gold in Jude. "Balaam was a pagan
sorcerer. He was similar to our fortune tellers. See Numbers 24:1 He was hired
by king Balak of Moab to curse Israel. But when God made it clear to "Balaam"
that He would not allow him to curse Israel, but that he would instead need to
bless Israel; "Balaam" offered another way that king could go about getting Israel
to be cursed. "Balaam" suggested that Israel could be drawn away from God and
into God's curse by using Moabite and Midianite women to seduce them into
sexual immorality. See Numbers 25, 31:8,16 (Balak, a Midianite, united with the
Midianites in a war against Israel. See Numbers 22:4,7) The "false teachers" of
Jude's [and Peter's time] and of our time were and are also greedy men like
Balaam, who are always seeking a way to lead people away from God." See
Numbers 22-24; I Corinthians 10:8; Revelation 2:14
"But he was rebuked for his wrongdoing by a donkey—a beast without
speech—who spoke with a man’s voice and restrained the prophet’s
madness." Peter's point appears to be that "Balaam" was rebuked by an animal;
and if even an animal was used by God to rebuke him, certainly the false teachers
stand rebuked by God. See Numbers 22:21-35
Peter's words show that Peter believed that the miraculous event described in
Numbers 22 did occur. An animal incapable of speaking spoke to "Balaam" and
was used by God to reveal to "Balaam" that he was not a man who followed the
way of God from the heart. As we see in the book of Numbers, he reluctantly
obeyed God, but ultimately found a way to go against God and to lure the people
Israel away from God. See Numbers 31:16 Balaam died when God punished him
and the Midianites for their sin. See Numbers 31:8
"and restrained the prophet’s madness." God used the donkey's words to
prevent "Balaam" from wholeheartedly pursuing his greedy goal of cursing Israel
for money. What happened with the "donkey" and the presence of the Angel of
the Lord in his path certainly put the fear of the Lord in him. The "donkey" saw
the Angel of the Lord in their path and stopped. "Balaam" did not see the Angel
of the Lord and beat his "donkey." "Then the Lord opened the donkey’s mouth,
and she said to Balaam, 'What have I done to you to make you beat me these three
times?' Balaam answered the donkey, 'You have made a fool of me! If I had a
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sword in my hand, I would kill you right now.' The donkey said to Balaam, 'Am I
not your own donkey, which you have always ridden, to this day? Have I been in
the habit of doing this to you?' 'No,' he said. Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes,
and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with his sword drawn. So he
bowed low and fell facedown." (Numbers 22:28-31)
When "Balaam" reached King Balak of the Midianites, he did not curse Israel as
Balak wanted him to, but blessed Israel. Nevertheless, "Balaam" found a way for
Israel to be cursed. See Numbers 25, 31:16
c. They are full of emptiness. (2:17)
"These men are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest
darkness is reserved for them."
Thought Question: How do you believe these symbols of
"springs without water" and "mists driven by a storm" are
like the "false teachers"?
"These men are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest
darkness is reserved for them." Suppose that you were out hiking and you had
already drunk your water canteen dry. You were encouraged, though, because you
knew that a short distance in front of you there was a bubbly spring where you
would be able to refill you canteen. But, when you reached this spring, you found
that the bubbly spring was completely dry. Now, imagine that you have been
hiking in a very dry country where there are no refrigerators and no piped-in
water. Now, you will understand better what Peter was trying to communicate
about the "false teachers." They promised refreshing water, but all they had to
offer in the end was a dried out spring in a parched and dry land.
"mists driven by a storm." Paul described immaturity in Christians as follows:
"Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown
here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men
in their deceitful scheming." (Ephesians 4:14) James describes the double-minded
man in a similar way: "But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because
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he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man
should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded
man, unstable in all he does." (James 1:6-8) Mists are like water in that they are
also driven whatever way the wind blows. "False teachers" are guided by greed,
lusts, and pride rather than guided by truth, love, and compassion. They are not
guided by principle, but they are guided by such winds as popularity, convenience,
comfort, and money. "What's in it for me?" They have chosen "darkness" over
light, and in the end, they will receive their just punishment—they will experience
total "darkness." In this world, there is both light and "darkness." We have an
opportunity now to choose which one we will seek after. Those who choose
"darkness" will one day only have "darkness"—the blackest "darkness." See
Jude 13 "But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the
darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." (Matthew 8:12)
d. They entice others to follow them in their sin (2:18-19)
"For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful
desires of sinful human nature, they entice people who are just escaping from
those who live in error. They promise them freedom, while they themselves
are slaves of depravity—for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him."
Thought Question: What do we learn about "false teachers"
from these words?
"For they mouth empty, boastful words" Here, we find the purpose behind the
words of the "false teachers": they choose words that will be impressive to their
listeners. "They are words "full of high sounding verbosity without substance."
"Word Studies in the Greek New Testament by Kenneth Wuest. Copyright 1973
by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. He quotes Vincent."
"empty . . . words" They are "empty" because they are "empty" of any
substantial value to the listener. Their point and goal is not to minister to those
they speak to, but to impress those who listen to them or to somehow manipulate
them in some way. "Ostentatious verbosity to ensnare the unwary and
licentiousness was bait on their hook." "Taken from The Second Epistle of Peter
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and the Epistle of Jude by Michael Green. Copyright 1968 by Wm. B. Eerdmans
Publishing Company."
" . . . they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage."
(Jude 16) Once more, I quote from Digging for Gold in Jude: "False teachers
typically boast that they have greater knowledge of God's truth than others.
Today, we would call this 'manipulation.' They were selfish and deceptive
manipulators."
Swindoll quotes Irenaeus, the early church leader: "False teachers" make their
teachings sound "'more true than truth itself.' . . . The gullible gobble it up."
"Taken from Swindoll's New Testament Insights on James, 1 & 2 Peter by Charles
Swindoll. Copyright 2010 by Zondervan."
"and, by appealing to the lustful desires of sinful human nature, they entice
people who are just escaping from those who live in error." In the book of
Proverbs, two women symbolize two ways that mankind can be drawn to make
decisions. The first woman is wisdom. She appeals to our mind. "My son, pay
attention to what I say; listen closely to my words. Do not let them out of your
sight, keep them within your heart; for they are life to those who find them and
health to a man’s whole body. Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the
wellspring of life." (Proverbs 4:20-23) The second woman is a harlot. She seeks
to entice through our fleshly desires. "For the lips of an adulteress drip honey, and
her speech is smoother than oil; but in the end she is bitter as gall, sharp as a
double-edged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to the
grave." (Proverbs 5:3-5) "False teachers" typically seek to reach us through our
selfish desires.
"people who are just escaping from those who live in error." These "false
teachers" are enticing those who are just beginning to escape their old slavery to
sin. They are enticing them to go back into the sin they are just starting to gain
victory over.
"those who live in error" appears to be "those" in the old lifestyle that
influenced them to live in slavery to sin. New Christians coming from an
addictive lifestyle need to not only leave the sin, but also they need to leave their
old associates who champion and glamorize that lifestyle. These "false teachers,"
in some way, were encouraging these new or weak Christians that their old
lifestyle or something like their old lifestyle was acceptable. "For certain men
whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among
you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for
immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord." (Jude 4)
"Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls
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herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual
immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols." (Revelation 2:20) See
Galatians 5:13
"They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—
for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him." For a period of time, I was
a chemical dependency counselor. During that time, I applied for a job, but
someone else got the job. Later, I learned that they discovered that this counselor
was still actively addicted to drugs. He could not help others get off addictive
drugs, if he himself was unable to break his addiction. These false teachers taught
that they had found freedom, but in truth, they were enslaved to their desires
which were corrupting and destroying them.
"for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him." "Has mastered" is in
the perfect tense and describes that they were "mastered" in the past and
continued to be "mastered" and enslaved by their sinful desires. They
themselves were not experiencing "freedom"—they were unable to stop doing
what their desires demanded. "Notice the subtlety of the present participle in this
verse. They keep on chattering about liberty when all the time they themselves
(and still are) in the prison-house of lust." "Taken from The Second Epistle of
Peter and the Epistle of Jude by Michael Green. Copyright 1968 by Wm. B.
Eerdmans Publishing Company." See John 8:34; Romans 6:16-21
e. They voluntarily choose to leave God's way and return to the vomit of
the world. (2:20-22)
"If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are
worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. It would have been
better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have
known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was
passed on to them. Of them the proverbs are true: 'A dog returns to its
vomit,' and, 'A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud.'"
Thought Question: Do you believe that these "false
teachers" were Christians? Please explain your answer.
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"If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ" Who are "they" of this verse? Some Bible commentators
believe that "they" are those who are enticed by the "false teachers." The most
natural "they" within the flow of the context, though, is that the "they" are the
"false teachers." The "they" in verse 18 and 19 are the "false teachers," so
"they" in verse 20 are also the "false teachers." Then, these verses become part
of the issue about whether or not one can lose his or her salvation. In short, did
their "knowing" Jesus Christ mean that they were saved Christians at one time
and then turned from it and lost their salvation? The "knowing" is epignosis =
"knowing" Jesus in an intimate way. Were they saved or were they merely those
who at one time had been included in the church gatherings, but later went in a
different direction? Since the Bible is clear that when a person truly believes in
Christ and becomes a Christian, it shows that he or she was chosen by God from
eternity. "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who
love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew
he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the
firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he
called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified." (Romans 8:28-30)
"And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day
of redemption." (Ephesians 4:30)
How, then, can someone who knows Christ (epignosis) not be an eternally saved
Christian? Judas provides us with an example. He knew Christ, but later left Him.
His leaving the Twelve disciples showed that he never knew Jesus in a saving
way. The false teachers that John described in I John also were part of the church
but were not saved Christians. "Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you
have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come.
This is how we know it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they did not
really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with
us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us." (I John 2:18-19)
Apparently, these false teachers left the ways of the world through learning of
Jesus Christ and became part of the church. Later, though, they left the church.
Their choosing to leave the church showed that they had never been truly saved
Christians. During their time in the church, though, they learned about the
teachings of Christianity. After leaving the church, they twisted these teachings
into lies that taught that worldliness is acceptable to God. They were once
"entangled" in the world's "corruption." Once more, Jude 4 describes "false
teachers" as having this same condition: "For certain men whose condemnation
was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless
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men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny
Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord."
"and overcome," They promised "freedom," but they were not able to escape
from the world's hold on them. There are presently recovery groups for every type
of addiction. But at least those who attend these groups are seeking to break free
from these addictions and their enslavement. These "false teachers" of Peter's
time would not have gone to a recovery group if one had been available to them.
They were reveling in their fleshly ways. They were "overcome" by them and
were willing slaves to "corruption."
"they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning." "When an
evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does
not find it. Then it says, 'I will return to the house I left.' When it arrives, it finds
the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it
seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the
final condition of that man is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this
wicked generation." (Matthew 12:43-45) This parable of Jesus and Peter's words
here illustrate "the futility of reformation without regeneration." "Taken from II
Peter and Jude by D. Edmund Hiebert. Copyright 1989 by BJU Press."
"It would have been better for them not to have known the way of
righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the
sacred command that was passed on to them." "It is impossible for those who
have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared
in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the
powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance,
because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and
subjecting him to public disgrace. Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it
and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the
blessing of God. But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in
danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned." (Hebrews 6:4-8) Stephen
describes the Jewish leaders in the following way: "You stiff-necked people, with
uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist
the Holy Spirit!" (Acts 7:51) Jesus warned the Jewish religious leaders of His
time with these words: "Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will
be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven,
either in this age or in the age to come." (Matthew 12:32)
Those who turn from God are in a difficult place, but those who are enlightened by
God's Spirit and then turn away are in an infinitely worse place. They know what
God offers them and, like Satan, they have hardened their hearts and have rejected
it.
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"turn their backs on the sacred [or holy] command" What is this "sacred
command"? We see similar words in the following verses: "I want you to recall
the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our
Lord and Savior through your apostles." (2 Peter 3:2) "And this is his command:
to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he
commanded us." (1 John 3:23) Peter appears to use "sacred commandment" as
another way of saying "the way of righteousness." The "sacred commandment"
is choosing Jesus Christ and choosing to obey His way of righteousness. So, when
these "false teachers" turned away from God's way, they knew and understood
what and who they were rejecting. Previously, they were like Paul as a nonChristian and did not have an understanding about what and who they were
rejecting. "Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent
man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief." (I Timothy
1:13) But, after their association with Christians, they understood who and what
they were rejecting. Since, they turned away while having this understanding, it
would have been better for them if they had never understood it.
"that was passed on to them" Throughout the Bible, God's ways of life are
taught. But, they chose to continually reject these teachings. "They made their
hearts as hard as flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the Lord
Almighty had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. So the Lord Almighty
was very angry." (Zechariah 7:12) See 3:2
"Of them the proverbs are true: 'A dog returns to its vomit,' and, 'A sow that
is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud.'" Someone has said that a
picture is worth a thousand words. Here, Peter gives us two pictures to describe
what these false teachers were like and what they were doing. Peter portrays them
as a dog and a pig, two animals that the Jews despised. Even Jesus used these
lowest of animals in Jewish society to communicate about those He saw as
despicable. Jesus uses these animals to describe the same type of persons. "Do
not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may
trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces." (Matthew 7:6)
"'A dog returns to its vomit,'" Peter is quoting from a Proverb: "As a dog
returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly." (Proverbs 26:11) The "dog" who
drinks out of a toilet has no sensitivity toward bacteria or sickness, nor does the
"dog" who returns to his own "vomit." So, these teachers had completely
hardened themselves to the rottenness of their teachings and of how foul they were
before a holy God.
"and, 'A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud.'" The pig
may be washed on the outside, but on the inside it stills likes to wallow in filth.
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So, these "false teachers" had allowed themselves to be cleaned up a little on the
outside through their association with Christians, but on the inside their hearts
were still full of pride, selfishness, and impure desires.
And, so Peter closes his description of false teachers. After this description, we
should abhor and flee these self-interested deceivers. Yet, in our society, we find
them on television and in churches using sly tactics to gather followers. We also,
like Peter, need to expose them and their foul motives just as Peter did in this
entire chapter. Let us also use them as an example of what we do not want in any
way to be like!
HAVE WHOLESOME THINKING BY LOOKING TO THE TRUTH
ABOUT THE PAST AND THE FUTURE. (3:16)
1. A wholesome look at the past (3:1-2)
a. This is Peter's second letter (3:1a)
"Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. . ."
"Dear friends" can also be translated, "beloved," for it is the Greek word
agapetoi. The Greek word for love is agape. Agapetoi is those who are loved.
He uses this same word to assert his love for them also in 3:8,14,17. He ends this,
his second letter to them, in a very affectionate way.
Also, by addressing them as "beloved ones," or "dear friends," there is an
obvious and stark contrast between his attitude toward the "false teachers" in
chapter two and his attitude toward those he is writing to. The "false teachers" are
opposed to everything he stands for and those he is writing to are united with him
and united with him in his cause.
b. His purpose in writing both letters (3:1b)
". . . I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome
thinking."
In writing Philippians 3:1, Paul writes these words to the Philippian Christians:
"Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same
things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you." See 1:12-13; Romans 15:15;
Jude 5 Here, Peter says that he has written "both" letters "as reminders." In
Bible studies, Sunday school classes, in Sunday morning sermons, on Christian
radio, in Christian books, and in our personal studies, each of us hears and reads
Christian truths that we already know. Why, then, should we continue with all of
this repetition? There are many reasons. Here are some of them: 1) we forget and
need to be reminded; 2) repetition grounds us more deeply God's truths; 3)
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repetition produces habitual ways of thinking; and 4) new circumstances in our
lives create a fresh understanding of how God's truth applies to us. Repetition of
Biblical teaching is to be a pattern in our churches and in our personal lives.
"to stimulate you to wholesome thinking." "Wholesome thinking" "translates
eilikrines dianoia, a phrase used by Plato to mean "pure-reason, uncontaminated
by the seductive influence of the senses." "Taken from The Letters of James and
Peter by William Barclay. Copyright 1976 by The Westminster Press."
The NASV translates these words: "I am stirring up your sincere mind." The KJV
gives us this translation: "I stir up your pure minds." These two other translations
describe Peter as complimenting his readers by saying that they have "pure" or
"sincere" minds, and that he is writing to "stir up" their "pure" thinking by
reminding them of God's truth. The NIV is correct in that Peter's goal was for
them to have "wholesome thinking," but the NIV translation omits Peter's
compliment that they were already "pure" in their minds. It reminds me of Paul's
final words to the Roman Christians "I myself am convinced, my brothers, that
you yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to
instruct one another." (Romans 15:14) Peter is contrasting the Christians he is
writing to with the "false teachers"—the former have "pure" minds; the latter have
impure minds. "Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so
that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the
heart." (1 Peter 1:22)
c. His purpose in writing both letters: to help them recall the words of God's
spokesmen in the past (3:2)
"I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and
the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles."
"The words spoken in the past" are in the perfect tense—they were spoken in
the past and continue to be spoken truths today. These "words" were still
available to them. "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching,
rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be
thoroughly equipped for every good work." (2 Timothy 3:16-17) Peter includes
the "words" of the prophets, of Jesus Christ, and of the New Testament apostles
as "words" that they needed to be reminded of so that the pure thoughts based on
these "words" would be the basis of their lives. See 1:19-21; Ephesians 2:20
"the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles." The
words of the apostles were not just teachings from God; they were also commands
from God. Paul called his teaching a "command." "If anybody thinks he is a
prophet or spiritually gifted, let him acknowledge that what I am writing to you is
the Lord’s command." (1 Corinthians 14:37) Peter also referred to his teaching as
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a "command." "It would have been better for them not to have known the way of
righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred
command that was passed on to them." (2 Peter 2:21) What is the "command
given by" Jesus Christ to which Peter is referring? Certainly, he is referring to the
gospel message of redemption that is woven throughout the Bible that we need to
obey to become a Christian. Listen to Paul's words in Romans one: "Paul, a
servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of
God— the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy
Scriptures regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of
David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the
Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. Through him
and for his name’s sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from
among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith." (Romans 1:1-5)
Peter wanted his readers to recall that the teachings of the Bible throughout are not
something that can be ignored, but they are to be obeyed as a "command" of
God.
2. A wholesome outlook on the future (3:3-16)
a. There will be scoffers who will mock your belief in Christ's coming.
(3:3-7)
"First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come,
scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, 'Where is this
‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it
has since the beginning of creation.' But they deliberately forget that long ago
by God’s word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and
by water. By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and
destroyed. By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for
fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men."
Thought Question: Where have you experienced those who
scoff at the second coming of Christ? Please describe one of
those experiences.
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"First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come,
scoffing and following their own evil desires." See Jude 17-19 Peter's
prediction certainly has come true. In our universities, there are professors who
revel in mocking the Bible. These modern intellectuals see the Bible as a
primitive book filled with myths and fantasies. There are comedians today who
regularly mock the Bible and those who believe in the Bible
"Scoffers" Scoffing is not just a recent challenge to those who believe the Bible.
It was present way back in David's and Solomon's time: "Blessed is the man who
does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in
the seat of mockers." (Psalm 1:1) "'How long will you simple ones love your
simple ways? How long will mockers delight in mockery and fools hate
knowledge?" (Proverbs 1:22) See II Chronicles 36:16; Isaiah 28:14-15; Luke
12:45
"scoffing and following their own evil desires." "Scoffing" leads to selfindulgence. Once God and God's word is eliminated, one need have no fear of
being accountable to a Higher Being for one's actions. That person then becomes
the ruler of his or her life, so living in unrestrained sensuality becomes acceptable.
See Ephesians 4:17-19
"They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised?" Where did Jesus
promise that He would come again? First of all, it was predicted throughout the
Old Testament. See Psalm 2:4-9; Isaiah 11:4-16, 32:1; 63:1-6 Jesus predicted
His return in the following verses: "When you are persecuted in one place, flee to
another. I tell you the truth, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel
before the Son of Man comes." (Matthew 10:23) "At that time if anyone says to
you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it." (Matthew
24:23) "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord
will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time
of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let
his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will
come at an hour when you do not expect him." (Matthew 24:42-44) "Do not let
your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are
many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a
place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take
you to be with me that you also may be where I am." (John 14:1-3) See also Acts
1:10-11; I Thessalonians 4:16-17
"'Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning
of creation.'" Here, we see one of the ways that mockers mock the second
coming of Christ. They says that He will not come because everything will go on,
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day after day, without anything unusual happening, just as it always has. They say
that the evidence is obvious. Things do not change.
Who are the "fathers" who "died"? The mockers could be referring to the Old
Testament believers. "The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our
fathers . . . ." (Acts 3:13a) The point of the mockers is that these former believers
in God have all died and they are now gone. The mockers could also be referring
to the "fathers" of the church who had already died without seeing the Lord's
return. They were implying that this pattern of Christians and others dying
without the Lord's return would continue on forever with no return of the Lord.
Wuest is probably correct in saying that the "fathers" is a general way of
describing all to whom the promise of Jesus' return were made. They expected
Him to come again, and then they died without Him coming. The mockers
implied that so also would generation after generation expect His coming, but they
also would die without Him coming. Their conclusion: He was never coming.
"'everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.'" The modern
scientific belief called "uniformitarianism" is the view that believes what Peter
describes here. They believe that all the geological formations that cover the
earth, with few exceptions, were formed by the slow normal processes that we see
taking place right now. They reject that any strata were formed by the world-wide
flood described in Genesis. These skeptics feel that the evidence that Jesus will
not return is on their side. Day after day, week after week, month after month,
year after year, and decade after decade He has not returned. Therefore, they
conclude, He is not going to return.
"But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens existed
and the earth was formed out of water and by water." Modern-day
evolutionary scientists "deliberately" do not consider the possibility that there is
evidence for a universal flood. Rather, they choose to actively pursue evidence
that our world came into existence without a Creator God. "The wrath of God is
being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men
who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God
is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of
the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have
been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are
without excuse." (Romans 1:18-20) "They exchanged the truth of God for a lie,
and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever
praised. Amen." (Romans 1:25)
Unbelief is not an inability to believe, but an unwillingness to believe. The
evidence that we were created and that there was a universal flood is
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overwhelming. For example, the human brain could not have come into being
accidentally. The fossil fuel oil and coal is everywhere present, giving evidence of
a universal flood. Our whole civilization depends on these fossil fuels for energy.
This type of fossil fuel is only formed where organic material is completely buried
in a short amount of time; otherwise, it will decompose away as dead things
normally do.
"by God’s word" They choose to not consider that God made everything. After
all, that would not be science. The Bible, though, starts out in the first verse by
explaining how all that we see around us got here: "In the beginning God created
the heavens and the earth." (Genesis 1:1) The author of Hebrews many years later
makes the same assertion that God created everything: "By faith we understand
that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not
made out of what was visible." (Hebrews 11:3) It appears in the book of Genesis
that the earth was created in two stages. The first stage was formless matter and
water. "Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of
the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters." (Genesis 1:2) The
second stage was shaping the water and matter into waters above, waters below,
and land masses. "And God said, 'Let there be an expanse between the waters to
separate water from water.' So God made the expanse and separated the water
under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so. God called the expanse
'sky.' And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day. And God
said, 'Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground
appear.' And it was so. God called the dry ground 'land,' and the gathered waters
he called 'seas.' And God saw that it was good." (Genesis 1:6-10)
"By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed."
Because of the universal sin of mankind, God reverses what He did at Creation
and the waters came down from above and below and covered, once more, the
whole earth. "In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, on the seventeenth day of
the second month—on that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the
floodgates of the heavens were opened. And rain fell on the earth forty days and
forty nights." (Genesis 7:11-12)
Note: the word "waters" was added by the NIV translators. All that is present in
the Greek text is "By these." The NIV translators interpreted "these" to refer to
"these waters." Hiebert and Green believe that the "these" points to both God's
word and the waters of verse 7 that begins: "By the same word." Therefore, the
world was destroyed both by water and the word of God. Hiebert's conclusion
does not affect the meaning of the verse. For, it is clear in both cases, that the
"waters" and the word of God that commanded the "waters" to come down, both
together resulted in judgment on the whole earth by a flood.
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"was deluged" The Greek word translated "deluged" is kataklustheis, the word
from which we get our word "cataclysm." In the time that I am writing these
words, we recently saw part of Japan "deluged" by water as a result of a huge
earthquake there. It was a cataclysm beyond anything I have seen in my lifetime.
There was a much greater cataclysm thousands of years ago when the whole world
was "deluged." See 2:5
"By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. By
the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept
for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men." Malachi also
predicted a future judgment of fire. "'Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a
furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is
coming will set them on fire,' says the Lord Almighty. 'Not a root or a branch will
be left to them.'" (Malachi 4:1) See also Isaiah 29:6, 30:30, 66:15-16; II
Thessalonians 1:7 God previously cleansed the earth of sin with water; in the
future, He will cleanse the world of sin with fire. "But the day of the Lord will
come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be
destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare." (2 Peter
3:10)
"By the same word" Just as God ordered that the world be "deluged" for its sin
by a flood, so God in the future will order that the "heavens and earth" will be
destroyed by fire for its sin.
Unbelievers say that there will be nothing new of a radical change ever to take
place. Peter predicts that just like the radical change that occurred when God
brought the flood on the world, so in the future a radical change will occur when
God orders that a judgment of fire come on the earth.
"being kept for the day of judgment" Hiebert observes that "kept for"
"( . . . literally, 'have been treasured up') is an unusual metaphor, it has a parallel in
Romans 2:5. The expression apparently indicates that God now treasures up or
effectively preserves this world with a view to its predetermined destiny, which is
'for fire' . . . " "Taken from II Peter and Jude by D. Edmund Hiebert. Copyright
1989 by BJU Press." "But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant
heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when
his righteous judgment will be revealed." (Romans 2:5)
Man's rebellious defiance of God and the unrestrained sin that is tragically
everywhere evident is presently being stored up and recorded. One day, all of this
judgment will be poured out in fire on this earth. "I looked, and there before me
was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one 'like a son of man' with a
crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. Then another angel came
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out of the temple and called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud,
'Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of
the earth is ripe.' So he who was seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the
earth, and the earth was harvested. Another angel came out of the temple in
heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. Still another angel, who had charge of the
fire, came from the altar and called in a loud voice to him who had the sharp
sickle, 'Take your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the earth’s
vine, because its grapes are ripe.' The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered
its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God’s wrath." (Revelation
14:14-19)
b. The reason that Christ's coming is delayed—his desire for all to come to
repentance (3:8-9)
"But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a
thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in
keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not
wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance."
Thought Question: Does what Peter teaches in these verses
mean that the world was not created in seven days, but in
seven thousand years? Please explain your answer.
"But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a
thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day." Would Peter and the
other apostles have been surprised to learn that 2000 years after their time, Jesus
had still not returned? Certainly, it is not what they expected to happen. The
skeptics, on the other hand, say, "It is just what we have predicted. He has not
returned and He will not return." But the thousands of years that have passed
since Peter's time confirm Peter's words here. Simply put, God's concept of time
is much different than our concept of time. "A thousand years" to Him is "like
a day." "For a thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or
like a watch in the night." (Psalm 90:4)
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"But do not forget this one thing, dear friends:" Here, Peter encourages these
Christians who are his "dear friends" to not be like the mockers. They are not to
look on the delay in Jesus' return as the mockers do. God's delays have been hard
for us. We pray for something to happen and it does not happen the next day, and
it does not happen in the way that we think it should happen. Habakkuk, the Old
Testament prophet, first questions God as to why he is not acting in judgment
against the sin of Israel. He wants to see some action. Then, he disagrees with
God's action—sending the evil Babylonians against Israel. Ultimately, though, he
chooses to trust God. "But the Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent
before him." (Habakkuk 2:20) "Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no
grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in
the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he
makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights. For the
director of music. On my stringed instruments." (Habakkuk 3:17-19)
Habakkuk chose to trust that God would fulfill His purpose in His time and His
way. With regard to Jesus' return, Peter urged his readers to realize that God's
ways are above our ways; but in the end, His ways are the very best ways. See
Isaiah 55:8-9
"and a thousand years are like a day." God "may use a thousands years to do
what we might feel should be done in a day, as well as . . . doing in a day what we
might feel could only be done in a thousand years." "Taken from II Peter and Jude
by D. Edmund Hiebert. Copyright 1989 by BJU Press." It was not long ago, I
thought that the Soviet Union would not and could not topple in my lifetime. Yet,
it fell in a very short time. What God does surprises us sometimes—sometimes
because of how long it takes and at other times because of how quickly it happens.
In both cases, God's ways differ from our ways.
Some use this verse to argue that when it says that God created the heavens and
the earth in seven days that it was done in seven thousand years. But, Peter is
using a thousand years in contrast to a day to show that God's way of looking at
time is different than ours, not as a way to interpret what was said in Genesis one.
"The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness."
Peter gives first what God's delay does not mean and then what His delay does
mean. First of all, it does not mean that He is just slow in getting around to things.
Years ago, I was in the Navy on the island of Guam. The people on this small
island operated at a slower pace than I was used to after living in fast-moving
Southern California. The reason for God's promises not being fulfilled is not
because God is slow in getting around to things. The reason that Jesus has not
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returned is not because He is like a worker who is regularly late to work. Rather,
God is always on time.
"The Lord is not slow" Who is "the Lord" here? In 3:2, "the Lord" is clearly
Jesus Christ. "I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy
prophets and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles."
(2 Peter 3:2) Each of us can look at the context here and seek to determine
whether or not Peter is speaking of Jesus Christ when he says "the Lord." My
conclusion is that he was referring again, as in verse two, to Jesus Christ.
"He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come
to repentance." This verse settles for all time what God does not want. He does
not want "anyone to perish." It also settles for all time what God wants. He
wants "everyone to come to repentance." Why, then, will not "everyone" be
saved? Wuest puts it this ways: "While God is always willing to save man, man is
not always willing to be saved." "Word Studies in the Greek New Testament by
Kenneth Wuest. Copyright 1973 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company."
Jesus said these words about the hardened Pharisees. "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to
gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you
were not willing." (Matthew 23:37)
Charles Swindoll asks us twenty-first century believers to consider what would
have occurred if the Lord had returned a hundred years ago. You and I would
never have been born. Certainly, we are glad that He has delayed His coming.
"not wanting anyone to perish," The Bible is clear, the punishment of the
wicked is not what God desires. "Say to them, 'As surely as I live, declares the
Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they
turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die,
O house of Israel?'" (Ezekiel 33:11) "If you return to the Lord, then your brothers
and your children will be shown compassion by their captors and will come back
to this land, for the Lord your God is gracious and compassionate. He will not turn
his face from you if you return to him." (2 Chronicles 30:9) "How can I give you
up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? How can I treat you like Admah?
How can I make you like Zeboiim? My heart is changed within me; all my
compassion is aroused." (Hosea 11:8) God refers to punishment as "his strange
work . . . his alien task." (Isaiah 28:21) I Timothy repeats what Peter says here: "I
urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be
made for everyone . . . This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all
men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth." (I Timothy 2:1, 3-4)
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And, so, the reason for the delay is not that Jesus is slow in getting around to
returning, it is because of His mercy. He wants "everyone to come to
repentance." We can legitimately say that Jesus wants all who will come to Him
to come to Him. And we who have come to Him in this generation have been able
to come to Him because He has waited to return until after we have come to Him.
Some who emphasize God's sovereign choice and eliminate man's choice believe
that those who enter God's eternal judgment enter only because God did not
choose them. That belief runs counter to what Peter clearly states here. God
wants all to be saved. The only reason men will perish is because they do not
want the salvation that is available to all men. "While God is always willing to
save man, man is not always willing to be saved." "Word Studies in the Greek
New Testament by Kenneth Wuest. Copyright 1973 by Wm. B. Eerdmans
Publishing Company."
c. How Christ will come—like a thief (3:10a)
"But the day of the Lord will come like a thief."
The Bible teaches that at the end of the day of man there will be a sudden Day of
the Lord. "See, the day of the Lord is coming —a cruel day, with wrath and fierce
anger— to make the land desolate and destroy the sinners within it. The stars of
heaven and their constellations will not show their light. The rising sun will be
darkened and the moon will not give its light. I will punish the world for its evil,
the wicked for their sins. I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty and will
humble the pride of the ruthless. I will make man scarcer than pure gold, more rare
than the gold of Ophir. Therefore I will make the heavens tremble; and the earth
will shake from its place at the wrath of the Lord Almighty, in the day of his
burning anger." (Isaiah 13:9-13) "Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on
my holy hill. Let all who live in the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is
coming. It is close at hand— a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and
blackness. Like dawn spreading across the mountains a large and mighty army
comes, such as never was of old nor ever will be in ages to come." (Joel 2:1-2) "I
will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of
smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the
coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord." (Joel 2:30-31) "'The great day
of the Lord is near— near and coming quickly. Listen! The cry on the day of the
Lord will be bitter, the shouting of the warrior there. That day will be a day of
wrath, a day of distress and anguish, a day of trouble and ruin, a day of darkness
and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness, a day of trumpet and battle cry against
the fortified cities and against the corner towers. I will bring distress on the people
and they will walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the Lord.
Their blood will be poured out like dust and their entrails like filth. Neither their
silver nor their gold will be able to save them on the day of the Lord’s wrath. In
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the fire of his jealousy the whole world will be consumed, for he will make a
sudden end of all who live in the earth.'" (Zephaniah 1:14-18)
The Bible teaches that this "day" will "come like a thief." "But understand this:
If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming,
he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you
also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not
expect him." (Matthew 24:43-44) See also Luke 12:39; I Thessalonians 5:3-4;
Revelation 3:3, 16:15 As a thief comes at a time when you least expect it, so "the
day of the Lord" will come quickly and unexpectedly.
In the verses referring to the Lord coming "like a thief," they appear to occur at
different times in the last days predicted in the Bible. I Thessalonians 4:16-5:4
appears to speak of the Lord coming "like a thief" at the Rapture of the church.
"For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with
the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ
will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up
together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be
with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words. Now,
brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very
well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are
saying, 'Peace and safety,' destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains
on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you, brothers, are not in
darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief." (1 Thessalonians 4:165:4)
Then in Revelation 16:15-16, His coming "like a thief" appears to be referring to
Jesus' coming at the Battle of Armageddon, when He comes to battle the devil and
his forces at the end of the 7-year tribulation. "'Behold, I come like a thief!
Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him, so that he may not
go naked and be shamefully exposed.' Then they gathered the kings together to the
place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon." (Revelation 16:15-16)
Finally, here in this verse, Peter appears to be speaking of the final judgment after
the 1000 year rule of Jesus that ends with a satanic rebellion. "When the thousand
years are over, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive
the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—to gather them for
battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. They marched across the
breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God’s people, the city he loves.
But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. And the devil, who deceived
them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false
prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever."
(Revelation 20:7-10)
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How can the "day of the Lord" coming "like a thief" refer to these three
different times that are at least 1000 years apart? (if one believes in a literal 1000year reign of Christ described in Revelation 20) In short, God's sudden
intervention in judgment to rescue believers occurs unexpectedly at three different
times: 1) to rescue the saints at the rapture; 2) to judge the world at Armageddon;
and 3) to rescue the saints from Satan's army and judge Satan and his forces at the
end of the millennium.
Van Kampen provides a view of the "day of the Lord" coming "like a thief"
that occurs at one period of time. His view will be explained in the next part of
the verse.
d. What will occur at Christ's coming (3:10b)
"The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by
fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare."
Jesus predicted this same apocalyptic occurrence. "Heaven and earth will pass
away, but my words will never pass away." (Matthew 24:35) When I first read
these words in II Peter, it seemed to describe the results of a nuclear war. It still
seems that way today. It could be the accumulated judgments in the book of
Revelation—the seven seals, seven trumpets, and seven bowls of wrath. See
Revelation 6, 8-9, 16 It could be as Van Kampen teaches in his book The Sign, a
burning up of the cursed earth to prepare the world for the Millennial rule of
Christ. And, finally, it could refer to the eradicating of all sin by fire and the
replacement of everything with the new heavens and new earth at the end of the
thousand-year reign of Christ
In favor of Van Kampen's view is Isaiah 65:17-20: "Behold, I will create new
heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they
come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will
create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy. I will rejoice over Jerusalem
and take delight in my people; the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in
it no more. Never again will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an
old man who does not live out his years; he who dies at a hundred will be thought
a mere youth; he who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed." These
verses appear to be referring to the time before thousand-year rule of Christ in
Jerusalem.
Both the millennial rule of Christ and the beginning of the eternal rule of Christ in
heaven will require the obliteration of the present sinful world to be replaced by a
new heaven and a new earth. "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the
first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea."
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(Revelation 21:1) I am not certain which time is being referred to here. But it is
clear, though, that the mockers are not correct—everything will not go on "as it
has since the beginning of creation." (3:4) In the future, cataclysmic and
shocking events will certainly occur.
Van Kampen's view, though, does confine Jesus' coming "like a thief" to one
period of time: the rapture of the church begins Jesus' intervention in the world
just prior to the beginning of His judgment on the world. His judgment through
the seven trumpets and seven bowls of wrath climaxes with the Battle of
Armageddon. The Battle of Armageddon concludes with the cleansing of the
world to prepare for the millennial rule of Christ. See The Sign by Robert Van
Kampen pp. 511-12, 408
e. How Christ's coming should affect us: we should seek to live holy lives
(3:11-14)
"Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought
you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the
day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of
the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping
with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth,
the home of righteousness. So then, dear friends, since you are looking
forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at
peace with him."
Thought Question: Why do you believe that the future
cataclysmic events described here by Peter should result in us
seeking to live "holy and godly lives"?
"Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought
you to be?" The future often affects the way we live today; especially if it is
certain that it will take place in the future. We are about to go to the dentist.
What do we do now? We brush our teeth. Someone is going to visit us for a
period of time. What do we do? We clean the house. God will totally and finally
judge sin. What do we do? We seek to rid all sin from our lives.
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There are two basic possibilities for the future that Peter presents in this chapter:
1) It will always be just like it is now—the view of the skeptics; and 2) there will
be a complete judgment on sins and sinners and a wonderful reward for those who
choose God and His ways through the salvation He promises through Jesus Christ.
We can be Christians, but live as if it will always be just the way it is now. Peter
exhorts all Christians to live like what the Bible says is going to happen is going to
happen—one day sin will be seen for what it is and dealt with decisively and
finally. We should live right now treating sin just as decisively as God will deal
with it in the certain future. "And now, dear children, continue in him, so that
when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming."
(1 John 2:28)
"You ought to live holy and godly lives" In light of what is ahead in the future,
we should seek to please the Holy One whom we will meet face to face one day.
Certainly, when that day occurs we will wish we had chosen to live like He
wanted us to live. Since that day is not yet here, we still have time to focus the
rest of our lives on doing that which pleases Him. What pleases Him is for us to
seek to live holy lives. "As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires
you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be
holy in all you do; for it is written: 'Be holy, because I am holy.'" (1 Peter 1:14-16)
"as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming." How can we
speed His coming? The Bible does teach that what we do as Christians does have
an effect on when He comes. Reaching people with the gospel affects when He
comes. "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a
testimony to all nations, and then the end will come." (Matthew 24:14) Prayer
affects when He comes. "Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is
in heaven." (Matthew 6:10) "I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers,
intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— for kings and all those in
authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.
This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to
come to a knowledge of the truth." (I Timothy 2:1-4) Our Christian behavior
affects when He comes. "Live such good lives among the pagans that, though
they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God
on the day he visits us." (1 Peter 2:12)
"look forward" describes an eagerness for that day to occur. Paul provides with
an example of what it is like to eagerly look forward to the day. "Now there is in
store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will
award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for
his appearing." (2 Timothy 4:8)
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"That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the
elements will melt in the heat." See Isaiah 34:4 and Micah 1:3-4 for similar
imagery. "will melt" "This term, likewise [as "destroyed" in verse 10] does not
imply the annihilation of matter bur rather suggests an alteration of its form."
"Taken from II Peter and Jude by D. Edmund Hiebert. Copyright 1989 by BJU
Press."
"But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and
a new earth, the home of righteousness." As has been mentioned before, the
"new heaven and" "new earth" describe the condition of earth at the beginning
of the millennial rule of Christ (see Isaiah 65:17-25, 66:12-24) and the time of the
heavenly New Jerusalem (see Revelation 21:1-4). Peter could be referring to both
in a general description of God's coming kingdom of righteousness that will
climax in the heavenly rule of God when all unrighteousness will be finally and
completely eradicated. See Revelation 21:27
The hope that we who are Christians have can seem to be too good to be true. But,
God's grace in providing for our forgiveness also seems to be too good to be true.
We should live each day of our lives believing that there will be a day that will go
on forever when all sin will be eradicated from us and this world. It will then be
"the home of righteousness."
"a new heaven and a new earth" "The Greek has two words rendered 'new':
neos contemplates the new under the aspect of time. 'That which has recently
come into existence.' . . . Kainos contemplates the new under the aspect of quality.
The new or 'fresh' as contrasted to 'the outworn . . . or marred through age.'"
"Taken from II Peter and Jude by D. Edmund Hiebert. Copyright 1989 by BJU
Press. He quotes Trench." "A new heaven and a new earth" will be "new" in
time, but more importantly, they will be completely new in quality, for the curse
will be removed and what is left will be a true paradise. That is really "new"!
What a hope we have!
"So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every
effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him." Peter continues
the theme of how what we believe will happen in the future when Jesus returns
and all evil is removed this world should affect our present type of life. We
should diligently seek to be "spotless, blameless and at peace with" God.
Some believe that the Christian life is best lived when it is a passive and effortless
life. Peter, in II Peter, teaches the very opposite. "For this very reason, make
every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to
knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance,
godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love."
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(2 Peter 1:5-7) "And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you
will always be able to remember these things." (2 Peter 1:15) This verse also
teaches that it is imperative that Christians "make every effort" to live holy lives.
"'Be diligent' ["make every effort"] is spoudazo, 'do your best, make haste, take
care, hurry on.' . . . The word speaks of intense effort." "Word Studies in the Greek
New Testament by Kenneth Wuest. Copyright 1973 by Wm. B. Eerdmans
Publishing Company."
Some other verses in the Bible that make the same type of exhortation are the
following: "We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all
wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. To this end I labor,
struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me. I want you to
know how much I am struggling for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who
have not met me personally." (Colossians 1:28-2:1) "Let us, therefore, make every
effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of
disobedience." (Hebrews 4:11) "For physical training is of some value, but
godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the
life to come. This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance (and for
this we labor and strive), that we have put our hope in the living God, who is the
Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe. Command and teach these
things. Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an
example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. Until I
come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to
teaching. Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through a prophetic
message when the body of elders laid their hands on you. Be diligent in these
matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress." (I
Timothy 4:8-15) "The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of
the crops. Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all
this." (2 Timothy 2:6-7) "Do your best to present yourself to God as one
approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles
the word of truth." (2 Timothy 2:15)
"to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him." Two most significant
events await every person in the future: 1) we will stand before Jesus Christ, "a
lamb without blemish or defect" (I Peter 1:19); and 2) He will judge our sin with
complete righteousness. "Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait
till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will
expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from
God. Now, brothers, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your
benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, 'Do not go
beyond what is written.' Then you will not take pride in one man over against
another." (1 Corinthians 4:5-6) So, in light of what will certainly happen in our
future, we should seek after being "spotless and blameless" as He is. "And now,
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dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and
unashamed before him at his coming." (1 John 2:28) "Everyone who has this hope
in him purifies himself, just as he is pure." (1 John 3:3)
We will never fully attain to this goal. Paul after some thirty years as a Christian
was still seeking after this goal. "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have
already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ
Jesus took hold of me." (Philippians 3:12) In the end, we will be blameless before
Jesus Christ. He will complete the work He began in us. "Being confident of this,
that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day
of Christ Jesus." (Philippians 1:6) "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ
loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by
the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant
church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless."
(Ephesians 5:25-27) See also Colossians 1:22; I Thessalonians 3:13, 5:23; Jude
24
"and at peace with him." We are to seek to do what pleases Jesus Christ. Then,
we will be "at peace" with Him and will experience His peace. "Whatever you
have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice.
And the God of peace will be with you." (Philippians 4:9) And when we fail, we
have the promises in I John. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and
will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9) "My
dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin,
we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous
One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the
sins of the whole world." (1 John 2:1-2)
f. Paul's inspired writings taught the same truths about Jesus' coming as
Peter did. (3:15-16)
"Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear
brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. He writes
the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters
contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and
unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own
destruction."
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Thought Question #1: How is what Peter describes about
Paul's teachings like what you have found to be true?
Thought Question #2: What do these words of Peter tell us
about what Peter believed to be true of Paul's writings?
"Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation," In the context,
"our Lord" refers to Jesus Christ. See 3:15,18 He chooses not to return in
judgment to provide an opportunity for men to repent, turn to him, and be saved.
"The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is
patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to
repentance." (2 Peter 3:9)
"just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave
him." Paul also taught "that our Lord’s patience means salvation." "Or do
you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not
realizing that God’s kindness leads you toward repentance?" (Romans 2:4)
Peter refers to Paul in this letter, during a time when it was near to the end of his
life, "as our dear brother." This "dear brother" strongly rebuked him when
he, out of fear of his fellow Jews, did not treat Gentile Christians as if they were
the equal of Jewish Christians. See Galatians 2:1-14 It is clear here that Peter
responded appropriately to Paul's rebuke and grew in fondness for Paul.
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"wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him." Peter does not state that Paul
was a man of great wisdom. Rather, he states that Paul was a man who received
"wisdom" from God. See also Galatians 2:9 It was this wisdom that enabled
Paul to write the wisdom that is found in his inspired letters. Paul acknowledges
this also. "We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but
not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.
No, we speak of God’s secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that
God destined for our glory before time began." (1 Corinthians 2:6-7) See also
Ephesians 3:7
"wrote you" this indicates that Paul had written to these Christians that Peter is
now writing to for the second time. We cannot be certain what letter or letters that
Peter is referring to here. It could have been a letter or letters that are no longer
available to us, or it may be a letter or letters that are now found in the New
Testament.
"He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters."
Peter obviously was aware of a number of letters of Paul when he wrote this letter.
Peter does not say that they were familiar with these letters, only that he was
familiar with them. We can tell from these two verses (15 and 16) that Peter and
Paul were in agreement and loving co-laborers in their Lord's work. There is a
record in the Bible that Peter and Paul were supportive of each other's work. See
Acts 15:1-35; Galatians 2:18-3:10 The Bible also states that Paul's letters were
circulated beyond the area to which they were addressed. See Colossians 4:16
"His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant
and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own
destruction." There are two ways to approach the Bible; you can seek to
understand what it says or you can try to get it to say what you want it to say. But
when the subject is God and His truths, we can expect that there will be parts of it
that we do not fully understand or even do not understand at all. The verses that
are very difficult are also often the verses the cults twist for their own purposes. It
happened in Peter's and Paul's time also. Paul comments about one of those times
in Romans 3:8: "Why not say—as we are being slanderously reported as saying
and as some claim that we say—'Let us do evil that good may result'? Their
condemnation is deserved."
"The verb 'wrest' ["distort"] (streblousin), used only here in the New Testament,
means 'to twist (or) wrench,' specifically 'to stretch on the rack, to torture.' It is
their repeated practice to take Paul's statements and twist and torture them, like
victims on the rack, to force them to say what they want them to say." "Taken
from II Peter and Jude by D. Edmund Hiebert. Copyright 1989 by BJU Press."
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The science of interpreting the Bible is titled: "hermeneutics." We say, "Herman
who?" It comes from the Greek word hermeneuo, the Greek word that is
translated to "to interpret." The goal of interpretation is to sincerely seek to
understand and explain the original intent of the authors of the Bible. As Peter
states here, not everyone who interprets the Bible does it in such a sincere and
disciplined way. Some end up distorting the teachings of the Bible. Peter
describes them as "ignorant." The Greek word translated "ignorant" is the
Greek word for "learned" with an "a" in front of it: "amatheis. It includes the
meaning of being undisciplined and untrained in learning. They approach the
Bible in an untrained way. Next, he says that they are "unstable." They are not
those who are not building their lives and their interpretations on a good
foundation but on an "unstable" foundation. See 2:14 ("unstable") and I Peter
5:10 (stable) As a result, when they interpret the Bible, what they end up with is
not the Bible's truth, but a distortion or a twisted perversion of what the Bible
teaches.
Paul gives two examples of those who twisted the truth in this way: "Timothy, my
son, I give you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies once made about
you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight, holding on to faith
and a good conscience. Some have rejected these and so have shipwrecked their
faith. Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to
Satan to be taught not to blaspheme." (1 Timothy 1:18-20) "Their teaching will
spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have
wandered away from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken
place, and they destroy the faith of some." (2 Timothy 2:17-18)
"as they do the other Scriptures," Peter includes Paul's writings among the
other Scriptures—alongside of Old Testament Scriptures. Paul himself stated that
his writings were revelations from God. "And we also thank God continually
because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you
accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is
at work in you who believe." (1 Thessalonians 2:13) "If anybody thinks he is a
prophet or spiritually gifted, let him acknowledge that what I am writing to you is
the Lord’s command." (1 Corinthians 14:37) See also Ephesians 3:2-5; II Timothy
3:16-17; II Peter 1:20-21
"to their own destruction." See 2:1,3 Those who twist and "distort" the Bible
end up having twisted and distorted lives themselves. There are many examples of
this through the years. Jim Jones whose false teachings led to mass suicide is one
of the many examples.
In conclusion, Paul's writing, though hard to understand at times, were part of
God's inspired Scripture. Compare II Peter 1:20-21 and 3:16 In the churches of
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Peter's and Paul's time, it was a custom to read Scripture as part of the church
gatherings. "I charge you before the Lord to have this letter read to all the
brothers." (1 Thessalonians 5:27) "After this letter has been read to you, see that it
is also read in the church of the Laodiceans and that you in turn read the letter
from Laodicea." (Colossians 4:16) The church gatherings read Peter's and Paul's
letters and recognized them as the inspired writings from God; as we also do
today.
A SUMMARY CONCLUSION (3:17-18)
1. Be on your guard against false teachers. (3:17)
"Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so
that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from
your secure position."
Thought Question: How can you be "on your guard" today?
"Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this," The false teachers
were "ignorant and unstable" (3:16) Peter's readers, on the other hand, were
knowledgeable and well "established." "So I will always remind you of these
things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you
now have." (2 Peter 1:12) They not only "know" and are "established" in the
truth, they "know" of the error and future "destruction" of the false teachers. If
they did not "know" it before, they knew it after reading this letter. Now, it is
their responsibility to respond appropriately.
"be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of
lawless men" We may "know" the truth, but because false teachers are crafty,
we need to be alert so that we are not fooled by their trickery. "Be self-controlled
and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for
someone to devour." (1 Peter 5:8) See also II Corinthians 11:1-4, 13-15 "Be on
your guard" is in the present tense indicating we are to continually "be on" our
"guard" for false teachers and false teachings.
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Many are "carried away" by the charisma, clever tactics, and smooth talk of false
teachers. See Galatians 2:13 We need to be very careful that we and our fellow
Christians are not some of those who are fooled by them. They can make their
errors very appealing.
Perhaps, you have seen someone you know "carried away" by false teachers. I
have had this saddening experience. On those occasions, you may have, like me,
tried to dissuade them from following the false teaching, but were unsuccessful.
Today, we need to be doing what Peter does in this letter: strongly warn our fellow
Christians against false teaching before someone has been hooked by them. See
Mark 13:5
"lawless men" They have gotten off track from God's laws, and if we follow
them, they will also take us on a lawless path. "The term stamps them as
individuals who are rebellious and unprincipled in conduct, defying the restraints
of law and custom. In 2:7, Peter used the term of the men of Sodom; these
deceivers belong to the same category." "Taken from II Peter and Jude by D.
Edmund Hiebert. Copyright 1989 by BJU Press."
"and fall from your secure position." They were knowledgeable about the truth
and "established" in it. They were like the man who built his house on the rock—
which pictures building our lives on Jesus' teaching. But, if we allow ourselves to
be persuaded by false teachers, we will leave this "secure position" and can be
washed away when the storms of life come. See Matthew 7:24-27; II Peter 1:1012
In conclusion: Peter has presented two complete opposites: 1) the lawless and
empty ways of the false teachers and 2) the way of godliness. For the Christian,
there is only one choice—the way of godliness. See II Peter 1:3-8
2. Grow in God's grace. (3:18)
"But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
To him be glory both now and forever! Amen."
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Thought Question: What are some practices that you can do
that will assure you that you will "grow in the grace and
knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ"?
We have just been told what we are not to do—be seduced by false teachers; now,
we are told what we are to do—"grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord
and Savior Jesus Christ." "Grow" is a present imperative. It is a command that
readers were to continually do—they were urged to keep on growing in the life
that God had given them. Peter spoke of this life that God has given us in the first
chapter. "His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness
through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness." (2
Peter 1:3) There are some who promote a passive "let go and let God" approach to
Christianity. The Bible clearly does not teach that. It is man's emphasis on one
side of the Christian life—God's part, without the other—our part. Here, Peter
exhorts Christians to grow; yet, we are to grow in the "grace" that Jesus provides.
He made new life and "knowledge" available to us; we are to pursue this life.
"Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace,
along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart." (2 Timothy 2:22)
"For effective growth we must will to remove the hindrances to growth while
actively fostering the conditions which promote growth." "Taken from II Peter and
Jude by D. Edmund Hiebert. Copyright 1989 by BJU Press." \
"grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."
God has provided graciously to us His life, His spiritual wealth, and the
"knowledge" of Him and His ways that He desires us to know. What would we
do if some rich individual made some of his riches available to us? We would,
then, need to wholeheartedly seek to make these riches ours. Jesus made His
riches available to us. We are now to wholeheartedly pursue them. That is what
Paul did. "I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the
fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so,
somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already
obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of
that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me." (Philippians 3:10-12)
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"knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." Are we to "grow in
knowledge" about Jesus Christ or are we to "grow" in knowing Him in a more
intimate way? Peter uses here the Greek word gnosei from gnosis rather than the
Greek word epignosis. If Peter is speaking of knowing Jesus in an intimate way,
"it confuses gnosis with epignosis which hitherto 2 Peter has kept distinct."
"Taken from The Second Epistle of Peter and the Epistle of Jude by Michael
Green. Copyright 1968 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company." Both
knowledge about Jesus and an intimate knowing of Jesus are essential to growth.
Here, since Peter uses the word gnosis rather than epignosis, he appears to be
speaking of "knowledge" about Jesus Christ. Where would we be without the
Gospels? Could we grow in an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ without the
"knowledge" about Jesus Christ that is given to us in the Gospels and the rest of
the New Testament? Certainly, we need to grow in "knowledge" about Jesus
Christ and His ways, so we can grow to know Him in a more personal way. All of
us can grow to know more about what Jesus is like. Can we learn more of His
wisdom, His love, His mercy, His grace, His patience, and His humility? Yes, we
can!
"grace" All of us have many faults. How can any of us gain entrance into the
holy presence of God? How can we, with all of our faults, live in a constant
relationship with God? It is only by God's grace through Jesus' death on the cross.
None of us has earned anything but judgment before God. "All of us have become
like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all
shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away." (Isaiah 64:6)
"The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?"
(Jeremiah 17:9) We have instead received "grace." "But God demonstrates his
own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans
5:8) That grace is unending. It will take us to an eternity with God. It has made
us "co-heirs with Christ" (Romans 8:17) It is this "grace" that we are to "grow"
in, so that we may more fully enjoy all that is now available to us in Jesus Christ.
"To him be glory both now and forever! Amen." The "him" who is to receive
"glory" is clearly "our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." "This doxology gives
clear expression to the deity of Jesus Christ." "Taken from II Peter and Jude by D.
Edmund Hiebert. Copyright 1989 by BJU Press." See John 20:28; Hebrews 1:14,8
As we "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ," we will echo in our heart what was in Peter's heart so many years ago.
We will be overwhelmed by who Jesus is and in who He will always be, and we
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will desire that the whole universe will know the "glory" of "our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ"!
And so, we come to the end of II Peter. In II Peter, Peter has presented two
opposite directions that we can go in our life: 1) the lawless and empty way of the
false teacher who has draped selfishness in holy-sounding garb or 2) the way of
true godliness. For the Christian there is only one choice: "His divine power has
given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him
who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his
very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the
divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For
this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness,
knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and
to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly
kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will
keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord
Jesus Christ." (2 Peter 1:3-8)
Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL
VERSION ® . NIV ® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International
Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved._
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