Sometimes you will hear people say, “I wish that the church now could be like the early church in the Book of Acts!” Thousands were coming to faith in Christ. The gospel was going out to new frontiers. The church enjoyed the powerful teaching of the apostles. Miracles were commonplace. It must have been wonderful! The implication is that it was an ideal church, with relatively few problems.

But a more careful reading of Acts or the epistles shows that the early church faced multiple problems. When you’ve got people, you’ve got problems! Those from religious backgrounds, such as the Jews, brought their baggage, which often included legalism and spiritual pride. Those coming to Christ from completely pagan backgrounds brought other sorts of problems. But all of the early churches had problems. That’s why the New Testament epistles were written—to deal with numerous problems. We face many of these same problems.

In 2 Peter, the apostle is about to die (1:14). As he sees his life and ministry coming to a close, he is deeply concerned for the churches. In 1 Peter, he wrote to strengthen the saints to endure persecution from without. Many were suffering and dying for their faith. Peter wanted them to endure and stand firm. But in 2 Peter, he writes to steel them to withstand what he sees as a growing, insidious threat from within: false teachers who will seduce many into destructive errors. These false teachers professed to be Christians, but they were dangerously deceptive. Their lives were marked by sensuality and greed. They promised their followers freedom, but they themselves were slaves of corruption (2:19). They scoffed at the idea of Christ’s coming in judgment (3:1-7).

Peter wants his readers to be firm in the foundation of their faith, which is to know God more deeply through Jesus Christ as made known through the apostolic witness. He begins by writing (1:2), “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.” He ends by saying (3:18), “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” Throughout the letter, two Greek nouns and verbs for “knowledge” or “know” occur eleven times (1:2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 20; 2:20, 21 [2x]; 3:3, 18). Knowledge is a key theme.

So we could sum up the theme of 2 Peter by saying, “Growing Christians will be knowing Christians.” We will be growing to know sound doctrine. (Peter shows that holding to false doctrine always results in final judgment.) But also, we will be growing to know God as He has revealed Himself in the person of Jesus Christ, through the apostolic witness to Christ, contained in the New Testament.

J. Sidlow Baxter (Explore the Book [Zondervan], 6:309, italics his) writes that the purpose of the letter is, “by reminder and re-emphasis, to ground its readers more firmly in the epignosis or ‘full-knowledge’ of saving truth as it is in Christ Jesus; and thereby to reinforce their faith against the imperiling counterfeits of that time.” Kenneth Gangel (The Bible Knowledge Commentary [Victor Books], 2:862) writes, “The purpose of 2 Peter is to call Christians to spiritual growth so that they can combat apostasy as they look forward to the Lord’s return.”

With that as an overview of the purpose of 2 Peter, here is a basic outline of the flow of thought:

Opening greeting: The foundation for our faith is the apostolic witness to Jesus Christ as our God and Savior, through whom we receive all the blessings of salvation (1:1-2).

1. To be growing Christians, we must know the basics about our salvation (1:3-11).
2. To be growing Christians, we must know the facts about the trustworthiness of Scripture (1:12-21).
3. To be growing Christians, we must know about and avoid the danger of false teachers (2:1-22).
4. To be growing Christians, we must know how to live in view of the certain promise of Christ’s coming (3:1-18).

For the rest of this message, I want to zero in on the introduction (1:1-2), which is far more than an opening greeting. Peter is laying out the foundation for our faith:

The foundation for our faith is the apostolic witness to Jesus Christ as our God and Savior, through whom we receive all the blessings of salvation.

He makes four points that we need to understand:

1. The foundation for our faith is the apostolic witness to Jesus Christ.

He begins (1:1), “Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ.” There is good manuscript support that the name here should be Simeon, rather than Simon. It is a common Hebraic form of the name, stemming from Jacob’s second son. The only time it is used of Peter in the Bible is by James (Acts 15:14). Peter means “rock” in Greek. The Aramaic is Cephas. Jesus gave Simon that name after he made the confession about Jesus being the Christ, the Son of the living God (Matt. 16:16-18).

Alexander Nisbet (An Exposition of 1 & 2 Peter [Banner of Truth], p. 222) applies the use of both names by saying, “it is very necessary to carry with us to the end of our time the sensible remembrance of what we were before Christ manifested Himself to us, and of what His grace has made us, that we may go to Heaven both humble and thankful.”

The use of Peter’s name at the beginning of this letter draws us into a huge scholastic controversy. Second Peter is the most disputed book, in terms of authorship, of any book in the New Testament. It was one of the last books to be accepted into the canon. It is first specifically mentioned by Origen (ca. A.D. 240), who wrote (cited by Everett Harrison, Introduction to the New Testament [Eerdmans], p. 386), “Peter has left one acknowledged epistle, and perhaps a second; for it is disputed.”

The reasons for it being disputed then may have to do with the fact that there were numerous writings during the second century that purported to be written by Peter and other apostles, but were false (called pseudepigrapha). So the early church was cautious about accepting anything claiming to come from an apostle. Also, the style of Greek between 1 and 2 Peter varies so much that many critics say that the two books could not have been written by the same man.

A third major issue is that 2 Peter seems to depend heavily on Jude, or Jude on 2 Peter. Most scholars think that 2 Peter depends on Jude, and that an apostle of Peter’s stature would not have done such a thing. Also, they say that this would put the dating of 2 Peter after his lifetime. But who is to say whether Peter would have relied on Jude or not? Even if he did, Jude could have been written before Peter’s death. And, a good case can be made that Jude relied on 2 Peter (see John MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, 2 Peter and Jude [Moody Publishers], pp. 145-146; Daniel Wallace, “Second Peter: Introduction, Argument, and Outline,” p. 8, on www.bible.org). Peter seems to be predicting that these false teachers were about to come, whereas Jude indicates that they have arrived.

There are many other arguments that you can read in commentaries or background works on the New Testament. Suffice it to say that many New Testament scholars deny that Peter wrote 2 Peter. They would date it from sometime late in the second century, written by someone using Peter’s name. For sake of time (and because it would bore most of you), I will not go through all these arguments.

For me, it comes down to this: Peter claims to have written it and he claims to be an eyewitness of the transfiguration (1:16-18). Either Peter wrote it (as claimed) or it was written by an imposter falsely claiming to be Peter, in which case we need to remove it from the New Testament. As Charles Simeon argues (Expository Outlines on the Whole Bible [Zondervan], 20:285), “no bad man would have written it; and no good man could have been guilty of such a forgery as that of assuming the name and office of this inspired Apostle.” (John Calvin and John MacArthur make similar comments in their commentaries.) As for the difference in style between 1 and 2 Peter, it is easily explained by the fact that Peter used Silvanus to help him write 1 Peter (5:12), whereas in 2 Peter he either wrote it himself or used a different secretary who had some freedom to put Peter’s thoughts onto paper.

It also should be noted that the church fathers in the fourth century, such as Athanasius, Jerome, and Augustine, who were aware of the difficulties surrounding 2 Peter, came to full agreement that it was authentic (Harrison, p. 389). Harrison adds (p. 390), “When II Peter was accepted as canonical by church councils of the fourth century, this can hardly have been done with eyes closed to the objections raised against it.” So I think there are solid reasons to affirm that Peter wrote the epistle as stated.

Before we leave this opening statement, note that Peter identifies himself further in two ways: “a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ.” “Bond-servant” is a bit weak; the word (doulos) means, “slave.” One scholar writes that the slave in New Testament times “owed his master exclusive and absolute obedience…. His work earned him neither profit nor thanks…. The distinctive thing about the concept of the doulos is the subordinate, obligatory and responsible nature of his service in his exclusive relation to his Lord” (R. Tuente, The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology [Zondervan, 1978], ed. by Colin Brown, 3:595, 596).

So Peter is demonstrating humility in calling himself a slave of Jesus Christ. He did not say, “I am His Holiness, Pope Peter. You may kneel and kiss my ring.” He recognized that first, above being an apostle, he was a slave of Christ. He had been bought with the precious blood of Christ (1 Pet. 1:18-19). Thus he was not his own. He had to serve Christ, no matter what the cost or inconvenience.

We need to understand and apply this today. We have the wrong concept when we think that we should “volunteer” to serve the Lord. Volunteers have a choice in the matter. They can be selective. They can serve when it is convenient or opt out when they’re too busy. Volunteers expect recognition for their service. But slaves have a different mindset. They must obey their master. True, they can’t do everything and they need to figure out where the Master wants them to serve. But for those who have been bought by Christ’s blood, serving Him isn’t an option. It isn’t done for recognition or personal gratification. It is the obligation for every slave of Jesus Christ.

Peter also calls himself an “apostle of Jesus Christ.” In some instances, the term refers to those who are sent out by the church (“apostle” means “sent-out-one”). But here it refers specifically to those whom Christ called and appointed to preach the gospel and found the church (Eph. 2:20). It carries with it the note of authority. Peter is not writing his opinions or suggestions, which we’re free to take or leave as we see fit. He is giving us the Lord’s authoritative, inspired Word. The inspired apostolic witness to Jesus Christ, which we possess in the New Testament, is the foundation for our faith (see John 20:30-31; 1 John 5:9-12).

2. The beginning of our faith is when we receive a faith of the same kind as that of the apostles.

“To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours” (1:1). Peter does not identify his readers geographically, although in 3:1 he mentions that this is his second letter to them. If we assume that the first letter was 1 Peter, then the recipients were mostly Gentile churches scattered around the various provinces of modern Turkey (1 Pet. 1:1).

Rather, Peter says that his readers “have received a faith of the same kind as ours.” “Faith” could refer objectively to “the faith,” the body of truth centered on the gospel that every Christian must believe. But probably here it refers to the subjective sense of faith, the personal faith in the gospel that is necessary for salvation.

By “ours,” Peter could be referring to the Jews, but almost all commentators take it to refer to the apostles. The Greek word translated “same kind” (NIV, “a faith as precious”) means “equal standing.” It is the only time the word is used in the New Testament, but it was used elsewhere to refer to foreigners who had been granted equal privileges of citizenship (Gangel, 2:863). The idea is that although Peter is an apostle, his readers’ faith was of the same kind as his faith. Saving faith links us with the person of Jesus Christ. When we believe in Him, we receive the same eternal life, the same “precious and magnificent promises (2 Pet. 1:4), and the same access to the Father. Granted, some believers are stronger in faith than others, and thus enjoy the privileges of salvation to a greater extent. But we all share the same faith in the risen Savior.

Note, also, that we receive this faith. The Greek verb is a rare word that means to receive something by lot or by divine will (since God controls the outcome of the lot, Prov. 16:33). It means that faith is a gift that we receive from God. It is not due to human effort, intelligence, or merit, but rather due to God’s sovereign grace. In our natural condition of spiritual death, we may hear the words of the gospel, but we won’t understand it unless God opens our ears to hear and our blind eyes to see (Matt. 13:14-15). He must raise us from the dead and grant us the repentance and faith to believe (Eph. 2:1-9; Acts 11:18; 16:14). So while we must believe in the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved (Acts 16:31), if we do believe it is not due to anything in us. Rather, we received the gift of faith from God. We cannot boast in our faith.

Thus the foundation of our faith is the apostolic witness to Jesus Christ. The beginning of our faith is when we receive a faith in Christ of the same kind as that of the apostles.

3. The object of our faith is Jesus Christ as our God and Savior, who imputes His righteousness to us by faith.

Peter continues (1:1), “by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ.” The word “by” may also be translated, “in.” The phrase may mean that our faith comes by the righteousness of Jesus Christ, who perfectly obeyed God and died as our substitute on the cross. That is, it comes to us through His righteous life and sacrificial death, which satisfied God’s justice.

Or, it may mean that our faith is “in the righteousness” of Jesus Christ, not in our own righteousness. When we trust in Christ, His perfect righteousness is credited to our account. So we stand before God as righteous as Jesus is because our faith is in Him. Peter knew and agreed with the writings of the apostle Paul (2 Pet. 3:15-16), who set forth this doctrine so clearly in Romans (1:17; 3:22) and Galatians (3:6-14). If your hope of heaven rests in your own righteousness, you’re in trouble! Saving faith lays hold of Christ as your righteousness.

Maybe you say, “Yes, I believe in Jesus.” That’s good, but make sure that your faith is in the Jesus of the Bible. Peter here describes Him as “our God and Savior, Jesus Christ.” The Greek grammar is clear that Peter is calling Jesus God. In verse 2, Peter distinguishes Jesus from the Father, but here he plainly asserts His deity. (There are a number of other New Testament texts that plainly declare Jesus to be God: John 1:1, 18; 20:28; Rom. 9:5; Titus 2:13; Heb. 1:8.) If Jesus is not fully God and fully man, then He cannot save us from our sins. He had to be fully God for His death to satisfy the perfect justice of God. Bishop Moule once said that a Savior who is not God is like a bridge broken at the farther end. But, also, Jesus had to be fully man for His death to atone for the sins of fallen people (John 1:29).

“Savior” is one of God’s names in the Old Testament (Ps. 106:21; Isa. 43:3). Here, Peter applies it directly to Jesus, whose very name means, “Yahweh saves.” The angel told Joseph to give that name to Mary’s son, adding (Matt. 1:21), “for He will save His people from their sins.” Thus when Jesus was born, the angels announced to the shepherds (Luke 2:11), “for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” Peter uses “Savior” to describe Jesus five times in this short book (1:1, 11; 2:20; 3:2, 18). It means that Jesus rescues us from God’s wrath and judgment on our sins (1 Thess. 1:10). We cannot save ourselves. Our good works can never save us. Only our God and Savior Jesus Christ can save us when we trust in His sacrificial death and resurrection as our righteousness.

So the foundation for our faith is the apostolic witness to Jesus Christ. We must believe in Him as our God and Savior. But Peter goes on to enumerate some of the blessings that flow to us when we believe in Him:

3. The blessings of our faith are multiplied grace and peace as we grow in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

“Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord” (1:2). As I said, in verse 1 Peter calls Jesus God, but here he distinguishes the Father and the Son. By calling Jesus “Lord” here, Peter clearly attributes full deity to Him. Yet, He is distinguished from the Father. In verse 21, by the way, he mentions the third Person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit.

The New Testament is clear that God is one God, yet He subsists in three distinct Persons, each of whom is fully God. Peter may distinguish Jesus from God the Father here because he is talking about knowing God and the only way we can know the Father is through the Son. In Matthew 11:27, Jesus made the astounding claim, “All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.” In John 17:3, He said, “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.”

Grace is the means by which we come to know God. It refers to God’s undeserved favor. We all, by virtue of our many sins, deserve God’s judgment. But by grace, He raises us from spiritual death to spiritual life and bestows on us all of the riches of Jesus Christ (Eph. 2:1-9). Peace is the result of experiencing God’s grace in Christ. “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:1; see Eph. 2:14). These qualities are multiplied, or grow, as we grow to know God better. This knowledge involves both the content of knowing God in Christ as revealed in His Word and also the experience of fellowship with Him as we trust Him each day.

Since Peter is here laying the foundation for the rest of his letter, he wants his readers to be experiencing multiplied grace and peace in the knowledge of God and of Jesus as Lord. He will devote all of chapter 2 to warn about the danger of false teachers. As Michael Green states (The Second Epistle of Peter and the Epistle of Jude [Eerdmans], p. 62), “A deeper knowledge of the Person of Jesus is the surest safeguard against false doctrine.”

Conclusion

Make sure that these truths are not just theoretical for you. Have you received genuine faith in Jesus, the same kind of faith that the apostles had? Have you trusted in Him as your only basis for being righteous in God’s sight? Do you know Him as your God and Savior? Are you submitting to Him as your Lord and Master? Do you experience His grace and peace on an increasing level? Are you growing to know God through knowing Jesus as Lord? This is the foundation for our faith: the apostolic witness to Jesus Christ as our God and Savior, through whom we receive all the blessings of salvation.

Application Questions

1. What are some reasons why we can trust the apostolic witness to Jesus Christ? How do we know that they didn’t just make up a good story?
2. Some say that everyone has the inherent capacity to believe in Christ as Savior. What Scriptures would refute this by showing that God must grant faith for salvation?
3. Is believing in the deity of Jesus essential for salvation? Why/ why not?
4. How would you instruct a new believer to go about growing in the knowledge of God? Where should he begin?

Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 2009, All Rights Reserved.

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation

The late Ray Stedman told of asking a boy how old he was. Quick as a flash he said, “I’m twelve, going on thirteen, soon be fourteen.” That boy was eager to grow up!

Most Christians want to grow in the Lord, especially when they are new in the faith. But often, as time goes on, the enthusiasm to grow begins to fade. We settle into a humdrum routine and grow spiritually complacent.

We’re like an old farmer I read about (“Our Daily Bread”), who often described his Christian experience by saying, “Well, I’m not making much progress, but I’m established!”

One spring when he was hauling some logs, his wagon wheels sank down to the axles in mud. As he sat there viewing the dismal situation, a neighbor who had always felt uncomfortable with the farmer’s worn-out testimony came by. He called out, “Brother Jones, I see you’re not making much progress, but you must be content because you’re well established!” It was a way of pointing out, “You’re stuck!”

If you’re stuck spiritually, God wants you to grow. Even if you’ve been a Christian for many years, the New Year should be a year of growth in godliness. Until you’re perfectly like Jesus Christ, which won’t happen until you see Him, you still have room to grow. In our text, Peter gives us some wise counsel about growing in godliness.

But you won’t grow without deliberate discipline and effort. It’s interesting that Peter, a man known in the gospels for his impetuosity, here sets forth a deliberate, disciplined approach to spiritual growth. If Peter the impetuous fisherman could become a disciplined, godly man, then anyone else can do the same. He’s saying,

Because God has imparted new life and spiritual riches to us in Christ, we should be diligent to grow in godliness.

Let’s look at four practical lessons in these verses:

1. To grow in godliness, make sure that you have trusted in Jesus Christ and His gracious promises.

Peter begins (1:5), “Now for this very reason also….” This takes us back to verses 3 & 4, where Peter told us that when we believed in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, God also “granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness” (1:3). Through the glory and moral perfection of Christ, “He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust” (1:4). “Now for this very reason also,” grow in your faith.

Do you ever marvel at why people don’t just flock to Christ by the droves? He offers complete forgiveness of sins and eternal life as a free gift to all who will believe. What could be better? Why aren’t people lined up at the door of churches all over the world asking, “What must I do to be saved?”

The answer is (2 Cor. 4:4), “the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” Or (1 Cor. 2:14), “But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.” Or, to use another biblical analogy, before God imparted new life to us, we were dead in our trespasses and sins (Eph. 2:1-3). If you have trusted in Christ as Savior and Lord, it was not because of your keen insight or brilliant powers of logic. It was because God mercifully opened your blind eyes to see (Acts 16:14).

The point is, you cannot begin to grow as a Christian until you have received new life from God through faith in Jesus Christ. It is the life of Christ in you that gives you the motivation and power to change and grow spiritually. The instant you trust in Christ, God graciously gives you the key to the unfathomable riches of Christ (Eph. 3:8), which supplies you with everything you need for life and godliness.

In the list of qualities that follow (2 Pet. 1:5-7), some writers refer to eight virtues, with faith being the first. But I think that is mistaken. Peter does not tell us to supply faith, as he does with the other things on the list. Rather, he says, “in your faith supply moral excellence,” etc. He assumes faith as the foundation on which the other virtues rest and from which they grow. We receive faith in Christ as God’s gift (1:1), but then we supply the other qualities, which are the fruit of faith (1:8). So, to grow in godliness, make sure that you have trusted in Jesus Christ and His gracious promises. Faith is the essential foundation for growing in godliness.

2. To grow in godliness, maintain the right motivation.

I am still focusing on Peter’s opening phrase, “Now for this very reason also….” The reason that we should apply all diligence and supply these seven qualities to our faith is that God has graciously made us partakers of His nature and has granted to us everything that we need for life and godliness through His precious and magnificent promises (1:3-4).

Right motivation in the Christian life is essential! It’s easy to have the wrong motivation. Maybe, for example, you want to grow as a Christian so that everyone will think, “My, what a great Christian he is!” That’s pride, which is the wrong motivation! Or, maybe you want to grow as a Christian so that you’ll be successful in your family life or in business. That may be better than pride, but it’s still wrongly focused on self.

It is right to desire God’s blessing on your life, your family, and your business, but the motivation behind that desire should be, “God, I want Your blessing so that my life will bring glory to Your name! You set Your love on me and saved me when I was in the gutter of sin. You called me out of darkness into Your marvelous light. Now, Lord, I want to grow in godliness so that my life proclaims Your excellencies (1 Pet. 2:9)!”

In other words, God’s grace as shown to us in Jesus Christ is the right motivation for applying diligence to grow spiritually. The apostle Paul said that God’s grace was his motivation for serving (1 Cor. 15:10), “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them [the other apostles], yet not I, but the grace of God with me.” He also sets forth God’s grace as our motivation in Romans 12:1, “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God [which he has been setting forth in chapters 1-11], to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.” He uses the same pattern in Ephesians, where in chapters 1-3 he sets forth our spiritual riches that God has graciously given us in Christ. Then in the last three chapters he tells us how to live in light of God’s abundant grace.

So, here, Peter is telling us, “To grow in godliness, which will require some diligence and hard work, keep in mind the glorious truth that God has imparted new life to you in Christ and that He has given you all of His precious and magnificent promises to equip you for life and godliness.” That’s the right motivation!

3. To grow in godliness, you must apply all diligence.

Peter says (1:5), “Applying all diligence….” The word “applying” occurs only here in the New Testament and means, “to bring in besides.” The idea is, “God has given you His life and all of His promises. Now, you bring in diligence so that you may grow.”

D. A. Carson explains (Becoming Conversant with the Emerging Church [Zondervan], p. 228), “… the dominant biblical pattern is neither ‘let go and let God’ nor ‘God has done his bit, and now it’s all up to you,’ but rather, ‘since God is powerfully at work in you, you yourself must make every effort.’” As Paul said (Phil. 2:12-13), “… work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” In other words, spiritual growth involves God’s resources as the foundation, but also our responsible effort in addition.

“Diligence” sometimes has the meaning of haste or speed, but here it probably means, “eagerness, earnestness, or zeal.” Peter is saying, “Make every effort to add” the qualities that follow (A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, by Walter Bauer, ed. by William Arndt and Wilbur Gingrich, 2nd ed. [University of Chicago Press], pp. 763-764). The word “supply” is an interesting Greek word from which we get our words “chorus” and “choreography.” It referred to a wealthy man who would give everything necessary to put on a stage play or musical performance. It meant to give lavishly, because such donors did not want people thinking that they had been stingy in supplying the chorus. So putting it all together, Peter is saying, “Make every effort eagerly and lavishly to supply these qualities on the foundation of your faith in Christ.”

When I was a younger Christian, I was taught that we are not to exert ourselves or work hard to grow spiritually: “If you’re striving or exerting yourself, you’re not resting in Christ. The Christian life is the faith-rest life. Just rest in Christ and He gives you victory over sin and He produces holiness in you.” Sometimes these writers would appeal to the analogy of the vine and the branches (John 15). The branch doesn’t struggle or strive to bear fruit. Rather, it effortlessly abides in the vine and the life of the vine flows through the branch, resulting in fruit. It all sounds so easy!

But that approach to the Christian life ignores many other Scriptures that talk about struggle and effort on our part. Granted, we struggle and work according to God’s power in us, but still we must struggle and work! As we saw (in 1 Cor. 15:10), as a result of God’s grace, Paul worked hard. In Colossians 1:29, he says, “For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.” (See, also, 1 Tim. 4:10.) Hebrews 12:4 talks about our striving against sin. In many places, the New Testament uses the analogy of warfare or fighting to picture the Christian life (Eph. 6:10-20; 2 Tim. 4:7; 1 Pet. 2:11). Fighting is not effortless! You must exert yourself to the point of exhaustion.

Are you applying “all diligence” to grow in Christ? Do you give it mental effort? Do you make time to grow spiritually? Do you wrestle with where you need to grow? Do you work out a plan to get there? Do you read books on theology or important doctrinal matters that stretch your mind to think about the hard questions in the Bible? If you’re on spiritual autopilot, you aren’t applying diligence. You won’t grow spiritually if you don’t deliberately work at it.

But, what does growth entail? Where should we focus? This brings us to the heart of our text:

4. To grow in godliness you must make progress in seven areas.

Faith is the foundation; to that we must supply moral excellence, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love. This list raises some questions. Why did Peter pick these qualities and not others? Why does he put them in this order? Does he mean that we must work on them in this order, so that we become proficient in the first one before we start working on number two, etc.?

Many writers point out that these sorts of lists were a common literary form, both outside and within the Bible. Adolf Deissmann (Light from the Ancient East [Baker], pp. 317-318), for example, mentions a first century B.C. inscription from Asia Minor that honors a man for having, “faith, virtue, righteousness, godliness, and diligence” (all of which, except “righteousness,” are in Peter’s list). Paul lists nine qualities as the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23). He tells Timothy (1 Tim. 6:11) to “pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness.” Four of those qualities (godliness, faith, love, and perseverance) are in Peter’s list. So Peter’s list here is not exhaustive, but illustrative or suggestive for starters and easy remembrance.

Why did he choose these qualities? Probably, he chose them because they are the opposite of the evil characteristics of the false teachers that he will expose in chapter 2. They did not have moral excellence, or Christlikeness. They claimed to have knowledge, but they didn’t know God, who is holy. They lacked self-control and indulged the flesh (2:2, 10, 14, 18). They were not persevering in godliness, but had gone astray. Rather than demonstrating true brotherly kindness and love, they were simply exploiting people for their own gain.

As for the order in which Peter arranges these seven qualities, some see no logical order, whereas others do. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (Expository Sermons on 2 Peter [Banner of Truth], p.26) sees three headings: (1) the character of our faith (virtue, knowledge); (2) our inward dispositions (self-control, perseverance); and, (3) our relationships to others (godliness, brotherly kindness, love).

I propose that there is a sensible flow of thought that goes as follows: “Faith” is the bedrock foundation. Without faith we are not Christians. “Moral excellence” (virtue) is necessary next, because without that, we cannot have a clear conscience. If we live in known disobedience to God, He will not reveal spiritual truth to us. Thus, virtue precedes “knowledge.” “Knowledge” follows closely, because we must know the Word of God to inform our conscience and guide us in all our thinking and behavior.

But knowing the truth does not help if we do not exercise “self-control” to practice the truth. Thus self-control is next. But self-control on a few occasions will not help if we then yield and ruin our testimony. So we need “perseverance” when trials and temptations come. As we persevere, we develop “godliness,” which refers to living in reverence to God in every situation. But true godliness is not just a private matter between the individual and God. It manifests itself in godly relationships. Thus we need “brotherly kindness” and self-sacrificing “love.”

This is a logical order, not a chronological order. In other words, it would be wrong to think that you must perfect virtue before you go on to knowledge, or gain vast amounts of knowledge before you develop self-control. Rather, they are all interrelated in the manner that I just mentioned. With that as a background, let’s look briefly at the seven qualities.

A. To your faith, richly supply moral excellence.

We saw this word in 1:3, where it refers to the moral perfections of Jesus Christ. Peter uses it in 1 Peter 2:9 to refer to “the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” It was used “to denote the proper fulfillment of anything. The excellence of a knife is to cut, of a horse to run” (Michael Green, The Second Epistle of Peter and the Epistle of Jude [Eerdmans], p. 67). Since Peter uses it just two verses before to refer to Jesus Christ, we could say that here he means, “Christlikeness.” We are to grow in the character qualities that marked Jesus. Just as He always obeyed the Father and lived to glorify Him, so should we.

B. To your moral excellence, richly supply knowledge.

This refers to practical wisdom that is gained in the exercise of moral excellence (Green, p. 68). We gain the knowledge of how God wants us to live through His Word. It tells us how to think, how to use our tongue, and how to behave in just about every imaginable situation. As we put this knowledge into use, it helps us to grow to know Jesus Christ better (as verse 8 says).

C. To your knowledge, richly supply self-control.

This quality is also the final item in the list of the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:23). God works it in us as we walk in the Spirit, but we must also work to practice it. Paul uses the word in reference to an athlete, who exercises self-control in all things so that he might win (1 Cor. 9:25). It is also a necessary qualification for elders (Titus 1:8). By definition, self-control means that you must go against your impulses or feelings in order to attain a higher goal. An athlete must say no to junk food in order to keep in shape. He must work out when he doesn’t feel like it. It applies to controlling all desires, including greed, sex, food, emotions, and the use of our time. (See my message, “Learning to Control Yourself,” Dec. 31, 2006, on the church web site.)

D.    To your self-control, richly supply perseverance.

This refers to the ability to endure hardship and distress. Thayer (A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament [Harper & Brothers, 1887], pp. 644) defines it as “the characteristic of a man who is unswerved from his deliberate purpose and his loyalty to faith and piety by even the greatest trials and sufferings.” It is often used with reference to suffering (Rom. 5:3; 2 Cor. 6:4; 1 Thess. 1:4; James 1:3). It means that we keep following Christ even when it results in persecution or hardship.

E. To your perseverance, richly supply godliness.

“Godliness” refers to “a very practical awareness of God in every aspect of life” (Green, p. 70). It refers to awe in the presence of God and the obedience that befits that reverence (William Barclay, New Testament Words [Westminster Press], pp. 106-107). It is “the attitude which gives God the place he ought to occupy in life and in thought and in devotion” (ibid., p. 107).

F. To your godliness, richly supply brotherly kindness.

This is the Greek word, philadelphia, which means, “brotherly love.” It is the feeling of kindness or mutual understanding and care that should exist among family members. It could apply to how we are to treat every human being, since we are all members of the human family. But it especially refers to the love that we are to show to others in the family of God. We must accept all whom Christ has accepted (Rom. 15:7). We must be “diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:3). We must “do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith” (Gal. 6:10).

G. To your brotherly kindness, richly supply love.

This is the Greek, agape, which is a self-sacrificing commitment to seek the highest good of the one loved. Since Peter exhorts us to apply all diligence to supply brotherly kindness and love, these qualities are not spontaneous. We must work at them. We must often go against our feelings of pride or laziness or self-centeredness to demonstrate love for others.

You can practice it each week at church: instead of keeping to yourself, which you may prefer, look for others who may be new or alone and go out of your way to make them feel welcome. If the person is hurting, pray with him. If he seems lonely, arrange to get together later in the week. And so the list that begins with faith ends with love (Gal. 5:6).

Conclusion

As we’ll see next time, one result of growing in these godly character qualities is that you will be useful and fruitful in knowing Jesus Christ (2 Pet. 1:8). Because He gave Himself on the cross to save you from God’s judgment, you should desire to be useful and fruitful as His blood-bought servant. But to be useful and fruitful, you must be growing in godliness, which requires diligent effort.

Spiritual growth is a long process, not a quick fix. It’s like a diet or exercise program. It only shows results when you practice it consistently and stick with it over the long haul. If you’re not making much spiritual progress, then you’re not well established—you’re stuck in the mud! Set some spiritual goals for the New Year. Make it a year when by God’s grace, you grow in godliness!

Application Questions

1. Where is the balance between “resting in Christ” and “applying all diligence” to grow in Him? How can we know whether our diligence is a work of the flesh or of the Spirit?
2. How can we make sure that our motives for spiritual growth are right? Why are right motives essential?
3. Which of the seven qualities do you most need to focus on in the New Year?

Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 2009, All Rights Reserved.

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation

People pick churches for the most superficial reasons. The following are all reasons that I have heard, some for why people come to this church and some for why they go to another church: “Our kids like it there because it’s fun.” (The same thing could be said about the circus.) “Our friends go there and there is an atmosphere of acceptance.” (The same could be said of the local bar.) “The music rocks.” (The same could be said of a performance of a hot musical group.) “I get a good feeling when I go there.” (I could say the same thing about my favorite restaurant.)

Of course, children’s programs at church should have an element of fun to them. We shouldn’t bore kids with the truth. And, churches should be friendly. Fellowship is important. I’m not so sure that the music should “rock,” but it should be spiritually uplifting and musically pleasant. I don’t know what to say about the “good feelings” comments. I want you to feel good about church, but for the right reasons. Occasionally, but not often enough, I hear, “I go to that church because they preach the Word of God clearly and without compromise.” That should be the primary factor in deciding which church you will join.

But due to the pervasive postmodern thinking that there is no such thing as absolute truth, especially in the spiritual realm, sound doctrine has taken a back seat to many other things. Also, there is a strong cultural emphasis on inclusiveness and accepting everyone, no matter what the person thinks or believes. Our city even has a sign as you drive into town, “We’re building an inclusive community.” But doctrine often is divisive, not inclusive. Holding to sound doctrine seems opposed to love and acceptance. So even many popular pastors chant the mantra, “They will know we are Christians by our love, not by our doctrine.”

But the apostles were very concerned that the churches be steadfast in holding to sound doctrine. In his final three letters (1 & 2 Timothy & Titus), the apostle Paul repeatedly emphasizes the need for Timothy to hold to and preach sound doctrine. John, the apostle of love, emphasizes sound doctrine in his three epistles. Jude (v. 3) appeals to his readers to “contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints.”

And Peter will spend all of chapter 2 and a good part of chapter 3 warning about false teachers. He ends this short letter exhorting his readers (2 Pet. 3:17), “be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness.” “Steadfastness” is related (in Greek) to the word in verse 12 of our text, “established in the truth.” Peter is emphasizing the need for believers to be firmly grounded in the essential truths of the gospel, so that we don’t fall prey to false teachers.

There are three basic purposes for verses 12-15 (I am indebted here to Peter Davids, The Letters of 2 Peter and Jude [Eerdmans], p. 191): (1) Peter underscores the importance of the opening verses (1-11), which are a summary of the gospel and the Christian life. (2) Our text sets up the whole letter as Peter’s final testament, thus emphasizing its authority and importance. A great man’s dying words should be listened to carefully. (3) These verses form a bridge into the rest of the letter. Peter acknowledges that he is not going to say anything new, which his readers don’t already know. This serves as an antidote to the false teachers, who draw in the unsuspecting with their novel ideas. Peter wants his readers to be satisfied with the essential truths of the gospel and to come back to these truths again and again, even after he is gone.

We can sum up Peter’s message:

No matter where you’re at in the Lord, you need sound teachers to remind you often of the basic truths of the faith so that you stay on course.

Peter models for us four characteristics of sound teachers. While these are not comprehensive, they should help if you’re looking for a solid church or giving advice to others who are.

1. Sound teachers are always ready to remind their students of what they already know.

In verse 12, Peter says, “I will always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them….” In verse 13, he says, “I consider it right, as long as I am in this earthly dwelling, to stir you up by way of reminder.” In verse 15, he repeats, “And I will also be diligent that at any time after my departure you will be able to call these things to mind.”

Peter reminds me of my college physics professor. Every class he would repeat his teaching method. He would say, “Class, I’m going to tell you what I am going to tell you. Then I’ll tell you. Then, I’ll tell you what I told you. Then, I’ll review.” He knew that repetition is a key to learning.

Have you ever noticed how often the Bible repeats the truth? Deuteronomy 5 repeats the giving of the Ten Commandments from Exodus 20. First and 2 Chronicles go over much of the same history that you find in 1 and 2 Samuel and 1 and 2 Kings. Several Psalms (or portions of them) are repeated, plus many of the psalms go over the same themes. The Old Testament prophets preach similar messages of God’s judgment on sin, judgment on the wicked nations, and His faithful promises to His people in spite of their sins.

The New Testament begins with three gospels that are very similar in content. Jesus often repeated His messages and parables. He told us to partake of the Lord’s Supper repeatedly in remembrance of Him (Luke 22:19). Romans and Galatians deal with similar themes, as do Ephesians and Colossians. Jude and 2 Peter have overlapping messages. Paul told the Philippians (3:1), “Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things again is no trouble to me, and it is a safeguard for you.” Then (in 4:4), he repeats, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!” He reminded Timothy to stir up the gift which Timothy already knew about (2 Tim. 1:6). (See, also, Rom. 15:15; 1 Cor. 15:1; 2 Tim. 2:14; Titus 3:1; Jude 5.)

If you’re a parent, you’ve done the same thing with your children. You have said, “How many times do I need to tell you?” Answer: At least once more, because your child hasn’t got it yet! Years ago, I saw a Henry Brandt video on child rearing where he asked, “How long does it take to teach Johnnie to make his bed?” (Pause) “Twenty years!” He was humorously emphasizing the reality that a large part of parenting is to remind your child of what he already knows. The fact is, even as adults we often don’t get it at first, or if we do get it, we easily forget it. And so we need frequent reminders of basic spiritual truths that we already know, so that we don’t drift off course.

2. Sound teachers emphasize the basic truths of the Christian life.

I’ve already been touching on this, but to remind you (!), although Peter was an apostle and could have focused on some esoteric aspects of the faith, he brings his readers back to the basics. He reminds them of essential truths that they already knew. The false teachers may have been luring people by talking about new, secret truths that sounded very interesting. But sound teachers stick to the basic truths. Peter knows that his readers (v. 12) “have been established in the truth which is present with you.” But that doesn’t keep him from saying it again.

Peter’s statement about being established in the truth shows that there is a body of definable, knowable spiritual truth that is foundational for the Christian life. Without knowing these things, your Christian life will be shaky, at best. Contrary to those in the “emerging church,” who say that doctrine is not important or that we can’t really know spiritual truth for certain, Peter says that there is a body of truth and that such truth is foundational or strengthening (the meaning of the Greek word). It is the same word that Jesus used when He told Peter that after his denials, when he was restored, he should “strengthen” his brothers (Luke 22:32).

“Therefore” and “these things” (v. 12) take us back to verses 1-11, where Peter lays out the essentials of the gospel and the entire Christian life. The gospel involves a faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, which we receive “by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ” (1:1). At the instant that we are born again, God gives us everything pertaining to life and godliness through the knowledge of Christ, who calls us by His own glory and excellence (1:3). God gives us His precious promises, which make us partakers of the divine nature, so that we escape the corruption that is in the world by lust (1:4).

Given these all-sufficient resources, we are responsible to add to our faith and grow in seven qualities, which Peter sets forth (1:5-7). Then (1:8-11), Peter motivates us by showing us the results or benefits of growing in these qualities, namely, that we will be useful and fruitful, assured of our salvation, and headed for a glorious eternity in heaven. All believers who have received a basic grounding in the faith know these things. But, we need reminders of them.

Thomas Schreiner (The New American Commentary, 1, 2 Peter, Jude [Broadman], p. 309) says, “Believers know the gospel, and yet they must, in a sense, relearn it every day.” Milton Vincent has a helpful little book, A Gospel Primer [self-published], in which he makes the point that we need to preach the gospel to ourselves every day. Jerry Bridges makes the same point (“Four Essentials for Finishing Well,” in Stand, ed. by John Piper and Justin Taylor [Crossway Books], pp. 22-28). Let your heart be warmed often by the gospel and by other essential truths, such as those that Peter rehearses for us here.

3. Sound teachers are in earnest because they know that life is short, so they use their time to serve the Lord.

Peter writes (1:13-14), “I consider it right, as long as I am in this earthly dwelling, to stir you up by way of reminder, knowing that the laying aside of my earthly dwelling is imminent, as also our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me.”

Some say that the Lord must have given Peter a special word that his death was near, and that is possible. But I think Peter probably is referring to the incident after Jesus’ resurrection when He told Peter (John 21:18), “Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to gird yourself and walk wherever you wished; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will gird you, and bring you where you do not wish to go.” John adds (21:19), “Now this He said, signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God.”

Now that he was older, Peter knew that his time was short. Nero was intensifying his persecution of believers. Peter sensed that Jesus’ words were about to come true. Tradition (recorded by Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, 3:1, 30) says that Peter was crucified upside down because he did not feel worthy to be crucified right side up, as Jesus was.  Peter’s words here teach us three important lessons about life and death:

A. Because life is short, live as a pilgrim, focused on the things that are eternal.

Twice, Peter uses the word for his body, translated “earthly dwelling.” It’s the Greek word for “tabernacle,” or “tent.” Tents are temporary dwellings, used by nomads or travelers. It points to the shortness of life and the fact that we are only pilgrims, traveling through to our heavenly home. Peter emphasized this theme in his first letter. He begins it (1 Pet. 1:1), “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout” a number of provinces in Asia Minor. He continues the theme (1:17), “If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth.” He adds (2:11), “Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul.” Our stay on earth is short. We’re pilgrims and aliens here.

A pilgrim views life differently than a permanent resident does. He is just passing through. If you’re staying in a hotel, you don’t get too attached. You don’t move in your own furniture and put your own pictures on the walls. You’re just there for a short time and you’re gone. For us as believers, heaven is our permanent home. All of us will shortly be laying aside our earthly tent. Paul makes the point (2 Cor. 4:16-18) that since our bodies are decaying, we should be focused, not on the things that are seen, but on the things which are not seen, which are eternal. (See my sermon, “The Pilgrim Life,” on 1 Pet. 2:11-12 [8/23/1992], on the church web site, for more on this theme.)

B. Because life is short, cultivate a biblical view of death.

Peter’s words teach us several things about how we should view death. For about 30 years at this point, Peter had been living with the knowledge that he would die an unpleasant death as an old man. And yet, he is not worried or upset about it! He views it as laying aside his body, a temporary tent, as he would take off old clothes. He wasn’t complaining that as a faithful apostle, he deserved better treatment in how he would die. He was at peace with God’s sovereign plan for his life. He demonstrated this same peace when he was supposed to be executed by Herod the next morning. The delivering angel found him so sound asleep that he had to hit him on the side to wake him up (Acts 12:7)! Peter was subject to the Lord’s will about when and how he died, so he was not anxious about his death.

Also, we learn that death is not cessation of existence, but rather separation of the soul from the body. At death, we lay aside this tent. The real you is not your body, although you dwell in it here on earth. The real you is your soul. To be absent from the body is “to be at home with the Lord” (2 Cor. 5:8). (Paul, by the way, uses the same analogy of our bodies being a tent in 2 Cor. 5:1.) When Christ returns, we will receive our new resurrection bodies that will not be subject to aging, disease, or death (1 Cor. 15:20-23, 35-57).

Also, death is a departure or exodus from the slavery of this body of sin to a glorious eternity with the Lord. Peter’s word (1:15), “departure,” is literally, exodus (Heb. 11:22). The only other time it is used of death is on the Mount of Transfiguration (which Peter refers to in verses 16-18), when Moses and Elijah were talking with Jesus about His departure (Luke 9:31). We should view death as departing from this earth to be with the Lord in heaven.

C. Because life is short, we must use our remaining time on earth to serve the Lord.

Although Peter was probably in his sixties by this time, he wasn’t looking to retire and spend his final days on the golf course or taking videos of the national parks. These verses convey a sense of urgency and effort. He says (1:12), “I will always be ready….” “I consider it right, as long as I am in this earthly dwelling, to stir you up…” (1:13). “I will also be diligent…” (1:15). “Diligent” is the same word that Peter used in verses 5 & 10. Peter’s awareness of the shortness of life spurred him on to work all the harder. He knew that eternal matters were at stake (1:11), so he was all the more diligent to fulfill his ministry.

His words remind me of the Puritan, Richard Baxter, who said, “I preached, as never sure to preach again, and as a dying Man to dying Men” (“Love Breathing Thanks and Praise,” in Christianity Today [1/13/92], p. 32). Like Peter, Baxter was in earnest because he knew that life is short.

I confess that as I get older, the stress created by the constant demands and deadlines of ministry gets to me at times. The thought of kicking back sounds good. On my study leave, I read Stand, edited by John Piper and Justin Taylor. The subtitle is, “A call for the endurance of the saints.” Piper writes a provocative chapter, “Getting Old to the Glory of God,” where he says (p. 37),

Getting old to the glory of God means getting old in a way that makes God look glorious. It means living and dying in a way that shows God to be the all-satisfying Treasure that he is. So it would include, for example, not living in ways that make this world look like your treasure. Which means that most of the suggestions that this world offers us for our retirement years are bad ideas. They call us to live in a way that would make this world look like our treasure. And when that happens, God is belittled.

If you are financially in a position where you no longer need to work, ask the Lord how He would like to use your remaining years for His purpose and glory.

We’ve seen that sound teachers are always ready to remind their students of what they already know. They emphasize the basic truths of the Christian life. They are in earnest because they know that life is short, so they use their time to serve the Lord. Finally,

4. Sound teachers are diligent to awaken their students to remember the essential truths that will guide them long after the teacher is gone.

In verse 13, Peter considers it right to stir up his readers by way of reminder. “Stir up” means to arouse or awaken from sleep. Peter himself had learned this the hard way. Jesus warned him in advance that he would deny Him. Then, in the garden, Jesus told Peter, James, and John to stay alert and pray so that they would not enter into temptation. But they all fell asleep and, just a short time later, Peter denied his Lord (Matt. 26:36-46).

Because of our fallen nature, we’re all prone to be spiritually sluggish and lazy. Because of this, we need sound teachers who are spiritually alert to prod us to wake up to the essential truths of God’s Word. To cite Richard Baxter again, who was writing to pastors, he said (The Reformed Pastor [Banner of Truth], p. 148),

What! Speak coldly for God, and for men’s salvation? Can we believe that our people must be converted or condemned, and yet speak in a drowsy tone? In the name of God, brethren, labor to awaken your own hearts, before you go to the pulpit, that you may be fit to awaken the hearts of sinners. … Oh, speak not one cold or careless word about so great a business as heaven or hell.

When Peter says that after his departure his readers will be able to call these things to mind, he was probably referring to this very letter, which he left to them as his legacy. While none of us can leave that kind of legacy behind, we can leave the legacy of the seed of the gospel sown in the hearts of our children and others with whom we have contact. We can leave the legacy of a godly example and good deeds, so that when others think of us, they will be drawn to our Savior and Lord.

Conclusion

So, no matter where you’re at in the Lord, Peter is saying that you need sound teachers to remind you often of the basic truths of the faith so that you stay on course. By way of applying his words, I would encourage you to do several things: (1) Read the Bible through over and over. The godly George Muller is said to have read it through over 200 times! (2) Memorize key portions of the Bible through frequent repetition. (3) Regularly sit under the faithful ministry of the Word. We have so many wonderful resources available online! (4) Read solid books that will help you grow to know Christ better. I know—none of these suggestions are original or new. I’m just reminding you of what you already know!

Application Questions

1. Do you agree that sound Bible teaching should be the primary consideration in choosing a church? Why/why not?
2. Discuss: most spiritual failure is failure in the basics.
3. Is the American version of retirement a biblical concept? How should it be modified?
4. What kind of legacy do you want to leave your children and others?

Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 2010, All Rights Reserved.

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation

If you’re going to base your entire life on something, you want to know that it is solid. If you’re going to stake your eternity on that same thing, you really want to be sure that it is the truth. It would be utterly tragic to spend your life on a path that you thought led to heaven, only to find out too late that you were wrong!

As Christians, we build our lives and stake our eternity on the truth of God’s Word. But, how can we know that it’s true? How can we be sure that it isn’t just a collection of quaint writings from a bunch of Jewish guys who lived thousands of years ago?

And, since even Christians interpret the Bible in so many different ways, how can we know that our interpretation is correct? Even some who claim to be evangelical Christians say that we cannot know the exact meaning of Scripture. They would say that if you claim to know what the Bible says, you are dogmatic and arrogant. To claim that your view is the only right view is divisive. Are they right? Can we know for sure that what the Bible says is true and that we are correct in our understanding of it?

As we’ve seen, Peter knows that he is about to die (1:14). He wants to leave his readers with a solid foundation so that after he is gone, they will not be led astray by false teachers, who are already plaguing the churches. That solid foundation is the revealed Word of God. The central focus of all Scripture is the Lord Jesus Christ. In 1:16-18, Peter boldly states that the apostles were not following cleverly devised tales when they made known the power and coming of the Lord Jesus. Rather, the experience that they had on the mount of transfiguration, when they saw Jesus’ majesty and glory, was a prophetic glimpse of the truth that He is coming again in power and glory to reign. The apostolic witness to Jesus Christ, which we now have in the New Testament, is one leg of the foundation of our faith.

The other leg is (v. 19), “we have the prophetic word made more sure.” I’ll explain this phrase more in a moment, but I think his meaning is that the apostles’ experience on the mount of transfiguration confirmed and clarified the truth of the Old Testament, that the Messiah will come again to judge the world and to reign in glory over His redeemed people. Therefore, Peter tells us to pay attention to that word as a lamp shining in the dark, until Christ returns. Also, we must be careful to interpret God’s Word correctly (v. 20), because it is not the word of man, but rather the inspired Word of God (v. 21). Thus,

Since we have the solid foundation of God’s inspired Word, we must pay careful attention to it and interpret it correctly.

Ironically, these verses challenge us with some difficult interpretive issues, so I will try to explain the text as we work through it, so that we can apply it correctly.

1. We have the solid foundation of God’s Word (1:19a).

We not only have the apostolic witness to Jesus as they saw Him on the mount of transfiguration (1:16-18), but also (v. 19 in Greek begins with “and”) “we have the prophetic word made more sure.” “We” refers first to the apostles (as in 1:16-18), and by extension to the church. In the context of the Lord’s coming (v. 16), the “prophetic word” refers to the Old Testament prophecies relating to “the day of the Lord,” the day of judgment and salvation (Thomas Schreiner, The New American Commentary, 1, 2 Peter, Jude [Broadman], p.319). By extension, it applies to all of the Old Testament, since the Scriptures all tie together. But the idea is that the Old Testament prophecies about the coming day of the Lord are confirmed and clarified by the transfiguration, where the disciples saw a prophetic preview of Jesus in His glory.

But, what does Peter mean when he says “more sure”? Some follow the King James Version, which translates, “We have also a more sure word of prophecy ….” The idea is that the written word is more sure than the disciples’ experience on the mount of transfiguration was.

For example, John MacArthur (The MacArthur Study Bible, New American Standard Bible Updated edition [Nelson Bibles], p. 1924; also, see, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, 2 Peter & Jude [Moody Publishers], pp. 61-62) argues that the Greek word order favors that translation. He thinks that Peter is saying that Scripture ranks even above his experience of seeing the transfigured Christ. He states (Study Bible, ibid.), “the Word of God is a more reliable verification of the teachings about the person, atonement, and second coming of Christ than even the genuine first hand experiences of the apostles themselves.”

While I greatly respect John MacArthur, I have to agree here with Thomas Schreiner, who argues (p. 320), “this would subvert the argument in vv. 16-18, for Peter then would be suggesting that his appeal to the transfiguration is not quite convincing, so he needed something better, namely, the Old Testament Scriptures. But vv. 16-18 demonstrate that Peter believed that the transfiguration was decisive proof for his view, not questionable in the least.”

So it seems preferable to understand that Peter is saying that the Old Testament prophets gave us a sure word about Christ. They predicted His sufferings and the glory that would follow. But the apostles did not understand how it all fit together until after Jesus’ death and resurrection. Then Jesus explained how it was necessary for Him “to suffer these things and to enter into His glory” (Luke 24:27; see, also vv. 44-45). The three disciples then recalled their experience on the mount of transfiguration, where seeing Jesus’ glory was a prophetic glimpse of His coming again. So in this sense, the Old Testament prophetic word was made more sure. The transfiguration confirmed and clarified the truth that was there, but which they did not understand until after that experience.

Before we leave this point, consider for a moment just some of the prophetic Scriptures with regard to Jesus Christ. I have heard that there are over 300 prophecies about Christ in the Old Testament, but let’s take just a few: The Messiah would be born of a virgin (Isa. 7:14), of the tribe of Judah (Gen. 49:10), of the lineage of David (2 Sam. 7:16), in the city of Bethlehem (Mic. 5:2). His ministry would be introduced by a forerunner, who would speak in the spirit and power of Elijah (Mal. 3:1; 4:5; Isa. 40:3-5). This was fulfilled, of course, in John the Baptist. Other prophecies speak of His ministry (Isa. 42:1-4; 61:1-2), His miracles (Isa. 35:5-6), and His triumphal entry into Jerusalem on the foal of a donkey (Zech. 9:9).

Psalm 22, written hundreds of years before crucifixion was known as a means of execution, describes His death on the cross. That psalm also describes the taunts of His accusers (v. 8) and the soldiers casting lots for His garments (v. 18). Isaiah 53 also describes Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross for our sins. It mentions specifically (v. 9) that His grave would be assigned with wicked men, yet that He would be with a rich man in His death. As you know, He was crucified between two criminals, but buried in the tomb of a rich man. All of these, plus many more prophecies, were specifically fulfilled in the life of Jesus Christ.

Years ago, a math professor named Peter Stoner wrote a little book, Science Speaks [Moody Press, 1963]. In it, he assigns probabilities to a number of biblical prophecies and then calculates the odds that these things could have happened by sheer chance. In one chapter, he takes just eight prophecies concerning Jesus Christ and uses very conservative estimates to determine how probable it is that anyone who might have lived from the time of those prophecies down to the present could have fulfilled them all. His answer is, 1 in 1017.

How big is that number? To illustrate, Professor Stoner says (pp. 106-107), take 1017 silver dollars and lay them on the face of Texas. They will cover the entire state two feet deep. Now mark one of those silver dollars, stir it into the whole mix, blindfold a man and tell him he can go as far as he wants, but he has to pick just one. His chances of picking the marked silver dollar are the same chance that the prophets would have had of writing just these eight prophecies (apart from divine inspiration) and having them all come true in one man. He goes on to show that if you take 16 prophecies, the odds increase to 1 in 1045, an unimaginably huge number. It would involve a ball of silver dollars extending 30 times as far as from the earth to the sun! And that’s just 16 prophecies, not the 300 which Jesus fulfilled!

So Peter’s first point is, we have the solid foundation of the prophetic word, which was further confirmed by the apostles’ experience of seeing Jesus’ glory on the mount of transfiguration.

2. We must pay careful attention to God’s Word in view of the coming day of judgment (1:19b).

Peter continues (1:19b), “to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.” The flow of thought from the context is, “Since the Old Testament prophets predict the power and glory of Christ in His coming and since our experience on the mount of transfiguration confirmed those prophecies, pay close attention to the Scriptures.”

Peter compares the Bible to a lamp shining in the darkness, much as Psalm 119:105, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” This is the only New Testament use of this Greek word for “dark.” It has the connotation of being not only dark, but also dirty or squalid. To navigate this dark, dirty world safely, you need the lamp of God’s Word.

Last fall, my son-in-law, his two boys, and I hiked to the end of the Lava Cave north of town. When you get beyond the entrance, it’s pitch black in there and there are a lot of places where the footing is uneven and there are low overhead rocks. Even with my headlamp, I hit my head hard on one of the rocks.

The Bible says that the world is like that. It is a morally dark place. There are many hazards where you can conk your head or fall into a pit. When we come to know Christ, the Bible becomes our light to show us how to live to please Him in view of His coming, so that we can avoid temptation and sin.

The day dawning (v. 19) refers to the second coming of Jesus Christ. That end time is called “the day of the Lord.” It will be a day of gladness and hope for believers, because our redemption draws near (Luke 21:28). But it will be a time of terror and awful regret for those who have rejected Christ.

But, what does Peter mean when he says, “the morning star arises in your hearts”? This also refers to the coming of Christ, who calls Himself “the bright morning star” (Rev. 22:16; see, also Rev. 2:28; Num. 24:17). But, what does Peter mean when he says that the morning star “arises in your hearts”? This almost sounds as if the second coming is not an objective, outwardly visible event, but rather an inward, subjective experience in believers’ hearts.

But Peter clearly believed in the objective, bodily, personal return of Christ. So he probably means that now, in the darkness, the prophetic word shines to illumine our path. But when Jesus, the morning star, returns, we will have the light of His presence so that we will no longer need the prophetic word. The One of whom the prophecies spoke will be with us personally, shining fully into our hearts. As Peter Davids writes (The Letters of 2 Peter and Jude [Eerdmans], p. 210), “One treasures a love letter while the beloved is absent, but once he or she is present, the letter is laid aside and exchanged for the personal contact.”

Before we leave verse 19, let’s apply it by asking, “Are you paying attention to the lamp that is shining in the darkness?” Do you read the Word regularly to gain the light that you need to live in a manner pleasing to the Lord? Are you living in light of His coming, when we all will stand before Him to give an account of how we have lived (2 Cor. 5:10; Rom. 14:10-12)? We have the solid foundation of God’s Word, but we must pay attention to it in view of the coming day that surely will dawn.

3. We must interpret the Word correctly, because it is not the word of man, but the inspired Word of God (1:20-21).

The NASB usually gives an almost literal rendering of the Greek text, but in verse 20 it errs. It adds the word “but” (which is not in the Greek at all) and begins a new sentence. The ESV gets it right by continuing the sentence from verse 19, “knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation.” Peter is explaining that we should pay close attention to Scripture by interpreting it correctly, because we are dealing with the inspired word of God to us through these human authors.

A. We must interpret the Word correctly (1:20).

But, again we must deal with some interpretive problems in order to understand verse 20. It has been interpreted in three main ways. First, the Roman Catholic Church uses verse 20 to teach that individuals are not permitted to interpret the Bible for themselves. Rather, they must depend on the official teaching of the church. The practical result of this has been that many Roman Catholics have never read or studied the Bible on their own. For many years, the Church opposed translating the Bible into the common languages of the people for fear that they would misinterpret it. So Catholics had to depend on the priests as the correct interpreters of Scripture. But this view reads into the text all sorts of things that are not there. The question is, is the church over the Word or is the Word over the church?

Second, some understand the verse to be referring not to the interpretation of Scripture, but rather to its origin. The NIV gives an interpretive translation, “no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation.” In favor of this view is that the word “is” (NASB) means, “comes” or “came about.” Also, verse 21 seems to support this view by further explaining how the prophets got their message. But, against this view is the meaning of the word “interpretation,” which only occurs here in the New Testament. It means to untie a knot or solve a puzzle. So it more likely refers to the proper interpretation of prophecy after it was given, not to originating the prophecy (Schreiner, p. 323).

The third view is that Peter is saying that we aren’t free to interpret Scripture according to our own personal whims. Scripture is not to be interpreted subjectively, according to my feelings or preferences, but rather, objectively, according to the meaning of the text. To interpret it according to your subjective feelings would be to twist the Scriptures, something that the false teachers were doing (2 Pet. 3:16; see also, 2 Tim. 4:3-4). So while Peter could be referring to the origination of Scripture (the second view), because of his concern about the false teachers (2:1; 3:16), I favor this view.

Peter puts this as a priority (“first of all”) because if Christ is coming again in judgment and His Word is the standard for judgment, then we’d better understand it correctly! You can’t stand before the judge after you’ve been driving 100 and say, “I didn’t understand that sign with the 25 on it!” Nor would it do to ask the judge, “What does 25 miles per hour mean to you? For me, 100 feels more like 25.” Sorry, but 25 mph is not a subjective feeling; it is an objective standard by which anyone may be judged.

I don’t have time to go in depth into the proper principles for interpreting the Bible, but I’ll quickly mention a few key things. First, we must always interpret a text in light of its context. Second, the Bible interprets itself, especially, individual authors interpret themselves. If you let Paul in context interpret Paul on justification by faith and James in context interpret James on justification by works, they do not contradict each other. Third, interpret the Bible based on grammatical, linguistic, and historical considerations. Words mean something and languages put words together in structured ways. We must seek to determine what the text meant to the original author and readers in their historical setting before we ask how it applies to us in our culture. So, Peter’s point is, we are not free to interpret the Word in any way that we please. Why not?

B. We must interpret the Word correctly because it is not our word, but the inspired Word of God (1:21).

Peter continues, “for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” The idea is, you are not free to interpret the Bible according to your feelings or to take or leave parts of it as you like, because (“for”) the Bible is the very word from God to us through these inspired men. It carries God’s authority and wisdom for how we should live. It is the word of the Sovereign of the universe, to whom we will give account. So we had better take care to understand it correctly and obey it completely!

Verse 21 is one of the key verses explaining the inspiration of Scripture. It shows that Scripture comes to us through human authors, but that they didn’t make it up themselves. Rather, they were moved or carried along by the Holy Spirit. The verb is used of the wind carrying along Paul’s ship in the storm at sea (Acts 27:15, 17). Charles Hodge gives one of the best explanations (Systematic Theology [Eerdmans], 1:154). He wrote, “inspiration was an influence of the Holy Spirit on the minds of certain select men, which rendered them the organs of God for the infallible communication of his mind and will. They were in such a sense the organs of God, that what they said God said.”

While certain portions of Scripture were dictated directly by God, in most places He used the personalities and experiences of the authors to shape their language and message, but the final product is, as Hodge puts it, “what they said God said.” (See 2 Sam. 23:2; Jer. 23:16-22; Ezek. 13:2-3; Acts 28:25; Heb. 3:7; 10:15.) In the Old Testament alone, the writers refer to their writings as the words of God over 3,800 times (MacArthur Study Bible, p. 1924).

Conclusion

Have you ever watched footage of when they want to take down an old skyscraper? Engineers put dynamite at strategic places in the foundation. When they set it off, the building implodes.

It’s not surprising that Satan relentlessly tries to blow up the foundation of our faith, which is the Word of God. His very first temptation challenged Eve (Gen. 3:1), “Indeed, has God said …?” He has attempted to bring down our faith through liberal theologians, who undermine its veracity. Our higher educational system (Harvard, Yale, and Princeton were founded to train men in the Word) is now dominated by skeptics who sneer at God’s Word. Evolution, which (against all reason) is accepted as fact in our public educational system, does away with the need to submit to the Almighty Creator.

Yet, in spite of the attacks, the Word of God endures forever (1 Pet. 1:25). It gives us a solid foundation on which to build our lives and to stake our eternity. Make sure you pay attention to it by spending consistent time reading and studying it. Be careful to interpret it correctly. Walk by the light that it gives you to avoid the pitfalls in this dark world. Then you will rejoice when the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.

Application Questions

1. Since Christians have so many different interpretations of the Word, how do we determine which are right and which are of primary importance?
2. How would you answer a critic who pointed out supposed “contradictions” in the Word? What should you say?
3. Roman Catholics contend that the Protestant “right of private interpretation of Scripture” has resulted in thousands of denominations, while their view has preserved the unity of the church. How would you answer this charge?
4. How can we know that the Holy Spirit really inspired the authors of Scripture and that they weren’t just making it up?

Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 2010, All Rights Reserved.

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation