Historical and Theological Themes
Second Peter was written for the purpose of exposing, thwarting, and defeating the invasion of false teachers into the church. Peter intended to instruct Christians in how to defend themselves against these false teachers and their deceptive lies. This book is the most graphic and penetrating exposé of false teachers in Scripture, comparable only to Jude.
The description of the false teachers is somewhat generic. Peter does not identify some specific false religion, cult, or system of teaching. In a general characterization of false teachers, he informs that they teach destructive heresies. They deny Christ and twist the Scriptures. They bring true faith into disrepute. And they mock the second coming of Christ. But Peter was just as concerned to show the immoral character of these teachers as he was to expose their teaching. Thus, he describes them in more detail than he describes their doctrines. Wickedness is not the product of sound doctrine, but of “destructive heresies” (2:1).
Other themes for this letter can be discerned in the midst of Peter’s polemic against the false teachers. He wanted to motivate his readers to continue to develop their Christian character (1:5-11). In so doing, he explains wonderfully how a believer can have assurance of his salvation. Peter also wanted to persuade his readers of the divine character of the apostolic writings (1:12-21). Near the end of the letter, he presents reasons for the delay in Christ’s second coming (3:1-13).
Another recurring theme is the importance of knowledge. The word, “knowledge,” appears in some form 16 times in these 3 short chapters. It is not too much to say that Peter’s primary solution to false teaching is knowledge of true doctrine. Other distinctive features of 2 Peter include a precise statement on the divine origin of Scripture (1:20, 21); the future destruction of the world by fire (3:8–13); and the recognition of Paul’s letters as inspired Scripture (3:15, 16).
Interpretive Challenges
Perhaps the most important challenge in the epistle is to rightly interpret 1:19-21, because of its far-reaching implications with regard to the nature and authenticity of Scripture. That passage, along with 2 Tim. 3:15-17, is vital to a sound view of the Bible’s inspiration. Peter’s remark that the Lord “bought” false teachers (2:1) poses a challenge interpretively and theologically with regard to the nature of the atonement. The identity of the angels who sinned (2:4) also challenges the interpreter. Many who believe that the saved can be lost again, use 2:18-22 for their argument. That passage, directed at false teachers, must be clarified so as not to contradict a similar statement to believers in 1:4. Further, whom does God not want to perish (3:9)? All of these matters will be treated in the notes.
Outline
Salutation (1:1, 2)
I. Know Your Salvation (1:3-11)
A. Sustained by God’s Power (1:3, 4)
B. Confirmed by Christian Graces (1:5-7)
C. Honored by Abundant Reward (1:8-11)
II. Know Your Scriptures (1:12-21)
A. Certified by Apostolic Witness (1:12-18)
B. Inspired by the Holy Spirit (1:19-21)
III. Know Your Adversaries (2:1-22)
A. Deceptive in Their Infiltration (2:1-3)
B. Doomed by Their Iniquity (2:4-10a)
C. Disdainful in Their Impurity (2:10b-17)
D. Devastating in Their Impact (2:18-22)
IV. Know Your Prophecy (3:1-18)
A. The Sureness of the Day of the Lord (3:1-10)
B. The Sanctification of God’s People (3:11-18)
The Second Epistle of
PETER
2 Peter 1
Greeting the Faithful
1Simon Peter, a bondservant and aapostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who have 1obtained blike2 precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:
2cGrace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord,
3as His ddivine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him ewho called us by glory and virtue,
4fby which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be gpartakers of the divine nature, having escaped the 3corruption that is in the world through lust.
Fruitful Growth in the Faith
5But also for this very reason, hgiving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue iknowledge,
6to knowledge self-control, to self-control 4perseverance, to perseverance godliness,
7to godliness brotherly kindness, and jto brotherly kindness love.
8For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither 5barren knor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9For he who lacks these things is lshortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.
10Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent mto make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble;
11for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Peter’s Approaching Death
12For this reason nI will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, othough you know and are established in the present truth.
13Yes, I think it is right, pas long as I am in this 6tent, qto stir you up by reminding you,
14rknowing that shortly I must 7put off my tent, just as sour Lord Jesus Christ showed me.
15Moreover I will be careful to ensure that you always have a reminder of these things after my 8decease.
The Trustworthy Prophetic Word
(Matt. 17:5; Mark 9:7; Luke 9:35)
16For we did not follow tcunningly devised fables when we made known to you the upower and vcoming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were weyewitnesses of His majesty.
17For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: x“This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
18And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on ythe holy mountain.
199And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a zlight that shines in a dark place, auntil bthe day dawns and the morning star rises in your chearts;
20knowing this first, that dno prophecy of Scripture is of any private 10interpretation,
21for eprophecy never came by the will of man, fbut 11holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.
2 Peter 2
Destructive Doctrines
1But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be afalse teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction.
2And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed.
3By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction 1does not slumber.
Doom of False Teachers
4For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to 2hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment;
5and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly;
6and turning the cities of bSodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly;
7and cdelivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked
8(for that righteous man, dwelling among them, dtormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds)—
9then ethe Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment,
10and especially fthose who walk according to the flesh in the lus
t of uncleanness and despise authority. gThey are presumptuous, self-willed. They are not afraid to speak evil of 3dignitaries,
11whereas hangels, who are greater in power and might, do not bring a reviling accusation against them before the Lord.
Depravity of False Teachers
12But these, ilike natural brute beasts made to be caught and destroyed, speak evil of the things they do not understand, and will utterly perish in their own corruption,
13jand will receive the wages of unrighteousness, as those who count it pleasure kto 4carouse in the daytime. lThey are spots and blemishes, 5carousing in their own deceptions while mthey feast with you,
14having eyes full of 6adultery and that cannot cease from sin, enticing unstable souls. nThey have a heart trained in covetous practices, and are accursed children.
15They have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of oBalaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;
16but he was rebuked for his iniquity: a dumb donkey speaking with a man’s voice restrained the madness of the prophet.
17pThese are wells without water, 7clouds carried by a tempest, for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness 8forever.
Deceptions of False Teachers
18For when they speak great swelling words of emptiness, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through lewdness, the ones who 9have actually escaped from those who live in error.
19While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of 10corruption; qfor by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into 11bondage.
20For if, after they rhave escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are sagain entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning.
21For tit would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them.
22But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: u“A dog returns to his own vomit,” and, “a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.”
2 Peter 3
God’s Promise Is Not Slack
(Gen. 6:5—8:22)
1Beloved, I now write to you this second epistle (in both of which aI stir up your pure minds by way of reminder),
2that you may be mindful of the words bwhich were spoken before by the holy prophets, cand of the commandment of 1us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior,
3knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, dwalking according to their own lusts,
4and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of ecreation.”
5For this they willfully forget: that fby the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth gstanding out of water and in the water,
6hby which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water.
7But ithe heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for jfire until the day of judgment and 2perdition of ungodly men.
8But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and ka thousand years as one day.
9lThe Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but mis longsuffering toward 3us, nnot willing that any should perish but othat all should come to repentance.
The Day of the Lord
10But pthe day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which qthe heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be 4burned up.
11Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be rin holy conduct and godliness,
12slooking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will tbe dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will umelt with fervent heat?
13Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for vnew heavens and a wnew earth in which righteousness dwells.
Be Steadfast
14Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent xto be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless;
15and consider that ythe longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you,
16as also in all his zepistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the arest of the Scriptures.
17You therefore, beloved, bsince you know this beforehand, cbeware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked;
18dbut grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. eTo Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.
2 Peter Commentaries
2 Peter 1
1:1 Simon Peter. See Introduction. a bondservant and apostle. Peter identifies himself with a balance of humility and dignity. As a servant, he was on equal basis with other Christians—an obedient slave of Christ. As an apostle, he was unique, divinely called, and commissioned as an eyewitness to the resurrection of Christ (see notes on Rom. 1:1). To those. The recipients of this letter are the same as those who received Peter’s first letter (cf. 3:1; 1 Pet. 1:1; see Introductions to 1, 2 Peter). obtained. An uncommon word often referring to obtaining something by lot (cf. Acts 1:17). It is often translated “received,” and can mean “attaining by divine will.” Here, Peter was emphasizing that salvation was not attained by personal effort, skill, or worthiness, but came purely from God’s grace. like precious. Generally the Gr. word which is translated “like precious” was used to designate equal in rank, position, honor, standing, price, or value. It was used in the ancient world with strangers and foreigners who were given equal citizenship in a city. Here, Peter was emphasizing that Christians have all received the same precious, priceless saving faith. There are no first and second class Christians in spiritual, racial, or gender distinctions (cf. Gal. 3:28). Since Peter was writing to mostly Gentiles, he may have been emphasizing that they have received the same faith as the Jews (cf. Acts 10:44–48; 11:17, 18). faith. Peter is speaking of a subjective faith, i.e., the Christian’s power to believe for his salvation. Faith is the capacity to believe (Eph. 2:8, 9). Even though faith and belief express the human side of salvation, God still must grant that faith. God initiates faith when the Holy Spirit awakens the dead soul in response to hearing the Word of God (cf. Acts 11:21; Eph. 2:8; Phil. 1:2). by the righteousness. Peter’s point is that believers share the equal gift of salvation because God’s righteousness is imputed to them. That righteousness recognizes no distinction between people except that the sins of some are more heinous than others. So, not only do they have faith because God gives it to them, they are saved only because God imputes righteousness to them (see notes on Rom. 3:26; 4:5; 2 Cor. 5:21; Phil. 3:8, 9). our God and Savior Jesus Christ. The Gr. construction has only one article before this phrase, making the entire phrase refer to the same person. Thus, Peter is identifying Jesus Christ as both Savior and God (cf. Is. 43:3, 11; 45:15, 21; 60:16; Rom. 9:5; Col. 2:9; Titus 2:13; Heb. 1:8).
1:2 knowledge. This is a strengthened form of “knowledge” implying a larger, more thorough, and intimate knowledge. The Christian’s precious faith is built on knowing the truth about God (cf. v. 3). Christianity is not a mystical religion, but is based in objective, historical, revealed, rational truth from God and intended to be understood and believed. The deeper and wider that knowledge of the Lord, the more “grace and peace” are multiplied.
1:3 His divine power. “His” refers to Jesus Christ. Christ’s power is the source of the believer’s sufficiency and perseverance (cf. Matt. 24:30; Mark 5:30; Luke 4:14; 5:17; Rom. 1:4; 2 Cor. 12:9). all things that pertain to life. The genuine Christian is eternally secure in h
is salvation and will persevere and grow because he has received everything necessary to sustain eternal life through Christ’s power. godliness. To be godly is to live reverently, loyally, and obediently toward God. Peter means that the genuine believer ought not to ask God for something more (as if something necessary to sustain his growth, strength, and perseverance was missing) to become godly, because he already has every spiritual resource to manifest, sustain, and perfect godly living. knowledge of Him. “Knowledge” is a key word in 2 Peter (vv. 2, 5, 6, 8; 2:20; 3:18). Throughout Scripture, it implies an intimate knowledge (Amos 3:2), and is even used for sexual intercourse (Gen. 4:1) The knowledge of Christ emphasized here is not a superficial knowledge, or a mere surface awareness of the facts about Christ, but a genuine, personal sharing of life with Christ, based on repentance from sin and personal faith in Him (cf. Matt. 7:21). called us by glory and virtue. This call, as always when mentioned in the NT epistles, is the effectual call to salvation (cf. 1 Pet. 1:15; 2:21; 5:10; see note on Rom. 8:30). This saving call is based on the sinner’s understanding of Christ’s revealed majesty and moral excellence evidencing that He is Lord and Savior. This implies that there must be a clear presentation of Christ’s person and work as the God-Man in evangelism, which attracts men to salvation (cf. 1 Cor. 2:1, 2). The cross and resurrection most clearly reveal His “glory and virtue.”
1:4 exceedingly great and precious promises. That is, the promises of abundant and eternal life. partakers of the divine nature. This expression is not different from the concepts of being born again, born from above (cf. John 3:3; James 1:18; 1 Pet. 1:23), being in Christ (cf. Rom. 8:1), or being the home of the Trinity (John 14:17–23). The precious promises of salvation result in becoming God’s children in the present age (John 1:12; Rom. 8:9; Gal. 2:20; Col. 1:27), and thereby sharing in God’s nature by the possession of His eternal life. Christians do not become little gods, but they are “new creations” (2 Cor. 5:17) and have the Holy Spirit living in them (1 Cor. 6:19, 20). Moreover, believers will partake of the divine nature in a greater way when they bear a glorified body like Jesus Christ (Phil. 3:20, 21; 1 John 3:1–3). escaped the corruption. The word “corruption” has the idea of something decomposing or decaying. “Escaped” depicts a successful flight from danger. At the time of salvation, the believer escapes from the power which the rottenness in the world has over him through his fallen, sinful nature.
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