“Multiplied Grace and Peace” 2 Peter 1:1-2 Last week we finished the series through 1 Peter, and now we are moving a few years into the future by studying 2 Peter. The book of 1 Peter was written around 62-63 AD, and it’s clear that there was at least some level of persecution towards Christians in that time period. We know that because, at different points, Peter wrote to prepare people for persecution and to also comfort believers in the midst of the struggles they were currently facing. However, this second letter is written with greater intensity because the persecution had increased. Both 1st and 2nd Peter were written under the reign of Emperor Nero; however, 2 Peter was probably written after the burning of the city of Rome in 64 AD. I say that before, Peter wrote in 2 Peter 1:14, “shortly I must put off my tent, just as our Lord Jesus Christ showed me.”1 As one commentator writes, “Peter probably borrows in his letter from the ancient Jewish ‘testament,’ in which a spiritual leader used the nearness of his death to add special force to his warnings and admonitions. . . . The apostle senses that the time for the fulfillment of the Lord’s prophecy about his martyrdom had come and thus writes a final note of advice and caution before his end.” (Moo, p. 25). So, let’s get the context of the writing of this letter. If you know history, you recall that in an effort to save face and get people to like him again, Nero blamed the burning of the city on Christians. It was this incident that intensified the persecution of the Christians in the Roman Empire, and that lasted until the reign of Constantine in the 4th century. But, according to reliable historical record, this persecution led to the death of the writer of this book, and not only him, but also the apostle Paul. Therefore, this book was written probably during greater persecution and also shortly before Peter’s death. Do you remember last week’s sermon where we studied Peter’s phrase “She who is in Babylon,” and I commented on how that referred to the fact that Peter was with a church body who was in the center of the world’s system? While Peter understood the power of Rome and the fact that it was ungodly, I don’t think he could have predicted what was to come. Now he writes with greater force. There’s pleading that comes from these words that are penned here. He’s going to die. How is everything going to end? In this letter we see pastoral care, personal zeal, Christian love and a desire for persevering assurance for the struggling believers. As a result, I pray that all of us wouldn’t take this letter lightly. Realize the seriousness here. This was written by the inspiration of God at great cost and burden of Peter. I pray that we would grow in our humility and also pursuit of God as a result of studying this book. With that, we’ll start by reading the first two verses of 1 Peter: Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: 2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord,2
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The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), 2 Pe 1:14. The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), 2 Pe 1:1–2. 1|Page 2
Here we have a general introduction, but the introductions that we find in the Scriptures carry more weight that we probably think at first glance. Usually the introductions of the epistles have within them the seedling truths for the rest of the letter. So, just like it would be a mistake to gloss over a conclusion of a letter, so it is also a mistake to neglect the introductions. They tell us about the people being written to, the context and also the purpose. Simon (Jewish) Peter (Greek) So, let’s start off with verse 1. Simon Peter writes here. This is actually common phraseology for the day, but also interesting at the same time. Many people would call themselves by their given name and also their Greek name. Here, we see Peter doing that. He calls himself Simon (his given name) and then Peter (his Greek name). But what’s interesting about this is something that we don’t see in our translations. Peter doesn’t simply call himself “Simon.” He’s called “Simeon.” The only other place in the Scriptures where it’s written this way in the Greek is one reference in the book of Acts. Now, you could say, “Why does this matter?” Good question. There’s probably at least two reasons, but I’ll comment on just one this morning. I think that Peter is probably specifically referencing his Jewish/Palestinian origins while at the same time connecting himself with the Greek world by using the name Jesus gave him: Peter. This is important to note because I believe Peter is again writing to a primarily Gentile audience and he is revealing to them that they are all one in Christ. But now Peter moves on and says that he is a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ. These statements about his identity are meant to cause his readers to understand his authority. I’ll explain them in a minute, but the basic idea is that every reader must listen to these words because Peter is a servant and apostle of Jesus. Jesus stated in Matthew 10:40, “He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.”3 How many of you have ever heard the term “Red-Letter Christian?” There is actually a movement of people who believe that the red letters in the Bible are more authoritative because they are the words of Jesus. As a result, we can play around with the apostle’s words because (after all), they weren’t perfect! However, if we are going to take Jesus at his word, we have to listen to the authoritative words of the apostle’s, too. Jesus said that if we receive the apostle, we receive Jesus. In addition, Jesus specifically spoke to the disciples and told them that the Holy Spirit was going to guide them into truth and teach them. I know this is probably a review for many of you here, but I want to make sure that you don’t have a “redletter” mindset. Maybe when you read your Bible, you sit up straighter in your Bible study when it gets to Jesus’ words, but the reality is that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God. Men spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. Therefore, all of the Bible is to be taken seriously. And, Peter makes that clear by using these two words: servant and apostle. Let’s look at the word “servant” first. This word for servant is not simply a word for someone who is a household servant. There’s a different Greek word. This word for servant is actually the word doulos, which means “slave,” and it referred to a purchased slave. This carries the idea of 1 Corinthians 6:20 where the Apostle Paul wrote, “For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”4 The point is not so much that Peter is saying, “Woe is me. I’m a slave,” but instead, his desire is to state that he is a purchased slave who is glorifying God in his body and spirit. This was an idea communicated even in the Old Testament as well. Even Patriarchs were referred to as slaves: Moses (Deut. 34:5), Samuel (1 Sam. 3:9-10), and David (1 Sam. 17:32). Therefore, as one man by the name of Peter Davids 3
The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), Mt 10:40. The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), 1 Co 6:20. 2|Page 4
writes, “Thus ‘servant’ (slave) indicates an honorable (if intrinsically low-status) place in the ‘household of God/Jesus. . .” (Davids, p. 161). I have talked about this idea in the past, but in case some people struggle with being called a slave of God, let me tell you that there is no freer place than to be a slave of Jesus. Jesus said in John 8:36, “if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.”5 I remember when my children were listening to something and there were children talking about what they thought freedom was, and one child said something like, “Freedom is being able to do whatever you want.” Praise the Lord that one of my children quickly responded by saying something like, “Oh no! That’s not right, dad!” Yet how sad it is that so many people think that real freedom is in doing whatever our whims dictate to us. The reality is that if you live on the basis of your whims, your whims and feelings are your master. And, how helpful are your feelings as a master? Usually they’re quite dictatorial and painful. But it’s not just our feelings. So many people turn to money, power, sex, job, people, fame, success, children, and even many other good gifts of God, to be their master. However, gifts are just that: gifts. They are meant to point us to the gift-giver. They were never created to be gods. The moment we view them as such, we find limited joy. But Peter says that he is a slave of Jesus. And, since Jesus is eternally glorious, that means that our joy in Him will never fade! So, it’s a privilege to be a slave of Jesus. In Him we find freedom. But Peter doesn’t stop there. While many of us here who have trusted in Jesus for forgiveness of sins and eternal satisfaction in Him can say that we share in being a slave of Jesus, we can’t go to the next point. Peter says he’s an apostle of Jesus Christ. Putting slave and apostle together are very helpful. What Peter is saying is that Jesus is his master and his master made him an apostle. Now instead of reinventing the wheel here, I am simply going to reiterate truths that I communicated on apostleship when I preached the first message in this series on 1 Peter 1, where Peter calls himself an apostle there. The Greek word “apostle” was used some before the New Testament and it simply means messenger. The implication is that there is one who is giving the messenger a message to share. So, when Peter says that he’s an apostle, he is stating that someone has given him a message to share with these people. He’s on a mission. Yet, there’s a broader New Testament understanding of this word “apostle.” It’s not simply that Peter has been sent by some unknown person to give a message to the Christians. Peter is an apostle in the greatest sense. He is an apostle of Jesus Christ. The word “apostle” was used by Jesus to refer to a role in the early church that closely parallels the Old Testament role of prophet. In Luke 6:13, we read, “And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles. . . .”6 These disciples didn’t function in the role of apostle until after Jesus’ ascension. Remember that upon His ascension He told them to make disciples. This is part of their messenger role – to teach the message that Jesus taught them. While it can be said of us that we all need to fulfill the Great Commission, the apostle’s fulfilled it in a unique way that none of us will fulfill it. The apostle’s had a special gifting of the Spirit to teach with greater authority. Let me read a few verses in this regard. 1 Corinthians 2:13 has Paul stating of himself, “These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.”7 In 1 Thessalonians 4:8, Paul reveals that to reject that writing is to blatantly reject God: Therefore he who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who has also given us His Holy Spirit.8 Then, even Peter joins the prophets and apostle’s together and calls the Christians to “be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior.”9
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The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), Jn 8:36. The New King James Version. 1982 (Lk 6:13). Nashville: Thomas Nelson. 7 The New King James Version. 1982 (1 Co 2:13). Nashville: Thomas Nelson. 8 The New King James Version. 1982 (1 Th 4:8). Nashville: Thomas Nelson. 9 The New King James Version. 1982 (2 Pe 3:2). Nashville: Thomas Nelson. 3|Page 6
Now, as I reveal the authority of Peter as an apostle, some people who have authority problems will get bent out of shape at Peter’s words here and say, “He’s manipulating. He’s strong-arming! He’s saying, “I’m an apostle and you better listen to me or else!” But, look at what Peter says here. He’s an apostle of Jesus Christ! In other words, Peter is a slave who is bound to Jesus and what Jesus tells him. In addition, if we remember the context of this letter, Peter is suffering and he knows his death is imminent. [Therefore, Peter’s actions match his words.] Peter is not speaking of his own accord. He’s not giving advice and calling people to submit to him. . . . He’s not seeking his own gain. He’s seeking the glory of Christ. Therefore, when I look at what Peter says here, I’m amazed. Here’s Peter [the slave and apostle] – the one who has been forgiven and placed into the role of sacrificing for other’s good. And, here’s Peter the submissive – his life is wrapped up in Jesus, whatever He says, Peter is lovingly bound to teach. (see sermon Peter and the Elect Exiles, preached May 26, 2013). The Recipients of the letter Now we move on to the recipients of the letter: To those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.10 This doesn’t tell us anything about their location. However, I think we can have some level of certainty that this is probably the people group to whom he wrote before. In 3:1, we read, “Beloved, I now write to you this second epistle (in both of which I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder).”11 Based on this, it seems probable that he’s writing to the same people; however, we cannot be completely sure. And, I don’t think that it’s necessary to know the exact location of his audience. Peter wants all the readers of this letter to understand something greater. And, what he states here is of greater importance for us understanding this letter and even growing in our faith and obedience. He says that we have obtained like precious faith with the apostles by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ. There are several gems we need to chisel out of this text and be in awe of. First, he says that we have obtained like precious faith with the apostles. The word “like” could either refer to having a similar system of beliefs with other people or it could refer to having an equal standing with other people’s faith. Both of these ideas are true. Anyone who is a believer in Christ shares similar core doctrines. So, it can be said that those who have those similar core doctrines are those with “like precious faith.” But it is also true to say that anyone who has faith also has a faith of equal standing with all other believers as well. This is the direction I lean with this phrase, but I think either are plausible. But let me expound on the “faith of equal status” point. Do you know that there is no believer who makes it into Heaven by the skin of their teeth? Do you know that there are no believers that have a better chance at Heaven than others? All believers come in the same way: grace through faith – even weak faith. Because it’s not the measure of our faith that saves. It’s the One to Whom we’re looking that saves. How could this truth be encouraging to believers undergoing persecution? Well, especially during persecution you can be tempted to give up. You can also start to look inward to yourself and begin to doubt. As we will discover in this book, Peter addresses that in the midst of this persecution there are false teachers who are cropping up, and even in this statement here, Peter is saying, “You believe on Jesus, and your faith is strong because your Savior is strong! Don’t give up. Don’t give in.” At this point you could be tempted to say, “But my faith is so weak. How can I carry on?” Peter brings in a word that he loves to use: precious. Do you remember hearing that word in 1 Peter? Do you remember what the word precious means? Precious refers to something very valuable and when Peter uses the word 10
The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), 2 Pe 1:1. The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), 2 Pe 3:1. 4|Page 11
precious, he refers to something of eternal value. In 1 Peter 1:7, we’re told that our faith is much more precious than gold which perishes. What’s he doing here? He’s showing us just how valuable faith is. We think gold is valuable in this world, and gold is the standard for where an economy is at. When we read that in Solomon’s day there was gold available in abundance, that means the economy was doing very well. When you come to other time periods and gold is very costly, that means the economy isn’t truly faring well. The idea of gold speaks to us. So, no matter what the economy, most people wouldn’t turn down a gold bar. We recognize its worth. Yet we are told that there’s something more valuable than gold. The riches of this world will pass away. Yet our current faith will move right into the world to come. It will go on into eternity. Therefore, faith is greater than precious metals or precious stones. They fade. They’re not truly precious, but faith is precious. So, let that sink in. If you have come to Jesus and understood what He’s done on your behalf – taking your punishment. If you have turned from seeking your identity and pleasure in merely earthly things, the Bible says that you have precious faith. And, even if it’s a faith that says, “Lord I believe. Help my unbelief.” That’s still faith and it will go on into eternity. I hope you hear Peter’s pastoral encouragement in these words. Peter’s going to talk about false teachers, and they’re going to claim that they have special knowledge. Yet, Peter here says, “Yes, there are false teachers. Yes, there is persecution, but the words here about the faith we have serves to stabilize us in the storm and give us assurance in the truths we’ve been taught in the Scriptures. Think of persecution like the disciples out in the waters of Galilee and the storm is raging. It seems like God’s asleep. It feels like you’re going to die. You’re frantic. You don’t know what’s going to happen. You start freaking out. Then, all of a sudden, Jesus speaks: Peace. Be still. These words of God, through Peter, speak peace to us. But there’s more. Note that Peter says that we’ve “obtained” this faith. This word means “to receive by lot or divine will” (Davids, p. 162). I love this phrasing because Peter is again solidifying our confidence. But this is also a confrontational truth that many people want to reject. I think there’s a lot of arrogance going around in the name of “faith.” People will go so far as to say that it is ultimately on the basis of your faith that you are saved, but I don’t believe that. “Whoa, Pastor Timothy. How can you say that?” some may exclaim. After all, the Bible does says in Romans 3:28, “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.”12 Obviously, this verse says that we are declared righteous on the basis of our faith. But let me ask you something. Is my faith the final say for my salvation or is it the result of something else? I believe my faith is the result of something else. In reality, there has to be One who does the justifying and the saving. We can talk about a saving faith, and I believe in saving faith. But it’s called saving faith because God has ordained to work through that faith, and to also be the one who has gifted us with that faith as well. Look at this text again. Peter says that we have obtained faith. This means that our faith has been received by divine will! This echoes Ephesians 2:8-9 which says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”13 Did you hear that? Salvation is not your own doing. As one commentary writes, “salvation has not its origin in faith or the believing one. . . .”14 I understand the hesitation in believing something like this because people will then say, “But I do have to believe, right? And, it is my faith that must respond, isn’t it?” Of course you must believe on the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved. But the glorious point that Peter and Paul make throughout their writings is that God loved
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The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), Ro 3:28. The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), Eph 2:8–9. 14 John Peter Lange et al., A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2008), 80. 5|Page 13
you so much that He took someone who was faithless and dead in their sins, and He made them alive together with Christ Jesus through a faith that didn’t come from them. It came from God! Oh how I wish people would understand this and see the beauty of this. While it may be confusing, it provides much greater assurance of salvation and joy in God. The reason I say this is because if my salvation was based on my faith, I’d be unsaved today, yesterday and tomorrow as well. A person’s faith wavers. Sometimes it’s very strong. Sometimes it’s very weak. But even if it is very strong, it is not perfect. Therefore, our faith is always in need of strengthening. If my salvation rested on the strength of my faith, I’d be doomed. But it doesn’t rest on me at all. As a matter of fact, for faith to rest in itself is a contradiction of real faith. Faith means reliance, dependence, belief on, resting in Jesus. That’s faith. Faith is looking to Jesus and saying He saves and I need Him to save me. And, guess what? He does save and He’s saved many of us here. Therefore, because salvation rests in Jesus – from beginning to end – we have hope that we’re going to make it through no matter what comes our way. Do you believe this, Beloved? Where are you today? What struggles are you facing? Do you ever doubt that you will endure to the end and follow after God? Do you feel the weight of temptation, sin, external circumstances, hardship in marriage or hardship with children or hardship with friends or hardship with family? Do you experience people ridiculing for Christ’s name? Do you feel weak? Listen, don’t preach to yourself some type of self-help gospel. Preach the gospel of Jesus which says that He has and will continue to give you the strength you need. Look to Him. Submit to Him and His ways. Trust Him. Rest in Him. This is what Peter is getting across. And, in case you doubt that your future is secure in Jesus, Peter goes to the Nth degree in the next few words: by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.15 Our faith has been granted to us by divine will by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ. Will our faith ever be extinguished? No. It’s precious and given to us by God Himself. But Peter also reveals another reason why it will never be extinguished: it was purchased at great cost to Himself. There could be two ways of understanding this phrase “the righteousness of our God.” It could mean that we were granted that faith by the righteous God crediting Jesus’ righteousness to us. This is what is called the doctrine of imputation. God imputes Jesus’ righteousness to us and then declares us righteous. So, it is “just as if I have never sinned” and “just as if I had always obeyed.” This could be to what Peter is referring. However, I’m not so sure. Based on the fact that Peter is calling these believers to persevere and obey, I believe he’s actually speaking of the fact that Jesus lived righteously in order to grant us a persevering faith and obedience. In other words, Peter is speaking of Jesus as our God, Savior and even as our example. Remember 1 Peter 2:24? “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.”16 Jesus purchased and guaranteed our obedience. And, 1 Peter 2:21 says, “Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.”17 So, Jesus is our Savior and His salvation leads us to follow in His steps. That’s what I think Peter is revealing here. So, what does this mean for us? Well, look at this text. Peter says that we have received faith through the righteousness of someone. That person being Jesus. Of course, many people deny the significance of Jesus, but He truly is the most influential person throughout history. I know some people might think Jesus is crazy. Other people might think Jesus was a liar. Other people might simply think Jesus was a good man or a special prophet. But the reality is that you either start submitting to Him as Lord or you don’t. You cannot have a view of Jesus that simply puts him in your back pocket (so to speak). That’s not Jesus. This verse is one of the most explicit passages in the reference to Jesus being God. Jesus is our God and Savior. Now I know that some people want to modify the phrasing here and say, “No, this is saying that we have received our faith 15
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), 2 Pe 1:1. The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), 1 Pe 2:24. 17 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), 1 Pe 2:21. 6|Page 16
through the righteousness of our God and also the righteousness of our Savior,” but they fail to understand Greek grammar rules. Their position is tenuous. Peter is clear that Jesus is our God and our Savior! I know it sounds confusing, but it’s the only way we have hope. Hear me, Beloved. If Jesus is not God, should we really consider him to be our Master and we his slaves? No. That would be blasphemy. God says that His glory belongs to no other, and our lives should revolve around Him. So, here Peter reveals a Trinitarian truth. Jesus is God. Therefore, we can have eternal joy because our God is eternal. Our lives can and ought to revolve around our Triune God because our God saved us and loves us. Now I want to put this all together. What does it mean to say that Jesus has granted us faith through His righteousness? Well, I believe Peter is referencing all of the actions of Jesus as God and Savior. Most specifically, I believe that Peter is talking about Jesus becoming the God-Man, living the perfect life we could never live and dying the death we deserved to die and then rising again on the third day. Listen, I know these can become stale truths, but I pray they never become that. Oh, Ventura, do you know how sinful you’ve been? Do you know the awfulness of your sin – even today? Can you affirm with Isaiah that all your righteousness is as filthy rags? Do you believe that it’s all because of Jesus that we are cleansed today from our guilt and He has granted us faith so that we can and will follow Him? While you were yet a sinner, Christ died for you. While you were weak, Christ died for the ungodly. You were faithless, heartless, ruthless. The venom of asps was under your lips. Listen, these are biblical terms for you apart from Jesus. If you think, “Well, I wasn’t that bad,” you miss it! You were that bad, and even to this day, if God’s grace let go of you, you’d be worse than you could ever imagine. But I don’t say these things to merely produce some type of “boo-hoo” spirit in you. I say these things so you can see the magnitude of Jesus’ glory! This is the point Peter is making. Your faith is a persevering faith because your faith has been granted to you at great cost to Jesus. His righteousness purchased and granted to you faith. Now, the question is not whether or not you’re weak. We already know we are. The question is whether or not Jesus is weak. Is Jesus weak? We would all adamantly say, “NO! Of course He is not weak.” But when the rubber meets the road and we’re tempted to despair in ourselves, we begin to question Jesus’ saving goodness, don’t we? We may not say it that way, but we do question Him in how we fear, worry and seek for satisfaction in other things. But Peter says, “Listen! Jesus is righteous and His righteousness purchased your faith. Jesus is Savior, and He granted you that faith. Jesus is God. He is eternally powerful, and He won’t let your faith be extinguished. Your faith is eternally precious because it’s been granted by the eternal God. Therefore, you won’t give up or give in to the persecutions and the false teachers. Peter is setting our sights higher than ourselves. And, in case some of you say, “But Pastor Timothy, we’re responsible for our actions. We need to have faith. We need to do.” I want to simply say that I completely agree with you. But we need to rest our confidence in God’s power before we look to ourselves. I cannot do anything apart from Jesus. But with Jesus all things are possible. This is the point Peter is starting off with in this book. He knows the difficulty. He knows the struggle. He knows how hard it is. But with Jesus, our God and Savior, all things are possible. Now, Peter moves on into verse 2: Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. . . .18
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The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), 2 Pe 1:2. 7|Page
In the writing of Peter’s day, the world would often write the word “chairein,” which means “greetings.” What Christians started to do was write, “charis.” That word means “grace.” It was a noticeable change that also communicated a connection with the Gentile world. Yet, it’s more than that. Peter, instead of saying “Hi,” he’s asking that this letter would bring God’s grace to them as they read it. But there’s even more than that. This idea of grace referred to experiencing favor from a ruler. This fits the context of Peter’s introduction. He has said that he is a slave of Jesus, but he’s also saying, “And so are you!” As one commentator writes, “These readers have already received favor from God in that they have received a faith equal to that of the apostles. Now they are wished further favor from their divine patron, indeed multiplied favor” (Davids, p. 164). In addition, Peter asks for “peace.” This was often a Hebraic greeting. Peace refers to the idea of “shalom,” meaning “total well-being” (Davids, p. 164). Again, peace is something we receive when we come to Christ for salvation. We are at peace with God, but the prayer is that we grow in our awareness of that peace and that our actions indicate a growth in our peaceful relationship with the Father. Oh, it’s so good to know that grace and peace are ours and that God desires to multiply that grace and peace to us, isn’t it? I feel like Paul who said, “This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. 16 However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life. 17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.”19 I deserve none of this, but I have received all of God’s mercy and favor towards me. And I have only anticipation for what’s to come because grace and peace are going to be multiplied to me. Believer, do you have that mindset? So sadly, I believe that many so-called Christians walk around like spiritual paupers. We look at our circumstances and just want to get out of them and whenever something doesn’t go “our way,” we think and act negatively. Hear me, I’m not trying to negate the severity of painful circumstances. But what I hope all of us would do is raise our eyes higher than merely these external circumstances. I hope that we would see that we are rich in Christ! Do you know that? Do you know you’re rich? “Yeah, but Pastor Timothy, there’s this or that or the other thing.” Yes, but then there’s Jesus who died on the cross, rose again, granted you faith, strengthens your faith and tells you that it’s a guarantee you’re going to be with Him and experience fullness of joy in His presence forever! C’mon, of all people we are immeasurably blessed. How can we walk around stoically? How can we live without joy? But I want to press something here that isn’t popular. See, I think we want all the multiplied peace and grace and yet we don’t want to put ourselves into the position to receive it. There is a position of open-handedness before God that we must have before we experience more of this multiplied grace and favor. I know that might sound confusing, but hear me. Just because I said that our faith doesn’t ultimately save, that doesn’t mean our faith doesn’t matter. It does matter, and we must nurture our dependence on God. How are we going to be convinced that we can depend on God all the time and follow Him even if persecution and false teachers arise? It’s through knowledge. This is why I say many people don’t want this. We don’t want to take the mental energy to actually think about God. Too often people say, “I don’t need to know about God in order to know Him.” Yeah right, tell me how that works. Ladies, how would you feel if your husband said, “I don’t need to know about you in order to know you.” Other people say, “Well, you can’t understand God fully; therefore, I don’t need to understand Him at all.” Again, how does that logic work in a relationship? Ladies, would you want to hear a man say, “I can’t understand you at all so I give up on understanding you.” Listen, we know those phrases are cop-outs!
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The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), 1 Ti 1:15–17. 8|Page
But there is joy in increasing knowledge. Just like there can be greater joy in knowing about people because that increases our ability to show love to them; so it is with God. Peter says that we are blessed by learning about God and we experience more of His peace as we grow in knowing about Him. Keep in mind that this knowledge is not a stale knowledge. It’s not a “puffing up” knowledge. Instead, it’s a relational knowledge. That’s the understanding of this Greek word. It’s a knowledge based in Truth and also strengthened in experience. So, those who base their lives on the Truth of Scripture and then live their lives on that basis because Jesus is the center of everything experience an increase of favor towards them and also increased assurance in the peace they have with God. Do you know Jesus and is your life centered on and around Him? This is how Peter begins this all. Do you preach these objective truths of Jesus’ power over your life as a believer? If you’re not a believer, won’t you turn to Him? But here’s my final question: Do you want to grow in God’s favor and peace practically in this life? Do you really value it? Oh, we all say we do, but I’m really asking you. Do you want your life changed even more and your satisfaction in God to increase? Then know God! Take strenuous effort to study. This is where Peter is headed in this chapter. He is going to talk about making every effort to follow after God. But He’s saying this for our own good. So, I’m saying this for your own good, Ventura. We must be people who are Bible-saturated. We can’t just be people who know tid-bits of the Bible. We must study. It’s only through saturating ourselves in the knowledge of God that we will grow spiritually. It’s only through saturating ourselves in the knowledge of God our Father and Jesus Christ that we will fight off false teaching. It’s only through saturating ourselves in the knowledge of God and Christ that we will endure persecution for His glory! Do you want increased grace and peace? Pray and increase in your knowledge of God. Read the Bible. Memorize the Scriptures. Sharpen other believers and grow in wisdom with a multitude of counselors. But make sure Jesus is the center – pointing you to the glory of God! This little introduction is just the beginning. Our hope resides in God Himself through Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit. Praise His name! So, may God’s grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of our God and of Jesus our Lord.
BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. Davids, Peter H. Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Letters of 2 Peter and Jude. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2006. 2. Moo, Douglas. The NIV Application Commentary: 2 Peter, Jude. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan. 1996. 3. Sproul, R.C. 1-2 Peter. Wheaton, IL: Crossway. 2011. 4. ESV Study Bible (2008). Wheaton, IL: Crossway.
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