In our study, we look at the confidence that he had in Christ even as he knew he was going to die for his faith. We will also see how we can have that same confidence and be truly free from all fear and doubt. We should remember that this letter was written by the same apostle that denied even knowing Jesus three times before His death. His first letter told us of the hope that he had and what it meant in his daily life. Now, we will see how that hope was made sure and he had the confidence to face what was ahead of him.
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From: Shim'on Kefa, a slave and emissary of Yeshua the Messiah To: Those who, through the righteousness of our God and of our Deliverer Yeshua the Messiah, have been given the same kind of trust as ours:
He opens this letter by introducing himself and it is important to notice that he put "servant" before "apostle". The actual word that istranslated as servant is better translated as bondslave or bondservant which is a much stronger term. There are many leaders today that are more proud of their titles than they are of the fact that they are servants of the living God. Peter remained humble as we see through his putting servanthood ahead of apostleship. He addresses this letter to fellow believers in Jesus Christ and only brothers and sisters in Christ will be able to understand this letter. We also are reminded that our righteousness is not our own (by works) but is given to us through Jesus Christ.
May grace and shalom be yours in full measure, as you come to a full knowledge of God and Yeshua our Lord.
In this greeting, we see that grace comes before peace as it is only by that grace that we can have peace with God or anyone else. We also see that they both come from knowledge of God and Jesus. (That is why we study God's Word) Grace is a gift but we cannot accept it if we don't know that it is being offered. We have peace through the Word in that we are saved by the promises of God from what He has said is to come. If we keep our eyes on the fact that we will be raised to reign with Him, then we have an internal peace. That peace does not depend on our present circumstances but is built on the fact that we know they are only temporary.
God's power has given us everything we need for life and godliness, through our knowing the One who called us to his own glory and goodness.
We have everything that we need to live for God and to be a light in this world. We are reminded here that it is only by God's calling us that we came to accept His grace as we would not have even looked for Him on our own. When He called us, He also gave us the Holy Spirit which gives us the knowledge of God's will and the power to live the Christian life and to glorify God.
By these he has given us valuable and superlatively great promises, so that through them you might come to share in God's nature and escape the corruption which evil desires have brought into the world.
We have the Bible and the Holy Spirit living in us and so we know of the promises that God has given us. Through those promises, we know that we will be with God forever and that He is in fact in us through that Spirit. Through the Spirit, we have overcome the evil of the world.
For this very reason, try your hardest to furnish your faith with goodness, goodness with knowledge,
Because God has called us to be saved and to honor Him with our lives, we are to grow in our walk with Him. Peter begins a list of areas we should work at growing in but we must realize that it is only through the very power of God that our growth is even possible. He says to add goodness to our faith but this goodness is not like we think of it. This would better be translated as "courage" rather than goodness and it is speaking to the fact that we should continue to grow more bold in our ability to declare the Word of God to the world even when it starts to cost us things.
knowledge with self-control, self-control with perseverance, perseverance with godliness,
We are told to add knowledge to our faith but this means more than we think. When we think of knowledge, we probably think of learning more facts and storing them in our brain but this is different. This is talking about epignosis or a super knowledge where the heart is changed by Jesus Christ. On top of that knowledge we are to add self-control and for most of us this is a pretty obvious one. This is simply where we don't do things that we would like to do because they would not honor God. Through Christ, we have the power to control ourselves. Next is perseverance which is often associated with patience in dealing with things and other people but this is actually talking about endurance. It speaks to being able to endure hardship (persecution) because of your faith and to react in the same way that Christ did when He forgave those who crucified Him.
godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.
Next, we are to add godliness to our faith and this speaks to conforming our minds and actions to be like those of Christ. This is accomplished through the power and work of the Holy Spirit and is commonly called sanctification. The last two things that Peter tells us to work on are similar. The first is brotherly kindness which is talking about us demonstrating God's love to other believers. The last is love itself but here it is talking about us demonstrating God's love to the people that do not believe in Jesus.
For if you have these qualities in abundance, they keep you from being barren and unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah.
Now, we see the reason that we are to work on these areas and that is so that we will produce fruit for the kingdom. This list of qualities will help us to produce quality fruit and an increasing measure will produce more fruit. That fruit is simply helping others to come to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. It is important to note here that Peter does not say anything here about our salvation but only our effective witness once we are saved.
Indeed, whoever lacks them is blind, so shortsighted that he forgets that his past sins have been washed away.
If you are not growing in your faith and adding these things that Peter has listed, then your eyes are focused on the wrong thing. Many get caught up in the things of the world and spend more time on them than on learning about God or worship. They are focused on the here and now and have forgotten what it was like when they were first saved. This is what the believers in Ephesus were warned of in Revelation 2:4.
Therefore, brothers, try even harder to make your being called and chosen a certainty. For if you keep doing this, you will never stumble. Thus you will be generously supplied with everything you need to enter the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Deliverer, Yeshua the Messiah.
Many have misunderstood Peter in this passage and took it to mean that we can lose our salvation but that is not what he is saying. He is saying that, if you grow in these things, you will be more sure in your heart and mind of what you have. You will not doubt and struggle with fear which is from the devil and you will receive your rewards in the second judgment. (Revelation 20)
For this reason, I will always remind you about these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you already have.
There is much in the Word of God and, even though we may have a firm grasp on our faith, we still should study the entire Word of God to keep it fresh in our minds. Just as Peter said here, we hope to remind you of parts that you may not have studied for awhile.
And I consider it right to keep stirring you up with reminders, as long as I am in the tent of this body. I know that I will soon lay aside this tent of mine, as our Lord Yeshua the Messiah has made clear to me.
Peter knew that he was going to die for his faith and that it was going to be before Jesus came back to get the church. That is why he did not spend much time telling of that day.
And I will do my best to see that after my exodus, you will be able to remember these things at all times.
He spent his time helping others (including us) to realize what we have in Christ. He consistently preached the same message of hope and through repetition as well as example the people of that day were able to remember. Peter must have also had someone write these letters and preserve them and they have been passed on to us even today.
For when we made known to you the power and the coming of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, we did not rely on cunningly contrived myths. On the contrary, we saw his majesty with our own eyes.
Peter is talking about the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the fact that he was a witness of what happened. The cleverly invented stories that he is talking about is that the religious leaders got together and made up the story that Jesus' body was stolen (see Matthew 28:11-15).
For we were there when he received honor and glory from God the Father; and the voice came to him from the grandeur of the Sh'khinah, saying, "This is my son, whom I love; I am well pleased with him!"
This is the message that God gave when Jesus was baptized (Luke 3:21-22) as well as when he was transfigured (Matthew 17:5). He was declared to be the Son of God and the belief in that fact is how we can tell whether a message is from God or from the devil. (see 1 John 4).
We heard this voice come out of heaven when we were with him on the holy mountain.
Peter tells us that he was an eyewitness and so he knows that it is true. This is a reminder for us of how we can share the gospel of Jesus Christ and that is to simply share with people what you have seen God do in your own personal life.
Yes, we have the prophetic Word made very certain. You will do well to pay attention to it as to a light shining in a dark, murky place, until the Day dawns and the Morning Star rises in your hearts.
Peter reminds us that the Old Testament prophets spoke about things that had not yet been seen but he was an eyewitness to many of the events that they spoke about. It is a time of darkness in the world right now but Jesus is the bright morning star. In nature, the morning star follows after a night of darkness and appears just before the dawning of a new day.
First of all, understand this: no prophecy of Scripture is to be interpreted by an individual on his own; for never has a prophecy come as a result of human willing - on the contrary, people moved by the Ruach HaKodesh spoke a message from God.
Biblical prophecy does not come from man but from God speaking to the hearts of men. It is not about what the man wants but is simply delivering a message that God has for a person or persons.
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