2 Peter 1 Commentary
Peter’s first volume comes from Peter, the elder. Chapter 5 verse 1 underlines this point. His second volume comes from Peter, the Apostle – the special 12. He must bear witness to the events that defined the new dispensation in God’s creation – God allowed Peter special interaction and participation.
“His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life.” Verse 3a. Are we talking about the same power that the resurrected Jesus talked about in Acts 1 verse 8? He had ordered them to stay until ‘power’ came from above.
This power has everything to do with godliness. A godly life produces the fruit of the Spirit. At zero love, you know you are at zero power. You can question your own salvation. The same goes for joy, peace, patience… It is these elements (fruit) that flatten the evil desires. That is where the power lies! Love alone covers a multitude of sins!
Verses 5 to 8 would be a listing equivalent to Galatians 5 verse 22 – the fruit of the Spirit. It is interesting how the Spirit says the same thing from different angles through different individuals!
Peter, like Paul, won’t hesitate to talk about “calling and election”. By God’s foreknowledge, He has called whoever He has called; He has elected whoever He has elected. But we clearly don’t know. So we apply effort to confirm our calling and election. Not only that, the gospel is such that we can make decisions here with eternal consequences. We are judged by the checklist we can manage – a checklist of one item, Jesus or no Jesus!
Peter is probably under detention, and his martyrdom isn’t far. His thoughts are drawn to church. What they have is the power to live a godly life! He will make every effort to remind them of these things. This volume is similar to Paul’s second letter to Timothy. Both great apostles wind down their long years of service in the vineyard with a call to godliness. The comparisons between the two would make for an interesting study.
They both make references to the centrality of scripture in the Christian walk. Peter even goes ahead and authenticates Paul’s writings as part of the scriptures. 2 Peter 3 verse 16. Check 2 Timothy 3 verse 16 and enjoy the symmetry!
They both warn against false teachers. Peter won’t mention Jude, but the material is the same – probably the apostle knows about Jude’s letter. He quotes it the way he quotes the Old Testament! But that is for Chapter 2.
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