2 Peter 1:1
2 Peter is a letter written to remind believers of the truth of the gospel and the danger of false teachers. Peter wrote this letter near the end of his life. In 2 Peter 1:13-14, Peter mentions that our Lord Jesus showed him that he would die soon.
2 Peter 1:13–14 (NKJV) 13Yes, I think it is right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by reminding you, 14knowing that shortly I must put off my tent, just as our Lord Jesus Christ showed me.
Knowing that shortly he must put off his tent, Peter desired to stir us up. He does not want to unnerve or upset us; his purpose is to wake us up and cause us to be alert. He is aware that he has one last chance to do this before he moves on.
Peter knew that he must soon depart, and he also knew that persecution was increasing. So, not only did he write because it was his last chance, but he was also moved to write because he knew that the truth would be attacked. The attacks were coming and would continue to come from more than one direction. Waking us up was necessary because of the ferocity and number of attacks that were coming.
An example and foretaste of what was coming was the persecution of the Church by Nero. Historical tradition says that Peter was crucified sometime between AD 64 and 68 by the emperor Nero. (The Apostle Paul was also martyred around the same time.) We think Peter wrote his first letter around AD 62 and this second letter around AD 64.
This letter then represents a final communication from the great apostle, who knew that he would die very soon. Therefore, in explanation of why he wrote these two letters, Peter says:
2 Peter 3:1–3 (NKJV) 1Beloved, I now write to you this second epistle (in both of which I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder), 2that you may 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, 3knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts.
Peter was not the only one moved by the Holy Spirit to warn of false teachers and scoffers. Around the same time that Peter wrote 2 Peter, Jude wrote his brief letter. The two letters are very similar, which causes some to think that Peter borrowed from Jude or Jude borrowed from Peter. (A third possibility is that Peter and Jude both used sayings common among believers of their time.) Whatever the reason for the similarity, the fact that the Holy Spirit says much the same thing through two sources at approximately the same time adds to the weightiness of the message.
The message of 2 Peter is crucial because of the attacks on the truth that come from both inside and outside the Church.
Peter begins his letter by identifying himself. This was the common practice in letters of the day, but it was also necessary to establish the authority of the letter. In defining who he is, Peter gives us reasons why we should listen to him.
Peter starts by saying:
2 Peter 1:1 (NKJV) Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ…
In saying this, Peter establishes his close relationship with Jesus Christ. This relationship with Jesus is the foundation of his right to address the Church. In both 1 Peter and 2 Peter, knowledge is stressed. In 1 Peter, he stresses truth, as stated in 1 Peter 1:22 and 1 Peter 5:12. Now, in 2 Peter, he emphasizes “knowledge,” starting with verse 2.
2 Peter 1:2 (NKJV) Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
We must understand what Peter means by “knowledge” in this sentence. The word he uses means specific knowledge, knowledge gained through first-hand relationship. Another way to describe it would be to say it is “contact-knowledge.”
This “contact-knowledge” of Jesus our Lord defines a Christian. A person without this knowledge cannot be considered a “Christian” in the true sense of the word. By stating that he is a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ, Peter establishes that he has this “contact-knowledge.”
An apostle was one who was with Jesus from the beginning of His ministry and who was also specifically chosen by Jesus for that office. (The only exception being the Apostle Paul, who, although he was specifically chosen by Jesus and recognized by the other apostles, was not with Jesus during his ministry.) Peter’s “contact-knowledge” of Jesus was matched only by John and James, who were, along with Peter, the three disciples closest to Jesus.
Along with his apostleship, Pete states that he is a “bondservant” of Jesus.
Remember, Peter was writing in Greek, which is different than English, and he was writing 2,000 years ago in a culture different from ours. The word translated “servant” or “bondservant” in our modern Bibles was used for a slave in Peter’s culture. However, because of the different time and language, Peter had a different picture of slavery.
Slavery was common in Peter’s day, with about 40% of Italy’s population being slaves and about 15% of the total population of the Roman Empire being slaves. Slavery at that time had nothing to do with race as it did in early American slavery. The thing that ancient slavery had in common with early American slavery was that the slave was not his own person. He was another person’s property.
A person could become a slave through a number of different means. Financial hardship or even bankruptcy could cause a person to be sold as a slave. Military conquest was a source of many slaves for the Romans as conquered people were often made slaves. Many people were born slaves and were slaves simply because their parents were slaves.
A bondservant in Jewish tradition differed from a slave in that a bondservant was a person who willingly subjected himself to another to work without wages. This happened for different reasons. For example, a person could subject himself to his neighbor to pay off a debt. Sometimes it was the case that a person was better off being a bondservant and would choose to stay in service to the master because of love for the master. In Israel, an Israelite could not enslave a fellow Israelite. In addition, in Israel, all Israelite bondservants (slaves) were released from servitude every seventh year. The only exception was that the servant could choose to remain in servitude, and this was to be carefully monitored so that the decision was truly that of the servant and not forced but freely made.
This rule of the bondservant is why our translators prefer to use the word bondservant or servant instead of slave. God invites us to come to Him through Jesus Christ our Lord. It is our choice, freely made. However, the consequences of rejecting God’s call are horrible.
Paul gives us some insight into our slavery to Christ when he says:
1 Corinthians 6:19–20 (NKJV) 19Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.
Look at these verses carefully. “You are not your own.” “Your body and your spirit are God’s.” “You were bought at a price.” We know what love is because God first loved us and gave His Son to die in our place and take the punishment for our sins. Anyone who has experienced this love willingly submits to becoming a bondservant. In fact, we want to be his servants and never be separated from Him, which makes us bondservants in the true sense of the word. But, since we are purchased, are we bondservants or slaves? Romans 6:19-20 says:
Romans 6:19–20 (NKJV) 19For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness. 20For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.
We present ourselves to God to be His slaves. If there is one thing I want to leave with you today, it would be this admonition, “so now present your members as slaves of righteousness.” As Paul says in Romans 6:16:
Romans 6:16 (NKJV) Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?
In 2 Peter 1, Peter says he is a slave of Jesus Christ. He uses the word “doulos.” “Doulos” can be translated as bondservant, but its normal (common) meaning is “slave.” It is characteristic of both Paul and Peter that they considered themselves slaves of Christ.
With this in mind, look at who Peter addresses.
2 Peter 1:1 (NKJV) To those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.
Look at the word “obtained.” When we think of “obtaining” something, we think of achieving that thing. But let me show you another place in the New Testament where the word that Peter uses for “obtained” is used.
John 19:24 (NKJV) They said therefore among themselves, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be.”
That was the soldiers at the cross of Christ deciding who would own Jesus’ cloak. The word for “cast lots” is the word that 2 Peter 1:1 uses that is translated as “obtained.”
I stress this meaning because we must understand that our salvation and our faith are not something we achieve. Salvation is a gift. Even our faith is not from ourselves. It is a gift from God. There is nothing we can boast of since we were slaves to sin. Ephesians 2 says:
Ephesians 2:8 (NKJV) For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.
Our faith is a gift from God. I would compare the “obtaining” that Peter speaks of to winning the lottery, but it is far from that. First of all, there is no “chance,” and there are no “odds.” Lotteries are, for the most part, evil because they prey on greed and take advantage of lust, stirring them up. Salvation is not a lottery. Peter says we obtained it by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ. We know that our sins are washed away, and we are made the righteousness of God in Him, but there is so much more. Ephesians 1 speaks of this precious, most valuable treasure when it says:
Ephesians 1:3–6 (NKJV) 3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.
He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing, heavenly blessings. We received (obtained) this because He chose us before the foundation of the world. He has made us holy and without blame. Peter calls this “precious” (meaning valuable).
Because of what God has done for us, I am happy to be His slave.
If you are not a slave of Jesus Christ, you are a slave to sin. The wages of sin are death. The end of sin is an eternity of suffering away from the presence of God and everything good. This is another reason our faith is so precious. Not only are we no longer slaves to sin, but we are set free from the cost or wages of sin. Our future is in heaven in the presence of God, where there will be no more suffering.
If you do not have that “contact-knowledge” of Jesus Christ that Peter speaks of, I would like to introduce you to Him. Do not let this day pass without being sure you know Him.
Pete speaks of “like precious faith.” Like means of the same kind.
Like Peter, we all know for sure that we will face the day of our death. And even if you are young, believe me when I tell you it will be sooner than you think. If you want to be ready for that day, you must have the same precious faith that Peter had, that all true Christians have. This comes only through “contact-knowledge” of Jesus Christ. If you ask Him, Jesus will free you from slavery to sin.
Ask.
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