2
Peter 1 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
Growth
in Christian Virtue
1
[a]Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,
To
those who have received a faith of the same [b]kind as ours, [c]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; 3 seeing that
His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness,
through the true knowledge of Him who called us [d]by His own glory and
[e]excellence. 4 [f]For by these He has granted to us His precious and
magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine
nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. 5 Now for
this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral
[g]excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, 6 and in your
knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your
perseverance, godliness, 7 and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in
your brotherly kindness, love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are
increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true
knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For he who lacks these qualities is blind
or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins. 10
Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling
and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never
stumble; 11 for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord
and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.
12
Therefore, I will always be ready to remind you of these things, even though
you already know them, and have been established in the truth which is present
with you. 13 I consider it right, as long as I am in this earthly dwelling, to
stir you up by way of reminder, 14 knowing that the laying aside of my earthly
dwelling is imminent, as also our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. 15
And I will also be diligent that at any time after my departure you will be
able to call these things to mind.
Eyewitnesses
16
For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the
power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His
majesty. 17 For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an
[h]utterance as this was [i]made to Him by the Majestic Glory, “This is My
beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased”— 18 and we ourselves heard this
[j]utterance made from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain.
19
[k]So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay
attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the
morning star arises in your hearts. 20 But know this first of all, that no
prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, 21 for no
prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy
Spirit spoke from God.
2
Peter 1
V
1–4: PRECIOUSNESS Starting his second letter, Peter reverts to the thought of
preciousness. Here, he extols the precious faith obtained by the righteousness
of our Saviour God, Jesus Christ. He also recommends the ‘exceedingly great and
precious promises’ which enable Christians to partake of God’s divine life and
blessings in a world of corruption.
V
5–11: PURPOSE Pleased to escape the corruption in the world, the Christian
should add certain things to the salvation he has in Christ. These things are
virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness
and love. Fruitfulness follows. So does an awareness of sin and gratitude at
having been cleansed from it. The Christian’s purpose should be to live a
fruitful life, sensitive to his Saviour. This is the evidence of a true call of
God and will keep a Christian from stumbling. It is saving faith that produces
a life like this, giving us assurance of an abundant entry into everlasting
life through Jesus Christ.
V
12–15: PASSING Peter believes his life will soon pass away. He is determined to
establish the Christians in God’s truth and leave behind him a reminder of the
importance of living for Christ.
V 16–21: PROPHECY The Christian did not follow
man-made fables, but God’s Word attesting the fact that He was ‘well pleased’
with His Beloved Son. That voice came from heaven, but there is a surer
prophetic Word, the Bible, which guides us into God’s truth. Someone may
mistakenly think he has heard a voice from heaven, but the Word of God can
readily be seen and examined. God revealed His Word in the Bible by moving holy
men, by His Holy Spirit, to record His infallible truth.
The
Bible Panorama
The
Bible Panorama. Copyright © 2005 Day One Publications.
Dictionary
of Bible Themes
5467
promises, divine
The
promises of God reveal his particular and eternal purposes to which he is
unchangeably committed and upon which believers can totally depend. These
promises are, however, conditional upon obedience on the part of believers.
God’s
promises are irrevocable
He
is absolutely trustworthy Nu 23:19 See also Tit 1:2; Heb 6:13-18
He
is unchanging Ps 110:4; Mal 3:6-7; Jas 1:17-18
He
has the power and will to fulfil his promises Isa 55:11 See also Ro 4:21
He
is faithful in keeping all his promises Jos 21:45; Jos 23:14-15; 1Ki 8:56; Ps
145:13; Heb 10:23
His
promises stem from his goodness and glory 2Pe 1:3-4
God
may confirm his promises with an oath Ge 22:15-18 See also Ge 26:3; Isa 45:23;
Am 6:8; Am 8:7
Examples
of God’s promises through covenant relationship
Ge
9:8-17 with Noah With Abraham: Ge 15:9-21; Ge 17:1-22; Heb 11:8-9,17-19
Ge
26:3-4 with Isaac With Jacob: Ge 28:13-15; Ge 46:2-4 With Moses and the
Israelites: Ex 19:1-6; Ex 24:1-8
Nu
25:10-12 with Phinehas With David: 2Sa 7:5-16 pp 1Ch 17:4-14; 1Ki 8:15,24
Jer
31:31-34 with Jeremiah
The
grounding of God’s promises in Christ
God’s
promises are fulfilled in Jesus Christ 2Co 1:18-20 See also Mt 5:17; Lk
4:16-21; Ac 2:29-31; Ac 3:21-26; Ac 7:37; Dt 18:15-18; Ac 13:23,32-34; Ac
26:6-7; Ro 1:2-3; Ro 15:8; Heb 9:15
Jesus
Christ brings superior promises through the new covenant Heb 8:6-8 Jesus Christ
mediates a covenant of inner transformation, willing obedience, intimate
relationship with God and forgiveness of sins forever. See also Eph 1:13-14;
Heb 7:22; Heb 11:13,39-40; 2Pe 1:1-4
Jesus
Christ has the right to make promises on God’s behalf Jn 3:34-35 See also Jn
1:1-2,14; Jn 8:25-29; Heb 1:1-3
God’s
promises must be received by believers
They
are received by faith Gal 3:22 See also Jn 1:12; Ro 4:13-16
They
are received by perseverance and obedience Heb 10:36 See also Ro 4:19-24; 2Co
7:1; Heb 6:12
God’s
promises unite believing Jews and Gentiles Eph 3:6 See also Ac 2:38-39; Ro 9:8;
Gal 3:29; Gal 4:28; Eph 2:11-18; Heb 11:39-40
Disaster
awaits those who reject God’s promises Jos 23:12-16; Jn 3:18-20,36; 2Ti
2:11-13; Heb 6:4-12; 2Pe 3:3-10
Particular
promises of God in Christ
The
gift of the Holy Spirit Lk 24:49; Ac 1:4; Ac 2:33; Eph 1:13
The
fulness of life and eternal life 2Ti 1:1; Heb 12:26-28; Jas 1:12; Jas 2:5; 1Jn
2:25
Resurrection
Jn 5:29; Jn 11:25-26; 1Co 15:48-57; 2Co 4:14; 1Th 4:16
The
forgiveness of sins 1Jn 1:9
The
presence of God Ex 3:12; Ex 33:14; Jos 1:9; Isa 58:9; Mt 28:20; Heb 13:5
The
peace of God 1Ch 22:9; Ps 85:8; Isa 9:6-7; Ro 5:1; Php 4:4-9
Joy
in God Ps 16:11; Ps 132:16; Jn 16:20-24
The
knowledge of God Jer 31:33-34; Jn 17:25-26; 1Jn 5:20
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