2 Peter

2 Peter 1:1

Charlie Garrett 2 Peter, 2 Peter (written), Daily Writing, Epistles, Epistles (written), Writings 0 Comment

Friday, 3 January 2020

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 Peter 1:1

The epistle begins with an introduction by the apostle. In Greek, it reads Symeon Peter. The only other time the name Symeon is applied to Peter is in Acts 15:14 when being spoken of by James. The introduction of the epistle with the Hebraized form of his name is probably intended to have the Jewish recipients more fully identify with him. The name is derived from the Hebrew Shimon, or “He Who Hears.”

After stating his name, he then says, “a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ.” This is a unique phrase for an apostolic introduction, but it is close to that of Paul’s salutation to Titus where he said, “Paul, a bondservant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ.”

A doulos, or “bondservant,” is an individual who is the property of another; having no ownership rights of his own. This would seem to be a position lacking dignity, but in ironic fashion, it is that of the highest dignity when applied to a person in the New Testament as being in such a relation to God and Jesus Christ. For Peter, he gladly states this position in relation to Jesus Christ, meaning the Messiah.

It should be noted that every time the word “Christ” is used in this epistle by Peter, it is always in connection with “Jesus.” Further, it is also accompanied by another descriptor, such as “Lord,” “Lord and Savior,” etc. In this verse, it is accompanied by the word “God.”

The second half of the identification says, “and apostle of Jesus Christ.” He is a messenger of the Lord, having been called by Him personally to perform this weighty duty. This is his claim to the authority of writing a letter of doctrine, and it is with this authority that he thus writes.

Peter’s words here, combined with those of Paul in Titus, give a reference to the deity of Christ. Paul claimed to be a bondservant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ. Peter claims to be a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ. This will not be the only hint of deity in this opening verse.

Peter next says, “To those who have obtained.” The Greek literally reads, “To those who have obtained by lot.” It is the same phrase used by Peter when spoken of Judas in Acts 1:17. The word is also used when speaking of the lots in Luke 1:9 and in John 19:24. It signifies the providence of God in obtaining a thing. This is seen in Proverbs 16 –

“The lot is cast into the lap,
But its every decision is from the Lord.” Proverbs 16:33

Peter then explains what it is that has been obtained. It is “like precious faith.” Here is a word found nowhere else in Scripture. It signifies “equally privileged.” It is not an indication of measure, but in honor. Some have more faith, but all such faith is equally valued because of where it is directed.

This equally precious faith is, as Peter says, “with us.” This could be understood as meaning “those who first believed,” such as the apostles. Or, it could be understood as those Gentiles who are among the Jews being addressed, and who are included in their gatherings. Thus, “with us,” would be an all-inclusive statement of Gentile inclusion in the faith directed toward Jesus Christ. As the epistle is included in Scripture, and as there is only one gospel to both Jew and Gentile, regardless of Peter’s original intent, it is now an all-inclusive statement of any person who has placed his faith in Jesus Christ.

Next, he says, “by the righteousness.” The Greek reads, “in the righteousness.” It is faith which is possessed in the sphere of righteousness of the One he will next name. It is a way of saying that the faith is what brings the believer into a state of righteousness which belongs to that One. Peter then says who possesses that righteousness with the words “of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.”

Some translations say, “our God and our Savior Jesus Christ,” showing a distinction between the two. Others unite the two as “our God and Savior Jesus Christ.” The construction of the Greek will allow either, and Greek scholars choose one or another, usually based on a presupposition as to what they believe is on Peter’s mind, but that answer is plain and simple because, the same general phrase, with the same Greek construction, is used five times.

This one time it says, “God.” The other four it says, “Lord.” There is no doubt that Peter was making an absolute claim to deity in this introductory statement, and then ascribing that deity to the Old Testament “Lord,” meaning “Jehovah” –

“of our God and Savior Jesus Christ” 2 Peter 1:1
“of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” 2 Peter 1:11
“of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” 2 Peter 2:20
“of the Lord and Savior” 2 Peter 3:2
“of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” 2 Peter 3:18

Further, the next verse makes a distinction between the two, showing that this verse is a purposeful uniting of the two. There is Jesus, there is God, and Jesus is God. Another point is that each time that “Savior” is used by Peter in this epistle, it is either directly or implicitly applied to Jesus. Oddly, the term was never used in his first epistle. Thus, one can see the heavy stress of this thought by Peter here. That idea will be a support for the weighty contents of this letter.

Life application: An apostle is a “sent one.” The position of being an apostle of Jesus Christ is one which ended with the closing of the New Testament canon. Today there are no true apostles even though some people claim the title in ministry. If one has the “like precious faith” of these men of God, then bearing titles is of far less importance than demonstrating that faith, and also helping others to come to that same precious faith. Let us direct our lives and hearts to this end.

O God, help us to look with both delight and care at the verses which make up the book we call “the Holy Bible.” May we be found to properly handle Your word and to come to reasonable conclusions which honor You as we study. In the end, may You receive the glory for our attention to this wonderful book. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

 

 

2 Peter – An Introduction

Charlie Garrett 2 Peter, 2 Peter (written), Daily Writing, Epistles, Epistles (written), Writings 0 Comment

Thursday, 2 January 2020

The book of 2 Peter; an Introduction.

The book of 2 Peter is the 61st book of the Bible, and it is comprised of 3 chapters, coincidentally of 61 verses. Therefore, it is considerably shorter than the previous book, 1 Peter, which was 105 verses. A verse-per-day evaluation of 2 Peter will take just two months to complete.

Peter is the Apostle Peter who was personally called by Jesus. Matthew 4:18 and John 1:40 note that he is Andrew’s brother (another Apostle of the Lord as is seen in Matthew 10:2), and John 1:44 says that Peter and Andrew came from the city of Bethsaida.

Peter is also known as Simon at times. This is known from the time of his first meeting with the Lord which occurred in John 1. In John 1:40, where Andrew was introduced, it is as “Simon Peter’s brother.” In the next verse, it notes that Andrew “found his own brother Simon.” But Peter is also known at times as Cephas (kay-fas). On his initial meeting with Jesus, it says –

“Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, ‘You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas’ (which is translated, A Stone).” John 1:42

The name Cephas is the Aramaic word for rock. The word “Stone” in that verse is Petros; hence, the name Peter (Cephas) is a name given by the Lord to Simon. He is at times called any of these names, or a combination of them, such as “Simon Peter.” Further, the name Simon may have a variant spelling at times, Symeon.

Interestingly, it is Paul who uses the Aramaic name Cephas eight of the nine times that it is seen in Scripture. Those are noted four times in 1 Corinthians and four times in Galatians. When Paul uses that name, it is to highlight the Jewishness of Peter in order to make theological points about things. Paul also writes of him using the Greek name Petros two times in Galatians as well. The more common name Peter is used over 150 times in the New Testament.

The combined name Simon Peter is used over 30 times, mostly by John in his gospel, but it is how Peter refers to himself in the first verse of his second epistle. However, there it is spelled with the variant spelling, Symeon, as mentioned above. Paying attention to the various ways Peter is addressed will often help the reader understand the surrounding context better.

Though the initial meeting of Jesus and Andrew and Peter is recorded in John 1, the calling of these two brothers to follow Christ is found in Matthew 4 while they were fishing in the Galilee.

Peter is known as the apostle to the circumcision, meaning the Jews. This is noted in Galatians 2:7, 8, where Paul says that “they saw that the gospel for the uncircumcised had been committed to me, as the gospel for the circumcised was to Peter 8 (for He who worked effectively in Peter for the apostleship to the circumcised also worked effectively in me toward the Gentiles).” This does not mean there are two gospels, one for the Jew and one for the Gentile, but that these men were given their main audience for the one gospel – to the Jew (Peter), and to the Gentile (Paul).

The canonicity of the book of 2 Peter has long been questioned. From early times, there were doubters concerning whether it was truly a letter from Peter. However, a majority opinion was that it was, in fact, written by him. This includes writings from early church fathers, and also the inclusion of it in various early canons.

There are various reasons for it not being accepted by some, including a variation in style from that of 1 Peter, the language used appears to be less of that of a Galilean fisherman and more of a Greek speaker, and so on. But such variances could simply be because Peter used a different scribe to pen this second epistle. Sylvanus is mentioned in 1 Peter 5:12, but he is not mentioned in the second letter.

Another reason is because Peter refers to Paul’s writings in Chapter 3 of the letter. As these were not all compiled until later, it is argued that Peter could not be the author of this epistle. That is a baseless argument considering that Paul refers specifically to Peter in Galatians, and Peter would have been fully aware of this. Further, Paul is most certainly the author of Hebrews (see Hebrews commentary), a letter written to the same Jewish believers as Peter would have addressed. Peter did not have to be aware of all of Paul’s letters, but he could have been. Paul could have sent him a copy of each letter as a witness to his faithful adherence to the gospel which he was proclaiming to the Gentiles while Peter was proclaiming that same gospel to the Jews. Using Peter’s mentioning of Paul and his writings as a reason to dismiss the authenticity of this epistle is an argument from silence that has no weight at all. Eventually, the church reasoned such things through, and 2 Peter was fully accepted into the final canon of Scripture.

2 Peter was probably penned not long before Peter was martyred. It is assumed that it was written somewhere between AD 64 and AD 68. As 2 Peter refers to 1 Peter (2 Peter 3:1), it was obviously written after 1 Peter. The dating of 1 Peter is estimated to be in the mid to late 60s, and therefore this would follow in the same general timeframe.

The Apostle Paul states in 2 Timothy 3:16, 17 that “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” So, in a real sense, the letter is – like all of Scripture – written to the people of the world. However, 1 Peter is written specifically to a Hebrew audience, and Peter refers to this again by saying that this is his second epistle to them (again, see 2 Peter 3:1). The opening salutation, however, is more general, and could certainly include Gentiles (“To those who have obtained like precious faith with us”).

Due to its placement after Paul’s letters, and then after the books of Hebrews and James, it is evident – based on an evaluation of the structure of the Bible – that the Lord intends for this second epistle, like Hebrews and James, to be a letter directed to the Hebrew people of the end times as much as it was directed to the early Jewish believers in the Lord. The very structure of the Bible gives us this hint of redemptive history.

The main theme of 2 Peter is “Perseverance in the Truth of Christ, and the necessity of being knowledgeable in order to mature in Christ to avoid practical and doctrinal errors of false teachers.” Thus, the main purpose of the epistle is to “Remind followers of doctrine and warn about false teachers.”

The main presentation of Christ in the epistle is “Jesus Christ, Our Hope.”

The location where Peter wrote the letter is not given, but one might assume that it was, like his first epistle, from Rome (which Peter calls “Babylon” in 1 Peter 5:13). Though there are various ideas about “which” Babylon is being referred to, the obvious and most likely answer is that he is speaking of Rome in a symbolic way, equating it with Babylon of past Jewish history. Babylon held sway over Israel before, but at the time that 1 Peter was written, Rome had assumed that role.

Extra-biblical tradition places Peter in Rome in his later life, and there is no reason to assume that he was not referring to Rome in this figurative sense, just as Revelation does in Revelation 17 (and elsewhere). A study of Daniel 9 also indicates that Rome would be the center of focus again in the end times, corresponding to the theme of Rome as Babylon.

As a short summary of the intent and purpose of the book, we should remember these points: 1) Author: Simon Peter (Cephas), the Apostle to the Lord Jesus; 2) Date: Mid to late 60s; 3) Theme: Perseverance in the Truth of Christ, and the necessity of being knowledgeable in order to mature in Christ to avoid practical and doctrinal errors of false teachers; 4) Purpose: Remind followers of doctrine and warn about false teachers; and 5) Presentation of Christ: Jesus Christ; Our Hope.

Further, there is a main thought of each chapter –

  1. Perseverance in Christ through faith and Scriptural adherence.
  2. Warning against apostasy and false teachers.
  3. Expectation of the coming Day of the Lord.

Life application: We hope that you will spend the next 61 days of your life learning the book of 2 Peter, one verse at a time. From there, we hope you will apply its truths to your life, molding yourself more each day into being a faithful and wholehearted follower of Jesus Christ, to the glory of God the Father.

Lord God, help us to be faithful in studying Your word, accepting its truths in the context in which they are given, and then applying those truths to our walk with You. There is an abundance of false doctrine concerning Your word which is intended to draw us away from You. Help us to not get caught up in such things, but to hold fast to the sure, reliable, and wholly understandable word which You have given to us. Amen.