GREETING THE FAITHFUL [2 PETER 2:1-4]

Introduction

We have just concluded a year long study in the epistle of 1 Peter. The theme of 1 Peter was suffering rightly. This series of messages was entitled, An Encouraging Word for Discouraging Days.” This morning we move from Peter’s first epistle to the second. This epistle would be Peter’s last will and testament to the church. Peter knew that very soon his life would be required of him. Knowing this causes Peter to remember the work of grace that Jesus has accomplished in his life. He is thinking about who he is in relation to who God is. This morning we look at the first four verses of chapter one of Peter’s second epistle and we want to observe three factors of growing in Christ in the midst of a chaotic world.

2 Peter 1:1-4 (CSB)

1 Simeon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ:

To those who have received a faith equal to ours through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.

2 May grace and peace be multiplied to you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

3. His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and

goodness.

4 By these he has given us very great and precious promises, so that through them you may share in the divine nature, escaping the

corruption that is in the world because of evil desire.

WE ARE TO GROW IN RIGHTEOUS PERFECTION (1:1-2)

In these two verses we will observe and answer the question, “Who are we?” Notice how Peter introduces himself at the beginning of the epistle. The CSB has it correct when it opens, “Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ.” Simeon is the Hebraic form that the NKJV translates, “Simon.” There is only one other instance in the entire New Testament where this form is used of Peter. That instance is in Acts 15:17 where it says, “Simeon has reported how God first intervened to take from the Gentiles a people for his name.” The Hebraic “Simeon” is attached to the Greek Peter (Petros) as he introduces himself. First, Peter introduces himself as “doulos.” He is a slave of Jesus Christ. Peter says, “I am not the holy pope nor am I the holy father of the church. I am a servant of Jesus Christ. I have been saved by God and I am at his disposal. Do not get your doctrine from the Roman Catholic church or any other man-based system. Get your doctrine from the Word of God. Next, Peter identifies himself as an “apostolos.” This word literally means, “one sent out with a message.” Peter is balanced in how he introduces himself. It is a balance of both humility and dignity. Folks, Peter did not start out that way. He was arrogant and full of himself. As a servant, he was on the same level as every other Christian because the ground is level at the foot of the cross. Yet, he was also an apostle. He was called to do that which God does not call everyone to do. He was called to lead the people of God. One of the most insulting ways to describe a pastor is the ignorant designation, “Well, he is just a man.” Not only is it insulting, it is biblically wrong. The way some people talk to, talk about and treat their pastors demonstrates their own ungodliness.

We too have been called to the dignity in a sense of both slave and a apostle. There is no longer any such group of people called apostles in the sense that was used of Peter and in the sense some attempt to use today. However, we are to be slaves of Jesus Christ and we are those who are sent out with a message. We should live up to both of these.

TO EFFECTIVELY UNDERSTAND WHO YOU ARE NOW AND GROW SPIRITUALLY, NEVER FORGET WHAT YOU WERE BEFORE CHRIST

This does not mean that we allow the past to control us nor should we glorify what we used to be. Yet, we should never forget what we used to be. Never forget where Christ has brought you from to where you are today.

Peter has identified himself to those who would hear the message of this epistle. Now he is going to identify who the epistle was written to. He has written “to those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours.” That is, those who will receive this message are those who have the exact same faith in Jesus Christ like I do. He says, “ I am no more nor any less saved than any of you.”

The phrase “equal standing (NKJV- “like precious”) means “to be be of equal value. This means that we have a faith from Christ that is shared. The word was originally used of a foreigner who was given citizenship. Here is this foreigner who has come into the Roman world. They were an alien to Roman culture, but now they are a genuine Roman citizen. They now possess the same citizenship that other Romans did. Peter is saying that it does not matter whether you are a Jew or a Gentile. You are in Christ together with us. There is no such thing as second class citizens of heaven.

How is this “faith of equal value obtained? The word obtained in verse 1 is a word that can mean, “to obtain by lot.” It is an uncommon word and here refers to “obtaining by divine will.” Peter is stressing that this shared faith that we possess does not come by human effort or worthiness. It is “by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ. The only way you will ever be righteous is for somebody to make you righteous. There is nothing in us that is righteous. We were all born in sin. So, how do we become righteous? It is through Jesus Christ the only righteous one, that is how. It is through Him who knew no sin, but became sin for us. He died on a cross. He was put in a borrowed tomb and He arose from the dead so that we could be cleansed. God the Father now looks at us and says, “I no longer see your sin. I only see the righteousness of the Son.” We share the equal gift of salvation because the righteousness of Christ has been imputed to us. We are not righteous. However, we have been declared righteous.

What makes our faith valuable is the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ. We like to say that faith can move mountains. WRONG! It is the object of our faith, Jesus Christ, the great mountain-mover, that is important. If you put your faith in man, you will get what a man can do. Yet, if you put your faith in God, you will get only what God can do.

We do not want to leave verse one too quickly because at the very end of the verse it reads, “of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.” Right here Peter boldly proclaims the deity of Christ. Make no mistake about it, Jesus is God.

Peter moves into verse two and says, “May grace and peace be multiplied to you.” What is grace? I like how Wayne Grudem defines grace. “God’s grace is God’s goodness to those who only deserve punishment.” We deserve wrath, but we get God’s grace. That is why 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” Peter prays that the righteousness of God would be multiplied to us.

Peter prays this same prayer that we would experience multiplied peace. So, what is peace? Peace is that inner tranquility of the soul where there is no fear. Peace is the possession of an inner tranquility of the soul. It is a peace that affirms that all is well in here (point to heart/head) when the world outside is falling to pieces. There is a peace for living and there is a peace for dying. This is vertical peace. There is also a horizontal peace. This is a peace that exists between me and my fellow man, despite some temporary bumps along the way. That is why Christ came. He came to make it possible for you and I to have peace with God and peace with others.

This grace and peace is to be multiplied to us in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. The word knowledge is a stronger form of the word for knowledge It is a larger and more intimate form of knowledge. In the end, the Christian faith is built on knowing the truth about God. Christianity is based on the objective, rational, historical and revealed truth of God from God. The deeper and wider this knowledge of God, the more this grace and peace will be multiplied. If I am around you for any length of time, I can ascertain with strong certainty, how deep and wide your faith is.

Who are we? We are servants who are saved. We are those sent out with the gospel message. We have been redeemed by the righteous blood of Christ. We are those who have grace and peace multiplied to us.

When we know who we are in Christ, we will more earnestly take our stand for and with Christ. Now, in verses 3-4, we ask the question: WHO IS GOD?

WE ARE TO GROW IN DIVINE POWER (1:3)

As we discover more and more who God is, we will grow in divine power. Sunday School class, do you realize that is what we are doing? The singles Sunday School class has been looking at the nature of who God is. We have been looking at God’s character through the eyes of God’s attributes. I have spent hours and hours looking at who God is as I prepare to share these truths with this wonderful group of people. I am absolutely even more overwhelmed by who God is. God is the only being that you can refer to as being awesome. He is omnipresent. He is omnipotent. He is omniscient. He is immutable. He is eternal. He is holy and He is so much more.

JESUS IS THE GOD OF GREAT POWER (3).

The word power here is the Greek word “dunamis” from which we get our English word dynamite. It is the same word used in Ephesians 1:19: “and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe...”

His divine power is unlimited. His divine power is unquestionable. His divine power is awesome and great. If you read my article in the Judson Journal you already know that I described God’s power in salvation and God’s power to transform a life. This morning I speak to briefly on the power of God in creation. God created everything in six literal days. Evolution is wrong. Evolution is nothing but man’s feeble attempt to do away with God. Trying to do away with God does not mean He will go away. He created it all and it all belongs to him.

When I was teaching in the public school system, it was “cool” to speak of children “creating” something. It might be a math strategy or it might be some sort of artistic rendering. They were said to “create”. Well, you know your pastor and I was not going to stand for that. As humans, you can “make” something, but you have never created anything. When you “make” something you take something that already exists in creation and make it into some form of the same something. The something you made already exists in some form. For you to create, you would have to be the Creator, which you are clearly not. Only the Creator creates because He created ex nihilo. That is, creating something out of nothing.

God’s divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness. This means that God has already given to us all things necessary pertaining to salvation and the benefits that accompany it. That phrase takes away any excuse for not serving Christ as we ought. “Well, I just need to try harder.” Stop trying harder and start surrendering better. That is the problem in most churches. There is no genuine surrender to Christ.

“There in the ground His body lay, Light of the world by darkness slain; then bursting forth in glorious day, up from the grave He rose again! And as He stands in victory, sin’s curse has lost its grip on me; For I am His and He is mine- bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death- this is the power of Christ in me; from life’s first cry to final breath, Jesus commands my destiny. No power of hell, no scheme of man, can ever pluck me from His hand; till He returns or calls me home-here in the power of Christ I’ll stand.”

How does all this come to us? It comes “through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.” This knowledge is an intimate knowledge and involves a personal sharing of life with Christ. This knowledge is based on repentance from sin and personal faith in Him. There is a dualism here in this phrase describing even more who God is. Glory (doxa) is who Jesus is and what Jesus possesses. Virtue or goodness describes what Jesus does. Jesus is God; that is His glory. Jesus is Savior; that is His virtue. The greatest demonstration of both of these is the cross and the subsequent resurrection of Jesus.

IT IS NOT ENOUGH TO KNOW THE FACTS ABOUT JESUS.

Merely knowing the facts about God will lead nowhere. Knowing about God is not the same as knowing God. You can be book smart and God stupid. Genuine believers know God through Jesus Christ intimately and desire to know more about the one they know intimately. How is your walk with God? There are people in this church, as well as others, that can give you the dates, times, and places of every biblical event in Scripture. Big whoop! You can wax eloquently in your favorite eschatological perspective. Who cares? How is your walk with God? What are you doing with what you know? Did you do your homework from last week, Mr. Deacon? Did you go speak to that one you were asked to speak with, Miss Sunday School teacher? Don’t you tell people what they are to believe and how they are to live if you yourself are not willing to walk with Christ enough to do what you are supposed to do. If one day we are going to be like Christ, why not today strive to be more like him than every before.

WE ARE TO GROW BY ACKNOWLEDGING PRECIOUS PROMISES (1:4)

JESUS IS THE GOD OF EVERLASTING PROMISES (4)

Who is God? Who is Jesus? Jesus is the God of all power (3). Yet, Jesus is the God of everlasting promises (4). There has never been a promise that God has ever broken and there has never been a promise that God could not keep. The phrase at the beginning of verse four, “by these” points back to and references Christ’s glory and virtue or goodness. By God’s glory and virtuous goodness God “has given us very great and precious promises.” What has Christ promised us? First, Christ has promised us an inheritance with Him (1 Peter 1:3-4). Second, Jesus promises that He will come again (1 Peter 1:13). These promises concern the promises of eternal life. The precious promises of salvation result in becoming God’s children now and sharing in God’s nature because we possess eternal life.

When Peter wrote this around AD 66, there were people who were literally laughing him out of the pulpit. They scoffed at him and called him an idiot. “Jesus is not God and Jesus is not coming again.” The false teachers of Peter’s day were teaching just like the false teachers of our day. Here me, the promises of God are true. Jesus is God and Jesus is coming again. Verse four continues, “so that through them you may share in the divine nature.” The “through them” refers back to the “very great and precious promises.” The short phrase, “so that” points to the divine purpose of these promises. “So that through them you may share in the divine nature.

Mormonism has taken this portion of Scripture totally out of context. They say that God, the heavenly Father, was once a man just like us. One day we will be like God is today. In other words, we are all working our way to Godhood. The only problem is that this is absolutely wrong. It is twisted heresy and is an affront to the biblical doctrine of God. To share in the divine nature of God does not mean that we will one day be like God, and therefore gods ourselves. It means that there will be a moral perfection that we will be given one day because of our connection with Jesus Christ. We will participate (have fellowship with) and share in the divine nature. However, this in no way implies that deity will be granted to us. Why would we want to become little gods, when we have already become new creatures in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17).

Further, because of these promises we will escape “the corruption that is in the world because of evil desire.” Our culture has the mindset of “if it feels good, do it!” I believe that the NKJV gets it right here when it renders this phrase, “having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” Folks, God has redeemed us from such an evil and perverse attitude that is indicative of the world. Why would anyone who is truly saved to go back to that? [1 Cor. 6:9-10]

How clear do you want God to make it? I do not know what you want the Bible to say, but the Bible is clear. Those who practice the things I just read will not go to heaven. That is what God says. It does not matter if you agree with it. It does not matter if you believe it. This is what God says. God says what He means and He means what He says. [1 Cor. 6:11]

Remember what you were in the past, but you do not live there. If you are living contrary to what God has said, you are in sin. We are talking about truth. We grow in our walk with God according to the truth of God. We grow in our faith through increasing righteous perfection. We grow in divine power and we grow by acknowledging Christ’s precious promises. Growing in Christ causes us to know who we are because we know increasingly who God is.

I will close with this controversial statement: “Our feelings are our most genuine paths to knowledge.” This is the statement found on the wall of one abortion clinic, the place where cold-blooded murder takes place. That statement is absolutely false because it is absolutely contrary to Scripture. Our wrong-headed feelings will lead us to lust and carnality. They lead to the abomination of homosexuality and murder of the unborn. We have a choice. We can either be governed and dictated by our feelings or we can be governed and dictated by this book. I am going to keep preaching this book, no matter the cost.