Read 2 Peter 1:1-11.

Introduction⤒🔗

Suppose that one Saturday afternoon you are cleaning out your attic. As you work your way through piles of old junk, you come across a painting that appears to be a Picasso.

You take the painting to an art dealer to find out what he would recommend that you do with it. The local dealer tells you that you need to have the painting authenticated; you need to have someone knowledgeable in the field verify and confirm that the painting is genuine. So, he sends you to an art museum in New York to compare the painting with known original Picassos. That is how you go about authenticating your painting: verifying and confirming that it is a genuine Picasso.

The Apostle Peter is speaking about this very same kind of thing when he writes: “Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to authenticate your calling and election” (vs. 10). The word sometimes translated, “to make sure” (βεβαιοs), means, “to confirm, to verify, to authenticate;” in other words, to prove or demonstrate something to be genuine. Having placed your faith in Christ as your Savior, you must give diligence to develop a Christ-like character, and thereby demonstrate that you are an authentic Christian.

Show Yourself to be an Authentic Christian, By Relying on the Righteousness of Christ←⤒🔗

Peter describes an authentic Christian as someone who shares with the apostles “the same precious faith as us in the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ” (vs. 1). What Peter is referring to is placing your trust, your confidence, in the righteousness of Jesus Christ, depending upon His righteousness to make you acceptable before God. The righteousness of Christ is acceptable unto God because it is nothing other than the perfect righteousness of God.

The authentic Christian is characterized by a complete and sole reliance upon the righteousness of Christ, as opposed to seeking to manufacture and trust in a righteousness of his own making. He has come to recognize and acknowledge the inadequacy of his own efforts to measure up to the perfect standard of righteousness demanded of us by God’s very nature as the God of infinite holiness. Indeed, he has come to see himself for what he is in the sight of God: a sinner who falls short of the glory of God, who is in need of forgiveness, and in need of the righteousness that is required for life in the presence of God. By encountering the Lord Jesus Christ through the preaching of the gospel, he has not only become aware of his own moral inadequacy in comparison to Christ, but also the perfect adequacy found in Christ and offered to him.

In his own personal way, the authentic Christian has encountered Christ just as surely as the Apostle Paul. Perhaps not as dramatically, nor by means of a physical, visible, manifestation of the risen Lord Jesus, but certainly with the same life-changing results. Paul gives his Christian testimony in Philippians 3:5-11,

[I was] circumcised on the eighth day. [I come] from the nation of Israel. [I am] of the tribe of Benjamin. [I am] a pure Hebrew. With regard to the law, [I was] a Pharisee. ⁶As far as zeal is concerned, I persecuted the church. With regard to the righteousness that [a man can attain] by the law, I had become blameless. ⁷However, whatever things were gain to me, these things I [now] regard as loss on account of Christ. ⁸But much more than that, I regard all things as loss on account of the all-surpassing value of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, because of whom I have suffered the loss of all things. Indeed, I regard all such things as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ, ⁹and be found in him, not having my own righteousness, which is derived from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness that is from God, [received] by faith; ¹⁰so that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, becoming conformed to his death, ¹¹so that I may in some way attain the resurrection from the dead. Phil. 3:5-11

In verses 5-6, Paul lists his inventory of personal religious merit: He was “circumcised on the eighth day.” He had received the sacrament of circumcision, which marked him as a member of the covenant community, in complete accordance with the law of God: “And the LORD said to Moses, ²A woman who becomes pregnant and gives birth to a son will be ceremonially unclean for seven days... ³On the eighth day, the boy is to be circumcised” (Lev. 12:1-3). Paul was “from the nation of Israel.” That is to say, he was a member of the Old Testament covenant community, not only by circumcision, as were also the Gentile converts, but also by birth. Paul was “of the tribe of Benjamin.” By specifying the tribe from which he came, Paul is verifying the fact that he, indeed, is of the nation of Israel, coming from the same tribe as did the first king of Israel, his name sake, Saul. Paul was “a pure Hebrew,” (literally, “a Hebrew of Hebrews.”) Both his parents, as well as his ancestors, were full-blooded Israelites, free of Gentile blood and wholeheartedly committed to religious purity untainted by any Greek pagan influence.

Having listed his inherited spiritual blessings, Paul now goes on to list his personal religious merits: “With regard to the law,” Paul was “a Pharisee.” He was a member of the strictest, most orthodox sect in all Judaism. “As far as zeal is concerned,” Paul “persecuted the church.” Paul vehemently strove against those whom he perceived to be the enemies of God and of Israel; he adamantly opposed all doctrinal and practical deviation from what he perceived to be the faith of his forefathers. “With regard to the righteousness that [a man can attain] by the law,” Paul “had become blameless.” Over the course of a lifetime of sincere religious devotion, Paul had brought his conduct into strict outward conformity with the law of God; he had become the most religious and moral person that was humanly possible.

After having listed this extensive inventory of inherited spiritual blessings and personal religious merit, the Apostle Paul goes on to write: “However, whatever things were gain to me, these things I now regard as loss on account of Christ” (vs. 7.)

What caused Paul to have such a tremendous reversal of perspective? What caused him to take all that once was the object of his hope and trust before God, namely, his lifetime accumulation of personal righteousness, and now identify it as mere rubbish and stinking garbage, as he testifies in verse eight: “I regard all things as loss...Indeed, I regard all such things as rubbish.”

Paul had a personal encounter with Christ Jesus, the Holy One of God, beholding Him in the full splendor of His divine righteousness:

About noon as I approached Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me. ⁷I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me? ⁸Who are you, Lord? I asked. I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting, he replied... ¹⁰What shall I do, Lord? I asked. Getup, the Lord said, and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do. ¹¹My companions led me by the hand into Damascus, because the brilliance of the light had blinded me. ¹²A man named Ananias came to see me. He was a devout observer of the Law and highly respected by the Jews living there. ¹³He stood beside me and said, Brother Saul, receive your sight! And at that very moment I was able to see him. ¹⁴Then he said, The God of our fathers has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth. Acts 22:6-8,10-14

Having encountered the Lord Jesus Christ, “the Righteous One,” Paul renounced his own utterly inadequate personal righteousness, in order to “be found in [Christ].” To be “found in Christ” is defined in verse nine as having the righteousness that comes from God and is received by faith in Christ: “found in him, not having my own righteousness, which [is derived] from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness that is from God, [received] by faith.” To be “found in Christ” means accepting God’s invitation to trust in the perfect righteousness of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and have His righteousness spread over us as a garment of salvation in the sight of God:

I rejoice greatly in the LORD, my soul exults in my God; because he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has wrapped me in a robe of righteousness, like a bridegroom adorns his head with a turban [like a priest] and like a bride adorns herself with her jewels. Isa. 61:10

Each of us must, like the Apostle Paul, appreciate the all-surpassing greatness of the divine righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ and trust in His divine righteousness alone for our salvation. By way of illustration: You are practicing for the Olympic sprint race. In your own estimation you are doing very well; that is your confidence until you see the world recorder holder in action. It is when a man encounters the perfect and divine righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ that he comes to realize that his own “righteousness” does not begin to approach that of the Son of God. Christ, as the Holy One of God, has a thorough knowledge of righteousness, a perfect acquaintance with righteousness; stated in negative terms, He is the One who “knew no sin” (2 Cor. 5:21).

Show Yourself to be an Authentic Christian, By Growing in the Righteousness of Christ←⤒🔗

Peter introduces himself as “a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ,” and then proceeds to pronounce a benediction upon those to whom he is writing: Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. (vs.2)

In the N.T., grace has a dual nuance: unmerited divine favor, and unmerited divine resources, most notably, spiritual strength: be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might (Eph. 6:10). Unmerited divine favor is the source of our redemption, it is that which motivated God to redeem us (Eph. 2:8-9). Furthermore, God continuously bestows His unmerited favor upon those whom He has redeemed (Jn. 1:16). This abundance of grace is ministered to the redeemed and experienced by us “in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.” This “knowledge” is not merely intellectual knowledge; it is profound relational knowledge (Jn. 17:3): experiencing and interacting with God the Father by means of our union with His Son, “Jesus our Lord.”

Vs. 3-5a contain an extremely convoluted sentence, the main point of which we have sought to indicate by means of bold type; we will then go back and consider the supplementary details contained in this exhortation.

Since all things pertaining to life and godliness have been given to us by his divine power, through the knowledge of the one who called us into his own glory and virtue, ⁴by which he has given us precious and exceedingly great promises, so that through these things we may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world [caused] by lust—⁵and so, for this very reason, making every effort, supplement your faith with virtue, and to virtue [add] knowledge...

The gist of the Apostle Peter’s exhortation is that we must press on in our Christian life, growing in spiritual maturity, towards the ultimate realization of the purpose of our redemption: becoming “partakers of the divine nature.” Peter is not speaking of assimilation into deity; rather, he is referring to complete conformity to the likeness of Christ our Savior (cp. 1 Jn. 3:2, “Beloved, now we are children of God; but it has not yet been revealed what we shall be; however, we know that when he is revealed, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.”) Notice that coupled with this assurance of full conformity to the likeness of Christ our Savior, the Apostle John like the Apostle Peter, adds a word of exhortation, urging us on in the process of sanctification and spiritual maturity: And everyone who has this hope in him, purifies himself, just as he [i.e. Christ] is pure. (1 Jn. 3:3)

Before proceeding to examine the various attributes, we are to add to our foundational faith in Christ, we do well to consider the supplementary details contained within Peter’s exhortation.

Once again he reminds us that access to “all things pertaining to life and godliness” is gained “through the knowledge of the one who called us.” It is in our relationship with God, maintaining and cultivating that relationship, that we become more acquainted with and more adept at employing the spiritual resources made available to us. Peter does not specific the “all things” to which he alludes, but they would certainly include: the grace of God (in the sense of unmerited divine resources), the Scriptures, and the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

Having mentioned “the one who called us,” Peter, as a means of giving us incentive to comply with his exhortation, proceeds to specify for what purpose God has called us: that we may share in His glory (1 Thess. 2:12) and virtue (1 Pet. 2:9). Furthermore, it is by nothing other than “his own glory and virtue” that God has given to us His “precious and exceedingly great promises.”

Now, by showing all diligence (“making every effort,”) Peter exhorts us to build a life of Christian virtues upon the foundation of our Christian faith. We are not being called upon to look within ourselves and rely upon our own resources to produce the moral attributes Peter goes on to enumerate in this passage. On the contrary, we are to look to Christ and rely upon Him to supply us with His divine resources and to reproduce His divine virtues in us. But we must be actively involved in this building process, as the Apostle Paul exhorts the Philippians, “continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, ¹³for it is God who is working in you both to create the desire and to produce the work for the sake of his good purpose” (Phil. 2:12-13).

Peter describes the attributes we are to “add” to our faith, the kind of Christian life we are to pursue and develop. To our faith we are to add “virtue,” (or, “goodness”). What is being referred to here is moral excellence, the character of God: we are called to “display the virtues” of the God who has saved us (1 Pet. 2:9). To virtue we are to add “knowledge.” We are called to grow in our knowledge of God and His ways, as the Psalmist prays, “Open my eyes so that I may behold wonderful things in your Law” (Psl 119:18). Note: In this context, God’s “Law” refers to the whole of Scripture; for the Psalmist that would consist of the Old Testament portions that were available to him in the stage of redemptive history in which he lived. As we apply to our lives the spiritual knowledge we presently possess, we increase our capacity to receive a greater degree of spiritual knowledge: “I understand more than the aged, because I have kept your precepts” (Psl. 119:100).

To knowledge we are to add “self-control.” It is necessary not only to know the truth, but also to practice the truth, to bring our lives consistently under the discipline of God’s truth, developing patterns of behavior and life-style that are in conformity with God’s truth. Jesus commands us, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matt. 11:29). To self-control we are to add “perseverance.” Conforming to the life and character of Christ is hard, it goes contrary to the remnants of the old sinful nature that still cling to us, and it may also result in suffering hardship as His holy life seen in us convicts the world of sin. Thus, there is the need for perseverance: “you need to have endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise” (Heb. 10:36).

To perseverance we are to add “godliness.” The Christian life is not to be equated with moralism: the mechanical conformity to a cold, lifeless, moral standard. On the contrary, the Christian life involves the living, personal attribute of godliness: developing, deepening, broadening our relationship with God by means of greater conformity to His character; expressing a reverence and love for God that are demonstrated through trust and obedience.

To godliness we are to add “brotherly affection.” Our relationship with God is not only a deeply personal relationship between the Christian and his heavenly Father, it also encompasses an active personal relationship between ourselves and fellow Christians:

If anyone says, I love God, yet hates his brother, he is a liar; for anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. ²¹And he has given us this commandment: Whoever loves God must also love his brother. 1 Jn. 4:20-21

Finally, to brotherly affection we are to add “love.” The relationship we have with God is not only personal, and it does not only extend to our fellow Christians, it must also express itself in our relationship to our neighbor. Peter has taken us through a process of spiritual growth to the very pinnacle, which has been summarized by our Lord Himself as follows:

Jesus replied: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. ³⁸This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. ⁴⁰All the Law and the Prophets depend upon these two commandments. Matt. 22:37-39

If we are building a life of Christian virtue upon the foundation of our Christian faith, then our relationship with Christ is productive and fruitful. As Peter writes: “If you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will prevent you from being either useless or unfruitful with regard to the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (vs. 8). Conversely, if this process of Christian character-building is absent from one’s life, it indicates that his relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ is barren, sterile and meaningless: like a dry, lifeless branch on a vine.

This is a matter of great importance and concern in the light of Jesus’ own words:

I am the true vine and my Father is the vinedresser. ²He removes every branch in me that does not bear fruit. But he prunes every branch that does bear fruit, so that it may bear more fruit. Jn. 15:1-2

Show yourself to be an authentic Christian, one whose relationship with Christ is fruitful. To produce the spiritual fruit that is pleasing to the LORD, we must abide in Him and depend upon Him to produce that fruit in us: “I am the vine, you are the branches. The one who abides in me and I in him, he is the one who bears much fruit; for apart from me you can do nothing” (Jn. 15:5).

Show Yourself to be an Authentic Christian, By So Doing, You Will Come to Enjoy an Ever-Greater Measure of Assurance←⤒🔗

By availing ourselves of the divine resources God has placed at our disposal, (“all things pertaining to life and godliness have been given to us by his divine power, through the knowledge of the one who called us,”) we are urged to “authenticate [our] calling and election” (vs. 10). That is to say, by making diligent use of the divine resources in building a life of Christian virtue, we testify to the fact that the faith we profess is authentic—it is, indeed, a genuine, soul-saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Our life increasingly bears witness to the fact that we have believed into the Lord Jesus Christ, and have thus come to enter into His resurrection life, a life lived unto God (cf. Rom. 6:10).

Peter assures us, “by doing these things you shall never stumble.” By obeying Peter’s exhortation to diligently develop our God-given salvation, we will never fall away from Christ: we will never drift away from Him, losing interest in Him, being lured away from Him by the enticements and pressures of this present world. On the contrary, “the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be made wide open for you.”

Show yourself to be an authentic Christian, by relying upon the divine resources God has placed at our disposal for the purpose of developing and cultivating our spiritual growth and welfare.

Discussion Questions←⤒🔗

1. How does Peter identify himself to the Christian people to whom he is writing? See 2 Pet. 1:1 What is “an apostle”? Cp. Jn. 13:20 What is significant about the fact Peter mentions his identity as “a servant” before that of “an apostle”? If you hold a position of authority in Christ’s church, do you realize that first and foremost you are Christ’s servant, and the position you occupy is for service to Christ and His church? Do you conduct yourself accordingly?

Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have been given the same precious faith as us in the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ. 2 Pet. 1:1

I tell you the truth, whoever receives whomever I send is receiving me; and whoever receives me is receiving the one who sent me. Jn. 13:20
Those whom Christ sent forth to minister in His name, and by whom He (by the Holy Spirit) would personally speak, were His apostles. (cf. Jn. 20:19-21)

2. How does Peter identify these people to whom he is writing? See 2 Pet. 1:1. How does the Apostle Paul elaborate upon Peter’s words? Phil. 3:8b-9. Can you identify yourself as one who is trusting in “the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ” for your salvation? Note 1 Pet. 3:18,

Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have been given the same precious faith as us in the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ. 2 Pet. 1:1

Indeed, I regard all such things as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ, ⁹and be found in him, not having my own righteousness, which is derived from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness that is from God, [received] by faith... Phil. 3:8b-9
Paul acknowledges his own moral and religious efforts as being utter inadequate to merit God’s favor; he therefore renounces all trust in such things in favor of placing his trust in the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ, the Holy One of God.

Christ indeed died for sins once for all, the Righteous One for the unrighteous ones, so that he might bring us to God. He was put to death in the flesh but made alive [again] by the Spirit. 1 Pet. 3:18

3. How does Peter define the purpose of our salvation? See 2 Pet. 1:3-4. What does Peter mean when he informs us that that purpose is to “become partakers of the divine nature”? See 1 Jn. 3:2­ 3; note, also, 2 Cor. 3:18,

...all things pertaining to life and godliness have been given to us by his divine power...⁴..so that through these things we may become partakers of the divine nature... 2 Pet. 1:3-4

Beloved, now we are children of God; but it has not yet been revealed what we shall be; however, we know that when he is revealed, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. ³And everyone who has this hope in him, purifies himself, just as he [i.e. Christ] is pure. 1 Jn. 3:2-3
In light of the Apostle John’s teaching, it is clear that Peter is not speaking of assimilation into deity; rather, he is referring to complete conformity to the likeness of Christ our Savior.

...we all...beholding...the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory...by the Spirit of the Lord. 2 Cor. 3:18

4. Given the purpose of our redemption, (to be “partakers of the divine nature,” to partake in and reflect the moral attributes of Christ) what are we as Christians called to do? See 2 Pet. 1:5-7. Can you elaborate on the meaning of these virtues, and do you see them developing in your own life? To whom must we look and upon what must we rely as we engage in our Christian calling? See 2 Pet. 1:3a; note, also, Phil. 2:12b-13,

...and so, for this very reason, making every effort, supplement your faith with virtue, and to virtue [add] knowledge; ⁶and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, steadfastness; and to steadfastness, godliness; ⁷and to godliness, brotherly affection; and to brotherly affection, love.2 Pet. 1:5-7

...all things pertaining to life and godliness have been given to us by his divine power, through the knowledge of the one who called us into his own glory and virtue...2 Pet. 1:3

...continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, ¹³for it is God who is working in you both to create the desire and to produce the work for the sake of his good purpose... Phil. 2:12-13

5. What reasons does Peter supply to encourage our compliance with his exhortation to diligently engage in this process of spiritual growth, bringing our lives into greater conformity with the divine nature? See 2 Pet. 1:8, 10-11. What does our Lord Jesus Himself tell us about the importance of bearing this type of spiritual fruit? See Jn. 15:1-2. Christian, since God has redeemed us for the purpose of sharing in His divine nature of holiness and love, diligently engaging in this process of spiritual growth verifies the fact that we have been redeemed, God’s purpose is being worked out in our lives—but what does neglect and disregard of the process of conforming our lives to the divine nature indicate?

⁸If you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will prevent you from being either useless or unfruitful with regard to the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ... ¹⁰Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to authenticate your calling and election; for by doing these things you shall never stumble. ¹¹[By following this course], the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be made wide open for you. 2 Pet. 1:8, 10-11

I am the true vine and my Father is the vinedresser. ²He removes every branch in me that does not bear fruit. But he prunes every branch that does bear fruit, so that it may bear more fruit. Jn. 15:1-2