2 Peter 1 (CSB) · OmniBible

1Chapter

Greeting

¹Simeon 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.
²May grace and peace be multiplied to you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

Growth in the Faith

³His 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. ⁴By 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. ⁵For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with goodness, goodness with knowledge, ⁶knowledge with self-control, self-control with endurance, endurance with godliness, ⁷godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. ⁸For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being useless or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹The person who lacks these things is blind and shortsighted and has forgotten the cleansing from his past sins. ¹⁰Therefore, brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election, because if you do these things you will never stumble. ¹¹For in this way, entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be richly provided for you.
¹²Therefore I will always remind you about these things, even though you know them and are established in the truth you now have. ¹³I think it is right, as long as I am in this bodily tent, to wake you up with a reminder, ¹⁴since I know that I will soon lay aside my tent, as our Lord Jesus Christ has indeed made clear to me. ¹⁵And I will also make every effort so that you are able to recall these things at any time after my departure.

The Trustworthy Prophetic Word

¹⁶For we did not follow cleverly contrived myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ; instead, we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. ¹⁷For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased!” ¹⁸We ourselves heard this voice when it came from heaven while we were with him on the holy mountain. ¹⁹We also have the prophetic word strongly confirmed, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. ²⁰Above all, you know this: No prophecy of Scripture comes from the prophet’s own interpretation, ²¹because no prophecy ever came by the will of man; instead, men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

2Chapter

The Judgment of False Teachers

¹There were indeed false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, and will bring swift destruction on themselves. ²Many will follow their depraved ways, and the way of truth will be maligned because of them. ³They will exploit you in their greed with made-up stories. Their condemnation, pronounced long ago, is not idle, and their destruction does not sleep.
⁴For if God didn’t spare the angels who sinned but cast them into hell and delivered them in chains of utter darkness to be kept for judgment; ⁵and if he didn’t spare the ancient world, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others, when he brought the flood on the world of the ungodly; ⁶and if he reduced the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes and condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is coming to the ungodly; ⁷and if he rescued righteous Lot, distressed by the depraved behavior of the immoral ⁸(for as that righteous man lived among them day by day, his righteous soul was tormented by the lawless deeds he saw and heard )— ⁹then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment, ¹⁰especially those who follow the polluting desires of the flesh and despise authority. Bold, arrogant people! They are not afraid to slander the glorious ones; ¹¹however, angels, who are greater in might and power, do not bring a slanderous charge against them before the Lord. ¹²But these people, like irrational animals—creatures of instinct born to be caught and destroyed—slander what they do not understand, and in their destruction they too will be destroyed. ¹³They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. They consider it a pleasure to carouse in broad daylight. They are spots and blemishes, delighting in their deceptions while they feast with you. ¹⁴They have eyes full of adultery that never stop looking for sin. They seduce unstable people and have hearts trained in greed. Children under a curse! ¹⁵They have gone astray by abandoning the straight path and have followed the path of Balaam, the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of wickedness ¹⁶but received a rebuke for his lawlessness: A speechless donkey spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.
¹⁷These people are springs without water, mists driven by a storm. The gloom of darkness has been reserved for them. ¹⁸For by uttering boastful, empty words, they seduce, with fleshly desires and debauchery, people who have barely escaped from those who live in error. ¹⁹They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption, since people are enslaved to whatever defeats them. ²⁰For if, having escaped the world’s impurity through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in these things and defeated, the last state is worse for them than the first. ²¹For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than, after knowing it, to turn back from the holy command delivered to them. ²²It has happened to them according to the true proverb: A dog returns to its own vomit, and, “A washed sow returns to wallowing in the mud.”

3Chapter

The Day of the Lord

¹Dear friends, this is now the second letter I have written to you; in both letters, I want to stir up your sincere understanding by way of reminder, ²so that you recall the words previously spoken by the holy prophets and the command of our Lord and Savior given through your apostles. ³Above all, be aware of this: Scoffers will come in the last days scoffing and following their own evil desires, ⁴saying, “Where is his ‘coming’ that he promised? Ever since our ancestors fell asleep, all things continue as they have been since the beginning of creation.” ⁵They deliberately overlook this: By the word of God the heavens came into being long ago and the earth was brought about from water and through water. ⁶Through these the world of that time perished when it was flooded. ⁷By the same word, the present heavens and earth are stored up for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.
⁸Dear friends, don’t overlook this one fact: With the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. ⁹The Lord does not delay his promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance.
¹⁰But the day of the Lord will come like a thief; on that day the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, the elements will burn and be dissolved, and the earth and the works on it will be disclosed. ¹¹Since all these things are to be dissolved in this way, it is clear what sort of people you should be in holy conduct and godliness ¹²as you wait for the day of God and hasten its coming. Because of that day, the heavens will be dissolved with fire and the elements will melt with heat. ¹³But based on his promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.

Conclusion

¹⁴Therefore, dear friends, while you wait for these things, make every effort to be found without spot or blemish in his sight, at peace. ¹⁵Also, regard the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our dear brother Paul has written to you according to the wisdom given to him. ¹⁶He speaks about these things in all his letters. There are some things hard to understand in them. The untaught and unstable will twist them to their own destruction, as they also do with the rest of the Scriptures.
¹⁷Therefore, dear friends, since you know this in advance, be on your guard, so that you are not led away by the error of lawless people and fall from your own stable position. ¹⁸But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity.

Study

Chapter 1

CSB

Is the New Testament Reliable?

When I was a young man, I thought the Bible was nothing more than fiction. Yet in college I met some students who actually believed it true. To prove them wrong, I set out to show how the Bible was unreliable. I’m pleased to report my failure. I discovered that the Bible is fully accurate and that we can know God personally through its pages. Here’s what I found.

First, the biblical accounts were all written by eyewitnesses to the events or by people who knew the eyewitnesses personally (Lk 1:2; Ac 4:20; 1Jn 1:3). Acts 1:3 says, “After [Jesus]had suffered, he also presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.”

Second, the vast number of early handwritten copies of the New Testament ensures we can reconstruct the original with tremendous confidence. Modern editions of ancient books are often based on just a few existing copies (sometimes fewer than ten). Still, scholars are confident that the present versions of those nonbiblical books accurately reflect the originals. In terms of the number of manuscripts, the New Testament dwarfs all other ancient writings. There are over 5,800 partial or whole Greek New Testament manuscripts. If copies of other languages are included, the number jumps to roughly 24,000!

Third, existing copies of the New Testament are remarkably close to the date of original composition. Most ancient works have a gap of more than 700 years, with some works, such as Plato and Aristotle, being twice that. In contrast, fragments of John date within forty years of its writing (John Rylands Papyri) and a near complete copy of the New Testament within 100–150 years of composition (Chester Beatty Papyri). From the standpoint of ancient history, the New Testament documents are reliable, accurate, and incomparable. Amazingly, even if all the manuscripts were destroyed, we could reconstruct the content of the apostolic teaching from Bible quotes in the writings of the early church fathers—leaders living within two generations of the Twelve, who were often trained by them.

Fourth, if the disciples had made up the stories about Jesus, why suffer and die for those claims? In his book The Fate of the Apostles , my son Sean demonstrates how all the apostles were willing to suffer and die for their conviction that Jesus rose from the grave. There is no evidence any of them recanted, and we have convincing evidence that at least four—Peter, Paul, James the son of Zebedee, and James the half brother of Jesus—actually died as martyrs. While it’s true that thousands of people have died for a lie, they did so only if they thought it was the truth. If the resurrection was a lie and the disciples knew it, certainly many of them would have cracked under pressure to save their lives.

Fifth, early non-Christian writers such as Josephus, Tacitus, and Pliny the Younger verify important details of the biblical narrative. These include that Jesus was a Jewish teacher, that he was rejected by Jewish leaders, that he performed healings and miracles, and that he was indeed crucified under Pontius Pilate in the reign of Tiberius Caesar. You have every reason to trust the New Testament, and more importantly, to trust in the God of whom it speaks.

ESV

Initial Greeting. Peter’s greeting is concise and to the point, identifying the author and the audience, and expressing a blessing.

ESV

Simeon. A Hebrew spelling of Simon (cf. Acts 15:14). Peter, as an apostle of Jesus Christ, is writing to those who have a faith of equal standing, showing that all believers share equal privileges before God. This standing was accomplished by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ. “Righteousness” refers here to God’s saving righteousness, showing that faith is a gift from Jesus. Jesus is called “God and Savior,” making this one of the clearest NT declarations of the divinity of Christ.

ESV

In his initial blessing of those to whom he writes, Peter mentions a recurring idea in the letter: true knowledge of God and of Jesus. Verse 2, like v. 1, points to the deity of Christ (cf. note on v. 1), for both God and Christ are the object of this knowledge.

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God’s Grace in Christ Is the Source of Godly Living. In this first main section of his letter, Peter emphasizes that God’s grace results in godliness.

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God’s Power Exercised on Our Behalf. God has provided blessing for the Christian in all things pertaining to life.

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divine power. God himself has acted in his infinite power to accomplish salvation, something only he could accomplish and what human ability could not accomplish. He has called us to his own glory and excellence. Believers are called to live in harmony with God’s own moral character. On God’s “glory,” see notes on John 1:14; Acts 6:15; cf. Rev. 21:23. The word “excellence” (Gk. aretē, “virtue, excellence”) was used by Greek writers to describe the sum of all desirable character qualities.

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God has granted believers his precious and great promises. It is through these promises that they become partakers (Gk. koinōnos, “sharer, partaker”) of the divine nature. They never become part of God, but amazingly they share in his nature as they become increasingly like him. The “great promises” include the promises Peter identifies in his Pentecost sermon in Acts 2:14–41, especially the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in new power. But they also include other promises such as likeness to God (2 Pet. 1:4; cf. 1 John 3:2), Christ’s return (2 Pet. 3:4), eternal life in heaven (1 Pet. 1:4), and more broadly, all the promises of Scripture that relate to the gift of new life. “Divine nature” uses terms familiar to Peter’s Hellenistic readership to help them understand the idea of transformation into the image of Christ. Peter emphasizes the moral focus of the believer’s transformed life. At conversion, Christians are delivered from the corruption of this world, which is rooted in sinful desire.

ESV

Making Every Effort to Live a Godly Life. Peter lists “qualities” (v. 8) that characterize a life partaking of the divine nature. These verses contain a straightforward catalog of biblical virtues (cf. Gal. 5:22–23; Heb. 12:10–11). This list does not reflect a legalistic code but rather the desires and features of a transformed heart (cf. “for this very reason,” 2 Pet. 1:5). The exhortations to live a new life are grounded in the divine power and promises that were granted to believers when they came to know Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

ESV

supplement your faith. Peter exhorts Christians not merely to confess faith in Christ but actually to live as he taught. He is not saying that works are a prerequisite for salvation but rather is arguing that faith must take concrete form in life. All the virtues listed in vv. 5–7 are results of faith, so faith is listed first, while love (the ultimate result of faith) is listed last (v. 7; cf. 1 Tim. 1:5). Virtue translates Greek aretē; see note on 2 Pet. 1:3.

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Godliness translates Greek eusebeia, “devoutness, piety, devotion to God” (also in vv. 3, 7; 3:11; see 2 Tim. 3:5).

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Living an Effective Life for Christ. Peter explains the necessary relationship between regeneration and a life that reflects the virtues inherent in the knowledge of Christ.

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if these qualities are yours and are increasing. A lifelong pattern of growth in Christlike character is expected of Christians and is the key to fruitful ministry. By contrast, knowledge (Gk. epignōsis) of … Christ is ineffective and unfruitful unless accompanied by a life that increasingly exhibits the qualities of vv. 5–7.

ESV

The one who lacks these qualities (cf. vv. 5–7) is spiritually blind and has forgotten that he was cleansed (cf. Titus 3:5–7) from his sins. This lack of fruit could exist because a person’s “cleansing” was merely an external reformation that did not come from a truly changed heart. But it could also describe a genuine Christian who has fallen into serious error regarding the Christian life. Only God knows the person’s true status (cf. 2 Tim. 2:19).

ESV

Christians should be diligent to confirm their calling and election (Gk. eklogē). God calls believers to faith through the gospel (2 Thess. 2:14), but he has also chosen (elected) them “before the foundation of the world” (Eph. 1:4). But God’s grace in salvation should not be taken for granted. Growing in the Christlike virtues mentioned in 2 Pet. 1:5–7 will give believers increasing confidence that God really did call them and really did elect them to salvation before the foundation of the world. Thus their election becomes “sure,” as a sure foundation. Those who practice these qualities … will never fall, probably meaning apostasy (falling away from the faith). Good works are evidence of and give assurance of salvation, though they are never the basis for it. Peter’s wording does not imply that true followers of Christ can ever apostatize; those who do so were never really “called,” “elected,” or born again (cf. notes on John 6:39; 6:40; 10:26–29; 1 Thess. 1:4; Heb. 6:4–8).

ESV

in this way. That is, by doing the things Peter mentions in vv. 5–10. This way of life is the path into the eternal kingdom of Christ. Those who practice these qualities will be richly provided with the reward of eternal life. Some interpreters think “richly” indicates degrees of blessing and reward both in this life and in heaven. Others think that eternal life is itself the reward in view, in contrast to the prospect facing the false teachers.

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Peter’s Reminder to the Churches. Peter contrasts the truth about Christ as revealed by God with the falsehood of man-made myths. In light of this certain truth, the church should be focused on living faithfully.

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Stirring Up Christians to Holiness. Thinking of his impending death, Peter urgently reminds the churches to continue living in a godly way.

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The readers of this letter already know these godly qualities (cf. vv. 5–10) and are already established in the truth concerning life in Christ. Peter’s intent is simply to keep biblical morality in the forefront of the Christian’s daily pursuits.

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Peter expects that his execution by Rome is imminent, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. The nearness of his death seems to have been recently revealed to Peter, but he may also be reflecting on his conversation with Jesus in John 21:18–19.

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Peter’s Preaching Results from His Own Eyewitness Experience. Peter recounts his personal experience with Jesus during the transfiguration (Matt. 17:1–8; Mark 9:2–8; Luke 9:28–36a). He contrasts this truth with man-made myths. The content of Peter’s preaching is not of human origin but is based on direct revelation from God.

ESV

cleverly devised myths. “Myth” translates Greek mythos, “a story without basis in fact, a legend.” The gospel of Christ was no myth, because the apostles were eyewitnesses of his majesty. Peter had observed the “majesty” of Christ firsthand at the transfiguration. He knew that Christ had come in power; he was no mere literary character invented for a mythological narrative. But Jesus’ transfiguration also functions as a prelude and anticipation of his coming in glory. Readers learn from 3:3–4 that the false teachers believed that the second coming was also a myth, but Peter refutes this, underscoring the certainty of Christ’s return.

ESV

Majestic Glory. A name for God the Father emphasizing the transcendence of his glorious presence (see Ex. 33:12–23; 34:29–35; 2 Cor. 3:12–18). At the transfiguration, God displayed the honor and glory of his beloved Son, a declaration by the Father of Jesus’ divine sonship (cf. Ps. 2:7; Isa. 42:1; Matt. 3:17; Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22).

ESV

we ourselves heard. Peter emphasizes his own eyewitness status, and that of the other apostles, with regard to the transfiguration (Matt. 17:1–8); he personally heard the voice of the Father declare Jesus to be his Son. If someone else had written this letter in Peter’s name (see Introduction: Author and Title), that person’s claim of eyewitness status would have been a lie.

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Truth about Jesus Christ Anchored in the Prophetic Word of Scripture. The truth about Christ is based on the prophecies of Scripture, something even more certain than (or just as sure as; see note on v. 19) eyewitness testimony.

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more fully confirmed. Some have understood that Peter’s experience of the Transfiguration provides confirmation of OT prophecy, making the already-sure prophecy of the OT even more sure as confirmed by the experience of the Transfiguration. Others have understood “more fully confirmed” as an affirmation that the prophetic writings of the OT are even more sure than Peter’s spectacular personal experience at the Transfiguration, thereby underscoring the complete reliability of written Scripture. In either case, believers are admonished to pay attention to the certainty of the prophetic word. In the contrast between “we have” and “you will do well,” Peter is apparently emphasizing that the interpretation of the apostles (“we”) is to be regarded as authoritative for the church (“you”). Day dawns and morning star both refer to the second coming. The day of the Lord is the day of final judgment and salvation, as the OT often teaches (Isa. 13:6, 9; Ezek. 13:5; Joel 1:15; Amos 5:18, 20). Jesus’ second coming will not only be an objective event in history, it will also rise in your hearts as the full light of Christ’s presence transforms the hearts of his church to perfect purity.

ESV

Two main views of this verse have been proposed: (1) The first view, the one most in harmony with the esv rendering, understands the verse to explain the origin of the prophecies of OT Scripture, namely, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from (i.e., originates out of) someone’s own interpretation (i.e., from someone’s individual understanding of events, visions, or other things), but rather, that “all prophecy of Scripture” came about from the Holy Spirit’s leading (see v. 21). (This takes the Gk. word ginomai in its most common sense, as meaning “come into existence”.) According to this first view, then, Peter is assuring his readers that all the OT Scriptures that pointed to Christ were inspired by the Holy Spirit, and that the readers should pay close attention to them (v. 19), perhaps in contrast to false teachers who were denigrating Scripture. (2) The second view understands the verse to be speaking of how OT prophecies are to be interpreted, therefore some translations render this verse, “no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of [or “for”] one’s own interpretation.” According to this second view, Peter is saying that one must interpret the OT Scriptures as they are interpreted by the apostles, and hence the interpretations of the OT by the false teachers should be rejected. Although this second view is possible, the first seems more likely, in light of the immediate context and Peter’s overall emphasis on the authority of Scripture.

CSB

Peter claimed that prophets were carried by the Spirit when speaking God’s oracles. Some might think this suggests a dictation theory of inspiration. Such a claim can be easily rejected, however, for the verse in 2 Peter does not constitute a complete explanation of inspiration. Further, the verse also emphasizes that “men” spoke from God. Their own personalities were not suppressed in the process. They spoke with all their distinctiveness as human beings and yet also uttered God’s words. B. B. Warfield rightly identified what occurred as concursus. Both God and human beings were fully involved in the communication of God’s Word, and the product is perfect because of God’s inspiring work.

ESV

No biblical prophecy was ever produced merely because a man wanted to prophesy (by the will of man). The prophecy in Scripture was given only by God through men, who “spoke” as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was the active, revelatory agent working within the OT prophets and through their lives and circumstances as they prophesied. This is a key verse for the doctrine of Scripture, indicating that Scripture is inspired by the Holy Spirit, but at the same time men spoke God’s words, using their own personalities, knowledge, background, vocabulary, and style. “They were carried along” implies that the inspiration of Scripture was invisibly directed by the Holy Spirit, though without overriding the personalities of the human authors. Thus Scripture is fully the Word of God, even though it is recorded in the words of human beings. The exact way in which this was accomplished remains a divine mystery. What is true of OT prophecy is true of “all Scripture” (see 2 Tim. 3:16 and note).