2 Peter 1:1-21 (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. 5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with goodness, goodness with knowledge, 6 knowledge with self-control, self-control with endurance, endurance with godliness, 7 godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 8 For 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. 9 The person who lacks these things is blind and shortsighted and has forgotten the cleansing from his past sins. 10 Therefore, brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election, because if you do these things you will never stumble. 11 For in this way, entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be richly provided for you.
12 Therefore I will always remind you about these things, even though you know them and are established in the truth you now have. 13 I think it is right, as long as I am in this bodily tent, to wake you up with a reminder, 14 since I know that I will soon lay aside my tent, as our Lord Jesus Christ has indeed made clear to me. 15 And I will also make every effort so that you are able to recall these things at any time after my departure.
16 For 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. 17 For 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!” 18 We ourselves heard this voice when it came from heaven while we were with him on the holy mountain. 19 We 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. 20 Above all, you know this: No prophecy of Scripture comes from the prophet’s own interpretation, 21 because no prophecy ever came by the will of man; instead, men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
Peter is addressing Gentile believers who have received an equal faith as him through Jesus Christ. He says this because there were people who felt Gentile believers were not equal to Jewish believers. He’s also clarifying that Jesus is both God and Savior. As we know, some people did not think Jesus was God, but was a prophet.
In verse 2, he says, “May grace and peace be multiplied to you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.” This knowledge is not a basic knowing that God exists. The Greek word used is epignosis and as HELPS Word-studies defines this word, it means, “properly, ‘contact-knowledge’ that is appropriate (‘apt, fitting’) to first-hand, experiential knowing.”
There is a big difference between knowing God and having general knowledge about Him. In verses 5 and 6, the word for knowledge is gnosis, and it means “a knowing, knowledge,” but it is not as strong of a knowing as epignosis. The prefixed preposition ‘epi’ means upon, above, or in addition to, so epignosis is an intensified knowledge, or a complete knowledge. This is the epignosis knowledge mentioned in verse 3, which says, “His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness through the knowledge (epignosis) of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.” When we have this deep knowledge of God, then God divinely gives us everything required for life and godliness.
In other words, it’s when we come to faith, not just a basic knowledge of God, that we receive everything required for life and godliness. Without the knowledge of God, or rather without faith in Jesus, we cannot obtain all that is required. Knowing God is the key to everything else. It is the starting point. This is what Jesus said in the Gospels, isn’t it? He said seek first the kingdom of God, and then all these other things will be added to us. First we have to seek the Kingdom of God: first we have to know, really deeply know, who God is. We must have faith.
The world wants to obtain all the things required for life by any and all means other than epignosis knowledge of God. Just look at the field of psychology. Rather than knowing God, the focus is on knowing thy self. What good does it do anybody to know themselves if they don’t have knowledge of the God who created them? Philippians 3:10 says, “My goal is to know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed to his death.” It is only when we discover who God is, and have faith in Him, that we know who we are.
In verse 4, it says, “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.” By these, meaning God’s divine glory and goodness, He has given us promises. Very great and precious promises, in fact. Through these great promises, given to us because He is so good, we may share in His divine nature, escaping the ruin that results from living not by the divine nature but by evil desires.
How do we escape the corruption that is in the world because of evil desire? We must make the effort, every effort Peter says in verse 5, to supplement or add to our faith these seven specific things: goodness, then knowledge, then self-control, then endurance, then godliness, then brotherly affection, and then love. These qualities are to be added, one to another.
Let’s look at each of these qualities. The first thing we need to add to faith is goodness. The Greek word is areté, and it is moral goodness or virtue. Some other synonyms are righteousness, integrity, honor, uprightness, or honesty. That means that once we have true knowledge of God and have faith in Him, then we are to live with moral goodness. We should behave with integrity. In 1 Peter 2:1 Peter writes a similar directive. He says, “Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all slander.” Those things he says to get rid of are the opposites of goodness. We are to behave in accordance with God’s directives on how we are to live. Once we come to the knowledge of who God is and we place our faith in Jesus, then we are to change how we are living to reflect our faith.
The second quality is knowledge. This is where reading the original Greek is so helpful. The word is gnosis, and to review, it means “a knowing, knowledge.” This is basic knowledge. Once we know God, we are to keep learning. I think we are, of course, meant to learn more about God and His Word, but we are also supposed to learn more in general. The Christian should not shy away from learning. When we become Christians we are not to leave intellectualism behind us. We should pursue knowledge and learning. God is the author of all truth. The more we learn in general, the more we see that God is real and the mastermind behind all good things. God wants us to use our brains and learn and grow. When we approach learning through the starting point of truly knowing who God is, we don’t have to fear that intellectualism will weaken our faith as some people fear. No, as long as we are adding intellectualism to our foundation of faith in Jesus, what we learn will add to our faith and strengthen it. The Word of God is not weakened through careful study. It can withstand all scrutiny, for it is true and trustworthy.
The third quality is self-control, and this word is egkrateia, and it means, “mastery, self-control, self-restraint.” We need self-control in order to resist temptation, do we not? Once we know God, behave morally, and gain knowledge, then we should add self-control. This will keep us from hurting ourselves and other people. Self-control puts limits on our behavior. Self-control is necessary for healthy living. Without self-control, we would have no self-discipline. Self-control helps in everything from eating too much or watching too much tv to losing our tempers. Self-control keeps a balance in our life and keeps us from hurting ourselves and other people. It keeps our actions and words in check.
The fourth word is endurance and in the Greek it is hupomoné, and it means “a remaining behind, a patient enduring, steadfastness.” I think endurance is self-control that has matured. Someone who can endure much has much self-control. The New Testament talks about endurance a lot: there are more than fifty verses telling us about the need to endure or have endurance. We need endurance so that we do not give up and lose faith. James 1:2-4 tells us how we develop endurance. It says, “Consider it a great joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.”
The fifth word is godliness. In the English language, this word has come to mean goodness or holiness, but the Greek word has a different meaning. Godliness is eusebeia which means, “piety toward God, devotion, reverence for God.” I think godliness is when we behave with reverence and devotion toward God through acts of righteousness. This would include things like giving to the poor, tithing, fasting, prayer, Bible reading, and worship. Jesus says in His sermon on the mount, “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. Otherwise, you have no reward with your Father in heaven” (Matthew 6:1). We are to practice piety and godliness, but we are not to do so in a self-righteous manner. We are to humbly be devoted to God in word and deed, honoring Him and worshiping Him by giving back to Him what He has given us. And we are to spend time in prayer and in His word, worshiping Him. In other words, we are to be devoted to God.
To those things, then we can add brotherly affection, which is philadelphia: the love of brothers, brotherly love. We need to possess all the aforementioned qualities in order to love other people. Without goodness, knowledge, self-control, endurance or devotion to God, we cannot truly love others. Some people might say that people who don’t have devotion to God can love other people, but 1 John would tell us otherwise. We must love God before we can truly love others. 1 John 4:7-8 says, “Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” This means that whoever knows God loves others. If we don’t love others, then that is proof we don’t actually know God.
Which leads us to the last quality we are to add. To all these things, we are to add love. This is no ordinary love. This is agape. This is the love that God has for us. It is love which lays its life down for another. It is not emotional love or brotherly love. It is love that that flows from God and is shown by its actions. It is the love that is described in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 which says, “Love is patient, love is kind. Love does not envy, is not boastful, is not arrogant, is not rude, is not self-seeking, is not irritable, and does not keep a record of wrongs. Love finds no joy in unrighteousness but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”
All these qualities are to be added, one to another. Back to our text for today, verses 8-9 tell us, “If you possess these possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being useless or unfruitful in the [epignosis] knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. The person who lacks these things is blind and shortsighted and has forgotten the cleansing from his past sins.”
If we don’t have these qualities, then we will be a very poor representative of Christ. If we aren’t trying to gain these qualities, that is because we have lost sight of what Christ has done for us. If we remember what Christ has done for us, then our life will be a reflection of our thankfulness to Him.
Verse 10 says if we practice these qualities, then we will never fall. That is because if we do the opposite of these qualities, we are sinning, and unchecked, unrepented sinning will lead to us falling away. Whereas verse 11 says, “For in this way, entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be richly provided for you.”
How do we come to this saving ‘epignosis’ knowledge of Him? We do this by hearing the Word of God and believing by faith in Jesus Christ our Savior, who reveals Himself to us through His Word.
We see this same word used 2 Timothy 3:7, which is a warning to avoid people who “have a form of godliness” but do not truly know God. They never attain the knowledge, the ‘epignosis’, full knowledge. It says these people are “always learning and never able to come to a knowledge of the truth.” They never truly know God, for what they are learning is not the Word of God.
Verse 10 also says we are to “make every effort to confirm your calling and election,” and I know that those who are of a reformed or Calvinist persuasion will see this as proof of their doctrine of election. I disagree. Peter says to make every effort to confirm what God has chosen and elected you to. God has established a new covenant, a new way to bring people into His family when Jesus died on the cross and rose again. God has chosen this way of salvation: that all who would believe in Him are welcomed into His family by faith. If you are born again into this family of God through faith, then you are part of the people whom God has chosen and elected to ‘epignosis’ know Him. Then you can confirm your calling and election into this group of believers and share this message of salvation with others so they too may be a part of this chosen or elect way of knowing God.
This is all so important. That’s why Peter's aim, as stated in verses 12-15, is to remind them multiple times, ensuring they never forget and can always remember this truth.
At first, I thought Peter then totally switches topics, and I wondered why verses 16-20 are included in this same chapter of 2 Peter. But on contemplation, it makes perfect sense. He’s explaining how we attain true epignosis or knowledge of God. Unlike people who are always learning but are never actually attaining a knowledge of the truth, we must look to Scripture to truly know God. Verses 16-18 say that unlike people who follow myths, Peter and the other apostles were firsthand eyewitnesses of Jesus. They saw the dove descend on Jesus and they heard, “when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased!’” Peter was also on the mountain with Jesus when He was transfigured and he heard that same voice again. Then he says in verses 19-21, “We 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. Above all, you know this: No prophecy of Scripture comes from the prophet’s own interpretation, because no prophecy ever came by the will of man; instead, men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”
These words that Peter has been writing are not Peter’s ideas. He has written what he’s written because, just as the Old Testament was written by the power of God, so too has he been writing as he has been “carried along by the Holy Spirit.”
That is why he tells his readers to remember all these things he’s been telling them. It’s not Peter’s words that are important, it is the fact that what he is speaking is from God. If his hearers want to not be useless or unfruitful, if they don’t want to fall away from God, then they must be careful to cooperate with the Holy Spirit in adding all these qualities to their lives. They have to choose to do these things.
It is as he wrote in verse 4: God, by His great love and mercy, has given us great and precious promises. He promises that by His love and mercy we “may share in the divine nature, escaping the corruption that is in the world because of evil desire.” Let us hold on to His great promises of love and mercy. God has given us everything we need to follow Him. Let us press in to know God deeply, so through the power of His Holy Spirit, He can transform our human nature into a reflection of His divine nature. Let us press on to attain all these qualities that will help us escape the corruption of the world. Let us be careful to follow the divinely inspired Word of God so we are not led astray by human words that distort the Gospel. In living in this way, we confirm, to ourselves and to others, our standing in the family of God and can become fruitful for God’s service.
Pray: Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your great grace and mercy. We pray that by Your grace and power in our lives, You would help us to know You more fully. Help us by Your Holy Spirit to choose to add these qualities to our lives so we can look more like You. Help us to escape the corruption of the world and produce fruit that will help us be fruitful for Your service. We ask this in Jesus’ name, amen.
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