2 Peter 1
This devotional is written by Dan Fox.
2 Peter 1
Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who through the righteousness of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours:
2 Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
Confirming one’s calling and election
3 His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But whoever does not have them is short-sighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.
10 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, 11 and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Prophecy of Scripture
12 So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. 13 I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, 14 because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. 15 And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things.
16 For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eye-witnesses of his majesty. 17 He received honour and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.’ 18 We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.
19 We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. 20 Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. 21 For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
To those who through the righteousness of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours:
2 Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
Confirming one’s calling and election
3 His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But whoever does not have them is short-sighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.
10 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, 11 and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Prophecy of Scripture
12 So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. 13 I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, 14 because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. 15 And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things.
16 For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eye-witnesses of his majesty. 17 He received honour and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.’ 18 We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.
19 We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. 20 Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. 21 For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
Reflection
One of the things I love about this passage is that it was written by Peter who spent a lot of time with Jesus. Someone who, as verse 17-18 tells us heard God saying to Jesus “this is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased”. And even though Peter had physical encounters with Jesus on a regular basis he doesn’t claim his faith is any better than ours, in fact he says in verse one “…To those who through the righteousness of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours.” We may not have spent a couple of years of our lives walking and working with Jesus in a physical sense but our faith in him is just as precious as if we had.
Peter spends the first of these three chapters in this book, reminding us of how precious that faith is and how God has given us everything we need to live a godly life, a full life. He encourages us to possess various characteristics (v5-8) which will help us in this life’s journey. Weirdly I’m encouraged by verse 9, which may sound odd, as it is talking about what happens if we don’t possess the various qualities, goodness, knowledge, perseverance etc. – the line that hits me: “…forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins” I know that is me so often… but, even at time when I forget I have been cleansed from my past sins, that doesn’t alter the fact that I have been cleansed from them.
Prayer: Lord, thank you that even when I forget that you have cleansed me from my past sins, you don’t forget. Thank you that you have given us everything to live a godly life. Help me live it!
Peter spends the first of these three chapters in this book, reminding us of how precious that faith is and how God has given us everything we need to live a godly life, a full life. He encourages us to possess various characteristics (v5-8) which will help us in this life’s journey. Weirdly I’m encouraged by verse 9, which may sound odd, as it is talking about what happens if we don’t possess the various qualities, goodness, knowledge, perseverance etc. – the line that hits me: “…forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins” I know that is me so often… but, even at time when I forget I have been cleansed from my past sins, that doesn’t alter the fact that I have been cleansed from them.
Prayer: Lord, thank you that even when I forget that you have cleansed me from my past sins, you don’t forget. Thank you that you have given us everything to live a godly life. Help me live it!
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