2 Peter 1:1-21
Peter Knows Who Jesus Is
1 Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior 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 nearsighted 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 Savior 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 eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 He received honor 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.
Some people do not believe that Jesus is Divine...Peter, Jesus Disciple, believes Jesus is divine and the Son of the Holy One (God)...Peter identifies himself as a "servant and apostle of Jesus Christ."...This positions Jesus as someone worthy of service and apostleship, implying a high stature...Witnessing Jesus' Majesty (verses 16-18): Peter recounts his experience on the mountain where God's voice declared Jesus "This is My Son, whom I LOVE; with Him I AM well pleased."...This is a direct quote from the Gospel of Mark (Mark 9:7) which depicts Jesus' Divinity...While the passage doesn't use the exact term "Divine," it paints a clear picture of Jesus as: God's beloved Son: This special relationship suggests Jesus is more than just a human teacher or prophet...Jesus is One we should honor and have glory towards Him...The voice from heaven honors Jesus, further elevating His Status...Peter is able to give his readers an eyewitness account about Jesus and His Teachings, because Peter was with Him for three years...Peter, as an eyewitness to these events, emphasizes their validity...Second Peter is a letter written within the broader context of the New Testament, where Jesus' Divinity is a central theme...Early Christians, including Peter, grappled with Jesus' nature and relationship with God...
When Jesus was in the region of Caesarea Philippi, He ask His Disciples this question, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”...They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”...Jesus asked, “Who do you say I AM?”...Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” Jesus said that Peter was blessed as this was revealed to him by God...He added, “you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church"...Jesus promised Peter that he would be given authority, then warned them not to tell anyone that He was the Christ...Later the historical councils like Nicea further solidified the belief in Jesus' Divinity...In conclusion, based on these passages and their context, it's safe to say that Peter strongly affirms Jesus' Divinity and His unique relationship with God as the Son of the Holy One...
Robert Charles Sproul was an American Reformed theologian and ordained pastor in the Presbyterian Church in America....He said this about the Son of God...“The Son of God - The New Testament recounts few instances when God was heard speaking from heaven...When He did, it was normally to announce something startling...God was zealous to announce that Jesus Christ was His Son...At Jesus' baptism, the heavens opened and God's voice was heard, saying, "This is My Beloved Son, with whom I AM well pleased" (Matt. 3:17)...Elsewhere, the Father declared from heaven, "This is My Beloved Son; listen to Him" (Mark 9:7)...Thus, the title conferred from on high to Jesus is Son of God...This title has engendered a great deal of controversy in the history of the church, particularly in the fourth century, when the Arian movement, taking its cue from its leader, Arius, denied the Trinity by arguing that Jesus was a created being...References to Jesus as "the firstborn of all creation" (Col. 1:15) and "the Only Begotten of the Father" (John 1:14, KJV) led Arius to argue that Jesus had a beginning in time and was thus a creature...In Arias' mind, if Jesus was begotten, it could only mean that He was not eternal, and if He was not eternal, then He was a creature...Thus, to ascribe deity to Jesus was to be guilty of blasphemy, because it involved the idolatrous worship of a created being...The same controversy exists today between Christian believers and the Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses, both of whom acknowledge a lofty view of Jesus over angels and other creatures but deny His Full Deity...This controversy precipitated in the great ecumenical Council of Nicea...The Nicene Creed provides an interesting answer to the charges of Arianism...The answer is found in the strange statement that Jesus is "Begotten, not made."...To the Greek, such a statement was a contradiction in terms...In normal terms, begotten implies a beginning, but when applied to Jesus, there is a uniqueness to the way in which He is begotten that separates Him from all other creatures...Jesus is called the monogenes, the "Only Begotten" of the Father...There is a sense in which Jesus and Jesus alone is begotten of the Father...This is what the church was getting at when it spoke of Jesus being eternally begotten-that He was begotten, not made.”...
Jesus refers to Himself as the Son of God in the Bible in several ways, including during His trial before Jewish leaders and in response to questions from others: In Mark 14:60-62, when asked by the high priest if He was the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One, Jesus replies, "I AM; and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven"...Jesus is Divine and the Son of God, the Holy and Blessed One...