Bible Study on II Peter

A STUDY OF THE BOOK OF II PETER

BACKGROUND AND HISTORY; II PETER 1:1-11

LESSON ONE

In looking at the study of the Book of II Peter, we will need to know a little bit about the background and history of the book. In studying the book of I Peter, we learned that Silas (or Silvanus as Peter called him) helped Peter write the first letter, and then delivered the letter to the churches in the area. We learned that there are some people who feel that Peter did not write his second letter, because it has a different style to it, but that would make sense if he did, indeed, write it himself in his own rough Galatian Greek language. Most scholars feel that the letter was written between 61-67 AD, but we can probably narrow it down to 66-67 AD because we know from his reference in verse 14 of the first chapter he talks about his imminent death. We know that he was martyred by Nero who died in June 68 AD, so if Peter knew he would be martyred soon, it would seem that he probably wrote the letter in 66-67 AD.

No one seems to know for sure where Peter was abiding when he wrote this letter - it may have been Babylon but there is no definite proof, although we do know that he was writing to the same group of believers as he wrote the first epistle to. They were living somewhere in Asia Minor. The first epistle was addressed to the believers because they were experiencing persecution from friends and other members of society, but the purpose of the second epistle was to instruct and encourage the believers while they were dealing with serious assaults and persecution from within the church.

So the purpose of the second epistle that Peter wrote is two-fold: (1) to exhort believers to diligently pursue godliness and have a true knowledge of Christ; (2) to expose and repudiate false prophets and teachers. In chapter 3 verse 17-18 he summarizes his purpose - they were to be on guard so they would not be led astray and they were to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord. Christians must beware of false teachers who deny the soon return of Christ and who live immoral lives. Paul also taught this to Timothy in his last letter which was the Book of II Timothy. Paul and Peter both were being corrective in their teaching. In Peter’s first letter, he wrote as a teacher, but in his second letter, he wrote as an apostle - which he was.

The theme of the epistle is “Faithful Truth versus False Teachers”. In chapter one Peter instructs the believers to learn the true knowledge of Christ and pursue virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and charity. In the second chapter he warns against the prophets and teachers who were infiltrating the church and influencing believers with the false doctrine. They were corrupt, greedy, vain, self-willed, and despised authority. In chapter three, Peter refutes the skepticism of the false prophets who were denying Jesus Christ and His soon return. It was as in the days of Noah, when everyone was skeptical except for Noah and his family. So Peter was encouraging the believers that Christ will return, will dissolve the earth as we know it, and will create a righteous new order. So believers must live holy and godly now.

The special features of the Book of II Peter are that in this book we will find one of the strongest statements about the inspiration, reliability, and authority of Scripture - 1:19-21. Jude may have been inspired by Peter’s writings since there are similarities in their style, and Peter was influenced by the Apostle Paul.

The whole theme of the entire Bible is the great sacrifice of Christ as the underlying factor in the plan of God, but the false teachers in the lives of Peter and Paul were denying the second coming of Christ. They were pompous and bold and used loud preaching and sometimes gimmicks in order to attract people, but basically they saw no changes in nature or anything else that gave them indications that the world would someday come to an end. So Peter was led to write to the believers with encouragement and instruction against the sly false teachers.

V 1 - Peter begins the letter by saying he is a slave and an apostle. The Greek word that he used for “slave” is “doulos” the most servile term for a slave, which means being bound to another as a slave. The interesting thing is that the same word is used when saying that sinners are born into sin and of course are slaves to sin, but Peter was saying he was now a slave of Jesus Christ by choice. Paul says in I Cor 6:19-20 - “You are not your own; you are bought with a price.” It seems that it probably took many years and many trials in order for Peter to realize and fully understand what the term “slave” actually meant. The same is true today in that the longer we live and trust in Jesus Christ, the greater He becomes and the more we see the way we are and what we need.

The word “Jesus” is the English spelling for the Hebrew word “Jehoshua” and means “Jehovah saves”. The word “Christ” is the English spelling for the Greek word “Christos” and means “anointed One”. When Peter speaks of “like precious faith” he is referring to the fact that the Gospel is meant for everyone and that the Gentiles and Jews must come to God in the same way - by placing faith and trust in Jesus Christ and what He did on the Cross. The only faith that God will recognize is the faith that we put in the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross. The word “like” means we must all have the same kind of faith and “precious” refers to the value of the sacrifice. Peter uses the word “precious” several times by speaking of “precious faith”. Faith is precious - v 1; its trial is precious - I Pet 1:7; Christ is precious - I Pet 2:4; His blood is precious - I Pet 1:19; His promises are precious - I Pet 1:29. The phrase “through the righteousness of God” gives us the reason the faith is available. The idea is that the gift of salvation is not due to the sinner, but that if the Jew should be given an opportunity for salvation, then the Gentile must be granted the same opportunity. Since Christ died for all men, the door to salvation is due to all men who desire to accept it. This is the reason that Peter was martyred.

Paul said in Phil 3:9 - “the righteousness which is of God by faith” refers to the faith that God gives to each one who would accept His salvation, but Peter emphasizes that Christ died for all men and He has opened the door to anyone who will come in. This is the very opposite of the doctrine of predestination which teaches that God chooses who He wants to be saved, and no one who isn’t chosen can receive salvation.

V 2 - The term “saving grace” is what we experience and what we receive at the moment of salvation but Peter is referring in this second verse to the “sanctifying grace” which comes to the believer on a daily basis. The only way a believer can live for God is by living according to Gal 2:20-22. We as believers, have a choice as to how we will live our lives after the moment of salvation - either we will allow the sanctifying grace to be multiplied to us on a daily basis because of our faith in the Cross, or we will frustrate the grace of God by not understanding and trusting in His finished Work on the Cross. So the grace is multiplied to the believer when faith is exhibited on a daily basis. Grace is simply letting the Holy Spirit do for us what we cannot do for ourselves.

Peace is a product of grace because if we have the grace flowing in our lives as God wishes, then we will have the “sanctifying peace”. Once again, this is not the same as “saving peace” which is received at conversion, but it is a continual peace on a daily basis, but it does not mean an absence of problems. Instead, it means that God’s peace will have priority in our lives despite any problems we may have. Most Christians don’t seem to be living a victorious life and it is because they don’t grasp the concept of the Finished Work on the Cross. Therefore a completely victorious life is impossible. Paul taught the same thing in Heb 6:14 - “Saying, surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.” When we put the emphasis on faith in the Cross, then God’s multiplication will work on us.

The Greek word “gnosis” means an imperfect, impartial knowledge; but the word “epignosis” means a “full, perfect, precise knowledge” which is what we get by our faith in the Cross. Knowing Jesus is a heart experience that is gained by a personal relationship with Him and a study in the Word. Our knowledge is gained by having faith in what Jesus has done for us on the Cross.

The Growth of True Knowledge: II Peter 1:3-11

V 3 - The power of God is what produces the promise of God which is why we are given everything we need in this life. Jesus has given us what we need because of the Cross. When Peter speaks of the power of Christ giving us all things that pertain to life, he isn’t speaking of the necessities of life such as food, clothing and shelter, but of “zoe” life that is possessed of vitality and animation. This life comes from God at the time of the New Birth. Before a person comes to Christ for salvation, he is spiritually dead, because of the Fall, even though he is physically alive. But it took Jesus Christ coming as the Second Man, the last Adam. The first Adam had been our representative but he fell into sin, and now the second Adam, Jesus Christ, is our representative head. Jesus addressed the sin nature of mankind when He atoned for all sin, past, present, and future. If we identify with Jesus in His death, burial, and resurrection by having faith in Him, then we experience regeneration as Paul speaks of in II Cor 5:17 - “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are past away; behold, all things are become new.” Titus 3:5 also speaks of regeneration when Paul says - “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost.” There is much more instruction in the Bible as to how we should live for Christ than in how we should come to Him for salvation, which means that the process of sanctification is an ongoing way of life, which takes the faith that Jesus gives us to live for Him.

Peter is speaking of the knowledge that Christ gives us as to what He did on the Cross for us. The fact seems to be that most Christians only have knowledge as to salvation, when they know that Jesus died for them, but there is very little knowledge and understanding as to how to live a life of righteousness. A person can’t really fully believe in something unless they have a good knowledge of it. Of course, the Holy Spirit is available to help us have knowledge and understanding but it requires faith on our part. In the seventh chapter of Romans, we can see that it took some time for Paul to know and understand about grace and the process of sanctification even though he was saved and filled with the Spirit at that time. Peter plainly says that all things we have come to us by the divine power of God - not through any other means including humanistic psychology. We cannot fully believe in scripture and fully believe in psychology - because by their vary nature, one cancels out the other.

To quote an incident from Swaggart - “On a broadcast of the public television science series “Nova”, a panel was asked, “How scientific is psychoanalysis?” Thomas Szasz, author of “The Myth of Mental Illness”, offered this view: “Psychoanalytic theory does not really qualify as a scientific theory because it is more like an ideology … a secular religion … significant not for being a science or for its impact on science, but as a cultural phenomenon.” The thing to note is that we must believe totally in the Cross of Christ as our means of sanctification, rather than believing in man made remedies.

V 4 - The precious promises of God are immutable, meaning they cannot fail. All believers share in the divine nature of God which is the source of our life and actions. A promise is an assurance that something will take place and in this case the promise is the revelation of Jesus Christ and what He has done for us. When the sinner comes to Christ and accepts salvation, he is “washed, sanctified, and justified” as Paul tells us in I Cor 6:11, and so at that time he receives the divine nature of God. Just as the Trinity is made up of three distinct personalities, the believer also has three distinct natures: the human nature, the divine nature, and the sinful nature. Rom 6:6 tells us that the sinful nature was broken at conversion by what Jesus did on the cross for us - so that although the sin nature is not removed because we are still human, it does lie dormant by our having constant faith in the Cross. The physical body has not yet been redeemed, therefore the sinful nature is still present. The Greek word “escape” (“apopheugo”) actually has the meaning “to escape by flight” so Peter is saying that the believer escapes (runs away from) the corruption that is in the world in the form of lusts - which means “craving, passionate desires” (inordinate affections). In reality, many more Christians are hooked on ungodly things because of the “works of the flesh” Gal 5:16-21, than what they would want to admit.

The good news is that Jesus is our Savior - our Deliverer - so we can be set free from the lusts of the world when we have our faith in the Cross. When we understand that everything we need is in and by the Cross of Jesus Christ, we will begin to live a victorious life. God can and will help anyone who is sincerely trying to live for Him, but He will not help a person who quits and goes back to the “works of the flesh”. The Cross has continuing results for the believer who has faith in the Finished Work on the Cross.

V 5,6,7 - In the next three verses, Peter gives a list of the attributes that will be given to us as we have faith in the Cross. He said “beside this” meaning “for this very cause or this very reason” we should give all diligence which is our responsibility as it regards the Christian life. The divine nature is not an automatic process, but one that we have a responsibility to pursue. The word “diligence” gives the idea of an intense effort, but this is done by having a willing mind and an obedient heart, rather than by trying to achieve these attributes by doing good works. Our diligence must be in “fighting the good fight of faith” as Paul tells Timothy. Someone has said “Jesus died not only to save us from “sin”, but as well from “self”. The more the Christian tries to live a victorious life without faith in the Cross, the more trouble he will have until it gets to the point of frustration and the desire to give up living for God.

Peter tells us to add virtue to our faith, which means the power of God. The same word for virtue is used in Lk 8:46 when the woman touched the hem of Jesus’ garment and He said - “Somebody has touched me: for I perceive that virtue has gone out from me.” If the right kind of faith is held by the believer, then that faith will produce virtue - or power. A deception of Satan is to make the believer think that since he has the baptism of the Holy Spirit with speaking in other tongues, he automatically has the power manifested in his life. Peter is not referring to the gifts of the Spirit in this verse, but in the power to live a holy life. The word “knowledge” used in v 5 is “gnosis” which means “imperfect, impartial” knowledge and this is not the same word as used in verses 2 and 3 when the word “epignosis” is used which means “full and complete knowledge”. In verses 2 and 3 Peter says we have the perfect knowledge of Jesus when we have the knowledge of the Cross, but now he is telling us that there is room for growth in that particular knowledge because the knowledge of the Cross is inexhaustible.

When we have the knowledge, we are told to also have temperance which is self-control over worldly desires. When Jesus died, he overcame the principalities and powers of darkness - “And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them” - Col 2:15. Satan usually begins his deception by working with the mind, but since Jesus has already defeated this, the believer will be totally free even of the thoughts of the mind, when he fully understands the Finished Work of the Cross. We are to have patience which is explained as humble and loving trust in God. Charles Ellicott, a noted theologian in the late 1800’s, said “Virtue and knowledge are energetic and progressive; they are exercised in developing the powers implanted in us. Self-control and patience are restrictive and disciplinary; they are exercised in checking and regulating the conflicting claims of many co-existing powers, so as to reduce all to spiritual harmony.” To our patience, we are encouraged to add godliness, which is defined as being like God. Jesus told us to take up our Cross daily and follow Him - for “whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for My sake, the same shall save it.” Lk 9:23-24.

The brotherly kindness we should have is very self-explanatory because Peter says we are to love our fellow Christians in the same way that we love our flesh and blood brothers and sisters. The word charity should read “love” because Peter used the word “agape” which refers to Godly love. Everything has been provided to us so that we may have these attributes, and it is interesting that Peter begins the list with faith and ends the list with love. Rom 14:23 says “whatsoever is not of faith is sin.”

V 8 - When Peter uses the word “if” in verse eight, he is letting us know that it is very possible for a person to be saved but not exhibit the abundant, victorious life as the scripture teaches. We have been given the graces spoken of in the previous three verses but they should be overflowing - like a spring that never stops flowing. It is possible to be barren and unfruitful which is being spiritually blind. This happens when there is not a true understanding of the Cross. The word knowledge is the same word Peter used in verses 2 and 3 which is the knowledge of Jesus Christ and His finished work on the Cross. The Cross not only provided redemption, but also provided victory and power in our everyday situations. Hos 4:6 says “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge”. In the Old Testament, the leaders of Israel rejected the ways of the Lord and so He said in the same verse of Hosea “I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing that thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.” Just as the lost sinner cannot be saved without accepting and trusting in the Cross, the believer cannot stay saved without keeping his faith in the Cross. The modern church cannot claim “spiritual ignorance” which has happened because of false teaching for so many years. People will reject the truth and fall for false doctrine when they don’t understand the meaning of the Cross, which happens because of self-will and deception. This is why Paul said we need to have a “renewing of the mind.” Every believer has the potential for an abundant life but very few actually enjoy it.

V 9 - Peter says that if we lack the graces mentioned earlier, we are spiritually blind, which is the result of not understanding the Cross of Christ, and in that case, the old sins, which were purged at the time of salvation, will come back. Satan will do whatever he can to deceive the believer and make him think he is doing alright, but Jesus told the Laodicean church to anoint their eyes with eyesalve so they could see - Rev 3:17-18. In other words, they had everything they thought they needed but were spiritually blind and could not see afar off- meaning they had no spiritual discernment. When a believer places their faith in anything other than the Cross, they will be overtaken by their “old sins”.

V 10 - For the second time in six verses, Peter uses the word “diligence” - he is letting us know that we must strive to meet certain terms of God which is having faith in the Finished Work of Christ on the Cross or we could lose our soul. Peter is stating the same thing Paul spoke when he said in II Cor 13:5 - “Examine yourselves, whether you be in the faith.” If we fail to have our faith in the right object - the Cross - then our calling and election are in jeopardy, and we stand to lose everything. Peter said “if” we do these things, we shall never fail, which shows the possibility of failing. So the promise of God is conditional. We must look to the sacrifice of Christ in order for the Holy Spirit to have the permission to help us, then He will develop the fruit of the Spirit within our lives, and then we shall never fail.

V 11 - Our entrance into heaven is strictly by the shed blood of Jesus Christ, as the sacrifice for the sins of mankind. It is “Jesus Christ and Him crucified” - I Cor 2:2. The only way to attain salvation is to have faith in the Finished Work of Christ. It is not by believing in the Word of Faith doctrine, that so many of the big name preachers adhere to. They preach part of the truth in the Bible, but don’t recognize Jesus as the divine Son of God who sacrificed Himself for us. They teach having faith in faith, not in Jesus and His finished work on the Cross which gives us salvation. That doctrine teaches that Jesus became a sinner by taking the Satanic nature while He was on the Cross, so He became a sinner, and when He died He went to the burning side of hell. After agonizing for three days and nights among the demons, God said “It is enough” meaning that the atonement for sins was complete and then God raised Him from the dead.

This is a preposterous belief that so many people have been influenced to believe because they don’t understand the meaning of the Cross. I Pet 3:18 says “...being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit” which shows us that Jesus did die a physical death but not a spiritual death. Jesus has provided the solution for the sin nature; all He asks of us is to provide the faith.