Commentary - 2 Peter 1:1-11

Bird's-eye view

In this opening salvo of his second letter, the apostle Peter lays a massive theological foundation for the practical exhortations that will follow. This is no mere warm-up; it is the whole gospel in miniature. Peter is writing to believers who are facing the insidious threat of false teachers, and his strategy is not first to attack the heresy, but to build up the saints in the truth. The central theme is that God, in His divine power, has already given believers absolutely everything they need for a life of true godliness. This provision comes through the "full knowledge" of Jesus Christ. Based on this glorious reality, Peter stacks up a series of exhortations for believers to diligently cultivate Christian virtues. This is not a bootstrap operation, but rather the necessary outworking of the divine nature they have already received. The goal is assurance, fruitfulness, and a grand entrance into the eternal kingdom. It is a dense, tightly-argued, and glorious picture of the Christian life, beginning with God's sovereign grace and culminating in the believer's diligent, faith-fueled effort.

Peter masterfully connects divine sovereignty and human responsibility. God grants everything (v. 3), and for that very reason, we must apply all diligence (v. 5). The precious promises of God are the fuel for our participation in the divine nature, which in turn is the engine for our escape from worldly corruption. The logic is clear: because of who you are in Christ, now become who you are. This passage is a potent antidote to both antinomian laziness and legalistic striving. It grounds our effort in God's prior, all-sufficient work, and it makes our effort the necessary evidence of that work.

Outline

Context In 2 Peter

This opening section (1:1-11) sets the stage for the entire epistle. Peter knows his death is approaching (1:14), and he writes with a sense of urgency. The primary threat he addresses in this letter is the rise of false teachers who are secretly introducing destructive heresies (2:1), denying the Master, and promoting licentiousness. Before Peter unloads his cannons on these scoffers and sensualists in chapter 2, he first establishes the positive truth in chapter 1. He is arming the saints. The solution to false teaching is not simply knowing what is false, but being thoroughly grounded in what is true. The robust, virtue-building, fruitful Christian life described here is the best defense against the empty and destructive words of the heretics. The call to make their calling and election sure (1:10) stands in stark contrast to the false teachers, whose destruction is sure (2:1). The promise of an abundant entrance into the kingdom (1:11) is the polar opposite of the swift destruction awaiting the ungodly (2:1).

Key Issues

All Things for Life and Godliness

Peter begins with a statement of breathtaking scope. God's divine power has granted us everything pertaining to life and godliness. Not some things. Not most things. Everything. This is the foundational premise of the Christian life. We are not spiritual paupers trying to scrape together enough resources to please God. We have been given a limitless inheritance, a fully-funded trust account. The entire enterprise of our sanctification is not about getting something from God that we do not have, but rather about learning to use and enjoy what He has already lavished upon us. This provision comes to us "through the full knowledge of Him who called us." The key that unlocks the treasure chest is knowledge, but this is not a bare, academic knowledge. The Greek word is epignosis, which means a deep, personal, and transformative knowledge. The more we know Jesus, the more we possess in experience what is already ours by right.

Verse by Verse Commentary

1 Simeon Peter, a slave and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have received the same kind of faith as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ:

Peter's self-identification is packed with meaning. He uses his old name, Simeon, a common Jewish name, alongside the name Jesus gave him, Peter, the rock. He is both a man of the old covenant and the new. He identifies himself first as a slave (doulos), indicating his absolute submission and ownedness to his Master. Then he identifies himself as an apostle, one sent with the authority of the Master. His service precedes his authority. He writes to those who have "received" a faith of the same kind. Faith is not something they achieved or drummed up; it was allotted to them, a gift. And this faith is precious, just like his. There is no first-class and second-class faith. And the basis for this gift is not their own merit, but the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Right from the first verse, Peter makes a powerful declaration of Christ's deity. The grammar points to one person who is both our God and Savior. This righteous character of God is the ground upon which He can justly give such a faith to undeserving sinners.

2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the full knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord;

This is more than a polite greeting. It is a prayer and a declaration of how spiritual blessing works. Peter desires that grace and peace be multiplied, not just added. He wants an overflowing, exponential increase. And the pipeline through which this multiplication flows is the full knowledge (epignosis again) of God and of Jesus. As our intimate, experiential knowledge of God grows, so does our experience of His grace and peace. A shallow knowledge of God leads to a trickle of grace; a deep knowledge opens the floodgates.

3 seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the full knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.

Here is the bedrock. Peter grounds his prayer in a stupendous reality. We are not left to our own devices. God's own divine power has already gifted us with all necessary resources for both spiritual life and the practice of godliness. The Christian life is not a desperate search for what we need; it is a lifelong discovery of what we already have. Again, the means of accessing this is through the full knowledge of the one who called us. And this call was not a half-hearted invitation. He called us by His own glory and excellence. God's own glorious character is the instrument of our calling. He draws us to Himself by revealing His own irresistible beauty and worth.

4 For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.

How has God's power equipped us? Through His promises. These are not flimsy hopes; they are precious and magnificent. They are of incalculable worth and grand in their scope. These promises are the means to a glorious end: that we might become partakers of the divine nature. This does not mean we become little gods or are absorbed into the divine essence. That is pagan mysticism. It means we come to share in God's character. His moral attributes, like love, joy, peace, patience, and holiness, are formed in us by the Holy Spirit. And as we partake of this new nature, we simultaneously escape the old. We are delivered from the corruption that permeates the world system, a corruption that is fueled by disordered desire, or lust.

5 Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge,

Here is the great pivot from divine provision to human responsibility. "For this very reason," because God has given you everything, you must now apply all diligence. Grace is not a hammock; it is a trampoline. God's gift does not induce passivity but energizes effort. Peter then begins to list a chain of virtues, a sort of spiritual ladder. The foundation is faith. But faith is not a bare, static thing. We are to "supply" or add to it. The first addition is moral excellence, or virtue. This is moral courage, the resolve to do what is right. To that, we must add knowledge, not just raw data, but practical wisdom and discernment in living the Christian life.

6 and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness,

The chain continues. Knowledge must be paired with self-control, the mastery of one's passions and appetites. A man who knows what is right but cannot control his impulses is useless. Self-control must be supplemented by perseverance, or steadfastness. This is the ability to endure under pressure and trial without giving up. It is self-control over time. And perseverance is to be crowned with godliness, which is a practical reverence for God, a life lived with a constant awareness of His presence and His claims.

7 and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.

Godliness is not a solitary virtue. It must flow outward, first in brotherly kindness (philadelphia), a genuine affection and care for fellow believers. This is the warmth of the family of God. But the final and ultimate virtue, the capstone of the entire structure, is love (agape). This is the self-giving, sacrificial love that mirrors the love of God Himself. It is not just an emotion but a commitment of the will to seek the highest good of others, even at great personal cost. All the other virtues are, in a sense, in service to this one.

8 For if these things are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the full knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Peter now explains the stakes. Possessing and, crucially, increasing in these virtues has a profound effect. It keeps a believer from being useless or unfruitful. The Christian life is meant to be productive. The evidence that our knowledge of Jesus is genuine (epignosis again) is that it is bearing the fruit of this kind of character. A faith that does not produce virtue is a barren faith.

9 For in whom these things are not present, that one is blind, being nearsighted, having forgotten the purification from his former sins.

Here is the flip side, the warning. The person who lacks these virtues is spiritually blind. He is nearsighted, able to see only the things of this world right in front of his nose, but unable to see eternal realities. Peter provides a stunning diagnosis for this condition: he has forgotten the gospel. He has lost sight of the fact that he was cleansed from his old sins. A failure in sanctification is ultimately a failure of memory. Remembering the cross and the empty tomb, remembering our justification, is the fuel for our growth in holiness.

10 Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and choosing sure; for in doing these things, you will never stumble;

Because of this danger, Peter circles back to his main exhortation. Be all the more diligent. The purpose of this diligence is to make your calling and choosing sure. This does not mean we make our election a reality by our works. God's election is eternal and unconditional. It means we make it sure, or certain, in our own experience. We gain assurance of our salvation as we see the evidence of God's grace growing in our lives. The pursuit of these virtues is the path to a robust and settled confidence that we truly belong to God. The promise attached is that if we are doing these things, we will never stumble, not that we will be sinlessly perfect, but that we will not stumble catastrophically and fall away from the faith.

11 for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.

The final promise is glorious. For the one who diligently pursues this life of growing virtue, the entrance into the kingdom will not be a squeaking-in-by-the-skin-of-your-teeth affair. It will be abundantly supplied. Think of a ship coming into harbor, not battered and broken, but with all sails full, flags flying, welcomed with a grand celebration. It is the promise of a rich welcome, a triumphant entry into the presence of our Lord and Savior. This is the great hope that motivates our diligence.

Application

This passage confronts us with a fundamental question: are we taking our spiritual growth seriously? Peter demolishes two common errors. The first is the quietist error, which says, "God has done it all, so I will just sit back and let go and let God." Peter says, no, because God has done it all, you must get up and apply all diligence. God's sovereign grace is the reason for our effort, not the excuse for our laziness.

The second is the legalist error, which says, "I must do all these things in order to get God to accept me." Peter says, no, you must do all these things because God has already accepted you and given you a new nature. Our effort is not the cause of our new life, but the consequence of it. We are not building a tower to try to reach heaven; we are living out on earth the reality of a life that is already seated with Christ in the heavenly places.

So we must examine ourselves. Is our faith growing? Are we adding to it? Do we see a trajectory of growth, however slow, in moral excellence, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love? If not, the diagnosis is clear: we have forgotten the gospel. We have become nearsighted. The remedy is not to try harder in our own strength, but to go back to the beginning. We must look again at the cross, remember the cleansing we have received, and then, fueled by that magnificent grace, apply all diligence to become who we already are in Christ.