2 Peter 1:1

2 Peter 1:1 says, Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:  Peter calls himself a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ.  Whatever else God may call us to be, we are all servants of Jesus Christ, if we have obtained the precious faith like Peter had.  We can obtain this faith because of the righteousness of God.  Verse two adds, Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,  Peter asked that their grace and peace be multiplied through their knowledge of God and Jesus their Lord.  When we live under the grace of God, shown to us fully by the sacrifice of Christ, we should live at peace in the world.  If we are not at peace in the world in which we live, it may be that our faith in God's grace is faltering.  Verse three continues, According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:  Peter tells us that God has given us all the things that pertain to life and Godliness through our knowledge of Christ.  Peter does not say that God gives us everything we want in this world, but that He gives us everything we need in order to live by faith for His glory.  Verse four concludes, Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.  God has indeed made great and precious promises to those who follow Christ.  We become partakers of the divine nature of God.  We do not become divine, but our nature becomes shaped by God.  We, through our faith in Christ, escape the corruption of the world brought on by our lusts.  Verse five states,  And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;  Our faith in Christ should change our nature.  We should become virtuous under the knowledge of God.  We cannot accept Christ and not be changed in the way we live and view the world.  Verse six adds, And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;  This is a continuation of the way our nature will be changed by our faith in Christ.  We should be temperate, patient and godly in all that we do.   Verse seven continues, And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.  When we follow Christ, we will be kind to others and have a love for them like God has for us.  To say that we love God but hate sinners is not consistent.  We are to hate the sin, but we are to pray for the sinner.  Verse eight continues, For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  If we have the things just discussed guiding our life, we will be productive in our life for Christ.  We are not promised earthly riches, but we are promised a greater relationship with Christ.  If our faith is barren, we may need to change the way we live out our faith.  Verse nine says, But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.  If we lack the things mentioned, the we have become spiritually blind and have forgotten that we were purged of our sins.  We cannot effectively follow Christ if we feel that we are morally superior to others simply because of who we are in the world.  Verse ten adds, Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:  We need to be diligent in our faith in Christ.  If we put Christ and His will first, then we will never fail in our spiritual walk with Him.  Verse eleven concludes, For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.  If we accept Christ, we have been granted entrance into His everlasting kingdom.  We should follow God's guidance in all that we do because of this great gift of everlasting salvation.

We will briefly review what we have learned from First Peter.  We, like Peter, should identify ourselves as Christians, those saved by faith in the grace of God.  This has been the plan of salvation since before the creation of the world.  It is not that God ordained us, or even certain of us, to fail, but that He knew when He gave us free will that we could fail.  The life, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ was and is and always will be the only way to salvation.  We also learn that we are to love one another as God loves us.  We are not only to love our fellow believers, but we are to even love those who hate and despise us.  Christ did not just love and die for certain people who loved and treated Him right, but for all people, even those who nailed Him to the cross.  We, as followers of Christ, are to love with the same type love.  We are also called on to obey the government, or anyone in a position of power over us, unless they require us to go against God's law.  We cannot just claim that since we are forgiven of our sins that we are free to do anything we choose to do.  We are to set the example for others, not only our fellow Christians but also for the lost of the world.  God should always be glorified by our actions, and we should always make sure that He receives the honor and glory.  There is no room for self glorification as a follower of Christ.  We are also to control our speech.  This is more than just not using profanity.  We are not to say anything that would dishonor God, and spreading rumors or telling lies about others is certainly never acceptable.

1 Peter 5:5 says, Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.  The young are called on to submit to the elder.  This was once more common than it is today, I believe, but it should especially be true of young followers of Christ submitting to older followers of Christ.  There is no room for the self centered attitude of saying no one has the right to tell me anything.  We are to be subject to one another and to do so humbly.  We are told that God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble.  Verse six says, Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:  There is no room for boastful self pride in Christianity.  I don't mean having pride in the things we do, but instead bragging about how great we are.  We should always humbly do our best in everything we do, not so that we will be honored, but so that God will.  Verse seven says, Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.  We are to cast all are cares and concerns on God.  Whatever our burden, we are to bring it to God.  We can do this through prayer, believing that God really will hear and answer.  Sometimes, we pray without real faith, just going through the motions while still not believing that God will answer.  Or course, I believe that everything we pray for should be in accordance with God's will and for His glory.  We can also bring our burdens to the church, our fellow believers.  We are to share one another's burdens.  Verse eight declares, Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:  We are to always be vigilant in our faith in God.  We never reach a point where Satan will stop tempting us, and if we think that we have then we are really setting ourselves up for trouble.  Satan, or the devil, is like a roaring lion, always seeking to destroy anyone that he can.  Verse nine adds, Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.  We are to remain steadfast in our faith.  If we suffer for our faith in Christ, we are not alone.  People all over the world and throughout history have done the same.  We simply must put our faith in God, especially during times of trouble.  We should never ask where God is, because as followers of Christ, the Holy Spirit lives in us.  Verse ten proclaims, But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.  This God of all grace, the only true God, will sustain us through all our sufferings.  Our sufferings, no matter how long they last, will be but for a little while in the prospective of our everlasting life with God.  Verse eleven says, To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.   As followers of Christ, all that we do should be done to honor God.  God has dominion over all His creation forever.  Verse twelve states, By Silvanus, a faithful brother unto you, as I suppose, I have written briefly, exhorting, and testifying that this is the true grace of God wherein ye stand.  Peter tells them that he wrote them to exhort them to stand in the grace of God.  This is what we must do today.  Peter also said he was sending the letter by Silvanus, a faithful brother.  We should always be willing to trust and acknowledge our fellow believers.  Verse thirteen states, The church that is at Babylon, elected together with you, saluteth you; and so doth Marcus my son.  Peter said that not only he, but the whole church at Babylon saluted, or sent greetings to those the letter was written to.  He singled out Marcus, or Mark, as being like a son to him.  We are never really alone in our actions for Christ, but work with fellow believers throughout the world.  Verse fourteen adds, Greet ye one another with a kiss of charity. Peace be with you all that are in Christ Jesus. Amen.  This is simply a call for Christians to love and respect one another.  We certainly need this today.

1 Peter 5:1 says, The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed:  Peter identified himself as one of the elders and as one who had witnessed the sufferings of Christ.  He did not identify himself as someone in authority over the other elders.  Peter was a man who had faith enough to step out of the boat and onto the water, but was also a man who lacked the faith to stand with Jesus when He was arrested.  Still, after Peter accepted Jesus as his Savior, he was saved forever.  When we are born again through faith in Christ, we are saved forever.  Even if we falter in our walk with Christ, we are still saved.  Like Peter, we have no authority over other Christians simply because we are saved.  Verse two states, Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;  Peter was speaking to the elders.  They did have a responsibility to feed the flock, or those fellow believers that God had given them the responsibility to minister to.  The elders were to have the responsibility for overseeing other believers, not by claiming power over them, but by reaching out to them with the love of God.  Elders, or as we might say preachers and deacons are not called to be dictators over other Christians.  They are never to assume a position of leadership and use that position to gain the material things of this world.  Verse three adds, Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.  Those who are called to be pastors or deacons, leaders in the church, are never to view themselves as superior to other Christians.  They are simply sinners saved by grace themselves who are called to a particular position of service in God's kingdom.  They are called on to be an example to others which means that they are the do all that they do to glorify God.  Verse four concludes, And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.  Peter told the elders then that if they were obedient to the will of God, that they would receive an everlasting crown of glory when Christ returns.  I don't believe that we should work for Christ for personal rewards, either here nor in the world to come though.  All that we do should be done so that God will be glorified.

1 Peter 4:10 says, As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.  We are told that since we are given the free gift of salvation that we are to freely share the gospel with others.  Being a follower of Christ was never intended to be something that makes us want to hoard God's gracious gift of salvation.  Verse eleven declares, If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.  We are told once again that everything we say and do should be directed by God if we are His followers.  We are to do so by the ability that God gives us.  Verse twelve states, Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:  As Christians, we should not find it strange if we suffer persecution.  It may be even more strange if we don't, because we may not be living up to our calling if we aren't encountering any opposition from the lost of the world.  Verse thirteen adds, But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.  We, as followers of Christ, too often complain when we don't get something we want instead of rejoicing when we suffer persecution.  Christianity is not a way to personal riches, but is a call to deny ourselves and take up our cross daily.  Verse fourteen says, If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.  If we are reproached for our relationship with Christ,, we are to be happy because the Holy Spirit resides in us.  The world, those without Christ in their lives, will speak evil of us because of our relationship to Him.  When we remain faithful to Christ if we are persecuted, then He is glorified.  Verse fifteen declares, But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters.  This simply tells us that we should not do these things, and if we do and suffer for it that it is not the same as suffering for our faith.  If we violate the laws of man, we should not expect our relationship to Christ to prevent us from being held accountable.  Verse sixteen adds, Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.  This is another statement that suffering for our faith in Christ is different than suffering for our own sins in the world.  Though we are forgiven by our faith in Christ, we are not given a license to sin without punishment in the world, but if we are punished for our faith it is different.  We are not to be ashamed of the gospel in such a situation.  Verse seventeen asks, For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?  Peter said that the time had come for judgment to begin at the house of God, or with those who called themselves God's people.  Then comes the question if the judgment begins with those who call themselves God's people, then what hope is there for those who do not accept the gospel.  There is no hope for those who reject the gospel of Christ.  Verse eighteen asks, And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?  This is just another statement that there is no hope of salvation without putting our faith in Christ.  Even as followers of Christ, we are not saved by our own merit.  Verse nineteen declares, Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.  If we, as followers of Christ, suffer for our faith, we are to commit to the fact that God has saved us and will keep us spiritually as His children.

1 Peter 4:1 says, Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin;  As followers of Christ, we are to be like Him.  Christ endured physical suffering in order to remain faithful to the heavenly Father, and we should be willing to do the same.   We are not called on to suffer physical abuse just to suffer, but to be willing to suffer for our faith in God.  Verse two states, That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God. We are to no longer live by the lust of our flesh when we become Christians.   Not only are we to be willing to suffer physical abuse to serve God, we are not to let the lusts of the flesh to rule us.  Verse three adds, For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries:  Peter, speaking to the Jews, those who were to be God's holy people, were no better than the Gentiles because of their own merit.  They had been just as guilty of sin as had the Gentiles.  The only difference was that God chose to work through them to reveal Himself to the world.  We today, as followers of Christ, are no better than anyone else because of our own goodness, but are simply sinners saved by grace, so we have no reason to feel superior to others because of our own righteousness.  Verse four declares, Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you:  People of the world who do not know Christ as Savior and Lord find those who do to be strange when we do not live by the excesses of the flesh.  I am sure you have heard someone ask, "What is it going to hurt?"  The answer is that anything done that is not done under the leadership of the Holy Spirit will harm our relationship to God.  Verse five adds, Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead.  When we are tempted to give in to sin, we must remember that it is not the world that will judge us, but God.  Everyone in the world could say that there was no harm in what we have done, but that does not justify us.  We can only be justified by following the will of God in our lives.  God is the ultimate judge of all.  Verse six says, For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.  This is not speaking of preaching to those who are physically dead, but to those who are spiritually dead.  Once we die physically, our everlasting fate is already determined.  We are to live spiritually according to the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  Verse seven declares, But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.  Even in the time of the disciples, the thought was that the second coming of Christ was close, and it has been the thought of many Christians ever since.  We are to simply be faithful and pray for God's guidance in life and even more so as the time of the second coming draws nearer.  I personally do not believe that we are to be simply waiting and praying for the return of Christ, but instead are to be busy witnessing for Him.  Verse eight adds, And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.  We are called on to have a fervent charity, or love, for all those around us.  When we love everyone with a love like God's love for us, we cover a multitude of sins, because we will act accordingly to God's guidance.  Verse nine states, Use hospitality one to another without grudging.  We are to help others without doing so grudgingly.  God calls on His people to help anyone that they can willingly, and I believe to do so in His name.  We should always give God the glory and not seek it for ourselves.

1 Peter 3:12 says, For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.  God hears the righteous and watches over them.  On the other hand, God does not hear those who do evil, except for their prayer for forgiveness by faith in Christ.  Verse thirteen asks, And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?  Matthew Henry says this means under normal conditions, we don't have to fear any harm for doing good, but if we live in a time or place where Christians are persecuted, even then they cannot harm us spiritually.  Verse fourteen declares, But and if ye suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled;  This is a further statement that even when persecuted, we are to be happy in our salvation and not afraid of anything this world can do to us.  This is only true if we are suffering for righteousness sake, and not if we are suffering because we have not lived up to our calling as followers of Christ.  Verse fifteen states, But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:  We are to sanctify ourselves, or put God first in our hearts.  We are also to be ready to tell anyone who asks why we have hope in life, and to do so humbly.  Verse sixteen says, Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ.  When we are obedient to God and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we can live with a clear conscience.  If we are accused of doing wrong then, it will be those that falsely accuse us who will ultimately be put to shame.  Verse seventeen adds, For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing.  If we are going to suffer as followers of Christ, it should always be because of doing God's will if we are to be bring honor and glory to Him.  Verse eighteen declares, For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:  Christ died once for the sins of all mankind.  Jesus Christ was the just dying for the unjust, and He is the only One qualified to do so.  Because of His sacrifice, we must die to the flesh in order to be obedient to God.  Verse nineteen adds, By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;  Christ reached out to those in prison.  I believe that this does not mean physically imprisoned, but imprisoned by sin.  Matthew Henry relates it to those in the days of Noah who would not listen to him.  Verse twenty states, Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.  We can definitely say that this refers to those in the days of Noah, who after all the years of Noah building the Ark and warning of the coming destruction refused to believe in God's warning.  Only eight were saved.  Verse twenty-one proclaims, The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:  It is not baptism itself that saves us, but the death, burial and resurrection of Christ that it represents that does.  We are to be baptized, when possible, to show our obedience to Christ.  Verse twenty-two proclaims, Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.  Jesus Christ now sits on the right hand of the heavenly Father, and everything is under His power.  I cannot fully comprehend nor explain the triune nature of God, but simply accept that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are One.