The Epistle of II Peter (Preached 2023)
Section 1. The Great Salvation of God
Lesson 1- The great gift of Christ, the Messiah: Salvation, II Peter 1:1-4
–II Peter 1:1-4, “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: Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, 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: 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.”
–Introduction:
This is a great passage of Scripture. In the mind of the author, it is one of the greatest in all of Scripture. It is a passage that takes Jesus Christ and lifts Him up as the Messiah, the Savior of the world who can meet the desperate needs of man. Here is Christ and here is the great gift of Christ the Messiah, the great gift of salvation. Five points here,
1. He is the Messiah worthy of total devotion (v. 1).
2. He is the Messiah of faith (v. 1).
3. He is the Messiah of grace and peace (v. 2).
4. He is the Messiah of life and godliness (v. 3).
5. He is the Messiah of the divine nature (v. 4).
#1) Jesus Christ is the Messiah worthy of total devotion
–II Peter 1:1, “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.”
This is seen in the two claims made by Peter:
–First, Peter calls himself the servant of Christ. The word servant (doulos) means far more than just a servant. It means a slave totally possessed by the master. It is a bond-servant bound by law to a master. A look at the slave market of Peter’s day shows more clearly what Peter meant when he said he was a “slave of Jesus Christ.”
It meant that the slave was owned by his master; he was totally possessed by his master. This is what Peter meant. Peter was purchased and possessed by Christ. Christ had looked upon him and had seen his degraded and needful condition. And when Christ looked, the most wonderful thing happened: Christ loved him and bought him; therefore, he was now the possession of Christ.
It also meant that the slave existed for his master and he had no other reason for existence. He had no personal rights whatsoever. The same was true with Peter: he existed only for Christ. His rights were the rights of Christ only.
It meant that the slave served his master and he existed only for the purpose of service. He was at the master’s disposal any hour of the day. So it was with Peter: he lived only to serve Christ—hour by hour and day by day.
It meant that the slave’s will belonged to his master. He was allowed no will and no ambition other than the will and ambition of the master. He was completely subservient to the Master and owed total obedience to the will of the master. Peter belonged to Christ.
It meant that he had the highest and most honored and kingly profession in all the world. Men of God, the greatest men of history, have always been called the servants of God. It was the highest title of honor. The believer’s slavery to Jesus Christ is no cringing, cowardly, shameful subjection. It is the position of honor—the honor that bestows upon a man the privileges and responsibilities of serving the King of kings and Lord of lords.
“If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour” (John 12:26).
“[Laboring] not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart; with good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men” (Eph. 6:6–7).
“What doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul” (Deut. 10:12).
–Second, Peter calls himself an apostle of Jesus Christ. The word apostle (apostolos) means either a person who is sent out or a person who is sent forth. An apostle is a representative, an ambassador, a person who is sent out into one country to represent another country. Three things are true of an apostle,
-He belongs to the One who has sent him out
-He is commissioned to be sent out
-He possesses all the authority and power of the One who has sent him out.
–Thought:
These two points stress one thing: Peter thought that Jesus Christ was worthy of total devotion. Peter made a decision to deliberately and wholly give himself to Jesus Christ. He centered his whole life around Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ was the Messiah, the Savior of the world who had been promised by God from the beginning of time, the Messiah who was worthy of total devotion.
“Then Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee” (Mark 10:28).
“And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23).
“Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ” (Phil. 3:8).
#2) Jesus Christ is the Messiah of faith
–II Peter 1:1, “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.”
Three things here,
–First, the faith of Christ is a most precious faith. The word precious means of great honor and price; of great value and privilege. The faith of Jesus Christ is precious because it makes us acceptable to God. It ushers us into the very presence of God Himself by saving faith in Christ and His finished work on the Cross!
*Note:
The faith of Jesus Christ is the same precious faith that is given to all believers. The Greek word that Peter uses for precious (isotimos) is an unusual word. This is the only time it is used in the New Testament. It is really a double word. The iso means equal or like, and timose means honor. Therefore, by precious faith is meant like faith, a faith that is like everyone else’s faith.
This is a most wonderful thing. It means that we are all given the very same faith; we are all equal in value and honor and privilege before God. God does not discriminate; He does not have favorites. God loves us all equally and He values and honors us all as much as He did Peter and James and John and Paul.
*Thought:
This means that the faith of Jesus Christ eliminates prejudice and discrimination. If a person has obtained the precious faith of Jesus Christ, then he is acceptable to God no matter who he is. He receives the highest and most valued privilege in the whole universe: to live in the presence of God forever and ever.
–Second, the faith of Jesus Christ is obtained not earned. The word obtained means to secure by lot; to receive by allotment; to be given a share or a portion. No person deserves the precious faith of Jesus Christ. No person can work and earn it. It is a gift of God, a free gift that is given to every person who trusts Christ by faith.
–Third, the faith of Jesus Christ comes through the righteousness of Christ. It means two things,
-It means that He is the righteous Man, the Perfect and Ideal Man who can stand for and cover all men. Man is not perfect, but imperfect and unrighteous. Therefore, man by his very nature cannot live in God’s presence, for God is perfect and the very embodiment of righteousness. How then can man ever become acceptable to God and be allowed to live in God’s presence? Jesus Christ is the answer, for He is the righteousness of God.
When a man trusts Christ by faith, God takes that man’s faith and counts it (his faith) as righteousness. The man is not righteous; he and everyone else knows it. But God counts his faith and belief as righteousness. Very simply stated: Jesus Christ is the righteousness of God. He is the only way a man can ever become righteous and acceptable to God.
“For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Cor. 5:21).
“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” (1 Pet. 3:18).
–The righteousness of Christ means that He bore the sins of men and died for them. The penalty for sinning against a Holy God has to be paid. We have to die or else someone else has to die for us. That someone has to be the ideal and perfect Man, for only perfection is acceptable to God. This is just what Jesus Christ did; He died for our sins. He bore the penalty and punishment for our sins. And it was acceptable to God because He was the Ideal and Perfect Man.
He was the substitutionary sacrifice for the penalty of our sins, and we are made righteous because of what He did on our behalf.
“For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly” (Rom. 5:6).
“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him” (Rom. 5:8–9).
“For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” (Heb. 9:13–14).
“Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah. 53:4–6).
We said that Jesus Christ is the Messiah worthy of total devotion and that He is the Messiah of faith,
#3) Jesus Christ is the Messiah of grace and peace
–II Peter 1:2, “Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord.”
No greater gifts exist in the Christian life than grace and peace. Three things here,
–First, Grace (charis) means the undeserved favor and blessings of God. The word undeserved is the key to understanding grace. Man does not deserve God’s favor; he cannot earn God’s approval and blessings. God is too high and man is too low for man to deserve anything from God. Man is imperfect and God is perfect; therefore, man cannot expect anything from God.
Man deserves nothing from God except judgment, condemnation, and punishment. But God is love—perfect and absolute unconditional love. Therefore, God makes it possible for man to experience His grace, in particular the favor and blessing of salvation, which is in His Son, Jesus Christ.
“Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 3:24).
“In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace” (Eph. 1:7).
–Second, peace (eirene) which used here means to be bound, joined, and woven together. It also means to be bound, joined, and woven together with others and with God. It means to be assured, confident, and secure in the love and care of God.
The fact is that a person can only experience the true peace of God as He makes peace with God through a personal relationship with Christ. Only Christ can bring peace to the human heart, the kind of peace that brings deliverance and assurance to the human soul.
“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled; neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27).
“These things I have spoken unto you that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
“Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:1).
–Third, note that Jesus Christ multiplies grace and peace. He gives an abundance of grace and peace; He causes grace and peace to overflow in the life of the genuine believer. There is never to be a lack of grace and peace in the life of any true believer.
How can a person always be overflowing with the grace and peace of God? Through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. We have to know God in order to receive the grace and peace of God. What does it mean to know God? The word knowledge means “full, personal, precise, and correct” knowledge.
-It means to know Christ personally as Lord and Savior and not simply to know facts about Him. It means to know Christ fully; to know Him in all of His person, exactly who He is. It means to be precise and correct in what we know about Him. It is the person who so surrenders to Christ that comes to know Christ, and day by day, the person experiences the overflow of the Lord’s grace and peace.
“And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent” (John 17:3).
“That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death” (Phil. 3:10).
#4) Jesus Christ is the Messiah of life and godliness
–II Peter 1:3, “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.”
What is meant by life and godliness? It means all things that are necessary for life. Such as,
-The life given by Christ is the very opposite of perishing. It is deliverance from condemnation and death. It is a life that is eternal, that lasts forever and ever. It is the very life of God Himself.
-The life given by Christ is an abundant life, a life of the very highest quality, a life that overflows with all the good things of life: love, joy, peace, goodness, satisfaction, and security. He longs for man to live, to have an abundance of life; therefore, He gives all things that will make a person overflow abundantly with life.
–Godliness is living like God and being a godly person. It is living life like it should be lived. The word godliness actually means to live in the reverence and awe of God; to be so conscious of God’s presence that one lives just as God would live if He were walking upon earth. It means to live seeking to be like God; to seek to possess the very character, nature, and behavior of God. The man of God follows and runs after godliness. He seeks to gain a consciousness of God’s presence—a consciousness so intense that he actually lives as God would live if He were on earth.
“Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:12–13).
“Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation [behavior] and godliness” (2 Pet. 3:11).
Now note the verse. Two significant points are made, points that are absolutely essential for us to heed if we wish to have real life.
*Note:
We are to receive this life and godliness, by the knowledge of Christ! In other words, we must know Christ personally. We must know Him as our Savior and Lord, surrendering all that we are and have to him. We must be willing to walk and share with Him all day every day, serving Him as the Lord of our lives. We must be willing to know Him by living a godly life, by actually experiencing the life of God as we walk day by day.
“For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Phil. 1:21).
#5) Jesus Christ is the Messiah of the divine nature or new man
–II Peter 1:4, “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.”
Exceeding great and precious promises have been given to us. The promises are those that have to do with the divine nature of God, the divine nature that is planted within the heart of a person who by faith trusts Christ as his Savior.
When a person trusts Christ, God sends His Spirit, the Holy Spirit, to indwell the heart of the believer. God places within the heart of the believer His own divine nature and makes him a new creature and a new man. The believer is born again spiritually. He actually partakes of the divine nature of God through the presence of God’s Holy Spirit living in his body temple.
The result is that the believer escapes the corruption that is in the world. He lives eternally, for the divine nature of God can never die. When it is time for the believer to depart this life, quicker than the blink of an eye, his soul is transferred into heaven, into the very presence of God Himself. Why? Because of the divine presence of God he thereby escapes the corruption of this world.
“Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:3–6).
“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Cor. 5:17).
“And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him” (Col. 3:10).
We said that Jesus Christ is the Messiah worthy of total devotion, He is the Messiah of faith, He is the Messiah of grace and peace, He is Messiah of life and godliness, and He is the Messiah of the divine nature or new man. Aren’t you glad you’re saved today?
Bethel Bible Church Hawaii 