2 Peter 1
v.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:
v.2
Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
That is, grace and peace abound to us, or may be expected to be conferred on us abundantly, if we have a true knowledge of God and of the Saviour. Such a knowledge constitutes true religion: for in that we find “grace” - the grace that pardons and sanctifies; and “peace” - peace of conscience, reconciliation with God, and calmness in the trials of life.
v.3
His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.
We are willing to try almost anything except the knowledge of Him. We will trust in the schemes and plans of men instead of the knowledge of Him. We will try knowing ourselves instead of the knowledge of Him. We need to come to the same place the Apostle Paul did, when he said that I may know Him (Philippians 3:10).
Would you be holy? Would you become a new creature? Then you must begin with Christ. You will do nothing at all, and make no progress till you feel your sin and weakness, and flee to Him. He is the root and beginning of all holiness, and the way to be holy is to come to Him by faith and be joined to him… Men sometimes try to make themselves holy first of all, and sad work they make of it. They toil and labour, and turn over new leaves, and make many changes; and yet, like the woman with the issue of blood, before she came to Christ, they feel “nothing bettered, but rather worse” (Mark 5:26)… It is a strong but true saying of Traill’s, 🔥="Wisdom out of Christ is damning folly—righteousness out of Christ is guilt and condemnation—sanctification out of Christ is filth and sin—redemption out of Christ is bondage and slavery."=
v.4
Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
v.5-7
For this very reason, make every good effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.
This article expands on each character trait pretty well.
D. A. Carson explains (Becoming Conversant with the Emerging Church [Zondervan], p. 228), “… the dominant biblical pattern is neither ‘let go and let God’ nor ‘God has done his bit, and now it’s all up to you,’ but rather, ‘since God is powerfully at work in you, you yourself must make every effort.’” As Paul said (Phil. 2:12-13, “… work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” In other words, spiritual growth involves God’s resources as the foundation, but also our responsible effort in addition.
You can practice agape love each week at church: instead of keeping to yourself, which you may prefer, look for others who may be new or alone and go out of your way to make them feel welcome. If the person is hurting, pray with him. If he seems lonely, arrange to get together later in the week. And so the list that begins with faith ends with love (Gal. 5:6). article link
v.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.
Building character keeps us from being unproductive in God’s eyes.
See more in Maclaren on Colossians 1 29 Colossians1 v 29.
v.9
But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.
The reason for this condition is also stated; such a one has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. “That is to say, he has failed to respond to all the enlargement of life and vision which came to him when he received the cleansing of his nature at the very beginning of his Christian life.” (Morgan)
Those who fail to remember his deeds in the past will be unable to play a role in His future deeds.
He does not remember the obligation which grows out of the fact that a system has been devised to purify the heart, and that he has been so far brought under the power of that system as to have his sins forgiven. If he had any just view of that, he would see that he was under obligation to make as high attainments as possible, and to cultivate to the utmost extent the Christian graces.
We are living as if we were unbelievers, who really are blind, spiritually. Peter’s point seems to be that a Christian preoccupied with the short-term, on what they want out of the moment immediately in front of them, has lost the ability to see life from any kind of eternal perspective.
Those who set aside the positive traits Peter listed have forgotten that they have been cleansed from their past sins. Again, the idea seems that of overlooking who we are and what our lives are for. We still see participating in sin, or less-than-Christlike behaviors, as normal. Instead, we should see those as things we we’ve been cleansed from, which we have the power to move on from.
Indeed He describes those that are lacking in godly character as being spiritually blind and short-sighted, having forgotten all the glories that are ours in Christ Jesus - despite the fact that we have already been purified from our former sins.
How sad when believers who have been saved by grace through faith in the finished work of Christ, forget who they are in Christ. How tragic when our eyes become blinded to our sanctified position in Him. What a travesty when we forget that we have been cleansed from all unrighteousness - by faith in His sacrificial death and glorious resurrection..
v.10
Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure.
v.15
And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things.
v.19
And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, 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.
The teaching that 2 Peter sees to be at issue is the doctrine of the Second Coming of Christ, “the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:16). This is precisely the doctrine denied by the false teachers, which may be the basis for their loose living.
We worship our Lord and his Father, not Scripture. Scripture simply points us to them. It is a true light shining in the darkness. What we ultimately long for is not a fuller knowledge of the book, but the blazing brightness of the presence the One of whom the book speaks and whom even now the book directs us to experience in our hearts.
v.21
For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit teaches us what it is necessary to know about God, about our duty, and about the way of salvation, in order to conduct us safely; and no one who has committed himself to its direction, has been suffered to wander finally away from the paths of salvation. It is, therefore, a duty to attend to the instructions which the Bible imparts, and to commit ourselves to its holy guidance in our journey to a better world: for soon, if we are faithful to its teachings, the light of eternity will dawn upon us, and there, amidst its cloudless splendor, we shall see as we are seen, and know as we are known; then we shall “need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God shall give us light, and we shall reign forever and ever.”