The Bible Says
2 Peter 1:1-2 Meaning

2 Peter 1:1-2 contains a salutation and indicates that those receiving this letter have the same faith as Peter, who declares his purpose is to lead them to a deeper knowledge of Christ.

Peter identifies himself three ways as he opens his letter. First, he identifies himself as Simon Peter (v.1) using both his birth name, Simon, and the name Jesus gave to him, Peter (Mark 3:16, John 1:42). This is different than the opening of his first letter where he simply identifies himself as Peter (1 Peter 1:1). This change might emphasize the deeper, intimate knowledge Peter experienced with Jesus that is discussed throughout this letter since Peter is the name given to Simon by Jesus (Luke 6:14).

Second, Peter calls himself a bond servant…of Jesus Christ. The word bond servant translates the Greek word “doulos” which simply means “servant.” A bond servant describes a slave who was solely committed to his master. Translators may have added “bond” due to the context of Peter’s life, which was fully dedicated to serving Jesus after Peter met the risen Lord.

This differs from the introduction of his first letter where Peter simply identifies himself as “an apostle of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:1). This addition of bondservant in this second letter draws attention to Peter’s deeper knowledge and devotion to Christ; a knowledge and devotion he is writing to pass along to his readers.

Third, Peter identifies himself as an apostle of Jesus Christ. The title apostle in this context refers to the authority Jesus bestowed on Peter as one of the selected group of men (apostles) whom He sent out to spread the good news to all the earth (Acts 1:8). It was important to establish his appointment by Christ to this official office of apostle (Mark 3:16) because it gave him the authority to write as one sent by Christ Himself (2 Peter 1:18-21) and to confront the error of the false teachers who had arisen, which he will begin to address in the next chapter (2 Peter 2:1). We will see in Chapter 3 that the particular heresy being taught by false teachers is to doubt that Jesus will return. But Peter will assert that He will return and judge the world; therefore believers should be diligent to be found blameless upon His return (2 Peter 3:14).

This letter is addressed to those, referring to his readers, who have received a faith, meaning they were given by God the truth or teaching which is to be believed (Jude 3). This faith is of the same kind as ours. The words same kind is a translation of the Greek word “isotimos,” formed by combining two Greek words together: “iso” (the same) + “timos” (value).

What this means is that every believer has the same kind of valuable faith that the apostles received and taught which was by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ. This righteousness refers to the righteousness of Christ which He attributes to those who believe on His name (Romans 3:21-22). Believers gain this righteousness through Christ the moment a person believes. Since all who believe are in Christ, all have the same faith.

When someone has sufficient faith to look at Jesus on the cross hoping to be delivered from the poisonous venom of sin, they are immediately granted the free gift of being spiritually born again to eternal life in Christ (John 3:14-15). At that moment, the righteousness of Christ is attributed to them, by faith (Romans 4:3, 5).

This righteousness of making us accepted in God’s sight due to the sacrifice of Jesus comes only by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ. It is because of Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross to pay for the sins of the world that we can be accepted as righteous in God’s sight (Colossians 2:14).

This is incredibly encouraging; this tells us that every believer starts in the same place, with the same faith. Every believer has an inheritance with and is heir to God’s promises. As Peter will say in the next section, God has “granted to use everything pertaining to life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3). By using “us,” Peter again makes the point that “We all have the same starting place.” Peter will also add that we all have the same promises that lead us to life.

All believers have the same starting place and the same promises, but the path we take in our new life in Christ depends on the choices we make. Jesus asserted that there is a narrow gate and difficult/narrow path that leads to life. He taught this to His disciples in the Sermon on the Mount, so He was speaking of the reward and experience of life (Matthew 7:13-14). Life is connection, while death is separation, as in James 2:26 which describes physical death as the separation of body and spirit.

To gain the full experience of life in Christ requires walking in the obedience of faith. Believers who walk in obedience to Jesus’s commands gain the immense reward of being “partakers in the divine nature” of God, as Peter will assert in 2 Peter 1:4. To partake in the divine nature is to walk in the ways of Christ, which also leads to great reward (2 Peter 1:11).

In this letter, Peter gives believers instruction how to walk by faith and navigate the narrow path that leads to life which Jesus spoke of in Matthew 7:13-14. The path that leads to life is a way of believing and acting upon the promises of God by faith. The reward for this faithfulness is to gain the reward of “life” which connects us with God’s “divine nature” in the experience of our walk (2 Peter 1:4). Thus, Peter will connect faith and righteousness, and show us how to appropriate the righteousness of Christ through a walk of faith. Peter will give us an eight-step process to maturity in 2 Peter 1:5-7, and exhort us to be diligent to pursue that path.

Peter references Jesus Christ as our God and Savior. This affirms that Jesus, the Messiah, is truly God as a part of the tri-unity of God: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ), and God the Holy Spirit. Not only is Jesus God, He is also Savior. Jesus is the Savior of humanity, and is the instrument that rescues humanity from the adverse effects of the Fall.

This salvation begins with initial belief. Initial belief grants the presence of eternal life, ensuring that we will experience eternity in God’s presence rather than spending eternity consumed in the Lake of Fire (Revelation 20:14-15). But Peter’s primary emphasis in this letter is addressed to people who are already believers. He will admonish them to embrace living a walk of faith so that they might inherit the immense rewards God has promised for those who walk in the truth (2 Peter 1:11).

In 2 Peter 3:14-17, Peter will refer to the writings of Paul as scripture and exhort these believers to heed them, as they also speak of Jesus returning and judging the world. Paul spoke often of this, and in this letter, Peter confirms Paul’s writings, in particular his writing about the judgment. A few notable scriptures regarding believers needing to live faithfully because of the coming judgment to receive rewards for faithfulness in this life can be found in 1 Corinthians 3:11-17, 9:24-27, 2 Corinthians 5:10, Romans 14:11-12, 2 Timothy 2:12, 15, 4:8.

Peter then begins this letter with a usual greeting, Grace (v.2). Grace translates the Greek word “charis” which means favor. Context determines who is giving favor to whom. In this case, Peter introduces the primary theme of his letter by asserting that the knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord is the means by which God’s favor or grace as well as God’s peace will be multiplied.

The Greek word translated peace is used to translate the Hebrew word “shalom” in the Greek translation of the Old Testament. The concept of shalom is for all things to be in harmony, according to God’s perfect design. This tells us that a byproduct of the knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord is to live in harmony with God’s design within our own soul; to have peace within. To be connected with God’s design for us is also to have life. Even when circumstances are dire, we can have inner peace through Jesus Christ.

The multiplication of God’s grace and peace is produced in the knowledge of God. The Greek word “epignósis” is translated the knowledge. The prefix “epi” elevates the knowledge (“gnosis”) to an intensely deeper, richer, fuller knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ (Ephesians 4:13, 1 Peter 1:8). This true deeper richer, fuller knowledge of God forms the central theme of Peter’s second letter.

A form of the word “epignósis” is found six times in this short letter: 2 Peter 1:2, 3, 8, 2:20, 21, including either the noun “epignósis” or verb “epiginosko.” It is Peter’s goal to lead believers to this deeper, fuller knowledge so that we can experience God’s favor (grace) and gain the great benefits of living according to His good design (peace).