Remember Christ’s Provision

Peter bookends his letter with this emphasis, opening here in 1:2 with a prayer for his readers to know God in Christ intimately and closing in 3:18 with an exhortation for them to know Christ experientially. In between he tells his readers that both the full knowledge of God and the experiential knowledge of God are necessary for them to stand fast and be fixed firmly in the faith as they wait for Jesus’s return. Such a decisively anchored faith will be especially crucial if they are to be unwavering against the assault of heretical teachers whose doctrine is contrary to gospel truth (e.g., 1:16; 2:1; 3:3).

The importance of this charge can’t be overestimated for the contemporary pilgrimage of believers in Christ. In the midst of a culture that champions truth as being relative, Christians need a strong foundation of objective reality to navigate their journey home. When I open the GPS app on my phone and plug in my destination, I expect the lady’s voice coming out of the speaker to give me clear and accurate directions that are based on someone’s real knowledge. And while there may be several alternate routes, they all are based on objective realities. The only chance I have to reach my destination is to get real knowledge that is based on what is true and right.

If this is true for something as trivial as getting me from my house to the closest Starbucks for a cup of coffee, how much weightier is having accurate knowledge about matters of life and death, eternity and entrance into God’s kingdom! Certainly we need clear directions that are rooted in real knowledge for these things (Helm, 1 & 2 Peter, 177). That’s why Peter will say, “For in this way, entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be richly provided for you” (2 Pet 1:11). He wants his readers to make it, and the only chance we have is to have real knowledge that only comes through knowing Jesus!

There’s an implicit relationship between knowledge and the need to be reminded that I mentioned earlier. We can know something and yet from time to time push it into the shadows of our forgetfulness. And if that knowledge is crucial for our well-being, then we welcome someone who will remind us of it. That’s what Peter does for his readers. Second Peter 1:12-15 serves as somewhat of a hinge paragraph for the letter. Three times in four verses Peter emphasizes his intention to remind his readers of needed spiritual truth. He says, “I will always remind you” (v. 12). He says, “I think it is right . . . to wake you up with a reminder” (v. 13). And he says, “I will also make every effort so that you are able to recall these things at any time after my departure” (v. 15). His words here appear to point backward to the truths he unfolds in 1:3-11, as well as forward to those he proposes in 1:16–3:18. And in the middle of that latter section, he will again emphasize his desire to remind his readers of things they can’t afford to forget (3:1-2).

There’s nothing new under the sun, and that includes in the realm of spiritual truth. People today don’t need new truth but only to gain a clearer understanding of the eternal truth God has already revealed in his Word (Isa 40:8; 1 Pet 1:23-25; cf. Matt 5:18). Peter’s opening line in the body of this letter asserts that we have been granted “everything required for life and godliness through the knowledge of him” (1:3). Peter—along with every preacher and teacher of the Word who has followed him—sees himself as responsible for reminding people of what God has said in his Word so that his truth will stick (MacArthur, 2 Peter, 49).

Such repetition obviously is part of God’s economy. In his inspired Word, Deuteronomy 5:1-22 is a restatement of the giving of the law at Sinai (Exod 20). The people were being reminded of what God said as part of their preparation to enter the promised land. Chronicles reviews much of the same material that we find in 1 and 2 Samuel and 1 and 2 Kings. The psalms echo the attributes and works of God. The Old Testament prophets were in sync with their common themes of law, judgment, and forgiveness.

The practice of repetition continues in the New Testament. All four Gospels recount many of the same aspects of Jesus’s life, ministry, and teaching. And the Synoptics actually tell the same story from three different perspectives. Jesus often repeated his sermons, parables, and object lessons, which solidified their truth in the minds of his followers. And the epistles largely are an explanation and application of the same gospel truth as it relates to the church and the Christian life.

So Peter’s approach is consistent with the Bible’s emphasis on the need for us to be reminded about truth by hearing it over and over again. The apostle Paul, like Peter, was a big fan of repeating truth for his followers: “To write to you again about this is no trouble for me and is a safeguard for you” (Phil 3:1). To the Romans he said, “I have written to remind you more boldly on some points” (Rom 15:15). To the Thessalonians he asked, “Don’t you remember that when I was still with you I used to tell you about this?” (2 Thess 2:5). Jude took the same approach: “Now I want to remind you, although you came to know all these things once and for all” (Jude 5). These are just a few examples that illustrate the principle of divine repetition in Scripture.

2 Peter 1:3-4

I love working with my hands—construction, remodeling, and even putting things together. Like many people, I order items off Amazon that sometimes require assembly. When I open the instructions, they usually tell me what I need to put the item together. Some instructions even show pictures of a drill, a tape measure, a level, and other items under a heading that says something like, “Items Needed for Assembly.” At other times, however, the instructions pleasantly surprise me and say something like, “All items necessary for assembly are included.” And underneath will be a picture of an Allen wrench, a template, or some other small item that’s included in the box. How convenient! I don’t even have to make the trip out to my shop and haul in a bunch of tools.

That’s the kind of package God delivers when he saves someone: “All items necessary for assembly are included.” The knowledge of God in Christ referenced in verse 2 lays the foundation for the big idea of Peter’s letter in verses 3-4. Basically, these verses contain his proposition for everything else he’ll say. In these verses Peter tells his readers that God has provided everything we need to grow in Christlikeness as we wait for his return, even in the face of false teaching. How? “Through the knowledge of him” (v. 3), a knowledge that includes his “very great and precious promises” (v. 4). Not the least of these promises is the assurance that he will come back for his people and bring to completion our journey toward sharing in “the divine nature” (v. 4), which arguably is the pressing issue in 2 Peter (1:11,16-21; 3:1-18). In verses 3-4 we find the assurance of Christ’s power to be like Jesus, the process he’s ordained to get us there, and the promise that we’ll arrive safely and securely in his likeness.

What God ultimately desires for his children is that they look like his Son, Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul says that before time began God delighted in and marked out a group of people “to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters” (Rom 8:29). Then when time did begin in Genesis 1, “God created man in his own image; he created him in the image of God; he created them male and female” (Gen 1:27). In Genesis 3 sin messed up that image. He said, “Since the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil, he must not reach out, take from the tree of life, eat, and live forever” (Gen 3:22). Mankind had been created in the image of God, but that image had been perverted. God can know good and evil, and he can always choose good. Human beings can’t. So God banished Adam and Eve from the garden so they wouldn’t eat from the tree of life and remain in that wretched condition forever. And from that point the rest of the Bible is the story of God’s activity in Christ to recover his image and restore the purpose he intended for mankind.

That’s why Peter says Christ has given us everything we need that pertains to “life and godliness” (v. 3). That’s just another way of describing the image of God for which we were created. The “life” here is true life, the life of God believers were created to have. The word “godliness” is a reference to practical conduct more than it is to mere devotional service. Jesus has provided everything that’s needed for Christians to “flesh out” his life in everyday living so as to reflect his image. He’s made it possible for us to grow and mature in the life we were created to have—life that we lost because of sin but that was restored to us through his resurrection. And this God-life is supposed to be expressed in practical ways through our daily conduct. The progressive maturity and practical godliness intended for the Christian will be unpacked more in verses 5-11.

So Peter begins by describing the resource necessary for living out the Christian’s calling to be like Jesus. He describes it as “his divine power,” obviously reaching back to the antecedent “of God and of Jesus our Lord” at the end of verse 2. This is God’s power in Christ that we’re talking about. The word for “power” is dunamis, from which we get our word dynamite. But this dynamite is different from our dynamite. The dynamite we know about has an initial loud explosion that wreaks havoc all around it, but then it’s over. The dust settles, and we pick up the pieces. But the dynamite Peter uses is different. It’s more like the gasoline you put in your car. It’s not flashy and has no big bang. In fact, you really don’t even see it. It’s just a dependable, ongoing source of power that gets you where you’re going.

Paul used dunamis in Ephesians 1:19-20 to describe this same resource that God—in Christ—has given to believers. Grasping for adequate descriptors, he said he wanted us to know “what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the mighty working of his strength” (Eph 1:19). And if that were not enough, what he says next is absolutely astounding! Paul says that God “exercised this power in Christ by raising him from the dead and seating him at his right hand in the heavens” (Eph 1:20). In other words, the power that’s been given to believers to live out their calling faithfully is the same power that it took to raise Jesus from the dead and seat him at God’s right hand!

So when Peter said that “his divine power has given us” everything we need to look like Jesus, he could’ve just dropped the mic and walked off the stage! Enough said. All bets are off, and all excuses are rendered null and void. When the power of God through Christ is at play in the Christian life, the believer has absolutely everything he or she needs to be true to the calling of spiritual maturity and growth in Christlikeness. No exceptions and no excuses. God wants us to know that he didn’t save us and then say, “Now, knock yourself out!” or “Good luck out there!” He didn’t do the work of redeeming us and then leave us on our own as far as surviving and growing in our faith. “His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness.” There isn’t anything outside of everything! In Christ, God has provided everything we need to mature in our faith and be faithful to the calling that he’s exercised in our lives.

But exactly how does this progressive transformation take place? To answer that question, Peter makes an early installment in one of the key themes of his letter—knowing God through Christ. He says that growth in godliness comes by way of “the knowledge of him” (v. 3). Peter uses epignosis here, which is full and intimate knowledge. Distinguished from gnosis—good sense, understanding, and practical wisdom—this word expresses a more thorough participation in the learner’s acquisition of knowledge. In the New Testament it often refers to knowledge that influences spiritual life in a profound way.

So Peter basically says that the believer’s re-creation into the image of Christ comes about by way of active participation in the pursuit of knowing him more and more. Many believers limit their knowledge of God to their conversion. “I came to know Christ” or “I believed on Christ” are frequent confessions, as if knowing him was a one-time deal tied to conversion. But knowing God, Peter says, is a lifetime pursuit. And it’s the avenue through which God’s children access all the powerful resources he’s provided to make them look more like Jesus. And remember—to know God is to know Jesus. Knowing Jesus is the way to know God.

In knowing Jesus, believers are called “by his own glory and goodness” (v. 3), indicating the agency of Christ’s calling. In this context the word “glory” is a reference to Christ’s splendor and majesty as a divine being, not his renown. The word “goodness” refers to his moral excellence, an idea that Peter will begin to unpack in verse 5 as having practical implications for believers. When combined together, these two words describe the divine moral excellence of Christ, focusing especially on the beauty of his goodness (Starr, Sharers, 42–44). We can actually experience true life and godly living through knowing Christ. That’s why Paul says you “have put on the new self. You are being renewed in knowledge according to the image of your Creator” (Col 3:10). As we grow in this knowledge of Christ, we “are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory” (2 Cor 3:18). As we journey through this world, God intends for us to be growing to look more and more like Jesus.

Finally, the end awaiting believers for such a journey is described in verse 4. While at conversion we begin to experience God’s glorious radiance and moral excellence, that’s not all he has in store for us. We are assured that we ultimately will look like him in the way God fully intended. Believers in Christ inherit “very great and precious promises” that have been given to God’s people through the gospel. Specifically, the promises Peter has in mind are those involved in sharing “in the divine nature,” which will happen fully when the Lord returns. This phrase has some similarities to Greek philosophical and religious thought but is couched in distinctively Christian terms.

Peter wasn’t suggesting that Christians will actually become gods, be absorbed into deity, or even share in the divine nature in every way. He was simply saying they will be morally perfected by sharing in God’s moral excellence. He’s speaking of that real union with Christ Jesus that begins at conversion (cf. John 1:12; Rom 8:9; Gal 2:20) but won’t ultimately be realized until he comes again. The apostle John articulated this “now but not yet” understanding well when he said, “Dear friends, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when he appears, we will be like him because we will see him as he is” (1 John 3:2).

Peter apparently is tipping his hat here to what he will address later concerning the Lord’s coming (1:11,16-21; 3:1-18). There he will counter head-on the false teachers’ denial of Christ’s future coming when they mockingly ask, “Where is his ‘coming’ that he promised?” (3:4). Peter understood that to deny the return of the Lord was to undercut the gospel, which promises the believer’s moral perfection when Christ comes back. “If there is no future coming of Christ, their salvation does not include the promise of likeness to God, and the gospel is a sham” (Schreiner, 1 and 2 Peter, 294).

The final phrase in verse 4—“escaping the corruption that is in the world because of evil desire”—describes the ultimate freedom Christians will experience as part of their reward when they finally participate in the divine nature. The aorist participle indicates a definitive act, one that will be realized when believers finally are released from the war with sinful flesh that characterizes their journey in this world. I can’t wait for this glorious reward! Paul said, “We groan in this tent, desiring to put on our heavenly dwelling. . . . Indeed, we groan while we are in this tent, burdened as we are, because we do not want to be unclothed but clothed, so that mortality may be swallowed up by life” (2 Cor 5:2,4; cf. Rom 7:1-25). That’s when our precious Lord “will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; grief, crying, and pain will be no more, because the previous things have passed away” (Rev 21:4). O, come quickly, Lord Jesus!

Most dads and granddads have had the same embarrassing experience at least once on Christmas morning. Here’s how it looked at our house on more than one occasion. The kids wake up all excited, storm into our bedroom, and stir me and my wife out of bed. Then they hurry into the living room to get ready to open presents. After stumbling to the kitchen and putting the coffee on, we make our way into the living room and collapse sleepily into our chairs. After we read the Christmas story from the Bible and pray together, my daughter begins to hand out the gifts. And then inevitably one of the kids opens a gift that has the words “Batteries not included” printed on the box. Immediately my wife looks at me with panic in her voice and says, “Did you get the batteries?” My wide-eyed silence incriminates me. In that moment my kid slumps in disappointment and the joyful air escapes from the room like someone letting the air out of a tire. Cool present, but no batteries.

That never happens with the heavenly Father and his children. When he adopts us into his family, he does it with batteries included. He provides everything that’s needed for us to experience true life, to live our lives in a way that reflects his character on the road of sanctification and to arrive safely at our glorification where we look fully like his Son, Jesus. None of us can ever say that we don’t have what it takes to live the Christian life and grow in God’s grace. He’s provided everything we need in our knowledge of him through Jesus Christ.

No doubt Peter’s readers had an intimate knowledge of God in Christ, and they had been given additional deposits of knowledge about him during their Christian journeys. That was knowledge they would need to remember. So Peter provides clear and right direction for them to remember, as well as for all who have come after Jesus’s apostles passed off the scene. He knew that after his death people would push back against the gospel, and some would even abandon it. Believers would need to remember the answers to great gospel questions about final judgment, Christ’s future coming, and life in light of these realities. And those answers would need to conform to real knowledge (Helm, 1 & 2 Peter, 177). So they needed to be reminded—and we need to be reminded—about the differences between a true knowledge of God found only in Jesus Christ and the ideas being served up by false teachers today. This letter, then, is meant to remind us that the content of the gospel message as proclaimed by the apostles tells us what it really means to know God, and that knowledge fully equips us to live for him. That is truth we need to remember.