2 Peter: Faith In A Skeptical World Exemplo

Some letters are considered valuable because of the identity of the author, whether it be a Prime Minister, President or celebrity. 

The first line of 2 Peter assures us that we have before us something very special. Here is a message from Simon Peter, the close friend of Jesus who went from being a fisherman to the prominent Apostle and rock of God’s church (Matt. 16:18). This author had vivid memories of the living, crucified, and then resurrected God-man, Jesus Christ. He is writing to churches near the end of his life with a message he deemed critically important. Right up until the end of his life, around 64–65 AD, Peter saw himself as ‘a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ’ (v. 1). 

In verses 1–2 Peter sweepingly endorses some of the great doctrines of the Christian faith. Without explanation, he refers to our ‘precious’ faith, to ‘grace and peace’ through our ‘knowledge of God and of Jesus’, and by referring to Jesus as our ‘Saviour’. 

Significantly, verse 1 is one of the few verses in the New Testament that explicitly calls Jesus ‘God’ when Peter says, ‘our God and Saviour Jesus Christ’. When combined with verse 2, we are struck that while Jesus is called God in verse 1, He is in the same breath described as being distinct from God when Peter says, ‘through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord’. He describes one God (v. 1) in two persons (v. 2). Peter knew first-hand what it was like to live with One who was truly human, distinct from the Father, and yet truly God. He walked and talked with the man Jesus, but was also terrified by His divine power: ‘Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!’ (Luke 5:8). 

And yet, Peter says that the believers’ faith is ‘as precious’ as his own in verse 1. He believed by sight, and we without sight. This faith of equal worth as Peter’s means we receive the very same ‘grace and peace’ as Peter through our knowledge of God the Father and Son. 

Has it ever dawned on you that while you live in a place and time far removed from the first-century world of Peter, your faith in Him is equally precious to that of the Apostles? Jesus is no longer physically with us, but ‘we’re in’ with Jesus, as Peter was, through our common faith. 

Reflection

What encouragement and boldness can you draw from belonging to Jesus' 'band of brothers and sisters' in your time and place? In verse 1 Peter refers to our faith, and in verse 2 to our knowledge. How are faith in Christ and knowledge of Christ complementary?