2 Peter 1

1. 1:1

   Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have received a faith as precious as ours through the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ:

   Peter’s faith might be precious. Mine’s more of a budget-friendly version.

   Peter opens by reassuring his audience that their faith holds the same value and standing as the faith of the apostles themselves. Since the early church still needed structure and leadership, how did these communities balance a belief in spiritual equality with the practical need for church authority?

2. 1:2

   Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

   Peter invented the bumper sticker: Know God, know peace. No God, no peace. . . . In 4 Peter he adds: Know the choir director, know pure drama.

   The author connects an abundance of internal peace directly to acquiring theological knowledge. Should we tie peace to knowledge when the history of religion proves that the more knowledge people acquire, the more they split into factions and fight over doctrines?

3. 1:3

   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.

   If Jesus gave us everything we need for godliness, then instead of loaves and fishes, he should have been passing out 5,000 chastity belts.

   The text claims that God has already given believers absolutely everything necessary to live a perfectly godly life. If the complete toolkit for individual moral perfection was delivered thousands of years ago, why is the personal struggle with temptation and moral failure still so universal today?

4. 1:4

   Through these, he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

   It’s good we can participate in the divine nature. But after seeing the way God treated the Jews, there should be a 40-year free trial.

   Humans are invited to share and participate in the "divine nature" of God. What does it mean to participate in the divine nature, and how should God's depiction in the Old Testament shape our thinking about that?

5. 1:5

   For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge;

   Faith comes before knowledge because if you start with knowledge, you’re going to have a lot of questions about Pauline pseudepigraphy, the synoptic problem, and the church fog machine.

   The author structures a sequence where faith comes prior to knowledge. How do faith communities manage the fallout when someone reverses this order and lets historical data dismantle their foundational beliefs first?

Rest of the chapter coming soon.