Session 11
2 Peter 1:3-8,16-21
Memory Verse: 2 Peter 1:8
This powerful letter emphasizes the importance of growing in Christ’s grace and sends a clear warn-ing against those relentless false teachings that threaten spiritual growth—worldviews, religious per-spectives, and cultural values that are constantly vying for the attention and affection of Christians. Be-lievers cannot afford to compromise their Christian faith by mixing it with ideas that have no business being a part of it.
The false teachers that Peter denounced in his second letter cannot be pinned to any one known heresy in the ancient church, but the content of their false teaching is what matters most. They thought God’s grace gave them a free pass to do whatever they pleased. As you dig into the truths of this ses-sion, think about how you can move toward spiritual maturity. Ask God to help you focus on His way, not your own way. Pray that He also begins working in the hearts of the adults in your Bible study group.
Anglers delight in preparing their fishing tackle—whether it is stocking the tackle box, stringing the rod and reel, or getting their boat ready for a day on the lake. Firefighters constantly review, maintain, and practice using the equipment they need for answering calls. Every pursuit requires unique equip-ment. Christians also have the equipment they need for spiritual growth. They need to understand how to use that equipment. (PSG, p. 100)
In his first letter, Peter emphasized suffering in the lives of believers. This was not general suffering but pain that came from persecution. It was the result of suffering for the sake of righteousness. As be-lievers began to suffer at the hands of those who opposed them, they needed to trust the sovereignty of God and look forward to the return of Christ, where believers would receive their reward and unbeliev-ers would receive their judgment.
The second letter of Peter emphasized faith and godly living in the face of false teachers who were leading people away from the truth. This letter also ended with the certainty of Christ’s return and the impact that it should have in creating a desire for holy living.
The writer of 2 Peter identified himself as the apostle Peter (2 Pet. 1:1). He also referred to events that were personal to Simon Peter the apostle. First, he mentioned that he was an eyewitness of the transfiguration of Jesus on the mountain (1:16-18). Only Peter, James, and John saw this. He even quot-ed the words spoken at that event (1:17). Peter also called Paul a dear brother (3:15), a reference that served as a term of endearment toward a person of similar standing. The writer also mentioned that this was the second letter that he had written to them (3:1), which is likely a reference to 1 Peter.
Writing near the end of his life, Peter also reminded his readers of the return of Christ and urged them to combat false teaching that continued to grow as time passed. He wrote with the heart of a pas-tor, and he began his letter with the encouraging words that God had provided everything they needed to grow in their faith.
Second Peter serves as a powerful reminder of just how dangerous it can be to deviate from the truth. Christians need to be on guard at all times against those who twist the truth of the good news and lead lives that misrepresent it. The church must stand firm in rejecting these false teachers and their misleading teachings. We must remain faithful to the good news, no matter what.
To this end, Peter addressed the concerns head-on. This letter is filled with his deep concern over the presence of these false teachers in the church. Even though they claimed to be Christians, Peter left no doubt that these false teachers were nothing but rebels against the Lord. Their ultimate destiny was condemnation.
Peter wrote this letter to warn his readers, urging them to reject these heretics and their twisted teachings. Believers must hold on tight to the truth and stay faithful to the good news.
Read 2 Peter 1:3-8 and identify all the things in the passage that equip believers for spiritual growth. Then read verses 16-21 and find phrases that indicate the reasons Christians need to grow in their faith. (PSG, p. 101)
EXPLORE THE TEXT
3 His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 By these he has given us very great and precious promises, so that through them you may share in the divine nature, escaping the corrup-tion that is in the world because of evil desire. 5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with goodness, goodness with knowledge, 6 knowledge with self-control, self-control with endurance, endurance with godliness, 7 godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being useless or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
God never shortchanges His people. When He calls us to fulfill a task. He gives us everything re-quired to get the job done. What’s more, He provides all these elements through His divine power. Paul shared the same idea in Philippians 4:13, where he stated that God would empower believers to every-thing He called them to do. God’s strength is matchless, meaning Christians have all they need to live for Him.
(v. 3) Life and godliness: Specifically, Peter noted that believers lack nothing required for eternal life and the morality that reflects the life of Jesus. Eternal life is an “already, not yet” reality for Christians. It is certainly ours now, yet will be fully realized at Jesus’s return. Because it is ours now, the godliness should begin to manifest itself now while we wait. In Christ, Christians are given everything they need for this eternal life.
(v. 3) Glory and goodness: The terms glory and goodness are separate things that point to one cen-tral truth. That which is established in God’s glory is also rooted in God’s goodness. Knowledge of Jesus and His work on our behalf results from our having been called. The moral transformation that ensues is a work of grace.
(v. 4) Great and precious promises: Believers inherit God’s promises as they come to know Christ, as they experience His moral excellence and glorious radiance in conversion. Such promises have been given to God’s people through the gospel, a message that provides everything believers need.
(v. 4) Divine nature: Earlier, Peter highlighted the divine power of God (v. 3). Here, he noted that be-lievers share in the divine nature of God. This does not mean believers become gods or move toward divinity. Rather, we become more like Jesus as we submit areas of our lives to Him for His glory. This transformation is a work in progress that begins in this life and is perfected in eternity. It runs counter to the corruption that characterizes the world’s agenda.
(vv. 5-7) Supplement your faith: Our striving for virtue is rooted in grace. Faith in the life of Jesus leads to a life that looks like that of Jesus. The virtues listed in verses 5-7 are best understood as a liter-ary device meant to engage the reader. They do not imply a specific relationship between the virtues. Nevertheless, some scholars find it fascinating that the chain begins with faith (the beginning of all vir-tue) and ends with love (the greatest commandment).
(v. 7) Brotherly affection: There is a familial love that characterizes Christian community. Such brotherly affection is but one expression of love on the whole. Indeed, anyone who loves possesses all of the other virtues listed in verses 5-7.
(v. 8) Being useless or unfruitful: The virtues Peter listed should be present and abounding in the lives of believers. This leads to effective and fruitful lives that resemble Jesus. The temptation to polar-ize the effective call of God on believers and the responsibility of believers to dedicate themselves to the pursuit and practice of the virtues is not a problem in the pages of Scripture. Both God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility are true and held in balance.
EXPLORE THE TEXT
16 For we did not follow cleverly contrived myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ; instead, we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased!” 18 We ourselves heard this voice when it came from heaven while we were with him on the holy mountain.
(v. 16) Cleverly contrived myths: The false teachers Peter had in view taught that the gospel was a myth or fable—a collection of stories that were not true, though their messages could prove helpful in better understanding God, religion, or the morals associated therewith.
In this specific verse, Peter addressed the divine nature of Jesus when He came to earth. The fact that God took on human flesh is anything but a series of cleverly contrived myths. As he stated at the end of verse 16, things are quite the opposite. Everything about the gospel is genuine and real. Chris-tian doctrine, including the deity of Jesus, is rooted in historical fact. And Peter could prove it.
Peter turned to his eyewitness account of Jesus’s transfiguration as evidence for the legitimacy of Jesus’s majesty (see Matt. 17:1-8, Mark 9:2-8, Luke 9:28-36). Peter, James, and John had accompanied Jesus up the mountain. Before the disciples’ very eyes, Jesus physically transformed into a state that reflected His actual divine glory. What was always true about His glorious state physically manifested itself in, on, and through His physical body. The effect was that His body became some sort of other-worldly light source, so powerful that even His exterior clothing visibly transformed.
After the fact, Jesus had urged His followers to remain silent about what they had seen until after His resurrection. Here, Peter recounted what He had seen for the benefit and affirmation of His read-ers.
(v. 17) The voice . . . from the Majestic Glory: In addition to the marvelous glory of Jesus’s transfig-uration, Peter also heard a voice that validated what He and the other disciples were experiencing. Even decades later, he could still quote the message given by the voice of the Father from the cloud, the Majestic Glory. As He had done at Jesus’s baptism (Matt. 3:13-17), God the Father affirmed the Son’s identity and His own pleasure with the work He had accomplished on earth. Along with that was the implied blessing on the culmination of Jesus’s work on the cross.
(v. 18) Heard this voice: Peter again affirmed that this was not secondhand information that he was sharing with his readers. He had seen Jesus with his own eyes, and He had heard this voice with his own ears. In addition to his own testimony, Peter also leaned into the testimony of the other disciples, though James had been executed by this time (Acts 12:1-2). Still, he affirmed that all three had been in that setting, and all three had beheld the majesty of the Savior and Messiah.
(v. 18) Holy mountain: The exact mountain of the transfiguration today is open to debate. The tradi-tional site is Mount Tabor in the Jezreel Valley, but some contend that it could have been Mount Hermon in northern Israel near Caesarea Philippi. Time may have erased our ability to identify the mountain be-yond dispute, but it could not erase the definitive identity of God’s words to His Son or the glory He demonstrated there. The mountain was an ordinary mountain made holy by the presence of the Lord.
EXPLORE THE TEXT
19 We also have the prophetic word strongly confirmed, and you will do well to pay atten-tion to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. 20 Above all, you know this: No prophecy of Scripture comes from the prophet’s own interpreta-tion, 21 because no prophecy ever came by the will of man; instead, men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
(v. 19) The prophetic word strongly confirmed: The prophetic word certainly refers to the Old Testa-ment, especially the prophetic texts represented by Elijah on the mountain of transfiguration. The apos-tle highlighted a relationship between the transfiguration and these prophetic texts. The prophetic word of Scripture is verified and validated by the transfiguration because the transfiguration confirms the proper interpretation of Old Testament Scripture.
The Old Testament prophets shared about the future coming of Christ for judgment and salvation. Jesus’s glory on the mountain not only made a statement about His own identity, but it also served as a reminder that these servants of God from long ago were speaking and writing in line with God’s plan. Their words were fulfilled in Jesus.
(v. 19) Pay attention: Because the prophets lived so long ago and because we now live in the “church age,” it might be tempting to downplay the role of Old Testament prophecy in our lives. Howev-er, Peter urged his readers to take a much different approach. Rather than diminish the word of the prophets, Christ followers should live in the light of their words. Like a lamp in a dark room or a dawn after dark night, the prophets remind us that Jesus is who He said He is and that God’s plan for salva-tion was firmly established before Jesus first arrived at Bethlehem.
Old Testament prophecies had connected a star with the Messiah (Num. 24:17). Revelation 22:16 presents the same idea of a star that represents the return of Christ. Opponents may have denied that Christ would return, but the prophecies of Scripture were accurate.
(vv. 20-21) No prophecy of Scripture: Rightly interpreting verses 20-21 leads one to two possible op-tions. One possibility emphasizes the truth that no true prophecy has a human origin. False teachers had claimed that the ancient prophets had interpreted their messages incorrectly. But Peter contend-ed that the message and the interpretation could not be separated, and both were accurate because they had their sources in God, not any human being.
The second possibility emphasizes the fact that no prophetic interpretation comes from the proph-et himself. Peter accused heretics of twisting interpretations to fit their own agendas. In doing so, they rejected the apostolic authority of Scripture and the gospel. Both positions emphasize that the pro-phetic teachings of the Old Testament are not up for personal interpretation, but speak truth regarding Jesus that compels belief.
(v. 21) Men spoke: God is the undisputed Author of His Word. As Paul noted, all Scripture is inspired (or breathed out) by God (see 2 Tim. 3:16). He is the Source of all it provides. However, He did use hu-man beings in the process of sharing His messages to the world. They used their own personalities, lit-erary styles, and vocabularies. The words were their own words, but they conveyed the Word of the Lord.
(v. 21) Carried along by the Holy Spirit: The verb that is rendered carried along was also used of ships that were driven by the wind (see Acts 17:15-17). In this case, the Holy Spirit served as the Guide and Director. While human beings are fallible, the work of the Holy Spirit ensured that the biblical writ-ers would share the exact message God intended. He guaranteed the perfection of the Bible’s message by moving the writers in the proper direction. This is an important point in understanding the trustwor-thiness of Scripture.
Review these points from Apply the Text on page 108 of the Personal Study Guide:
Guide the group to discuss the first set of questions on page 108 of the PSG. Distribute index cards and invite each adult to indicate a response to the first question. Collect the cards and total the re-sponses before moving to the final question. As a group, evaluate the maturity of the group as a whole.
Encourage the group to use the second set of questions during their time with God this week. Re-view the three things God has given us to grow in faith: salvation, historical veracity of Christ, and Scrip-ture.
Close the time by thanking God for fully equipping us for spiritual growth. Commit to being a cata-lyst in each other’s lives that encourages and contributes to a deeper walk with God.
Reinforce the session by sending the group an email or text encouraging them to talk with God about any questions they might have about spiritual growth. Invite adults to share thoughts about how the group can promote spiritual growth during a session, offering a special growth study, or maybe con-ducting a ministry project through the church.
All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine revelation. (See Luke 24:44-46;
John 5:39.)
Use other Scripture to help understand a Bible passage.
Peter’s reference to his eyewitness account of Jesus’s transfiguration as a means of validating the historicity and divinity of Jesus is crucial to his refutation of the false teachers who were having a nega-tive impact on local churches. Study the transfiguration accounts in Matthew 17:1-8; Mark 9:2-8; and Luke 9:28-36. Consider additional resources such as a Bible dictionary or trustworthy commentaries for each passage to help you dive deeper into your understanding of this significant moment in histo-ry.