2 Peter 1 (WK) - Bible Truth Library

16-21: and warns them to be constant in the faith of Christ, who is the true Son of God, by the eyewitness of the apostles beholding his majesty, and by the testimony of the Father, and the prophets.

Simon.

or, Symeon.

Acts 15:14• ¹⁴Simeon has rehearsed how God first visited [the] Gentiles to take out of [them] a people for his name. (Acts 15:14)

Peter.

Matt. 4:18• ¹⁸{i}And walking by the sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishers;{/i} (Matt. 4:18)

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Matt. 10:2• ²{i}Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the [son] of Zebedee, and John his brother;{/i} (Matt. 10:2)

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Luke 22:31‑34• ³¹And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold Satan has begged for you to sift as wheat,
³²but I have besought for thee that thy faith fail not, and thou, when once turned back establish thy brethren.
³³And he said to him, Lord, with thee I am ready to go both to prison and to death.
³⁴And he said, I tell thee, Peter, [the] cock shall not crow Today before that thou hast thrice denied that thou knowest me. (Luke 22:31‑34)

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John 1:42• ⁴²and he led him to Jesus. Jesus looking at him said, Thou art Simon, the son of Jonah; thou shalt be called Cephas (which is interpreted Peter). (John 1:42)

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John 21:15‑17• ¹⁵When therefore they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon [son] of Jonah, lovest thou me more than these? He saith to him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I dearly love thee. He saith to him, Feed my lambs.
¹⁶He saith to him again a second time, Simon [son] of Jonah, lovest thou me? He saith to him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I dearly love thee. He saith to him, Tend my sheep.
¹⁷He saith to him the third time, Simon [son] of Jonah, dost thou dearly love me? Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, Dost thou dearly love me? and he said to him, Lord, thou knowest all things, thou knowest that I dearly love thee. Jesus saith to him, Feed my sheep. (John 21:15‑17)

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1 Peter 1:1• ¹Peter, apostle of Jesus Christ to elect sojourners scattered through Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, (1 Peter 1:1)

a servant.

John 12:26• ²⁶If anyone serve me, let him follow me, and where I am, there also my servant shall be; if anyone serve me, him will my Father honour. (John 12:26)

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Rom. 1:1• ¹Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, a called apostle, set apart unto God's gospel, (Rom. 1:1)

an apostle.

Luke 11:49• ⁴⁹For this reason also the wisdom of God hath said, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of these they shall kill and drive out by persecution, (Luke 11:49)

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John 20:21• ²¹He said therefore to them again, Peace to you: according as the Father hath sent me forth, I also send you. (John 20:21)

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1 Cor. 9:1• ¹Am I not free? am I not an apostle? have I not seen Jesus our Lord? my work are not ye in [the] Lord? (1 Cor. 9:1)

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1 Cor. 15:9• ⁹For I am the least of the apostles, who am not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the assembly of God; (1 Cor. 15:9)

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Gal. 2:8• ⁸(for he that wrought in Peter for the apostleship of the circumcision, wrought in me also toward the nations), (Gal. 2:8)

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Eph. 3:5• ⁵which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it hath been now revealed to his holy apostles and prophets in [the] Spirit, (Eph. 3:5)

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Eph. 4:11• ¹¹And he gave some apostles, and some prophets, and some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, (Eph. 4:11)

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1 Peter 5:1• ¹Elders [therefore] that [are] among you I exhort that [am] fellow-elder, and witness of the sufferings of Christ, that [am] also partaker of the glory about to be revealed. (1 Peter 5:1)

have.

2 Peter 1:4• ⁴through which he hath granted to us the greatest and precious promises, that through these ye may become partakers of a divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world in lust. (2 Peter 1:4)

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Acts 15:8‑9• ⁸And the heart-knowing God bore them witness giving [them] the Holy Spirit, even as to us also:
⁹and he put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. (Acts 15:8‑9)

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Rom. 1:12• ¹²that is, to be comforted together among you through the faith which is in one another, both yours and mine. (Rom. 1:12)

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2 Cor. 4:13• ¹³But having the same spirit of faith, according to that which is written, I believed wherefore [also] I spake: we also believe, wherefore also we speak; (2 Cor. 4:13)

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Eph. 4:5• ⁵one Lord, one faith, one baptism; (Eph. 4:5)

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Phil. 1:29• ²⁹because to you has been given on behalf of Christ, not only the believing on him, but also the suffering for him; (Phil. 1:29)

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2 Tim. 1:5• ⁵calling to mind the unfeigned faith that [is] in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice, and, I am persuaded, in thee also. (2 Tim. 1:5)

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Titus 1:1,4• ¹Paul, bondman of God and apostle of Jesus Christ according to faith of God's elect, and full knowledge of truth that is according to piety;
⁴to Titus, genuine child according to common faith: grace and peace from God [the] Father and Christ Jesus our Saviour. (Titus 1:1,4)

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1 Peter 1:7• ⁷that the proof of your faith, much more precious than gold that perisheth though proved by fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at [the] revelation of Jesus Christ: (1 Peter 1:7)

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1 Peter 2:7• ⁷To you therefore that believe [is] the preciousness; but to disobedient [ones] a stone which the builders rejected, this became head of corner, (1 Peter 2:7)

through.

Jer. 33:16• (Jer. 33:16)

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Rom. 1:17• ¹⁷For God's righteousness in it is revealed by faith unto faith, even as it is written, “But the righteous shall live by faith.” (Rom. 1:17)

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Rom. 3:21‑26• ²¹But now apart from law God's righteousness is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets,
²²even God's righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ unto all, and upon all that believe. For there is no difference;
²³for all sinned, and come short of the glory of God,
²⁴being justified gratuitously by his grace through the redemption that [is] in Christ Jesus,
²⁵whom God set forth as a propitiatory through faith in his blood, for a declaration of his righteousness on account of the praeter-mission of the sins that had been before, in the forbearance of God,
²⁶with a view to the declaration of his righteousness in the present time, in order to his being just and justifying him that [is] of faith in Jesus. (Rom. 3:21‑26)

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1 Cor. 1:30• ³⁰But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who was made wisdom to us from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption; (1 Cor. 1:30)

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2 Cor. 5:21• ²¹him that knew not sin he made sin for us, that we might become God's righteousness in him. (2 Cor. 5:21)

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Phil. 3:9• ⁹and be found in him, not having my righteousness that [is] of law, but that [which is] by faith of Christ, the righteousness of God on faith; (Phil. 3:9)

of God and our Saviour.

Gr. of our God and Saviour.

Isa. 12:2• (Isa. 12:2)

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Luke 1:47• ⁴⁷and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. (Luke 1:47)

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Titus 2:13• ¹³looking for the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ; (Titus 2:13)

• the confession of absolute subjection to his Master conveyed in "bondman." Paul loved so to call himself, and Jude, and John. (““2 Peter”” by W. Kelly)

• To be somebody is the desire of fallen man, the world's spirit; to give up all in love and obedience is Christ's, who alone really had all things. It is our pattern now. Greatness according to Him is to be a true servant (““2 Peter”” by W. Kelly)

• "Like precious faith" raises no question of measure of faith in those who believe, but asserts that what is believed is equally precious for the simplest Christian as for an apostle, in its source, agent, object, and result. (““2 Peter”” by W. Kelly)

• in our text it is not the believer obtaining God's righteousness through faith, but obtaining faith by the righteousness of their God and Saviour Jesus Christ*: a quite different truth, and peculiar to the remnant which God ever has in Israel. (““2 Peter”” by W. Kelly)

• The difference between Jude and this epistle is, that while by Peter the Spirit of God speaks a great deal about corruption, it is in the world, whereas Jude gives you corruption in the Church — in that which bears the name of the Lord —ecclesiastical corruption. You get apostasy in both, especially in Jude. (“Partakers of the Divine Nature” by W.T.P. Wolston)

• Faith here is the portion we have now in the things that God gives, which in Christianity are revealed as truths, while the things promised are not yet come. (“2 Peter 1” by J.N. Darby)

• “The ‘precious faith’ is the faith of Christianity, in contrast with Judaism with which these believers had been connected.” (“Life and Godliness: 2 Peter 1” by H. Smith)

• The Jews religion could not be called a faith. It began with sight at Sinai….This precious faith has only come to us by the advent of the Lord Jesus as Saviour. (“2 Peter 1” by F.B. Hole)

J. N. Darby Translation

Simon Peter, bondman and apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have received like precious faith with us through the righteousness of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ:

W. Kelly Translation

Simon Petera, bondmanb and apostle of Jesus Christ to them that obtained like precious faith with us in virtuec of [the] righteousnessd of our God ande Saviour Jesus Christ:

WK Translation Notes

The writer declares himself with yet more carefulness than when he wrote before, not "Peter" only but "Symeon Peter," name and surname. So, at the Jerusalem conference on the Gentile question, James speaks of him ({vi 27457}{/vi}) as "Symeon" (the Aramaic form of "Simon"), though historically designated "Peter" just before (vs. 7). A forger would have strenuously avoided any such shade of difference, superficial though it be; as he never would have conceived still greater care to attest thus minutely the Peter who added this Second Epistle.

No notice is taken by the Revisers, the needless enfeebling indefinite article twice over. Our tongue does not require "a" before "servant" or "bondman"; though it seems harsh to omit in English "the" before "righteousness."

This verse does not touch on the ground of justification, but asserts that the saints he addressed obtained like precious faith with the apostles, in virtue of the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ. Even if we adopt the marginal suggestion, it would mean that our God and Saviour Jesus Christ took care, according to His faithful regard to the promises, that there should ever be a remnant according to the election of grace. Hence He, in His righteousness, secured that they should get faith. Christ’s law-keeping is not a question: introduce it, and you spoil the sense. For how could His legal obedience bring any one to faith?

The RV has the great defect of reading "faith with us in the righteousness" which suggests in our idiom the object believed in. This is not the aim of the passage. The Apostle means that the Christian Jews, to whom he is for the second time addressing himself, obtained like precious faith with us "your apostles" (3:2) in virtue of (or through) the righteousness of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ; as the Revisers rightly give the last words in their text. There were special promises to the fathers about the blessing of their seed, and God was righteous in fulfilling them. There has always been a believing remnant of that people, if of no other continuously. Jesus, not more truly man than the Lord God of Israel, has been faithful to that word of distinguishing favour; and if those Jews to whom Peter was writing received faith, like precious faith with the apostles, it was in virtue of His making good the promise to them and their children by giving them to believe. Such is the righteousness here meant. Hence "through" in the KJV is substantially correct, as being less ambiguous than "in."

No scholar who has adequately weighed the construction contests that the omission of the second article admits of two persons strictly united in joint agency, the phrase seems impossible unless both stood on precisely the same platform of nature or position. Now I am disposed to believe that in the Epistles of Peter, as in that to the Hebrews, the inspired writer meant to strengthen those addressed in the great truth that Jesus was the Jehovah of Israel, the true God, no less than the Father.