A study in 2 Peter chapter 1 1:1 I am Simon the Rock, bondman and ambassador of Jesus Christ. What God accomplished in Christ to rescue us is what gives our faith equal value. (If righteousness had anything to do with personal merit or performance, then only the good enough amongst us would qualify. The word, lanchano, to be measured out beforehand, to be allocated something by allotment, emphasises the fact that nothing we did or determined to achieve had any influence upon God to qualify us. Faith is not a reward for personal diligence; it is everyone’s portion; no one’s faith is inferior to another’s because God sees all equally justified in Jesus Christ. Salvation belongs to everyone based on exactly the same merit. God’s righteousness is responsible for our faith, Rom.1:17) 1:2 With a faith of equal content as our reference, we may now increasingly know ourselves the way God has always known us, (the knowledge of God) realised in Jesus our leader, and be overwhelmed by the multiplied effect of grace and peace in our lives. (In this context no one can ever feel ignored or neglected again.) 1:3 God’s powerful intervention is the authority behind all this. He gifted us with all that it takes to live life to the full. Because of what God knows (about our original design,) He introduced us as it were to ourselves again (kaleo, to surname) because it was His intention to restore His glory and virtue in us. (See Peter’s testimony in Math.16 in the notes.) 1:4 His knowledge of us is the vehicle through which He bestowed the magnitude of His priceless promises upon us; the expectation of the promises pointed towards our restored participation in our godly origin; (His image and likeness revealed in us. The factory settings are restored; every compatible programme is again installed in our hard-drive to facilitate the Divine Nature.) Thus we have escaped the distorted influence of the corrupt cosmic virus of greed and lust. 1:5 Now (in the light of what is given us in Christ) the stage is set to display life’s excellence; imagine the extreme devotion and focus of a conductor of music; (epichoregeo, epi, preposition, + chorus, chorus or choir or orchestra, + ago, to lead as a shepherd leads his sheep) how he would diligently acquaint himself with every individual voice in the choir, as well as the contribution of every specific instrument, to follow the precise music represented in every note in order to give maximum credit to the original composition; this is exactly what it means to exhibit the divine character. Before a performance the first violinist will give the exact note for every instrument to be finely tuned to that note, in the same way the faith of God gives that exact pitch. You are the choir conductor of your own life; study the full content of faith; you will find virtue there, and within virtue faith-inspired knowledge will voice its contribution. (There is a level of understanding that can only be accessed by faith. Heb.11:3, “by faith we understand that the ages were framed by the Word of God...) 1:6 The one attribute reveals the other, strength of character emerges out of faith-knowledge, in its strength follows the ability to prevail in patient perseverance, these are the ingredients that reveal depth of devotion; 1:7 out of such devotion flows true friendship, brotherly affection inspires divine love. 1:8 While you diligently rehearse the exact qualities of every divine attribute within you; the volume will rise with ever increasing gusto, guarding you from being ineffective and barren in your knowledge of the Christ-life displayed with such authority and eloquence in Jesus. 1:9 If anyone feels that these things are absent in his life, they are not; spiritual blindness and short sightedness only veil them from you. This happens when one loses sight of one’s innocence. The moment one forgets the tremendous consequence of the fact that we were cleansed from our past sins, one seems to become pre-occupied again with the immediate sense ruled horizon, which is what short sightedness is all about; this makes one blind to His blessings. (Spiritual realities suddenly seem vague and distant.) 1:10 Therefore I encourage you to make every conscious effort my Brothers to become cemented in the knowledge of your original identity revealed in the Word; fully engage these realities in your lifestyle; if you do this you will never falter. (Or get out of tune again in the context of verse 5, lit. to fall, lose height, to stop flying.) 1:11 Thus the great Conductor of music will draw your life into the full volume of the harmony of the ages; the royal song of our saviour Jesus Christ. 1:12 Having said all this I am sure that you can appreciate why I feel so urgent in my commitment to you to repeatedly bring these things to your attention; as indeed you have already taken your stand for the truth as it is now revealed (in the Gospel.) 1:13 So while I am still in this body-suit, I take my lead from the revelation of righteousness and make it my business to thoroughly arouse you until these truths become permanently moulded in your memory. 1:14 All the more since I know that my time in this tabernacle is almost done; our Lord Jesus Christ has prepared me for this. 1:15 In the meantime I will do whatever it takes to make it possible for you to always be able to easily recall these realities even in my absence. 1:16 We are not con-artists, fabricating fictions and fables to add weight to our account of His majestic appearance; with our own eyes we witnessed the powerful display of the illuminate presence of Jesus the Master of the Christ life. (His face shone like the sun, His raiment were radiant white. Math.17) 17 He was spectacularly endorsed by God the Father in the highest honour and glory. God's majestic voice announced, "This is the son of My delight, He has My total approval." 18 For John, James and I the prophetic word is fulfilled beyond doubt; we heard this voice loud and clear from the heavenly realm while we were with Jesus in that sacred moment on the mountain. 19 For us the appearing of the Messiah is no longer a future promise, but a fulfilled reality; now it’s your turn to have more than a second hand, hear-say testimony, take my word as one would take a lamp at night, the day is about to dawn for you in your own understanding; when the morning star appears, you no longer need the lamp, this will happen shortly on the horizon of your hearts...
20 It is most important to understand that the prophetic word recorded in scripture does not need our interpretation or opinion to make it valid; 21 even the holy men who first spoke these words of old did not invent these thoughts, they simply voiced God's oracles as they were individually inspired by the Holy Spirit.
1:3 “Simon son of Jonah, I say you are Rock...and within the context of this revelation will I establish My original identity; and the stronghold of ignorance will not prevail against the onslaught of My church.” Math.16:13-18. 1:5 pareisphero, from, para, a preposition indicating close proximity, a thing proceeding from a sphere of influence, with a suggestion of union of place of residence, to sprung from its author and giver, originating from, denoting the point from which an action originates, intimate connection, and eisphero, to carry or reach inward. 1:7 See the Message translation, “...each dimension fitting into and developing the other.” 1:8 These things being in you, uparcho, to begin under, from upo + archomai, to commence or rehearse from the beginning. 1:10 kaleo, often translated, calling, to surname, to identify by name; eklogen, translated election, yet the two parts of this word, ek, preposition denoting origin or source, and lego, or logos, suggests the Word (the logic of God) as our source; John 1:1,14. 1:11 Again the word epichoregeo is used, the choir conductor; this time, God is doing the conducting, and is leading us into His harmony, eis + odos, access into the road; yet in this context I prefer the thought that we are led into a song, an ode; a ceremonious lyric poem. The form is usually marked by exalted feeling and style. The term ode derives from a Greek word alluding to a choric song, usually accompanied by a dance. Ode (from Greek ōdē, a poem to be sung) composed for royal occasions.
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