Musings from the First Pope

I’m not Catholic, but I have a little experience with this large division of Christianity, as I suppose most of us do.  If you haven’t heard of the term pope, then you’ve been hanging out in the mountains of Afghanistan too many years.  The biblical Peter, is considered to be the first pope by Roman Catholics.  Jesus described Peter as (arguably), “the rock on which His church would be built.”  Or Jesus affirmed Peter’s answer to His question (see Matt 16:15-18).  Either way Jesus thought highly of Peter.  With all that said, I have found it of interest to study the letters Peter himself wrote.  They are recorded in the New Testament as 1 & 2 Peter.

The reason I bring up all this dialogue is that several weeks ago, I was a part of a challenge to study the first few verses of 2 Peter with a large group of men.  From that instant, it seems, verses from 2 Peter have popped up in many studies and everyday scenarios in which I’m involved.  We even had a sermon last Sunday that was specifically pinpointing verses 3-15 of which I use below.  Over and over, I’ve run into this text, so I think I’m supposed to share a bit about what has come to mind.

So, with that exceedingly long introduction out of the way, let’s dig into my ruminations on 2 Peter 1:1-15.  I’ve interjected my thoughts and emphasis throughout the scripture:

2 Peter 1:1-15 (NIV)

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

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

Here is the introduction…many skim over this part and they miss a truly deep statement in verse 2,  “in abundance”.  What are we to have in abundance, or multiplied immeasurably?  Grace & Peace!  How do we get this grace and peace?  Through the knowledge of God and of Jesus…our Lord!  If we read it backwards we easily see:

1)       Jesus has to be Our Lord (also see the first sentence vs. 1 “have received Christ, have received faith”)

2)      We must have knowledge of “1) Jesus has to be Our Lord” (experience, wisdom from study, etc)

3)      We get grace & peace from 1) and 2)

4)      We get grace & peace in great amounts, in abundance!

Reading this passage made me ask the question….Do I have grace & peace in exceedingly great amounts?  Do you?  If not, which step 1-4 are you stuck on?  This study thing is GREAT stuff!

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

Oh man, isn’t this just chock full of deep and revealing statements?  “Given us everything”, really?  “Through our knowledge”, here we are getting hit with item 2) above again.  “Promises”, sweet, I want to know these promises!  “Divine nature”, I can be “like” Christ through accepting His promises!  So, how in the world do we “escape the corruption in the world”?

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.

A-ha!  Peter outlines it well here.  We escape the corruption through a multi-step program, if you will.  First we must have faith.  That’s where it all starts, remember item 1) above.  We also grow in our knowledge, but this occurs at the same time we exhibit “goodness”, and I must say that goodness here means a lot more…it’s moral excellence if we look more deeply at the original language.  This self-control thing is great too.  I can personally vouch that knowledge helps me to rein myself in and make a better decision.  Through knowledge of God’s word I CAN turn and make a better choice and be self-controlled.  Do you see the steps?  With experience, we persevere; we become godlier, readily act with brotherly kindness, and learn to love wholeheartedly.  It all starts with faith, and grows with knowledge, period.  Gosh, there is so much “meat” in this paragraph I had to split it up…

For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.

What’s “increasing measure” mean?  It means growth and here it points to A LOT of growth.  The original language even hints at the term, “Superabound” = to be too numerous or abundant…!  We must be growing and not complacent.  Being complacent does not lead to success.   We will naturally be growing with little effort if we are true believers because Grace and Peace will be given us in abundance, right?  We will not be ineffective or unproductive (Hey! That’s a promise!).  If this doesn’t make sense, maybe you have “forgotten that Jesus cleansed you or your sins”?  Start over, rebuild that foundation and grow!

Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

In laymen’s terms, make sure you know what you want and do it.  Do you want salvation?  Are you truly on the side of desiring to be morally excellent?  Do you want God to elect you to live eternally?  Be sure.  Why might I ask this question?  Simple.  God promises that an affirmative answer will stop you from EVER truly falling (viewed from an eternal perspective).

So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things.

Peter isn’t stupid, he knows we will question and lose our way at times.  We will be running on the road with a flat tire per se.  Peter reminds us.  Peter refreshes our memory.  Peter knows his body is but a “tent” for God’s Spirit and soon he will leave it behind.  Peter cares and wants to leave a legacy.  I think he did a fine job since all these years later he is teaching me.  God’s plan worked.

Thanks to my brothers in Christ, to my fellow teachers, to my pastor and to my God for providing all this insight in such a short set of verses.