2 Peter
Grow in grace and in the knowledge of Christ
Second Peter is a final appeal to remember the truth and grow in it. Peter knows that his departure is near and seeks to leave believers established in God’s promises. Genuine knowledge of Christ produces character and diligence, while false teachers promise liberty and bring bondage. The certainty of the Lord’s coming answers scoffers who mistake delay for failure. The world’s final judgment and the promise of new heavens and a new earth call for holy conduct now. The letter’s repeated reminders protect faith against both forgetfulness and deception.
- Verses
- 61
- Words
- 1,559
Writer: Simon Peter
Written: AD 64–68, after 1 Peter and before Peter’s death
Name: Peter means a stone or rock.
History and setting
The same broad circle of believers is threatened by false teaching and scoffing as Peter approaches death.
Believers who have received like precious faith, continuing the audience of the first epistle.
Dispensational context
Peter warns churches against false teachers and scoffers and reminds them of apostolic witness, prophecy, and the promised day of the Lord.
2 Peter 1:16–21 · 2 Peter 2:1–22 · 2 Peter 3:3–13
Interpretive issues to watch
- Distinguish the false teachers' claimed freedom from the freedom of believers; chapter 2 depicts enslaving corruption.
- The Lord's patience in chapter 3 answers scoffing about delay; do not turn the day of the Lord into a date-setting calculation.
Key passages
2 Peter 1:19–21
The prophetic word is grounded in God’s work through men moved by the Holy Ghost.
2 Peter 3:18
Growth in grace and knowledge is the concluding charge.
Key chapters
1
God’s provision, diligent growth in character, apostolic eyewitness testimony, and the prophetic word establish the basis for steadfast faith.
3
The promised coming and final renewal direct the believer’s present conduct.
Outline
1 · Cultivate Christian character
Divine provision calls for diligence, remembrance, and confidence in the prophetic word.
2 · Recognize false teachers
Their greed, corruption, and deceptive promises are exposed alongside certain judgment.
3 · Live in hope of Christ’s return
Scoffing is answered by God’s past acts, present longsuffering, and future promise.
Historical application
- Peter writes with the awareness that his earthly ministry is nearing its end. The letter is intended to keep the truth before believers after his departure.
Doctrinal application
- Scripture comes through the movement of the Holy Ghost, giving the Church an authority greater than imaginative religious claims.
- God’s longsuffering must not be mistaken for the cancellation of judgment. His promised new creation gives direction to holiness.
- Peter’s reference to Paul’s letters as Scripture shows their recognized authority within the apostolic period.
Devotional application
- Add diligence to knowledge: faith should develop virtue, self-control, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and charity.
- Evaluate teachers by truth and character, paying attention to greed, manipulation, and promises that cater to lust.
- The expectation of Christ’s coming and the promised new creation call for holiness, diligence, and continued spiritual growth.
Study notes
- The book distinguishes persecution outside the church from the deception of teachers within it.
- The recurring emphasis on knowledge concerns a relationship with Christ expressed through growth in character and obedience to the truth.
- The examples of Noah and Sodom demonstrate that God can judge evil and preserve the godly.
Divine promises and the claims of false teachers
God’s precious promises support spiritual growth and hope. False teachers promise liberty while remaining in bondage, and scoffers challenge the promise of Christ’s coming. This recurring concern with promises relates the letter’s instruction on growth, discernment, and future judgment.
2 Peter 1:3–4 · 2 Peter 2:17–19 · 2 Peter 3:3–13
Knowledge and the development of character
Peter joins knowledge with virtue, self-control, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and charity. His instruction requires diligent growth in these related qualities. Recalling the truth already received and developing the conduct appropriate to it prepare believers to resist deception.
2 Peter 1:5–12 · 2 Peter 3:17–18
The covetousness of false teachers
Peter identifies covetousness, deceptive speech, and the exploitation of unstable people among the characteristics of false teachers. Their conduct provides evidence of the moral character of their teaching. The desire for gain and rejection of rightful authority recur within the chapter’s account of corruption and judgment.
2 Peter 2:1–3 · 2 Peter 2:10–19
The coming judgment requires a present response
The certainty of judgment and the promise of new heavens and a new earth lead directly to instructions concerning holy conduct. Peter calls believers to diligence, peace, and continued growth in grace and knowledge. His account of the future gives these responsibilities particular urgency and concludes with a warning against being carried away by error.
2 Peter 3:10–18
The eyewitness and the prophetic word
Peter recalls the majesty and voice witnessed on the holy mount, then directs readers to the word of prophecy as a light shining in a dark place. The memory of the transfiguration does not displace Scripture. It confirms the apostolic testimony while the written prophetic word continues to guide believers until the promised day.
Paul’s letters among the Scriptures
Peter refers to Paul’s letters while discussing the Lord’s longsuffering. He says that some parts are hard to understand and that unstable readers wrest them, as they do the other scriptures. The warning calls for care in reading difficult apostolic teaching and shows Peter recognizing the authority of Paul’s written instruction within the church.
Chapter guide
1:1–11 · Grow in the knowledge of Christ
The gift of divine provision is followed by diligent growth in a connected pattern of Christian character.
1:12–21 · Remember the sure testimony
Apostolic witness and Spirit-given prophecy establish the ground of the message Peter preserves.
2 · Recognize destructive teaching
Past judgments, corrupt motives, and deceptive promises expose the danger of false teachers.
3 · Live for the promised coming
The answer to scoffers leads through judgment and new creation to diligence and continued growth.
Canonical context
Second Peter joins Scripture’s reliability, growth in knowledge, exposure of false teachers, and confidence in Christ’s return.
First Peter equips sufferers to remain faithful under pressure; Second Peter warns that inward deception can be as dangerous as outward opposition.
First John develops tests of truth, life, and fellowship amid the activity of the spirit of antichrist.
God’s promises establish hope and holy living; counterfeit liberty and deliberate forgetfulness undermine both.
Connections
2 Timothy · Both farewell letters stress Scripture and faithfulness amid growing error.
Jude · The two letters share warnings and examples concerning false teachers.
Genesis · Creation, the flood, and Sodom anchor the warnings about judgment.