Privileges of Knowing God | 2 Peter 1:1-4
Peter helps us grasp three privileges granted to every believer through our relationship with God: (1) an equal faith, (2) a full knowledge, and (3) a glorious calling. This sermon is part 1 of “A Fisherman's Truth” Bryan Craddock’s series on 2 Peter.
By size the Sea of Galilee seems more like a lake. It is only around eight miles wide and thirteen miles long, but the weather can make it feel more like a sea. Since it is surrounded by mountains and its surface sits 700 feet below sea level, powerful storms can develop. In recent years, winds have stirred up waves as high as ten feet.
The Apostle Peter grew up along Galilee’s shores during the First Century and made a living fishing its depths. He knew the danger of its wild storms all too well. There must have been times when he was blown off course and left disoriented trying to find his way. On one occasion, he and his friends felt hopeless as their boat was being swamped by the waves. But then Jesus, who had been asleep in the bow, woke up and intervened, miraculously stilling the waters with a word (Matt 8:23-27).
Peter left his nets behind to serve Jesus. He became a fisher of men, but we should not forget his humble background as we read the letters he wrote toward the end of his life. He sought to prepare Christians to weather the storms that would come upon the church. In his first letter, he reminds us of the great hope of salvation and encourages us to maintain a passion for Jesus and his gospel despite any opposition or persecution that we might encounter.
Peter also recognized that in addition to those external troubles, the church would face problems within. It would be swamped by false teaching, and that problem continues today. So, to help us maintain our bearings, Peter explains the authority, accuracy, and sufficiency of God’s Word in his second letter. I have titled our study of it, “A Fisherman’s Truth.”
False teachers often claim to possess special knowledge from a dream, a vision, a spiritual revelation, an angelic encounter, or even just their own superior insight. They entice people to follow them by offering them a deeper, more enlightened spirituality that appeals to their pride. Christians who refuse are considered substandard, unenlightened, blind, and deceived.
Sadly, in our modern consumer-driven culture theologically sound Bible teachers sometimes use the same tactic to promote their ministry. It may not be their intention, but they give people the impression that the Bible alone is not sufficient. As a result, many Christians seem to always be searching for something more--a leader, a mentor, a counselor, a book, a program, a ministry, or an event that will take them to a new level.
Peter refutes this mindset at the outset of his letter. In 2 Peter 1:1-4, he helps us grasp three privileges granted to every believer through our relationship with God. Sometimes we think too highly of ourselves and our abilities, but sometimes we do not think highly enough. We should not underestimate God’s work in our lives. That leads us to the first privilege.
An Equal Faith
Most of us would never dream of stepping out on a high wire. The performers who do so seem to have a superpower. But balance is just part of life. Infants develop it as they begin to sit up on their own. That seems like a huge accomplishment at the time, but it does not stop there. We fully expect them to develop the ability to stand, to walk, and to run and jump. In fact, something is wrong if they don’t.
In many ways, balance is just as important in spiritual life. It is part of sound doctrine, obedient behavior, and godly relationships. Peter himself reflects it as he speaks of the privilege of all believers having an equal faith. In 2 Peter 1:1, he says,
Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:
In the Gospels, he is called Simon. But Simon is a Greek version of the Hebrew name Simeon which he uses here. He was named after one of Jacob’s twelve sons. Peter, on the other hand, is the Greek name that Jesus gave him. So, you have Hebrew and Greek, Old Testament and New. There is even balance in the meaning of his names. Simeon comes from the word to hear, so it suggests a willingness to listen and learn, while Peter comes from the word for stone, strong and immovable.
He identifies himself as both a servant and an apostle. In our skeptical age, we might gloss over the servant part as feigned humility. Certainly, as an apostle of Christ, he exercised authority. But a true spiritual leader feels a heavy burden for people. In 2 Corinthians 11:28, Paul spoke of the daily pressure on him of anxiety for all the churches. Godly leadership is an act of humble service.
Some branches of Christianity exalt Peter and the other apostles as saints. They venerate them and even pray to them as those who have greater access to God. But Peter’s words here contradict those practices. He refers to his readers as “those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours.”
There is no spiritual hierarchy in relating to God. There are no levels of faith. You either believe or you don’t, and we cannot claim any credit for that. In other contexts, the word here translated as “obtained” speaks of being chosen by lot. In other words, faith is a gift from God. Since no one can take any credit for it, our faith is no different from that of the apostles.
There is some difference of opinion about how to interpret the last phrase in this verse. Most English Bible translations interpret it as a description of how people come to believe. They say that we have obtained faith “by”, “through”, or “because of” the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ. The idea is that Christ gives us an equal faith because he is just, and it would be unfair for him to do otherwise.
But God’s choice of certain people to salvation is by his grace, not his justice. From the standpoint of justice, none of us deserves to be saved. So, I think that it makes more sense to understand this phrase as an explanation of what we believe. We have obtained faith “in” his righteousness.
All of us who believe place our faith in the same good news--the truth that Jesus suffered for our sins and grants his perfect righteousness to us. No human being can accomplish that saving work or contribute anything to it. It can only be done by someone who is both God and Savior, and Peter identifies Jesus that way here. We are all completely dependent upon him.
Paul explains this idea of righteousness in his letters. We often refer to it as justification. Peter may have even had those writings in mind, because he refers to them later in 2 Peter 3. Paul asserts our equal standing before the gospel in Romans 3:21-24 by saying,
But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it--the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
We are all sinners. The only way that anyone can be saved is through faith in Jesus. When we believe in him, we are justified. His righteousness is given to us as a gift by God’s grace. Is that what you believe? This truth is essential to our understanding of the gospel.
So, we must maintain this balance. God raises up and gifts certain people to serve as spiritual leaders. We should respect them, appreciate them, and submit to them, but we should not exalt them. We all have an equal faith. That amazing privilege leads us to another.
A Full Knowledge
We think of knowledge as bits of information. We write it down in books or store it electronically. We cram it into our heads and recite it for tests. But there are limits to how much we can retain. So, we are plagued with uncertainty because we never have the full picture. The availability of more and more information only deepens our bewilderment, and that makes us easy targets when someone comes along claiming to have secret knowledge.
As important as it is for Christians to know biblical information, the Christian life is fundamentally about knowing a person. Peter asserts that every believer enjoys the privilege of having a full knowledge of God. In 2 Peter 1:2-3, he says,
May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence,
There is certainly good biblical information to learn about God. You can study his attributes, commands, promises, and plans. But that is not the knowledge that Peter has in mind here. He adds a prefix to the word that intensifies it. Some translations say, “true knowledge” or “full knowledge”. This is not about intellectual facts. To know God is to have a relationship with him.
So, you either have it or you don’t. There are no levels. No believer gets more access to God than any other. As we saw in Romans 3:23, we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We do not deserve to have a relationship with him. It is only possible through the saving work of Jesus.
Peter says that everything we need for life and godliness comes through this relationship. It is the channel for the power of God to work in our lives. From a spiritual standpoint, we do not need anything more. This relationship is sufficient for us to endure every trial and overcome every temptation. The real question is whether we will choose to draw upon it and walk with God through good times and bad.
I think that Peter probably has that thought in mind in verse 2 as he prays for grace and peace to be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus. God does not hold back on giving us grace and peace. He does not need to be persuaded to help us out. An inexhaustible supply is ready and waiting. His grace saves and transforms us. His peace comforts and strengthens. But we will experience none of that unless we look to him.
We find this idea in several Old Testament Psalms. In Psalm 16:7-8, David expresses his reliance upon his relationship with God by saying,
I bless the LORD who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me. I have set the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.
What does it mean to set the Lord always before us? It is making him the ultimate priority in our lives. It is looking at life through the lens of our relationship with him. It invites him to shape our understanding of everything that happens. It relies upon him for strength.
Psalm 46:10-11 reflects a similar concept of knowing God. It begins with the Lord speaking and ends with a statement from the composers. It says,
"Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!" The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.
The psalm opens by speaking of the earth giving way and the mountains moving. Someone must understand the information God has revealed about who he is and how he relates to his people. But to know God in this sense is to be still and trust him, even in tumultuous circumstances.
As I mentioned, this relationship with God is made possible through the work of Christ. His death atones for our sins. The imputation of his righteous life to our account makes the relationship possible. But the book of Hebrews also explains that because of his resurrection and ascension, he actively represents us before the Father. Hebrews 4:14-16 says,
Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
In Christ, we have confident access to the Father. Are you drawing near, setting him before you, knowing him? We have the privilege of full knowledge, and it leads to one more privilege.
A Glorious Calling
We often speak of salvation as a gift. We do not deserve it and cannot earn it. It is purely by God’s grace. But thinking of it as a gift might lead some to conclude that no commitment is required. We must understand that the gift of salvation is like an engagement ring. Receiving it changes the course of your life. It leads into a relationship that shapes how you live and who you are.
So, the invitation to know God includes the privilege of a glorious calling shared by every believer. Peter describes it in the loftiest of terms. Look again at 2 Peter 1:3, and we will continue into verse 4. He says,
His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.
Peter describes our calling with two words. “Glory” is used over 350 times in the Old Testament. Sometimes it refers to greatness in a generic sense. But it is also used to describe the fiery pillar that leads the people of Israel out of Egypt. The glory of God was the visible representation of his nature and character. It was present in the Tabernacle, but only the high priest could draw near. So, anyone who knew the Old Testament well would be astounded by the thought that God called us to his glory
Peter also uses the term “excellence” to describe our calling. This word is rarely found in the Bible, but it was used in the Greek world to describe moral greatness. It was reserved for iconic men in their society. By applying it to God, Peter takes it to an entirely different level. His holiness and moral perfection transcend that of any great man. Yet Peter says that every believer is called to God’s excellence.
How can anyone ever reach the heights of glory and excellence? In verse 4, Peter says that it happens through God’s precious and very great promises. We find a string of promises throughout the Bible related to God’s covenant relationship with his people. You could think of them like wedding vows. They reveal his plan for all that he seeks to accomplish in, for, and through them. They include the first coming of Christ and his return to reign. God’s promises form the basis for our relationship with him, and when we trust in them, they bring about two effects in our lives.
He works through his promises to set us free from the corruption in the world and to make us partakers of his divine nature. You cannot have one without the other. God created human beings in his image. We were supposed to reflect what he is like and have unhindered fellowship with him. But when Adam and Eve sinned, the world was polluted by sin and death. We are all born into it and enslaved by it. But God’s promises set us free and begin to transform us so that we will one day reflect the glory and excellence of his nature.
This expression, “partakers of the divine nature,” is unique to Peter, but it seems to reflect a prayer that he heard Jesus pray. John 17:20-23 tells us that he said,
I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.
Some people use this passage as an argument for minimizing doctrine and eliminating denominational difference. But Jesus wants more than for Christians to simply get along with one another. He prayed for us to be united by a vital connection with him and with the Father. It’s a bond that the world cannot help but notice. But we need his glory to transform us. Earlier in the prayer he prays for us to be sanctified, to become holy. We must become like Jesus and like the Father, reflecting their character.
Peter highlights this lofty calling because the false teachers of his day were undermining it. As they appealed to people’s pride with their special knowledge, they excused sinful indulgence. As Peter continues in 2 Peter 1, he will describe the practical implications of this calling for how we live. But for now, we should ask if this is how we see ourselves: partakers of the divine nature who are called to God’s glory and excellence.
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Everyone who knows God enjoys these incredible privileges: an equal faith, a full knowledge, and a glorious calling. Do you have this relationship with him? If not, then perhaps now is God’s appointed time for you. Place your faith in Christ. Trust him as your Savior and follow him as your Lord. If you would like to learn more about knowing God, you might want to continue reading through 2 Peter.
If you are a believer, do you need to grow in the knowledge of God? I am not referring to learning more information, as good as that is. I am talking about growing in walking through life with him, setting him always before you, being still and knowing that he is God, so that you reflect his glory and excellence. When we live that way, it should draw others to want to know him too. Let’s invite people to know him.
May God’s glory shine through us!
Reflect
How does this passage challenge your understanding of faith and the knowledge of God?
Which of these privileges encourages you most? Why?
How should this passage influence our outreach to others?