2 Peter Chapter 1

Peter reminds believers of Christ’s provision, urges diligent growth in grace, and grounds hope in apostolic witness and Spirit-given prophecy.

2 Peter 1:1-2

Greeting from a Servant and Apostle

2 Peter 1:3-4

Divine Power and Precious Promises

2 Peter 1:5-11

Diligent Growth and Sure Calling

2 Peter 1:12-15

A Reminder Before Departure

2 Peter 1:16-21

Witnesses of Majesty and the Sure Word

2 Peter 1:1

The letter opens with the apostle’s full Hebrew name. Many early manuscripts read “Simeon” instead of the usual “Simon,” the form James used of him at the Jerusalem council (Acts 15:14). Beside it stands “Peter,” the rock-name Jesus gave him. The old fisherman and the commissioned apostle are one man, and both names belong to the one who now writes his final pastoral charge.

He calls himself first “a servant,” a bondservant owned by his Master, and then “an apostle,” one sent with his Lord’s authority. The two titles do not compete. Peter’s right to speak rests entirely on belonging to Jesus Christ and being sent by him. That matters in a letter written against teachers who claimed freedom from authority and offered their own clever ideas (2:1, 19). Peter brings no private wisdom of his own; he comes as a servant carrying a commission.

The readers “have obtained like precious faith with us.” The verb suggests receiving something by allotment, the way an inheritance is assigned. Faith is a gift apportioned by God, not a prize won by superior insight. “Like precious” means equally valuable, of the same honour. Believers who never walked with Jesus in Galilee hold a faith that stands on equal footing with the apostles’ own. No inner circle possesses a superior salvation. The false teachers would soon imply that they had access to something higher; Peter insists that ordinary believers already share the full treasure.

This faith comes “through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.” The Greek joins “God” and “Saviour” under a single article, the same pattern Peter uses for “Lord and Saviour” in 1:11, 2:20, and 3:18. The most natural sense is “our God and Saviour, Jesus Christ.” Peter, who once confessed Jesus as “the Son of the living God,” here names him plainly as God. His righteousness is both his fairness in granting the same faith to all and the saving righteousness by which he puts sinners right with himself.

Study Links

Cross References

Word / Phrase Notes

ἰσότιμον (isotimon) — like precious

The adjective describes something of equal honour, value, or standing. It was used of people granted the same rights or privileges as others. Peter applies it to the faith his readers received: it carries the same worth as the faith of the apostles who were eyewitnesses. The word levels every claim to spiritual rank within the church.

τοῦ θεοῦ ἡμῶν καὶ σωτῆρος (tou theou hēmōn kai sōtēros) — God and our Saviour

One article governs both nouns, so the phrase most naturally names a single person: Jesus Christ is both God and Saviour. The identical construction appears in Titus 2:13, and Peter repeats the pattern with “Lord and Saviour” later in this letter. The opening line therefore makes a clear confession of Christ’s deity.

2 Peter 3:18