2 Peter 1:1-5
 
It is believed that Peter had written this second epistle to the same Christians that he had written the first. This epistle was written right before his impending death in 67 A.D. and it is sometimes referred to as Peter’s farewell message.
　
2 Pet 1:1 (KJB)
Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:
 
Like precious - Equal in honor or value, equally precious
 
Peter begins this epistle by stating that he is a servant and an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. If you notice, he refers to himself as a servant first, and then an apostle. It is important to remember that we are servants of the Lord no matter what calling we have in the Kingdom. A person can be a pastor or evangelist but they must always make sure they know they are a servant before all else. He addresses this epistle to those who have obtained like precious faith. He is stating that all believers, whether those who have an office or those who do not, are all partakers of the same precious faith. Everyone is equal at the foot of the cross. Peter also gives a testimony of the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ that it was through His righteousness that the Christian is able to have this like precious faith and that He was the only one able and sufficient to perform the task of dying for His people to give them eternal life, thus becoming their Savior.
 
2 Pet 1:2 (KJB)
Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,
 
Be multiplied - Increase, grow, or abound
Knowledge - Recognition or consciousness
 
This is not saying that an increase of grace and peace comes to those who read books or get a degree but is stating that grace and peace will abound and grow in your life as you grow in the knowledge of God and the Lord Jesus Christ. This comes from a study of the Scriptures plus the practical working out of your salvation. Phil 2:12 (KJV) Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. As we begin to experience God in our lives each day, with that experience will come growth and that is when we begin to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord. Keep in mind that Peter was a fisherman and fishermen in those days were not educated to the point that they could write books. Their growth in the Lord would have been of the practical kind as is in the lives of every true believer. Book knowledge does not necessarily engender spiritual growth. To grow spiritually you must take what you learn in those books and apply it to real life.
 
2 Pet 1:3 (KJB)
According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
 
According - Like
Virtue - Moral excellence or good quality
 
The divine power that the Lord Jesus Christ has is able to give us all that pertains to living a godly life. It gives us the ability to say no to sin. Paul even speaks to this. Eph 1:3 (KJV) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: The Christian has been given every spiritual blessing which means that we do have the ability to live a life of moral excellence in this world. Once we begin to transform our mind from world consciousness to God consciousness, then we will attain a good Christian life and testimony in this world. For us to maintain that testimony, we need to filter our actions by asking the question in our mind, “Would God approve of what I am thinking or going to do?” Once we get into that regular routine, we will then level our Christian walk out without the roller coaster ride which many Christians experience because of their lack of pre-planning their actions. Then when we obtain this true moral lifestyle, and I say true because a moral lifestyle is lived both in public and in private, we will then live the glorious Christian life which God intended for His children.
 
2 Pet 1:4 (KJB)
Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
 
Whereby - Through
Exceeding great- Very great or Greatest
Precious - Costly, esteemed, or respected
Partakers - Partner or sharer
Escaped - Away from or flee away from
Corruption - Ruin, deterioration or destruction
 
In verse 3 Peter spoke of the divine power giving us the ability to live a morally excellent life. He now continues concerning the divine power. Through the divine power we are given very great and precious promises. The Christian is an inheritor along with the Lord Jesus Christ and that is a great promise because being a child of God we are partakers of the divine nature. Notice it states that we share the divine nature because here on earth we could not possess the divine nature because our bodies still have a tendency to go after sin, but, because we are saved and given a new mind in Christ, we are able to share in the divine nature. We do this through spiritual understanding of all situations. We are able to discern what situations would cause us trouble and which ones would not. No longer is our understanding darkened like the unbelievers. (Eph 4:18 KJV) Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: With the light of the Holy Spirit dwelling in us, we are able to flee from all the corruptions that are in the world. Since we live in the kingdom of God, we have also escaped those corruptions which permeate the world and which are enflamed by our lust. Most of the times the desire is more magnetic than the actual sin itself because once the sin is committed, we will feel guilty and feel remorse for what we did. Thank God that He made us partakers of the divine nature so we can avoid these pitfalls which so easily snare us. The Bible is so replete with promises for the believer that it would be impossible to list them all here but we can be sure that every promise God has made to the believer will come to pass.
 
2 Pet 1:5 (KJB)
And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
 
Diligence - Earnestness, zeal or effort
Add - To supply you
Virtue - Moral excellence or good quality
 
Here Peter begins a list of things a believer needs to add to their life to live a good life before the world. Too many Christians do not see the necessity of living a good life in this world simply because it is temporary. People that live in apartments keep their place clean. He who has ears to hear. The Christian must not only focus on the spiritual aspects of their life such as church attendance, bible study, etc., but they must also focus on the secular aspects too, such as jobs, family relationships, etc. It is here that we give a good testimony to the world. Peter continues from verse 4 that we have escaped the world and its corruptions but that is not all there is to the Christian life. Now he tells us that we must give all effort to add to our faith virtue, which is living that morally excellent life, and as we continue to live virtuously in this world, we then add knowledge, which is an increased knowledge of God, which we previously learned comes from two sources: 1) The Scriptures; and 2) which is the practical application of our Christian life.

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