2 Peter 1:1-2 – Embracing Jesus Christ and the true Gospel

Like all New Testament letters, Peter began by stating himself as the writer unambiguously. He openly presented himself as an apostle of Jesus Christ, one who was an eye-witness to the life and ministry of Jesus. In mentioning his name and title in full, he had made abundantly clear that he was the one who wrote this Epistle. In calling himself Simon Peter, he had combined both his given name, Simon, and also Peter, the one given to him by the Lord Jesus. This was deliberately done to show the two phases of his life: before and after he followed Jesus Christ. Besides, he also saw himself both as the bond-servant as well as the apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. He, together with the other apostles, formed the band of spokesmen of Jesus Christ. Their authority and teachings would form the yardstick where the teachings of others would be evaluated.  

Living in an environment where there was a proliferation of false teachers and their teachings, we can sense Peter’s concern for believers. We get the feeling that he wanted to ensure that the Gospel the believers had received, embraced, lived and passed on to others, was the true one and not a spurious one. So here in two verses, Peter dealt with four areas that would help his readers to distinguish the genuine from the fake. As he did, he dealt with the origin, quality, results and content of the Gospel.

The genuine Gospel is the reception of a faith. Yet it is not just any faith, but that which is the same as the apostles. The word “ours” in verse 2 was intentionally used to put the apostles together. In other words, the faith that believers received was the same as that of the apostles. In the phrase “by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ”, Peter was pointing to the upright character of God and the Lord Jesus Christ. It is because of the upright character of God the Father and Jesus His Son, our Lord, believers of all times could be assured of the same genuine message and gift of salvation.  

He then plunged into talking about the genuine Gospel that would ensure genuine results. This Gospel would give grace and peace through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. The first result for the believers would be receiving God’s grace and peace. In grace, God had chosen to treat sinners based on His mercy rather than on what the sinners rightly deserved. That result in forgiveness and peace brought about by the death of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Apart from grace and peace, believers would also receive knowledge. The word “knowledge” here is not the kind that one could acquire through reading a book. This knowledge here is the personal experiential knowledge of a person. Here, Peter was referring to an encounter and experience with God and Jesus Christ. 

Peter’s choice of the words in these verses were intentional. He wanted to spell out the content of the Gospel and who it is all about. It is about God, who came as the Savior. It is about Jesus the Christ, the Anointed One and the Lord, the Sovereign Lord of all. As God, His works and words are irrevocable; as Savior, He died to secure our forgiveness and redemption; as Christ, He fulfilled the Old Testament promises; and as Lord, He deserved our total allegiance, love and obedience.