God’s Most Precious Gift: 2 Peter 1:1-2
Fishing on the Sea of Galilee was the family business. It was all Peter had ever known since he was just a young boy. Casting the nets upon the water, reeling them in, repairing them when they were torn or worn–these were the tasks that filled Peter’s day, each and every day. It was the business Peter’s father had taught him and his brother Andrew. I’m almost certain that Peter could have never imagined himself doing anything other than fishing to provide for his family.
The first time we meet Peter, in John’s Gospel, was not on the Sea of Galilee, but it was when his brother Andrew went looking for him. Andrew had been a follower of John the Baptist, but one day Jesus passed by and John said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” When Andrew heard John’s words he left John the Baptist and went to follow Jesus. Very shortly thereafter, Andrew found his brother Peter. John tells us what happened in John 1:41-42.
41 The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, "We have found the Messiah" (that is, the Christ). 42 And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas" (which, when translated, is Peter). (John 1:41-42 NIV)
Most Bible teachers believe that Peter didn’t quit his day job when he first met Jesus. That came some time later, while Peter and Andrew were actually at work, fishing. Matthew tells us,
18 As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19 "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will send you out to fish for people." 20 At once they left their nets and followed him. (Matthew 4:18-20 NIV)
If Peter would have sat down that day and mapped out what he thought following Jesus would look like, there is no way he could have ever imagined what he would experience in the coming years of his life. That rough fisherman would become the leader of Jesus’ disciples, the one who was chosen by the Lord to preach the most powerful sermon at Pentecost, and he would be the key to unlock the door of the Gospel for the Gentiles. At the same time, Peter would experience deeper and darker lows than he could have ever imagined. For the sake of time, let me just share one story that captures Peter’s rollercoaster ride as a disciple.
In Matthew 16, Jesus and His disciples were at a place called Caesarea Philippi. Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do people say I am?” They said, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” Then Jesus said,
15 "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" 16 Simon Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." 17 Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. (Matthew 16:15-18 NIV)
Wow! Can you imagine what it must have felt like to be Simon Peter at that moment?! Peter recognized Jesus as the Messiah, Jesus told Peter he was blessed by the Father, and then Jesus called him a “Rock!” Life couldn’t have been any better for Peter. And then, Jesus began to tell His disciples what was awaiting Him. He would suffer at the hands of the religious leaders in Jerusalem and they were going to kill Him. Peter stepped in, just four verses after a highlight reel moment in his life.
22 Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. "Never, Lord!" he said. "This shall never happen to you!" 23 Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns." (Matthew 16:22-23 NIV)
Peter went from “blessed” to “Satan,” the one who was a stumbling block to Jesus, in a matter of four verses! Peter was impulsive. Peter often acted before he thought. Peter could put his foot in his mouth like no other disciple. Peter loved Jesus with all of his heart. All of those things were true.
Now, as we begin our study of Peter’s second letter to the scattered followers of Jesus living in the Roman Empire, we have come near to the end of Peter’s ministry and Peter’s life. In his letter from a Roman jail, Peter has some incredibly important things to share which are as important today as they were the day they were written. Let’s read our Scripture for this morning found in 2 Peter 1:1-2.
1 Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours: 2 Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. (2 Peter 1:1-2 NIV)
In these two little verses, Peter has so much to say to those who were first read this letter and to those of us who are reading his mail almost 2000 years later. Let’s see what we can learn. In the first verse Peter introduces himself, first as a “servant” and second as an “apostle of Jesus Christ.” The Greek word for “servant” is “δοῦλος” (doulos), which literally means “slave.” The word described a person who was legally owned by someone else and whose entire livelihood and purpose was determined by their master. Peter wanted everyone to know that he was a slave of His Master, Jesus. Peter had no life of his own, no purpose outside of the purpose established for him by Jesus, and it was the joy and delight of Peter’s life to seek to serve His Master faithfully.
There is nobody in Peter’s day who would say that to be called a slave of anyone was an honor and yet that is exactly how the servants of Jesus viewed the description of their own lives. Peter, Paul, Timothy, James, Jude, and John all described themselves as slaves of Jesus Christ. Paul wrote, in the opening verse of his letter to the church in Rome,
1 Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle and singled out for God's good news-- (Romans 1:1 CSB)
John, the disciple of Jesus, who was exiled on the island of Patmos because of his bold witness for Jesus, wrote the book of Revelation. In the opening verses he wrote,
1 The revelation of Jesus Christ that God gave Him to show His slaves what must quickly take place. He sent it and signified it through His angel to His slave John, 2 who testified to God's word and to the testimony about Jesus Christ, in all he saw. (Revelation 1:1-2 CSB)
And throughout the ages, those who have come to know the wondrous grace and mercy of Jesus have willingly, and joyously proclaimed that they were slaves of Jesus Christ.
One of my favorite preachers, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, had a promising career as a medical doctor. At the age of 23 he was named the Chief Clinical Assistant to Sir Thomas Horder, the King’s Physician, at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital in London, England. While serving at St. Barts, Martyn Lloyd-Jones was converted to Christ. He said he grew up attending church, but he never heard the Gospel in the little church in his hometown back in Wales. While working at St. Bartholomew’s, he began attending Westminster Chapel in London and the preacher there preached the Gospel in every sermon. Dr. Lloyd-Jones said,
He brought me to see that the real cause of all my troubles and ills, and that of all men, was an evil and fallen nature which hated God and loved sin. My trouble was not only that I did things that were wrong, but that I myself was wrong at the very centre of my being. (Murray, Ian. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones: The First Forty Years 1899-1939, pg. 64.)
Within two years Martyn Lloyd-Jones was convinced that he was healing his patient’s physical ailments only so they could return to their life of moral emptiness and spiritual lostness, so he resigned from his position at St. Barts and took a small church in an impoverished community in South Wales. There were only about 80 people in the church when Martyn arrived. When word got out that he had stepped aside from a promising career as the doctor to the royal family, the press from London tracked him down to try and find out why he would make such a foolish decision. When they asked him why he would give up everything to pastor a nothing of a church in a down and out community, Dr. Lloyd-Jones said,
I gave up nothing. I received everything. I count it the highest honour God can confer on any man to call him to be herald of the gospel. (Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
That is a mindset this world will never understand, but which the servants of Jesus would not trade for the world. Where the Master sends we will go. What He calls us to do, by His grace we will do.
Peter also describes himself as an apostle of Jesus Christ. The Greek word, which is translated “apostle” is “ἀπόστολος” (apostolos) and it means “one who is sent as a messenger or delegate with instructions from another.” In the Bible, the word was used to describe the 12 disciples of Jesus who were chosen, trained, and then sent out to be His representatives. The apostles of the Lord could give personal testimony to Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection.
I have spent so much time this past week thinking about the next sentence in Peter’s letter: “To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours.” There is so much packed into that sentence. The phrase “...through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ…” is critically important for you and me to understand. The Bible is very clear in teaching us that we have no righteousness of our own. Jesus, who Peter describes as “our God and Savior Jesus Christ,” lived never having committed one sin. He willingly offered His perfect, sinless life as a sacrifice for sinners like you and me, and those who receive Him are cleansed, forgiven, and made right with God. Peter wrote, back in his first letter,
18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. (1 Peter 3:18 NIV)
And in Paul’s second letter to the brothers and sisters living in Corinth, he wrote about this same exchange made by Jesus, the Sinless One, taking on our sin in order that we might be made right with God, for all of those who believe. Read along with me from 2 Corinthians 5:21.
21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV)
It is His righteousness and not our goodness that makes us right with God. Those who do not know God’s Word, God’s Truth, will always focus their efforts on their own pursuit of the good life. They devise their own systems of morality, create their own doctrines of what it means to be good, and refuse to acknowledge their futile efforts in trying to live out either one. We are all fallen, broken creatures even at our very best. We are completely incapable, but He is able and willing to impute to us His righteousness if we will but receive Him. R.C. Sproul wrote,
There is no doctrine more precious than that of the imputation of the righteousness of Christ to the account of the believer, because the only righteousness by which we will ever be saved before God is the righteousness of Christ. (Sproul, R.C. 1-2 Peter. pg. 182)
Peter wrote to those first century followers of Jesus and reminded them that they had “received” this precious faith. What does it mean to “receive” the faith? The Greek word, translated “received” is “λαγχάνω” (lanchanō) and it means “to be selected” or “to cast lots.” In Luke 1:19 we read that Zechariah “was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. (Luke 1:9 NIV) The practice of casting lots in the Bible conveyed the idea that God was behind the outcome. Zechariah had not earned the right to burn incense in the temple, but he had been chosen by God to do so.
I met a new family at our church just a few weeks ago. Mohammed, Fatima, and their daughter Farnaz have come here from Iran. When I asked them how they were able to come to America, Mohammed told me they won a lottery that is held in Iran. Mohammed didn’t earn the right, he was given, by grace, the opportunity to bring his family to America. That is such a great example of what Peter is trying to communicate to the followers of Jesus living in the Roman Empire. They didn’t earn this precious faith, they had been graciously given the faith by God. And so it is with you and me. At the same time it is important to recognize that we have a responsibility as well. When God opens our eyes and shows us our need for Jesus and His free gift of grace and salvation that is offered to us, we must make the decision to receive the gift or reject it. I’m praying that someone this morning will receive the gift.
The final thing I want to point out for us, from the first verse, is Peter’s description of the faith of the followers of Jesus living in the Roman Empire, most of whom were Gentiles, their faith is “as precious as ours.” Their faith, the faith of the Gentiles was as “precious as ours,” the faith of the apostles. Douglas Moo points out in his commentary on 2 Peter,
Most Jews in Jesus’ day looked forward to a messianic kingdom in which Jews would have ruling positions and Gentiles would be either excluded or given only the most menial positions. But, as we know, God sent his Son into the world to bring into being a people who would honor him as Lord from “every tribe and tongue and nation.” (Moo, Douglas, The NIV Application Commentary: 2 Peter, Jude. pg. 37)
God had shown Peter that the faith of the Gentiles was as precious as the faith of Jewish followers of Jesus and the faith of the apostles. We don’t have time to read the whole story, but I would encourage you to read Acts 10 to get the full picture of how the Lord did this. Let me give you the highlights of what happened.
Peter was a Jew, part of the Chosen People of God. While he was staying in Joppa, at Simon the tanner’s house, Peter had a vision of a sheet being let down from heaven. In that sheet were all kinds of animals that Jews were not allowed to eat. There were pork ribs dripping in BBQ sauce, grilled lobster tail in garlic butter, shrimp tacos and ceviche, kung pao shrimp, pork dumplings, crab cakes, pork chops, and bacon, lots of bacon.
13 Then a voice said to him, "Get up, Peter; kill and eat!" 14 "No, Lord!" Peter said. "For I have never eaten anything common and ritually unclean!" 15 Again, a second time, a voice said to him, "What God has made clean, you must not call common." 16 This happened three times, and then the object was taken up into heaven. (Acts 10:13-16 CSB)
What Peter didn’t know was that God had given a Gentile named Cornelius, who lived in Caesarea, a vision. In the vision an angel of God told him to send some of his men to Joppa for a man named Peter. While Peter was thinking about his vision of God making the unclean clean, Cornelius’ men were at Simon the tanner’s gate. They called out for Peter. When Peter appeared, they told him about the vision Cornelius had and Peter made the 30 mile walk with them to Cornelius’ house in Caesarea. Cornelius had invited his entire family and every friend he knew to come to his house in expectation that Peter would come soon. When Peter arrived, the house was full of Gentiles! The first words out of Peter’s mouth were, “You know it’s not right for me to be here with you Gentiles.” Turn with me to Acts 10:28 and let me read to you Peter’s word.
28 Peter told them, "You know it is against our laws for a Jewish man to enter a Gentile home like this or to associate with you. But God has shown me that I should no longer think of anyone as impure or unclean. (Acts 10:28 NLT)
Peter then began to tell them the story of Jesus. He shared the Gospel, the Good News of what God had done through Jesus for all people–Jew and Gentile alike! While Peter was still sharing the Gospel, the Holy Spirit interrupted his sermon.
44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came down on all those who heard the message. 45 The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. 46 For they heard them speaking in other languages and declaring the greatness of God. Then Peter responded, 47 "Can anyone withhold water and prevent these people from being baptized, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have? " 48 And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay for a few days. (Acts 10:44-48 CSB)
The faith the Lord gave to the Gentiles was as precious as the faith of Peter and the other Jewish followers of Jesus! What a blessing it is to witness this very truth right here at Britton Christian Church throughout the week, each and every week. The faith God has given you, you who come from other countries, who speak different languages, whose customs and cultures are different from my own–your faith is precious, you are part of God’s great family that includes people from every tribe, language, and nation!
Let’s move on before time gets away from us. There is one more thing I want to highlight for us before we leave here this morning and it is found in verse 2. Won’t you read it with me?
2 Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. (2 Peter 1:2 NIV)
Grace and peace are gifts from the Father for those who seek Him with all of their hearts and seek to follow Him daily as they go about their life. Peter prays that God’s grace and peace would be “yours in abundance.” What a wonderful thing to wish for everyone! Peter writes that this will take place “through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.” God’s grace and peace will grow in increasing abundance in our lives as we grow in our knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. Warren Wiersbe wrote,
Obtaining spiritual wisdom isn’t a once-a-week hobby, it is the daily discipline of a lifetime. But in this age of microwave ovens, fast foods, digests, and numerous ‘made easy’ books, many people are out of the habit of daily investing time and energy in digging deep into Scripture and learning wisdom from the Lord. Thanks to television, their attention span is brief; thanks to religious entertainment that passes for worship, their spiritual appetite is feeble and spiritual knowledge isn’t ‘pleasant to [their] soul’ (Proverbs 2:10). It’s no wonder fewer and fewer people ‘take time to be holy’ and more and more people fall prey to the enemies that lurk along the way. (Wiersbe, W. W. Be Skillful. An Old Testament study [on Proverbs]. Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books)
The knowledge of God and of our Lord Jesus that Peter is referring to is not acquired by simply attending worship on Sunday. It is a daily dedication, a sacrifice of time so that we can get alone with the Lord, in His Word and in prayer, and learn of His ways. Secondly, it is taking the truth that He teaches us in the quiet place where there are no distractions, where He has our full attention, and applying it to our daily lives, every aspect of our lives. Paul prayed for his friends in Ephesus.
17 …I pray that you, being rooted and firmly established in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the length and width, height and depth of God's love, 19 and to know the Messiah's love that surpasses knowledge, so you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:17-19 CSB)
That is my prayer for all of us this morning. That we may know the Messiah’s love in a way that surpasses the cold hard facts, that we might not only know, but experience His love as we live our lives. Is that your heart’s desire? If you are not a follower of Jesus then I want to invite you this morning to receive the gift of His grace and mercy.
Mike Hays
Britton Christian Church
January 26, 2025
