11 Simon Peter, a servant and Apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who with us have a part in the same holy faith in the righteousness of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ: 2 May grace and peace ever be increasing in you, in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord;
3 Because by his power he has given us everything necessary for life and righteousness, through the knowledge of him who has been our guide by his glory and virtue; 4 And through this he has given us the hope of great rewards highly to be valued; so that by them we might have our part in God's being, and be made free from the destruction which is in the world through the desires of the flesh.
5 So, for this very cause, take every care; joining virtue to faith, and knowledge to virtue, 6 And self-control to knowledge, and a quiet mind to self-control, and fear of God to a quiet mind, 7 And love of the brothers to fear of God, and to love of the brothers, love itself. 8 For if you have these things in good measure, they will make you fertile and full of fruit in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For the man who has not these things is blind, seeing only what is near, having no memory of how he was made clean from his old sins. 10 For this reason, my brothers, take all the more care to make your selection and approval certain; for if you do these things you will never have a fall: 11 For so the way will be open to you into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
12 For this reason I will be ready at all times to keep your memory of these things awake, though you have the knowledge of them now and are well based in your present faith. 13 And it seems right to me, as long as I am in this tent of flesh, to keep your minds awake by working on your memory;
Matthew Henry's Commentary on 2 Peter 1:1-13
Commentary on 2 Peter 1:1-11
(Read 2 Peter 1:1-11)
Faith unites the weak believer to Christ, as really as it does the strong one, and purifies the heart of one as truly as of another; and every sincere believer is by his faith justified in the sight of God. Faith worketh godliness, and produces effects which no other grace in the soul can do. In Christ all fulness dwells, and pardon, peace, grace, and knowledge, and new principles, are thus given through the Holy Spirit. The promises to those who are partakers of a Divine nature, will cause us to inquire whether we are really renewed in the spirit of our minds; let us turn all these promises into prayers for the transforming and purifying grace of the Holy Spirit. The believer must add knowledge to his virtue, increasing acquaintance with the whole truth and will of God. We must add temperance to knowledge; moderation about worldly things; and add to temperance, patience, or cheerful submission to the will of God. Tribulation worketh patience, whereby we bear all calamities and crosses with silence and submission. To patience we must add godliness: this includes the holy affections and dispositions found in the true worshipper of God; with tender affection to all fellow Christians, who are children of the same Father, servants of the same Master, members of the same family, travellers to the same country, heirs of the same inheritance. Wherefore let Christians labour to attain assurance of their calling, and of their election, by believing and well-doing; and thus carefully to endeavour, is a firm argument of the grace and mercy of God, upholding them so that they shall not utterly fall. Those who are diligent in the work of religion, shall have a triumphant entrance into that everlasting kingdom where Christ reigns, and they shall reign with him for ever and ever; and it is in the practice of every good work that we are to expect entrance to heaven.
Commentary on 2 Peter 1:12-15
(Read 2 Peter 1:12-15)
We must be established in the belief of the truth, that we may not be shaken by every wind of doctrine; and especially in the truth necessary for us to know in our day, what belongs to our peace, and what is opposed in our time. The body is but a tabernacle, or tent, of the soul. It is a mean and movable dwelling. The nearness of death makes the apostle diligent in the business of life. Nothing can so give composure in the prospect, or in the hour, of death, as to know that we have faithfully and simply followed the Lord Jesus, and sought his glory. Those who fear the Lord, talk of his loving-kindness. This is the way to spread the knowledge of the Lord; and by the written word, they are enabled to do this.