Join Alan J. Huth on a journey through the first chapter of 2 Peter, with profound insights drawn from over 30 years of journaling. Here, we discuss the transformative power of divine knowledge and the essential qualities of faith that keep Christians steadfast and effective. With the eyewitness accounts of Peter as a backdrop, this episode affirms the unwavering reliability of God’s prophetic word over human interpretation.
Welcome to Add Bible, an audio daily devotion from the Ezra Project. We join Allen J. Huth as he shares Bible passages and comments from over 30 years of his personal Bible reading journals.
SPEAKER 01 :
Today we begin the book of 2 Peter. I will refer to my English Standard Version Study Bible book introduction to introduce this book. The Apostle Peter wrote 2 Peter, most likely from prison in Rome shortly before his death. Most scholars believe he wrote it about 64 to 67 AD. This is Peter’s final reminder to the churches to live lives pleasing to God. To do so, Peter combats the false teachers who are pressuring the early church to walk away from the truth of Jesus. Dangers within the church are usually more threatening than those outside the church. 2 Peter teaches that grace of God in Christ truly transforms and empowers Christians to live righteously, even in the face of such opposition. In this short book, only three chapters, look for our completeness in Christ. Through his power, we have all we need to live a godly life. Look for truth, not cleverly crafted theological myths. And look for a two-fold plan for maturing as Christians. One, growth in Christ. And two, the knowledge of our Savior Jesus. Our guest reader for 2 Peter is the same guest reader as we had for 1 Peter. And that’s Howard Copeland. Howard lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado with his wife Carla. They have been married 38 years and have two sons. I know Howard from my association with the Gideons International. Howard recently served for three years as the elected president of our state association. He served our country for 20 years in the U.S. Army before recently retiring. He currently owns a financial services business. We will listen to Howard as he introduces 2 Peter chapter 1.
SPEAKER 02 :
2 Peter 1. Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ, may grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. his divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our lord jesus christ for whoever lacks these qualities is so near-sighted that he is blind having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins therefore brothers be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election for if you practice these qualities you will never fall for in this way there will be richly provided for you and entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Therefore, I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are establishing the truth that you have. I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder, since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. and i will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things for we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and the coming of our lord jesus christ but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty for when he received honor and glory from god the father and the voice was borne to him by the majestic glory this is my beloved son with whom i am well pleased we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven for we were with him on the holy mountain and we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts know this first of all that no prophecy of scripture comes from some one’s own interpretation For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER 01 :
To guide us through 2 Peter, I’ve selected three journals. One from 1990 when I was 35 years old. One from 2000. when I was 45 years old, and the last one from 2010 when I was 55 years old. So, 10 years apart. Let’s begin with my journal from 1990. In 1990, I split 2 Peter chapter 1 into two different readings on two different days. On the first day, I read verses 1 through 11. On the second day, I read verses 12 through the end of the chapter. So on that first day, I wrote concerning verse 3, His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness. And then I wrote a list in my journal about character. And it’s a progressive list, starting with moral excellence or virtue, then knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, morality, Brotherly love and love. And then I wrote promise. As long as you practice these things, you will never stumble. The next thing I wrote was application. These are qualities of success. Moral excellence is the place to start. We must commit here. Then, gain knowledge through reading the Word. Apply what we learned with self-control. Look for the higher cause. Stand in the trial. You can if you have committed to moral excellence and self-control. Standing firm produces godliness, which results in expressions of love. That’s a pretty good list of characteristics to live by right out of verses 5 and 6. The next day I concluded my reading of 1 Peter chapter 1. with verses 12 through the end of the chapter, and I specifically refer to verses 20 and 21. No prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. Ten years later, in 2000, I wrote about 2 Peter 1, A good list of Christian characteristics. And then I quoted verse 12. I will not neglect to remind you always of these things. And then I referred to verse 18. Peter heard the voice of God at the transfiguration. Ten years later in 2010, I read 1 Peter 5 and all of 2 Peter on the same day. But concerning chapter 1 of 2 Peter, I wrote, How to be a Christian leader. And I referred to verses 3 through 8. And then I quoted verse 10. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities, you will never fall. And then I looked at verse 13. Remember those qualities. Peter was an eyewitness to Jesus, according to verses 16 through 18. But more sure than being an eyewitness, Peter declares, and we have something more sure, the prophetic word, and that’s quoting verse 19. Knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. And again, that’s verses 20 and 21. I finished my journal entry with this statement, yet there will be plenty of false teaching to resist. We must be steadfast. Let’s take a quick look at some of the keys of 2 Peter 1, starting with verse 3. So, in Christ, we have all things to live this life in a godly way. He tells us how in verse 5 with those great list of qualities or characteristics to supplement our faith. Qualities like virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, and brotherly affection and love. The power of living with those qualities is summarized in verse 8. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Are you effective or ineffective in your Christian walk? Are you fruitful or unfruitful? The measurement of your own success may be directly related to how you are living these particular qualities that Peter outlines. And then Peter gives us such a great assurance in verse 10. He says, Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities, you will never fall. Again, go back and take a look at these wonderful qualities to live life by. Peter hammers them home once again in verse 12, Therefore I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have. And again in verse 15, And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things. I think Peter thought those qualities were pretty important. Do we? And then Peter reminds us that he is an eyewitness to Jesus. Verse 16, we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. Verses 17 and 18 remind us that he personally heard the voice of the Father from heaven. He writes, we ourselves heard this voice born from heaven. Yet though Peter was an eyewitness to Christ, he says we have something more powerful, more sure. What could that be? Verse 19, And we have something more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention. I certainly cannot claim that I have personally been with Jesus or that I have personally heard the booming voice of the Father from heaven. But I can say that I spend lots of time in his prophetic word, paying attention to what God has to say to me. And why is the word of God so valuable? Verses 20 and 21 close the chapter with these words. Knowing this, first of all, that no prophecy of scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man. But men spoke from God as they were carried along Peter says the Word of God is more sure than his personal encounter with Jesus himself. That’s amazing, isn’t it? It makes us very thankful that we hold the Word of God in our hands and in our hearts today. Father, thank you for the list of qualities to live by in 2 Peter chapter 1. Also, thank you that we have something more sure, something rock solid to build our Christian faith on, and that is your prophetic Word of God. We are so thankful that the Word of God was not produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. May you carry us along, Holy Spirit, as we spend time in your word. Supplement our faith with virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, and love. We ask you to help us with these things. In Jesus’ name we ask it. Amen. Thanks for listening to AdBible. Our host stations are hearing from you listeners. People are calling in to say thanks for adding AdBible to their program selection. Thank you for tuning in to this program. AdBible is sponsored by the Ezra Project, a ministry started in 2002 to connect God’s people to God’s Word. We speak in churches, provide audio and written resources at EzraProject.net, and find radio as a way to reach deeply committed Christians. You can learn more about the Ezra Project by searching us from your phone, tablet, or computer. You may really enjoy the short video describing how the Lord led us to start this ministry and how he has blessed it for decades. I encourage you to also find the video tab and check out our newest message, AI. It’s not what you think it is, but it is a very relevant message in a world engulfed in artificial intelligence. Get a biblical view of it at EzraProject.net. And hey, while you’re on the Ezra Project website, consider a financial gift by selecting the donate button for a one-time gift or monthly support. Your support keeps this program on the air and provides AdBible to thousands of listeners around the world. I know you’re going to enjoy it.
