◄ What Does 2 Peter 1:13 Mean? ►

After the customary greeting to his readers, Peter begins his letter by reminding us of our privileged position in Christ as believers, and emphases the importance of our Christian conduct, in the light of this gracious, God-given advantage we have been given.

He catalogues the divine power that is ours in Christ, for in Him, God has given us all we need that pertains to life and godliness. And he reminds us of the exceedingly great and precious promises that have been bestowed upon us in great abundance, for through them we have the opportunity to be partakers of His divine nature.

He rejoices that we are all eternally secure in Christ and protected by the power of God, through faith, for the salvation of our soul. And he reminds us how the prophets of old longed to understand the hidden mystery of the Church and the body of Christ - which is ours through the permanent indwelling of the Holy Spirit of God.

The joy of Peter's own salvation did not diminish over time. The thrill of teaching others the glorious gospel of God's grace, and how to live a victorious Christian life, that is honouring to the Father, was never eclipsed as the years rolled by.

Indeed, lest anyone should consider that Peter was labouring the truth of the absolute assurance of our eternal security, over-emphasising the majesty and glory to which we are now partakers, or repeating these imperishable truths unnecessarily.. the elderly apostle qualifies his remarks by saying, "I consider it right, as long as I am in this earthly dwelling, to stir you up by way of remembrance."

Peter no doubt realised that his time on earth would soon be over, and doubtless recalled the problems in Israel's own sad history, when they forgot the goodness of God, and all the privileges and promises the Lord had bestowed on them, as a nation.

While-ever there was breath in his body, the aged apostle Peter would sing forth the praises of Him, Who had brought him, (and all who trust in Christ) out of the deep darkness of sin, death, and hell, into His glorious light and resurrected life.

Peter knew that Christ was the First-fruit from the dead, and that in Him, he too would rise to life eternal. Indeed, all who are children of God, by faith, will have their corruptible, mortal bodies, replaced with an incorruptible, immortal, and everlasting body - like unto Christ's glorified body, of flesh and bone.

He considered his ageing body was nothing more than a temporary tent in which to house his eternal soul, until that fast-approaching time when the trumpet shall sound, and the dead in Christ shall rise from their graves.. and we will all be taken to be with Christ forever.

Peter left a letter that should remind all believers to rehearse the truth of the glorious gospel of grace over again in the ears of fellow-believers - and especially those that are young in the faith or who have not yet proved the promises of God as a reality in their own lives - by faith.

May we follow in the footsteps of this great man of God.. however old or young we may be, and let us also consider it to be right that as long as we are in our own earthly dwelling-place, that we seek to stir up our brothers and sisters in Christ, by way of remembering all He is, and all He has done for those that have been saved by grace through faith in HIM.

Heavenly Father, as I read through Your Word, I praise and thank You for the wonderful truths that it contains. Thank You for the many reminders of who we are in Christ, the conduct that should be ours, and the character that should develop in each one of us, as we live out our lives in this temporary body. Stir up my remembrance of all that Jesus is to me and give me the grace to show forth the love of Christ in word and in deed, to all those I may meet. Use me to bring to their remembrance the wonders of Your name, so that Christ may be glorified in all things, in Whose name I pray, AMEN.