◄ What Does 2 Peter 1:15 Mean? ►

By the time Peter, the big, brawny, blustery fisherman, was writing his second epistle, we discover he had matured into a modest and unassuming man who continued to express his deep devotion for his divine Master and articulate his immense gratitude for his eternal salvation. Peter continued to enumerate to others the privileges that are the right of all who trust in Him.

Peter was getting older, and knew that the time was fast approaching when he would have to stretch out his hands and have someone else dress him and take him where he didn’t want to go, just as Jesus had told him on the shores of the Galilee, so many years before.

No doubt, Peter remembered the commission he was given on that day: "Feed My sheep," and we find him diligently obeying this command by reiterating the wonderful works of God to his readers and reminding them of the divine power, heavenly privileges, and precious promises we have in Christ.

And so we read in this verse: "I will diligently endeavour to make sure that even after my death and departure from this world, that you will bring to mind everything that I had taught you." Peter earnestly wanted grace and peace to be multiplied in the lives of the sheep and lambs under His care. He longed that they understood the privileged position they could enjoy in Christ, and that they too had received all they needed for life and godliness, which is the birthright of all God's children.

He reiterated the many precious and magnificent promises that are ours in Christ, which enable us to understand the very mind of Christ and become partakers in His holy, heavenly nature. Having been born from above, Peter wanted to ensure that all his readers appreciated that by faith in Him, they had escaped all the shocking corruption and evil desires of the world, which are conceived and incubated in the heart and mind of fallen man.

He wanted his readers know the thrill he had experienced, through their own, personal knowledge of their holy, heavenly Master. And so, along with their faith, he encouraged them to diligently seek after moral excellence, self-control, perseverance, and godliness in all they said and did so that their lives could be a mirror of Christ's own character, and they could be a reflection of His brotherly kindness and godly love.

Peter wanted to remind them that we are the 'called' and 'chosen' of God. He wanted to remind them and us, of the immense importance of appropriating ALL that is ours in Christ. The big, brawny, blustery fisherman, may have matured into a modest and unassuming man, but his enthusiasm for his risen Saviour and his earnest desire that others seize hold of the privileges they also have in Christ, never waned or weakened with age.

Peter knew that he must never stop bringing to their remembrance the joy that is ours in our great salvation and he diligently and repeatedly reminded his listeners of the many precious promises that are ours by faith. Peter wanted to be sure that after his death and departure they would be able to call to mind the things he taught them.

We are no less privileged than those believers who received Peter's letters and read them so many years ago, for we have the full and final canon of Scripture to feed our hearts, rejoice our spirits, direct our decision, and guide us into all truth. May we diligently endeavour to call to mind the truths we have learned, and pass them on to others with the same enthusiasm and joy that Peter demonstrated in his second epistle. 

Heavenly Father, thank You for the amazing letters of Peter which teach, train, and guide us into all truth. May I engender in my heart a similar passion for my risen Saviour that is demonstrated in the letters that Peter wrote. May I diligently endeavour to tell others, whom You place in my path, the truth of the glorious gospel of Christ so that after my departure from this world, they too might be able to call to mind the wonderful things of God. I ask this for Your greater praise and glory and in Jesus' name, AMEN.