2 Peter 3:1-9
Readings Numbers 31, Matthew 9
Memory Verses: Jeremiah 33:3,
Good Afternoon Brothers and Sisters,
After the bombshell that Peter dropped yesterday, this chapter relaxes a
little, and backs up in order to give a little advice and to stir up the
thinking of the believers.
3:1-2 Peter was writing this letter as a reminder to all toward sincerity.
Jesus and the prophets also had the same goal. Today as we study these
passages, the message is still the same, it is time for sincerity, time for
everyone to focus upon the word and apply it to our lives.
In verse one, the word for sincere is an interesting word. If a salesman
came around with pottery, he may have taken wax and filled in the cracks in
the pottery. This would make it waterproof, but it was still a weakened
vessel. The way to determine if this had happened was to hold it up to the
sun, and look for the sun shining through. It was called being sun-judged.
In the use of this word, the idea was that our minds are to be pure, not
cracked with sin and covered over with wax. (Bible Knowledge Commentary)
3:3-4 I find it interesting that Peter thought that he was in the last days.
But even though he may have been mistaken in the actual time frame, the same
truth is still evident today. Mockers as in the false prophets as well as
those who are convinced to the futility of following God. Today, this could
cover a wide range of people, think of all the ones who swear that once they
die, they are dead, nothing more will happen. Or those who are convinced
that Jesus Christ is only one of many other deities such as Buddha and
Allah. So many people are confused and thoroughly convinced that God is a
literal joke.
Concerning the "day of the Lord" it is the day that Jesus returns to the
earth to judge her. He will bring with him thousands of angels, there will
be judgment like the world has never seen before. This was prophesied back
in beginning of time, Jude 14-15. The day of the Lord was prophesied all
through the Old Testament, and during Peter's day, they were beginning to
scoff at the idea. Isaiah 2:10-22; 13:1-6; Jeremiah 30:7; Daniel 12:1; Joel;
Amos 5:18-20; Zephaniah; Zechariah 12:1-14:3. Jesus taught about it in
Matthew 24-25, Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5, John in Revelation 6-19 (Bible
Exposition Commentary).
3:5-7 The failure today is that the people have determined that God did not
create the earth. The idea that God created nature, has been ignored so long
that even considering that God created the world is insane to the world. Yet
the next time the earth is destroyed, it will be by fire. The earth will be
totally consumed with the judgment of God. I ran across an interesting note
concerning creationism. Aristotle thought that the universe was eternal, and
attributed its creation to God. But he felt that since nothing could be
destroyed, only reduced back to its original elements, that the earth was
indestructible, and therefore had always been here, and always will be here.
He felt that it was created out of some pre-existent chaos, and formed into
the earth. God's word says that He spoke the earth into existence. There was
a division in the thinking at the time between Aristotle's line saying that
everything had always been here, and God's saying that He had spoken things
into existence. In short, Chaos theory had its birth there, and it developed
on into evolution, and the other garbage that we have today which replaces
God's truth. They conveniently threw God completely out of the origin of
things and kept the part that said that things were indestructible.
Interesting that the lies of Satan haven't changed very much.
3:8-9 Referring back to Peter's observation about it being the last times,
in the respect of the Lord, time has no meaning. Therefore to God it is the
last days. We think in the short term, God thinks a thousand years at a
time.
I have ran out of time again, if you see something that you want to add,
please feel free to write in.
Lord, I ask that each one of us will listen intently as You speak to our
hearts, today and tomorrow as many of us are with our families, I ask that
You will give us a glorious time in praise and worship. Thank You Lord for
our salvation, and that You cared enough about us to save us.
In Him,
Joe Turner. |
1 Peter 3:1-9 -
Is Your God Going to Show?
Now if ye be ready that at
what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp,
sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye
fall down and worship the image which I have made; well: but
if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the
midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that
shall deliver you out of my hands? Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we
are not careful to answer thee in this matter.
If it be so, our God whom we
serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery
furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king
Daniel 3:15-17.
And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads, And
saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in
three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down
from the cross. Likewise also the chief priests mocking him,
with the scribes and elders, said, He saved others; himself he
cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come
down from the cross, and we will believe him. He trusted in
God; let him deliver him now,
if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God Matthew
27:39-43.
Time after time after time - the scoffers attacked as if
having a squirming pinned insect -
"where is your God?"
Peter stresses the
final promise to Christians, that Jesus will return one day
in glory to establish new heavens and a new earth v4-13,
begining the wrap up of his second epistle, the third chapter,
by discussing the scoffers and as he said in the first chapter
reminding the believers so they will be able to bring in
remembrance and can have confidence in knowing
The Lord is not slack concerning
his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering
to us-ward, not willing that
any
should perish, but that
all
should come to repentance. This mindfulness will come
from this call to purity and by the words which were spoken
before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of the
apostles of the Lord and Saviour -
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apostles
The Twelve as well as Paul have
the unique function of providing the revelational and
organizational foundation for the church (Luke 22:14, 28-30;
Eph 2:20; Rev 18:20; 21:14). They guarantee the church's
doctrine and its mission (Acts 2:42; 8:14, 18; 15:2, 22; Eph
2:20; 1 Tim 2:7; 2 Peter 3:2; Jude 17). They are its early
chief administrators (4:35-37; 5:2; 6:6; 9:27).
There a number of categories of individuals who are called
"apostles" in the New Testament: the Twelve (Luke 6:13); the
120 to 500 who saw the risen Christ (1 Cor 15:7); Paul
(15:8-9); missionaries (Acts 14:4; Rom 16:7; 1 Cor 9:5); and
church envoys (2 Cor 8:23; Php 2:25). The qualifications for
fitting one of these categories involves the call of the
risen Christ who sends. If one has been personally
commissioned by the risen Lord in a post-resurrection
pre-ascension appearance, he fits into the category of "the
Twelve" or the 120 to 500. Of course, the Twelve met the
added qualification of having been chosen by Jesus during
his earthly ministry (cf. the criteria and method of choice
for Judas's replacement, Acts 1:21-26).
The tasks of the apostle varies to some extent according to
category. Apostles are first and foremost missionaries, sent
out to bear witness to the good news of salvation (Acts
2:37-39; 20:24; Rom 1:1; Eph 3:2-6; 1 Tim 2:7; 2 Tim 1:11;
4:7). When they are numbered among the Twelve or the 120 to
150, they give their eyewitness testimony to the central
saving event that makes gospel proclamation possible: the
resurrection (Acts 1:21-22; 5:29; 1 Cor 9:1; 15:7). |
Time is on God's side - it is under his control and not
measureable as he measures. He in His own wisdom has a plan for
salvation available to every soul. And he executes it, making
certain of that availability for every person, in His perfect
timing.
Who is wise, and he shall
understand these things? prudent, and he shall know them? for
the ways of the LORD are right, and the just shall walk in
them: but the transgressors shall fall therein Hosea 14:9
O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of
God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past
finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who
hath been his counsellor? Or who hath first given to him, and
it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of him, and
through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for
ever. Amen Romans 11:33-36.
_________________
In Whose I am & Whom I serve,
Normzrib
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2 Peter 3:10-18
Readings Numbers 32, Matthew 10
Memory Verses: Jeremiah 33:3,
Good Afternoon Brothers and Sisters,
This is Sunday, so I will abbreviate the study today. In the elements of the
study today, we have some tremendous topics, the end times, edification of
believers, and salvation, just to mention a few. Enjoy the study, read
carefully and I hope that you will be edified by it.
3:10-13 Yesterday I referred to the thinking of Aristotle, and how that he
thought that everything on earth was eternal and impossible to destroy. With
this as the prevailing thought of the day, imagine how radical that Peter
must have sounded when he made such radical statements in verse 10. He not
only said that the elements would be burned up, but that they would be
dissolved into nothing. If God could speak the entire earth into existence
as in Genesis 1, why can't God speak the entire earth out of existence?
Peter is saying that God will destroy the earth and all of its elements with
intense heat, into nothingness Isaiah 65:17; 67:22; Revelation 21:1. In
Hebrews 12:26-29 supports the idea of refuting the thinkers of the day, it
also speaks of God as "a consuming fire". Another way that verse 12 could be
translated is "heaven and earth, where did they go?" Then He will create a
new heaven and a new earth, which He is preparing for us now.
3:14-18 A quick observation here, Peter is encouraging all of us to strive
for holiness, to lean upon the grace of God and to grow in it. To reach
forth to attain the knowledge that will cause us to grow in the Lord. In
short this is a summary of Peter's teachings in both epistles.
Lord, I ask that each one of us will grow in Your grace today, that we will
reach forth to gain the knowledge so that we can continue to grow in You.
Thank You Lord for a great Sunday.
In Him,
Joe Turner. |
2 Peter 3:10-18
- Looking Forward
Peter continues with the call to
purity and shows that
although God's time may appear to be slow, it will move as if
a thief in the night! In
that moment there will be no time for would/should/could haves
or looking back. Instead
looking forward even
right now as the
virgins who kept oil for their lamps, the believer should be
found prepared - in peace, without spot and blameless. The
Thessalonians persisted in
misrepresenting Paul on this very subject of the second
coming as Hymenaeus and Philetus did about the resurrection (2
Timothy 2:17) and Spitta holds that Paul's teaching about grace
was twisted to mean moral laxity like Galatians 3:10; Romans
3:20,28; Romans 5:20 (with which cf. Romans 6:1 as a case in
point), etc. Peter mentions the
unstable
previously and here joins them with the
unlearned in
verse 16.
unlearned--Not those wanting human learning are meant, but
those lacking the learning imparted by the Spirit. The humanly
learned have been often most deficient in spiritual learning,
and have originated many heresies. Compare 2 Timothy 2:23, a
different Greek word, "unlearned," literally, "untutored."
When religion is studied as a science, nothing is more
abstruse; when studied in order to know our duty and practice
it, nothing is easier.
unstable--not yet established in what they have learned;
shaken by every seeming difficulty; who, in perplexing texts,
instead of waiting until God by His Spirit makes them plain in
comparing them with other Scriptures, hastily adopt distorted
views.
Peter warns not to be like these who
wrest (streblousin
of streblow from
strebloß twisted,
strepw, to turn -
properly with a hand screw what is straight in itself - for
example, 2 Timothy 2:18) with the doctrine being misled by the
error of the wicked to their own destruction.
Don't be misled. Remain steadfast. Grow in grace and the
knowledge of God.
_________________
In Whose I am & Whom I serve,
Normzrib
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