“Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” (2 Peter 1:1-4)
“PRECIOUS” definition: “Of high price or great value; very valuable or costly.”
There are many things I value highly and consider “precious.” Our family and family-time is precious. Great-grandma’s fine china is precious to us. In J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, Gollum highly valued “The One Ring,” even calling it “My Precious.” For Gollum, the Ring was so precious that he died clinging to it in the fires of Mount Doom.
Peter writes in his second letter of things more precious than a ring. Peter is again writing to Christians who had been dispersed because of persecution (1 Peter 1:1). As Peter writes this second letter, we believe he was in Rome and knew that the end of his life was near.
But before Peter dies, he wants to remind his readers (and us!) of some very important truths. He wants to assure us of the reliability of God’s Word (1:16-21). He wants to warn us about false teachers (chapter 2). He wants to remind us to wait patiently for Jesus’ return on the Last Day (chapter 3).
Peter begins his letter by reminding us that we have been given something very precious. You “have obtained like precious faith with us.” Let that sink in for a minute. The same Father Who had revealed to Peter that Jesus was “the Christ, the Son of the living God”, (Matthew 16:16) has given you the same precious faith in Jesus Christ! He has made you His child. You have obtained the same faith that sustained Peter in his imprisonments, Daniel in the lion’s den, Joseph as a slave to Potiphar, and Abraham as a childless 99-year-old. Rejoice in this precious faith!
Your precious faith is based on “exceedingly great and precious promises” that have been given to us. The Scriptures are full of these precious promises. Stop before reading on and see how many of God’s “exceedingly great and precious promises” you can think of. (No, really, stop and see how many you can think of!)
Here are some exceedingly great and precious promises that may have come to mind: “I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11) “Because I live, you will live also.” (John 14:19) “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28) And of course the precious promise of John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
As you join Peter’s first readers in eagerly awaiting the return of your Lord in glory, rejoice in the precious faith you have obtained, and rely on the precious promises He has made to you in His Word, clinging to them more tightly than Gollum did to his “precious” ring.
is pastor of Berea Lutheran Church in Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota.
