2 Peter 1:12-21

12.) Therefore I will always remind you about these things, even though you know them and are established in the truth you have.
13.) I consider it right, as long as I am in this bodily tent, to wake you up with a reminder,
14.) knowing that I will soon lay aside my tent, as our Lord Jesus Christ has also shown me.
15.) And I will also make every effort that you may be able to recall these things at any time after my departure.

The Trustworthy Prophetic Word

16.) For we did not follow cleverly contrived myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ; instead, we were eyewitnesses of His majesty.
17.) For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, a voice came to Him from the Majestic Glory:

This is My beloved Son.
I take delight in Him

18.) And we heard this voice when it came from heaven while we were with Him on the holy mountain.
19.) So we have the prophetic word strongly confirmed. You will do well to pay attention to it, as to a lamp shining in a dismal place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.
20.) First of all, you should know this: No prophecy of Scripture comes from one’s own interpretation,
21.) because no prophecy ever came by the will of man; instead, men spoke from God as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.




Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.

2 Peter 1:1-11


Greeting

1.) Simeon Peter, a slave and an apostle of Jesus Christ:

To those who have obtained a faith of equal privilege with ours through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.

2.) May grace and peace be multiplied to you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

Growth in the Faith

3.) His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness.
4.) By these He has given us very great and precious promises, so that through them you may share in the divine nature, escaping the corruption that is in the world because of evil desires.
5.) For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with goodness, goodness with knowledge,
6.) knowledge with self-control, self-control with endurance, endurance with godliness,
7.) godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.
8.) For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they will keep you from being useless or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9.) The person who lacks these things is blind and shortsighted and has forgotten the cleansing from his past sins.
10.) Therefore, brothers, make every effort to confirm your calling and election, because if you do these things you will never stumble.
11.) For in this way, entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be richly supplied to you.

1 Peter 5:1-14
About the Elders


1.) Therefore, as a fellow elder and witness to the sufferings of the Messiah and also a participant in the glory about to be revealed, I exhort the elders among you:
2.) Shepherd God’s flock among you, not overseeing out of compulsion but freely, according to God’s will; not for the money but eagerly;
3.) not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.
4.) And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.

5.) In the same way, you younger men, be subject to the elders. And all of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because

God resists the proud
but gives grace to the humble.

6.) Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that He may exalt you at the proper time,
7.) casting all your care on Him, because He cares about you.

Conclusion

8.) Be serious! Be alert! Your adversary the Devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour.
9.) Resist him and be firm in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are being experienced by your fellow believers throughout the world.

10.) Now the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ Jesus, will personally restore, establish, strengthen, and support you after you have suffered a little.
11.) The dominion belongs to Him forever. Amen.

12.) I have written you this brief letter through Silvanus (I know him to be a faithful brother) to encourage you and to testify that this is the true grace of God. Take your stand in it!
13.) The church in Babylon, also chosen, sends you greetings, as does Mark, my son.
14.) Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace to all of you who are in Christ.

1 Peter 4:12-19
Christian Suffering

12.) Dear friends, don’t be surprised when the fiery ordeal comes among you to test you as if something unusual were happening to you.
13.) Instead, rejoice as you share in the sufferings of the Messiah, so that you may also rejoice with great joy at the revelation of His glory.
14.) If you are ridiculed for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.
15.) None of you, however, should suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or a meddler.
16.) But if anyone suffers as a “Christian,” he should not be ashamed but should glorify God in having that name.
17.) For the time has come for judgment to begin with God’s household, and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who disobey the gospel of God?

18.) And if a righteous person is saved with difficulty,
what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?

19.) So those who suffer according to God’s will should, while doing what is good, entrust themselves to a faithful Creator.