2 Peter 1:1-2 opens Peter’s second letter by identifying Peter as a servant and apostle of Christ and addressing his readers as those who have received a faith that is the same kind as all believers who are declared righteous by God. He then prays that God’s grace and peace would be multiplied to his readers in the deeper knowledge of God and Jesus.

2 Peter 1:3-4 explains that a true knowledge of the Lord produces God’s power to give believers all they need to live a victorious Christian life. It also helps believers grow in their intimate fellowship with God, who has invited them to enjoy this fellowship surrounded by His own glory and excellence. It is through this true knowledge and power of God that He gives believers His wonderful promises so that by them believers may share in God’s nature and avoid the destructive results of the sin.

2 Peter 1:5-7 exhorts believers to work hard at progressively developing eight qualities that will enable them to gain Christian maturity. He presents a progression of eight steps toward gaining Christian maturity. This first step is faith. The second step is moral excellence. The third step is knowledge. The fourth step is self—control. The fifth step is perseverance. The sixth step is godliness. The seventh step is brotherly kindness, and the final step is love.

2 Peter 1:8-9 explains that the benefit of following the eight steps is to become useful and fruitful in our service for Christ on earth. The consequences of failing to develop these qualities as a Christian is to lose sight of the value of Christ’s forgiveness and waste our life on earth.

2 Peter 1:10-11 shows that because following the eight stairsteps to Christian maturity leads to a deeper, richer, fuller fellowship with the Lord, we should work hard to make sure we are fulfilling the ministry God has assigned to us. We must constantly continue to develop the eight qualities that mature us. When we do this, God will make sure we are richly rewarded when we enter His eternal kingdom.

2 Peter 1:12-15 reveals that Peter knows the time of his death is soon approaching, Peter reminds his readers of the importance of following these eight steps and maturing. Even though his readers have these qualities and work to cultivate them, Peter wants to encourage them to keep progressing toward maturity. Long after his death, his readers will be able to remember their motivation to maturity.

2 Peter 1:16-18 assures Peter’s readers that the message from the Apostles did not come from made—up stories, but from what the Apostles actually saw with their own eyes. Peter personally saw God’s glory and heard God’s voice on the “mountain of transfiguration” where Christ revealed His majesty and God declared that Jesus was His Son.

2 Peter 1:19-21 further assures Peter’s readers of Christ’s second coming; they need to be guided by this promise like a light shining in a dark place. He urges them to remember that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of private interpretation because no prophecy ever was produced by an act of human will, but by men who were controlled and directed by the Holy Spirit who made known what God wanted to say.