Equality Found in Christ

​2 Peter 1:1-2 ~ “Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.”
 
We elevate those who are written in Scripture with an idealized conception of their great standing with the LORD. Some might think that truly the apostles of Jesus were of greater worth and possessed a status far superior to the common Christian who responded to the call of faith. Yet the Apostle Peter, himself, testified in this opening of his second letter he knew that all who belong to Christ have equal standing with God.
 
There are two different qualities that Peter addresses in this greeting he gives to the church. Consider what he says about himself, “a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ.” Those two qualities are thus: his relationship with the LORD and his responsibility from the LORD. First, he knows himself as a servant of Jesus Christ. It is a simple term that means “slave.” This is the relationship of all who belong to the LORD. All who come to Jesus by faith are bound to Him in absolute trust and have no other authority over their lives. It does not mean that there is enmity or discord—for the servants of Jesus Christ has found Him to be a loving and benevolent Savior and LORD. Second, Peter has received a responsibility from the LORD that is required of him to fulfill. His responsibility does not make him of greater standing, for all of God’s people are called upon by the LORD to serve in their various capacities as directed by God. As an apostle of Christ, Peter had authority given him by Jesus. But even then, he was as all believers—a servant of Christ.
 
With that in mind, it eliminates the idea that a person is of greater standing. The second part of our text today clearly reveals that Peter did not hold himself as someone of greater worth than others. As he writes in his greeting, “to those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.” We think back to the time when James and John posed the question before the LORD about sitting in positions of authority (see Mark 10:35-37). Yet, let us hear the words of our LORD as He responds to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:42-45). Dwell on this thought for just a moment—you have obtained a faith of equal standing with the very apostles that Jesus first called. You are not in a state of second-class citizenry or considered of less worth than those whom the LORD appointed as apostles. For, beloved, you were called in the same manner that they were—"by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.” The same righteousness that you needed, they needed. The same mercy and grace that came to you, came to them. If your faith is placed in Christ alone, you have been brought in and numbered among the redeemed.
 
With that knowledge squarely set upon your minds, we draw ourselves to the final statement of Peter’s greeting and the final portion of our text for today. “May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.” Two grand qualities of the Christian life are grace and peace. We need grace to endure the long struggle against sin, and we need peace to stand calmly in a world going mad. We know God’s grace is sufficient (see 2 Corinthians 12:9). We know that Jesus has promised us peace (see John 14:27). And Peter shows the potential for these qualities to grow abundantly—but only in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our LORD. How plainly true it is that the more you grow in the knowledge of God, the greater awareness of His grace and peace grows within your heart. But this is more than just knowledge of awareness, it is knowledge of relationship. This is as different as a man in the desert versus a man out to sea knowing that the ocean is wet. One has information, the other has understanding.
 
Peter closes this letter where he began, “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen” (2 Peter 3:18). You, dear Christian, have been given the same faith as the apostles. So I encourage you to let this prayer be yours: that God will fill you with the knowledge of Christ and be enriched abundantly in His grace and peace.
 
In His Grace,
Pastor Michael

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