2nd Peter 1:1-2 ABUNDANCE There are various ways people are identified to others who receive written words from those they have never seen. Probably the most accepted way is to use two names to establish credibility. In first Peter he used his name "Peter" because he was writing to Jewish believers who knew who he was. They were "scattered abroad" and were undergoing suffering and trials from without, because they were publicly known as Christians. The first words of second Peter are the two names of the apostle. Simon was quite a common name by which others in the New Testament were known. Simon the tanner was known by his occupation. Simon the leper was known by his sickness. Simon the Pharisee was known by his religion. Luke 2 tells us about a man named Simon who was "just and devout."
In this epistle Simon Peter is establishing precisely who is writing for the benefit of Gentile believers who would be hearing this letter read along with Jewish believers. He further adds to his credibility and identity by stating he is "a servant... of Jesus Christ." there are two ways one becomes a servant. One is by the choice of another person has captured a person and makes the captive a servant. Linked with this is the way one who was a debtor paid off the debt by becoming an indentured servant paying off the creditor with his or her labor. The other way one becomes a servant is by personal choice. Out of gratitude and appreciation one chooses to serve another gladly.
Simon Peter was a servant by choice who had heard the Lord Jesus Christ say, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." He left his business as a fisherman and was in the glad service of his Lord. How moving it must have been to him when he heard the Lord Jesus say, "Henceforth I call not servants ... but I have called you friends." What greater chains of chosen servant-hood can there be than was verbally expressed by the Lord who said, "I have loved you." Peter was a servant by choice who was a servant beyond the chains of his own love for the "Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me."
The second thing the man with two names states as his identity is "apostle of Jesus Christ." By these words he established not only his own choice, but his delegated authority. He made clear the fact that it was the One sent by the Father who had made him an apostle. He is writing to all on behalf of Jesus Christ. He had been selected to fulfill this God-given role and responsibility. It was on behalf of his Lord that he was writing and expressing truths that had to be told, but it was also in his heart to care for the people of God.
When God saved us and "called us with a holy calling," He had in mind that we would speak for Him and live for Him and others in such a way that they know we care for them. Even though we know there are no apostles now, we are built upon "the foundation of the apostles and prophets," we have been given by God gifts to be used for the benefits of others. Some divinely given gifts are people - like evangelists, pastors and teachers. Others are abilities beyond our natural talents to be used to meet needs of the Lord's people who gather in His name.
Peter makes it plain that the "righteousness of God and our Savior Jesus Christ" goes beyond the "precious faith" he and those with him have, to include all who have been made righteous by God. These "obtained like precious faith" as an act of God's grace. God has given to the Gentiles the same blessing as He gave the Jews. This is not a statement of how much faith they had, but the fact that by the act of faith, God had enabled them to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for their personal salvation.
We are not in a position of measuring faith as criteria for accepting others as fellows believers. Not all people can express their faith in the same way, or with the same degree of confidence. But it is possible to determine by a person's attitude, and sometimes by the way words are used, if the faith they profess is "precious faith" to them. Facial expressions, tone of voice, and attitude all have a way of showing outwardly what one has within.
Grace and peace are here linked with our effort to know God and our Savior Jesus Christ. When we read the Bible, study its message, apply it to our lives and maintain fellowship with God through prayer - then grace and peace are real. Truth gives us the understanding we need to appreciate grace. The gift of grace when appreciated, gives us the gift of peace. Even though we have these gifts already, they are "multiplied" to where they are abundant as we participate in the truth that has been made available to us. The knowledge of God is where we get eternal life as a gift from Him. "Jesus our Lord" is where the practical working out of that which we have received becomes a daily reality.
The righteousness we have been given, and the "knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord" that is available to us, gives us the basis for successful living and service for God. The knowledge of our Lord lets us see things as He does, and teaches us how to live, act and serve Him in a way that pleases Him - our Lord. To be in harmonious relationship with Him, gives us the grace to serve well and in fellowship with Him. When that is true, then peace is real, even when under the pressure of the world and/or deceptive false teachers.
The more we learn of the righteousness of God and our Savior by faith, and the more we know of Him personally and obey Him as Lord, then the greater is our grace and peace - and consequently our effectiveness as a servant who has been given a role to fill for our Lord in this life.