2 Peter 3:5 Study Bible: For this they willfully forget, that there were heavens from of old, and an earth formed out of water and amid water, by the word of God;

◄ 2 Peter 3:5 ►

But they deliberately overlook the fact that long ago by God's word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water,

Study Bible

But they deliberately overlook
The phrase "deliberately overlook" suggests a willful ignorance or intentional neglect. In the Greek, the word "deliberately" (λανθάνει) implies a conscious choice to ignore or forget. This highlights the moral responsibility of those who choose to dismiss the truth. In a historical context, this reflects the attitude of certain groups in Peter's time who were skeptical of divine intervention and the fulfillment of God's promises. Theologically, it serves as a warning against the dangers of ignoring God's revealed truth.

the fact that long ago
The phrase "long ago" (ἔκπαλαι) points to the ancient past, emphasizing the timeless nature of God's creation and His eternal plan. This serves to remind readers of the continuity of God's work from the beginning of time. Historically, it anchors the narrative in the creation account, which was a foundational belief for the Jewish and early Christian communities. It underscores the reliability of God's word throughout history.

by God’s word
"God’s word" (λόγῳ τοῦ Θεοῦ) is a powerful phrase that underscores the authority and creative power of God's spoken command. In the scriptural context, it recalls Genesis 1, where God speaks creation into existence. Theologically, it affirms the belief in God's sovereignty and the effectiveness of His word, which is central to the Christian faith. It also serves as a reminder of the divine origin and purpose of all creation.

the heavens existed
The phrase "the heavens existed" (οὐρανοὶ ἦσαν) refers to the creation of the heavens, which in biblical terms often signifies the sky, the universe, or the spiritual realm. This highlights the order and structure established by God. In the Hebrew context, the heavens are seen as a testament to God's majesty and power, as reflected in Psalm 19:1. It serves to remind believers of the grandeur and scope of God's creation.

and the earth was formed
"Earth was formed" (γῆ συνεστῶσα) indicates the intentional and purposeful act of creation. The Greek word for "formed" suggests a process of establishing or setting in place. This reflects the Genesis account where God shapes the earth with intention and care. Theologically, it speaks to the idea of God as the divine potter, shaping creation according to His will and purpose.

out of water and by water
The phrase "out of water and by water" (ἐξ ὕδατος καὶ δι’ ὕδατος) is intriguing, as it references the primordial waters mentioned in Genesis 1:2. Water, in ancient Near Eastern cultures, often symbolized chaos and disorder. God's formation of the earth "out of water" signifies His power to bring order and life from chaos. In a broader scriptural context, water is also a symbol of cleansing and renewal, as seen in the narrative of Noah's flood and Christian baptism. This dual symbolism highlights God's ability to create and sustain life, as well as His power to purify and renew.

Persons / Places / Events

1. Peter
The apostle and author of this epistle, addressing the early Christian community and warning them about false teachers and scoffers.

2. Scoffers
Individuals who mock or doubt the promises of God, particularly the return of Christ, as mentioned earlier in 2 Peter 3.

3. Creation
The event referenced in this verse, where God created the heavens and the earth, emphasizing His sovereign power and authority.

4. Heavens and Earth
The physical universe created by God, highlighting His role as the Creator.

5. God’s Word
The divine command through which creation came into existence, underscoring the power and authority of God's spoken word.

Teaching Points

The Power of God's Word
God's word is not just informative but transformative and creative. It holds the power to bring things into existence and sustain them.

The Importance of Remembering Creation
Remembering that God is the Creator helps us trust in His promises and power, especially when faced with doubt or scoffing.

The Danger of Deliberate Forgetfulness
Ignoring or forgetting the truths of God’s word can lead to spiritual complacency and vulnerability to false teachings.

Faith in God's Sovereignty
Trusting in God’s sovereignty over creation encourages believers to have faith in His control over their lives and the future.

Engaging with Scripture
Regular engagement with Scripture helps believers remember and affirm the foundational truths of their faith.

Bible Study Questions

1. How does understanding God as the Creator influence your perspective on current world events and personal challenges?

2. In what ways can you actively remind yourself of the truths of God’s word to combat doubt and skepticism?

3. How does the power of God’s word in creation encourage you in your prayer life and spiritual growth?

4. What are some practical steps you can take to ensure you are not deliberately overlooking the foundational truths of your faith?

5. How can the connection between 2 Peter 3:5 and other scriptures about creation deepen your understanding of God’s character and promises?

Connections to Other Scriptures

Genesis 1
The creation account where God speaks the universe into existence, illustrating the power of His word.

Psalm 33:6-9
This passage emphasizes that by the word of the Lord, the heavens were made, reinforcing the theme of God's creative power.

John 1:1-3
The Gospel of John begins by affirming that all things were made through the Word, connecting the creative power of God’s word to Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 11:3
This verse speaks to the understanding that the universe was formed at God’s command, aligning with the theme of faith in God’s word.

Sermons

The Divine Commandment	U.R. Thomas	2 Peter 3:1-9
Fact of Second Coming, Especially in its Accompaniments	R. Finlayson	2 Peter 3:1-10
God True to His Purpose	S. Martin.	2 Peter 3:5-7
God's Calm View of Events in Time	A. B. Bruce, D. D.	2 Peter 3:5-7
God's Estimate of Time	C. H. Spurgeon.	2 Peter 3:5-7
God's Eternity Considered in Reference to the Suspension of His Promised Purposes	R. Hall.	2 Peter 3:5-7
God's Forbearance to Sinners	N. Marshall, D. D.	2 Peter 3:5-7
God's Unwillingness	The Evangelist	2 Peter 3:5-7
God's Willingness to Pardon	W. Freeland, LL. D.	2 Peter 3:5-7
Heaven's Clock	A. Maclaren.	2 Peter 3:5-7
Man's External Universe as Maintained by God for a Moral Purpose	D. Thomas, D. D.	2 Peter 3:5-7
Man's External Universe as Regarded by the Thoughtful Christian	D. Thomas, D. D.	2 Peter 3:5-7
Reasons Why God Delays the Punishments of Wicked Men	Bp. John Conybeare.	2 Peter 3:5-7
The Flood	Thos. Adams.	2 Peter 3:5-7
The Long-Suffering of God a Proof of His Power	H. Melvill, B. D.	2 Peter 3:5-7
The Patience of God	Abp. Tillotson.	2 Peter 3:5-7
The Rules and Directions for the Right Performing the Duty of Repentance	R. Warren, D. D.	2 Peter 3:5-7
Time a Rate of Motion	Newman Smyth, D. D.	2 Peter 3:5-7
Willing Ignorance	The Study	2 Peter 3:5-7

People

Paul, Peter

Places

Asia, Cappadocia, Galatia, Pontus

Topics

Ago, Amid, Amidst, Arising, Blind, Circled, Command, Compacted, Continuously, Deliberately, Escapes, Existed, Extending, Fact, Forget, Formed, God's, Heaven, Heavens, Hidden, Ignorant, Ignore, Latter, Lifted, Maintain, Memory, Minds, Notice, Standing, Subsistence, Taking, Unobserved, View, Wilfully, Wilfulness, Willfully, Willingly

Dictionary of Bible Themes

2 Peter 3:5

     1690   word of God
     4026   world, God's creation
     4203   earth, the
     8763   forgetting

2 Peter 3:1-10

8670 remembering

2 Peter 3:3-9

2565 Christ, second coming

2 Peter 3:3-10

5467 promises, divine

2 Peter 3:5-7

1690 word of God

Library

Twenty Seventh Sunday after Trinity to the Reader.
Text: 2 Peter 3, 3-7. TO THE READER. When the year has twenty-seven Sundays after Trinity, which seldom occurs, substitute the text of 2 Peter 3, 3-7 for the twenty-sixth Sunday and use the text of the twenty-sixth Sunday for the twenty-seventh Sunday. …
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. III

Be Diligent
'Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of Him in peace, without spot, and blameless.'--2 Peter iii. 14. As we pass the conventional boundary of another year, most of us, I suppose, cast glances into the darkness ahead. To those of us who have the greater part of our lives probably before us, the onward look will disclose glad possibilities. To some of us, who have life mostly behind us, the prospect will take 'a sober colouring from an eye that …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture Ephesians, Peter,John

Growth
'But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ....'--2 Peter iii. 18. These are the last words of an old man, written down as his legacy to us. He was himself a striking example of his own precept. It would be an interesting study to examine these two letters of the Apostle Peter, in order to construct from them a picture of what he became, and to contrast it with his own earlier self when full of self-confidence, rashness, and instability. It took a lifetime for Simon, …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture Ephesians, Peter,John

Thirty-First Day. Holiness and Heaven.
Seeing that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of men ought ye to be in all holy living and godliness?'--2 Pet. iii. 11. 'Follow after the sanctification without which no man shall see the Lord.'--Heb. xii. 14. 'He that is holy, let him be made holy still.... The grace of the Lord Jesus be with the holy ones. Amen.'--Rev. xxii. 11, 21. O my brother, we are on our way to see God. We have been invited to meet the Holy One face to face. The infinite mystery of holiness, the …
Andrew Murray—Holy in Christ

How to Make Use of Christ as the Truth, for Growth in Knowledge.
It is a commanded duty, that we grow in the knowledge of Jesus Christ, 2 Pet. iii. 18; and the knowledge of him being life eternal, John xvii. 3, and our measure of knowledge of him here being but imperfect, for we know but in part, it cannot but be an useful duty, and a desirable thing, to be growing in this knowledge. This is to walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, to be increasing in the knowledge of God, Col. i. 10. Knowledge must be added to virtue; and it layeth a ground for other Christian …
John Brown (of Wamphray)—Christ The Way, The Truth, and The Life

How Christ is to be Made Use Of, in Reference to Growing in Grace.
I come now to speak a little to the other part of sanctification, which concerneth the change of our nature and frame, and is called vivification, or quickening of the new man of grace; which is called the new man, as having all its several members and parts, as well as the old man; and called new, because posterior to the other; and after regeneration is upon the growing hand, this duty of growing in grace, as it is called, 2 Pet. iii. &c. is variously expressed and held forth to us in Scripture; …
John Brown (of Wamphray)—Christ The Way, The Truth, and The Life

The Properties of Sanctifying Grace
By a property (proprium, {GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA WITH PSILI AND OXIA}{GREEK SMALL LETTER DELTA}{GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA}{GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON}{GREEK SMALL LETTER NU}) we understand a quality which, though not part of the essence of a thing, necessarily flows from that essence by some sort of causation and is consequently found in all individuals of the same species.(1155) A property, as such, is opposed to an accident (accidens, {GREEK SMALL LETTER SIGMA}{GREEK SMALL LETTER UPSILON}{GREEK …
Joseph Pohle—Grace, Actual and Habitual

Growth in Grace.
Text--But grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.--2 Pet. iii. 18. I MUST conclude this Course of Lectures by giving converts instructions on the subject of growth in grace. I shall pursue the following method: I. What is grace, as the term is here used? II. What the injunction "to grow in grace" does not mean. III. What it does mean. IV. Conditions of growth in grace. V. What is not proof of growth in grace. VI. What is proof of growth in grace. VII How to grow in …
Charles Grandison Finney—Lectures on Revivals of Religion

God's Call
What manner of persons ought ye to be?' (2 Peter iii. 11.) 'As He which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.' (1 Peter i. 15, 16.) When we set up standards for life and character we must be quite clear that our teaching fits in with God's purpose as revealed towards His people. Therefore, when we enforce the doctrine of personal Holiness, there is no reason more weighty than that which Peter gives us in the verses …
T. H. Howard—Standards of Life and Service

Growth in Grace
'But grow in grace.' 2 Pet 3:38. True grace is progressive, of a spreading and growing nature. It is with grace as with light; first, there is the crepusculum, or daybreak; then it shines brighter to the full meridian. A good Christian is like the crocodile. Quamdiu vivet crescit; he has never done growing. The saints are not only compared to stars for their light, but to trees for their growth. Isa 61:1, and Hos 14:4. A good Christian is not like Hezekiah's sun that went backwards, nor Joshua's …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

On Predestination
"Whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son: -- Whom he did predestinate, them he also called. And whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified." Romans 8:29, 30. Our beloved brother Paul," says St. Peter, "according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; as also in all his Epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable …
John Wesley—Sermons on Several Occasions

Spiritual Growth
Thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring whose waters fail not.' (Isaiah lviii. 11.) 'Grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.' (2 Peter iii. 18.) The truths of the Bible exist in counterpart, having at least two aspects, each of which must be considered in relation to the other, if their full meaning is to be understood. That is a very necessary statement in regard to the aspect of truth which we emphasize under the general heading of 'Spiritual …
T. H. Howard—Standards of Life and Service

The Work of God in Our Work.
"And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ."--1 Thess. v. 23. The difference between sanctification and good works should be well understood. Many confound the two, and believe that sanctification means to lead an honorable and virtuous life; and, since this is equal to good works, sanctification, without which no man shall see God, is made to consist in the earnest and diligent …
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit

The New Testament Canon in the First Three Centuries.
The first Christians relied on the Old Testament as their chief religious book. To them it was of divine origin and authority. The New Testament writings came into gradual use, by the side of the older Jewish documents, according to the times in which they appeared and the names of their reputed authors. The Epistles of Paul were the earliest written; after which came the Apocalypse, the Epistle to the Hebrews, and other documents, all in the first century. After the first gospel had undergone a …
Samuel Davidson—The Canon of the Bible

God Rejoicing in the New Creation
THIS PASSAGE, like the rest of Isaiah's closing chapters, will have completest fulfillment in the latter days when Christ shall come, when the whole company of his elect ones shall have been gathered out from the world, when the whole creation shall have been renewed, when new heavens and a new earth shall be the product of the Savior's power, when, for ever and for ever, perfected saints of God shall behold his face, and joy and rejoice in him. I hope and believe that the following verses will actually …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 37: 1891

Fourth Sunday after Trinity Consolation in Suffering, and Patience.
Text: Romans 8, 18-22. 18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed to us-ward. 19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to vanity not of its own will, but by reason of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the liberty of the glory of the children of God. …
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. III

The Resurrection of the Dead, and Eternal Judgment:
OR, THE TRUTH OF THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODIES, BOTH OF GOOD AND BAD AT THE LAST DAY: ASSERTED, AND PROVED BY GOD'S WORD. ALSO, THE MANNER AND ORDER OF THEIR COMING FORTH OF THEIR GRAVES; AS ALSO, WITH WHAT BODIES THEY DO ARISE. TOGETHER, WITH A DISCOURSE OF THE LAST JUDGMENT, AND THE FINAL CONCLUSION OF THE WHOLE WORLD. BY JOHN BUNYAN, A SERVANT OF THE LORD'S CHRIST. "Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

Fourth Sunday after Trinity Redemption of the Creatures.
Second Sermon. Text: Romans 8, 18-22. REDEMPTION OF THE CREATURES. 1. We have heard how Paul comforts the Christians in their sufferings, pointing them to the future inconceivable and eternal glory to be revealed in us in the world to come; and how he has, for our greater consolation, reminded us that the whole creation as one being suffers in company with the Christian Church. We have noted how he sees, with the clear, keen eye of an apostle, the holy cross in every creature. He brings out this …
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. III

Twenty-Fifth Day. Holy and Blameless.
Ye are witnesses, and God also, how holily and justly and unblameably we behaved ourselves among you that believe.--The Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, to the end He may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His holy ones.'--1 Thess. ii. 10, iii. 12, 13. 'He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blemish before Him …
Andrew Murray—Holy in Christ

That Gospel Sermon on the Blessed Hope
In 2 Timothy, 3:16, Paul declares: "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness;" but there are some people who tell us when we take up prophecy that it is all very well to be believed, but that there is no use in one trying to understand it; these future events are things that the church does not agree about, and it is better to let them alone, and deal only with those prophecies which have already been …
Dwight L. Moody—That Gospel Sermon on the Blessed Hope

The Recovery and Revival of the Blessed Hope Itself.
In Daniel 12:4, 9, 10 we read--"But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased. ** And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the Time of the End. Many shall be purified, and made white and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand." [9] As we shall yet seek to show this prophecy is a composite one …
Arthur W. Pink—The Redeemer's Return

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