2 Peter 3:1 Study Bible: This is now, beloved, the second letter that I have written to you; and in both of them I stir up your sincere mind by reminding you;

◄ 2 Peter 3:1 ►

Beloved, this is now my second letter to you. Both of them are reminders to stir you to wholesome thinking

Beloved
The term "beloved" (Greek: ἀγαπητοί, agapetoi) is a deeply affectionate address, indicating the close relationship between Peter and his readers. It reflects the Christian principle of love that binds the community of believers. This word sets the tone for the letter, emphasizing the pastoral care and genuine concern Peter has for his audience. In a broader scriptural context, it echoes the love of God for His people, as seen throughout the New Testament.

this is now my second letter to you
This phrase indicates continuity and consistency in Peter's communication with the recipients. The reference to a "second letter" suggests that Peter is building upon previous teachings, reinforcing the importance of the message. Historically, this points to the epistolary tradition in the early church, where letters were a primary means of instruction and encouragement. It also underscores the apostolic authority of Peter, as he continues to guide the early Christians.

In both of them
This phrase highlights the unity of purpose in Peter's writings. The consistency in his message across both letters suggests a deliberate effort to address ongoing issues within the church. It reflects the apostolic mission to provide clear and repeated instruction to ensure the spiritual growth and stability of believers.

I am stirring up
The Greek word for "stirring up" (διεγείρω, diegeirō) conveys the idea of awakening or arousing. Peter's intent is to invigorate the believers' faith and awareness. This action is not merely a reminder but an active encouragement to remain vigilant and engaged in their spiritual journey. It speaks to the necessity of continual renewal and alertness in the Christian life.

your sincere mind
The term "sincere" (Greek: εἰλικρινής, eilikrinēs) implies purity and genuineness. Peter appeals to the integrity and authenticity of the believers' thoughts and intentions. This phrase underscores the importance of a clear and honest mindset in discerning truth and living out one's faith. It is a call to maintain a heart and mind free from deceit and corruption.

by way of reminder
The act of reminding (Greek: ὑπόμνησις, hypomnēsis) is a common biblical theme, emphasizing the importance of recalling and reinforcing foundational truths. In the historical context, reminders were crucial for communities that relied on oral tradition and written correspondence for instruction. This phrase serves as a gentle yet firm exhortation to remember the teachings and promises of God, ensuring that they remain central in the lives of believers.

Persons / Places / Events

1. Peter
The apostle Peter, one of Jesus' closest disciples, is the author of this letter. He is writing to encourage and remind believers of the truths of the faith.

2. Recipients (Beloved)
The term "beloved" indicates that Peter is writing to fellow Christians, likely a mix of Jewish and Gentile believers, whom he holds in high regard and affection.

3. Second Letter
This refers to the epistle of 2 Peter, which follows his first letter (1 Peter). Both letters aim to strengthen the faith of the recipients.

4. Wholesome Thinking
The Greek term used here, "eilikrin?s dianoia," suggests pure, sincere, and uncontaminated thinking, emphasizing the importance of maintaining a clear and focused mind on spiritual truths.

5. Reminders
Peter's letters serve as reminders, indicating the importance of repetition in teaching and the need to continually refresh one's memory of spiritual truths.

Teaching Points

The Importance of Reminders
Regular reminders of spiritual truths are essential for maintaining a strong faith. Just as Peter wrote to remind his readers, we should continually revisit and reflect on biblical teachings.

Cultivating Wholesome Thinking
Wholesome thinking involves focusing on what is pure and true. This requires intentional effort to guard our minds against negative influences and to fill them with God's Word.

The Role of Apostolic Teaching
The teachings of the apostles, like Peter, are foundational for Christian doctrine. We should hold fast to these teachings as they guide us in truth and righteousness.

Community and Accountability
Peter's affectionate address to the "beloved" highlights the importance of Christian community. We should encourage and remind one another of the truths of our faith.

The Power of Scripture
Scripture serves as a powerful tool for stirring up our minds and hearts. Regular engagement with the Bible is crucial for spiritual growth and wholesome thinking.

Bible Study Questions

1. How does Peter's use of the term "beloved" influence our understanding of the relationship between the author and the recipients of this letter?

2. In what ways can we incorporate reminders of spiritual truths into our daily lives to maintain wholesome thinking?

3. How does the concept of "wholesome thinking" in 2 Peter 3:1 relate to Paul's exhortation in Philippians 4:8?

4. What are some practical steps we can take to guard our minds against negative influences and focus on what is pure and true?

5. How can we, as a Christian community, effectively remind and encourage one another in our faith journey, following Peter's example?

Connections to Other Scriptures

1 Peter 1:13
Peter previously encouraged believers to prepare their minds for action, which aligns with the call to wholesome thinking in 2 Peter 3:1.

Philippians 4:8
Paul also emphasizes the importance of focusing on what is true, noble, and pure, which complements Peter's exhortation to wholesome thinking.

Romans 12:2
The transformation through the renewal of the mind is a theme that resonates with Peter's call to stir up wholesome thinking.

Sermons

To the Reader	Martin Luther	2 Peter 3:1
A Christian Memory	J. M. English, D. D.	2 Peter 3:1-2
Compendious Commandments	A. Maclaren.	2 Peter 3:1-2
Mindfulness	Thos. Adams.	2 Peter 3:1-2
St. Peter's Love Token	Thos. Adams.	2 Peter 3:1-2
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

People

Paul, Peter

Places

Asia, Cappadocia, Galatia, Pontus

Topics

TRUE, Aroused, Attempting, Awake, Beloved, Dear, Epistle, Friends, Honest, Letter, Letters, Loved, Memory, Mind, Minds, Ones, Pure, Putting, Remembrance, Reminder, Reminders, Reminding, Revive, Seek, Sincere, Stimulate, Stir, Stirring, Thinking, Wholesome, Writing, Written

Dictionary of Bible Themes

2 Peter 3:1

     5391   letters
     5638   writing
     7772   prophets

2 Peter 3:1-2

5191 thought
8467 reminders

2 Peter 3:1-10

8670 remembering

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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