Spurgeon writes...

Peter here uses both his names, Simon or Simeon, which was his first name, and signifies “hearing with acceptance,” and happy are they who have the hearing ear and the receptive heart; and then there is what I may call his Christian name, the name which Christ gave him, Petros, or Cephas, a rock or stone.

Those who learn to hear well, since faith cometh by hearing, may hope to obtain even greater stability of character than Peter had.

Observe that Peter calls himself “a servant of Christ.” There is no higher honor than to be a servant of God. “To serve God is to reign.” An ancient philosopher was the author of that maxim, and Christianity fully endorses it. He is a true king who is a servant of God.

In this respect, all believers are on a level with Peter, but here is his distinguishing title, “an apostle of Jesus Christ,” a sent one, one who had seen the Lord, and who could bear personal testimony to the fact of his existence, his death, and his resurrection. Hence the apostleship has ceased, since there are no longer any who lived in our Lord’s days upon the earth.

Mark the reason why this Epistle, like the first, is caned “the general Epistle of Peter,” since it is addressed, not to any one church, as Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians but to all saints, not to the Hebrews alone, but to the Gentiles as well. It is a general Epistle, addressed to all those who have “obtained like precious faith.”

These words were written by the apostle Peter many centuries ago, yet they come to us as fresh as if he had written them but yesterday, and may God grant us grace to profit from them as they are read by us today! After the apostle’s titles comes the salutation of his Epistle

---

Peter was pleased to be able to write those words. There was a time when he had thrice denied his Master, but now he is glad to call himself “a servant of Jesus Christ.” Once he had said, “I know not the man,” but now he claims that he has been sent out by that glorious Lord to be his apostle, a sent one, "a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ." Probably he had ringing in his ears, at that moment, those blessed words, “Feed My sheep; feed My lambs;” and he was going to do that work again in this his second general Epistle.

These Epistles are not written to everybody. Some readers do not seem to remember this fact. This one is written, says the apostle, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us. The faith of the weakest believer in Jesus is the same kind of faith as that which was found in Simon Peter, who stands among the very first of the worthies in the College of Apostles.” Like precious faith with us.”

Only think of it, you whose faith is of a very trembling sort, which might be well described as “little faith.” Yet yours is “like precious faith” with that of Peter and the rest of the apostles.

The tiniest diamond is as truly a diamond as the Kohinoor, and the smallest faith, if it be really the work of the Spirit of God, is “like precious faith” with that of the apostles.

Simon (4613) (Simon) was his name before Christ called him (Jn 1:42). Later Jesus added "Peter"  --

I also say to you that you are Peter (4074) (petros) and upon this rock (4073) (petra - projecting rock, mass of rock, even a massive cliff) I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it." (Mt 16:18).

Here Peter clearly states that he is the author. Later he reminds his readers that

"This is now beloved the second letter I am writing to you..." (3:1).

He further underscores the authenticity of his authorship teaching that

"we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty" (1:16, Mt 17:1-4).

Despite these clear statements of authenticity, the liberal commentators (another good reason to always do your own Inductive Bible Study before you read the commentaries, including the one you are reading now!) have generated more controversy over 2 Peter’s authorship and rightful place in the canon of Scripture than over almost any other NT book. The so called "early church fathers" were also slow in giving it their acceptance. It is interesting that none of the church fathers refers to 2 Peter by name until Origen near the beginning of the third century! The ancient church historian, Eusebius included 2 Peter in his list of "disputed books", along with James, Jude, 2 John, and 3 John. Even the leading Reformers only hesitatingly accepted 2 Peter authenticity. Click here or here for an in depth analysis of who wrote Second Peter.

Peter will first describe the Christian life, because before he described the counterfeit, he described the genuine. The best way to detect the lie is to be thoroughly familiar with the truth (cf Heb5:14).

A BOND-SERVANT AND: doulos kai: (Dt15:12,16, Ex21:5-6)

Peter's placement of "bondservant" first well illustrates the principle set down by the Master in (Mk10:43-45). The teaching seems to have "taken root" so to speak. How about you? Do you see genuinely yourself first as the Lord's bondservant?

Bondservant:(1401) (doulos)  (Click here or here for detailed definition of doulos) refers to one who serves another to the disregard of his own interests.

Doulos  was the most abject and servile term for a slave of the five words the Greeks used when speaking of one who serves.

Doulos is derived from the verb deo which means “to bind.” Thus a doulos is one bound to another. In the Greek culture doulos described a person who served involuntarily and had no choice as to whether he would serve or not. Peter and Paul elevate the term doulos  to the level of a servant in the OT where doulos was one who has chosen to remain a slave of his master (Dt15:12,16, Ex21:5-6). This word pictures the absolute surrender of a man or woman who is totally devoted to their loving Master! Use of this term by the NT writers emphasizes their acknowledgement that they are no longer their own but that they have been bought at great price (1P1:18-19, 1C6:20,Titu2:14). 

A doulos as used by Peter and Paul described a man or woman who was in a permanent relation of servitude to another. Their will was altogether consumed in the will of the master.

In using doulos one must not understand the term in the sense of distasteful, involuntary servitude from which the slave desires to escape but rather reflective of the spiritual yieldedness of one totally devoted to his loving Lord. Peter uses doulos to emphasize his submission to His Master's will. Peter is saying in essence I have no life of my own, no will of my own, no purpose of my own, and no plan of my own having been purchased at great price (1Pe1:18-19). Peter's impetuous self will (with which we all quickly identify) wherewith he used to "gird  (himself) and walk wherever (he) wished" (Jn21:18) had long since been subdued and he now gladly acknowledged Christ's ownership and Lordship over his life.  All I have and all I am and all I will ever be is from Christ and is subject to Him as my Lord. What a difference in Peter's mindset the Spirit of God made at Pentecost  as we think of his behavior before the Cross (cf. Jn 21:18), and then after the Cross and Pentecost for then Peter's every thought, breath, and effort a result of his complete submission to the Lord Jesus Christ. (cf Am3:7, Je7:25). And so it should also be for every saint, every disciple of the Lord.

The Christian as a "Doulos" of God
William Barclay

• To call the Christian the doulos of God means that he is inalienably possessed by God. In the ancient world a master possessed his slaves in the same sense as he possessed his tools. A servant can change his master; but a slave cannot. The Christian inalienably belongs to God.
•  To call the Christian the doulos of God means that he is unqualifiedly at the disposal of God. In the ancient world the master could do what he liked with his slave; he had even the power of life and death over him. The Christian has no rights of his own, for all his rights are surrendered to God.
•  To call the Christian the doulos of God means that he owes an unquestioning obedience to God. A master's command was a slave's only law in ancient times. In any situation the Christian has but one question to ask: "Lord, what will you have me do?" The command of God is his only law.
•  To call the Christian the doulos of God means that he must be constantly in the service of God. In the ancient world the slave had literally no time of his own, no holidays, no leisure. All his time belonged to his master. The Christian cannot, either deliberately or unconsciously, compartmentalize life into the time and activities which belong to God, and the time and activities in which he does what he likes. The Christian is necessarily the man every moment of whose time is spent in the service of God. (Barclay, W: The Daily Study Bible Series, Rev. ed. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press or Logos)

Wuest adds that the word "doulos"

"designated one who was born as a slave. This classical usage fits in very well with the doctrinal significance of the word as it is used in the Christian system. Sinners are born into slavery to sin at physical birth, and into a loving, willing, glad servitude to Jesus Christ by regeneration. The word referred to one whose will is swallowed up in the will of another. Before salvation, the sinner’s will is swallowed up in the will of Satan [see 2Ti2:26, also Torrey's Topic "Spiritual Bondage"]. After salvation has wrought its beneficent work in his being, his will is swallowed up in the sweet will of God. The word spoke of one who is bound to another in hands which only death can break. The sinner is bound to Satan in bands which only death can break. In the case of the believing sinner, his identification with the Lord Jesus in His death on the Cross broke the bands which bound him to Satan. Now, the believer is bound to Christ in bands which only death can break. But the Lord Jesus will never die again, and since He is the life of the saint, that saint will never be severed from his Lord, but will be His loving bondslave for time and eternity. Again, doulos refers to one who serves another to the disregard of his own interests. Before salvation, the sinner served Satan to his own detriment. Since he has been saved, a Spirit-filled believer serves his Lord with an abandon that says, “Nothing matters about me, so long as the Lord Jesus is glorified.” (Wuest, K. S. Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmans or Logos

APOSTLE OF JESUS CHRIST: apostolos Iesou Christou:

An apostle (652)  (apostolos from apo = from + stello = send forth) (For more detailed definition click here or here) refers to one sent forth by another and at times in the NT carried the broad meaning of one who is sent as a messenger or delegate with instructions from a group or an individual (cf 2Cor 8:23, see note Philippians 2:25).

In the present context Peter uses apostle in its more common restricted meaning to denote one of the 12 disciples whom Jesus chose, trained, and commissioned to be His representatives.

In Acts 1:21-22 Peter delineates the necessary qualifications of this latter select group:

 "Therefore it is necessary that of the men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us--beginning with the baptism of John until the day that He was taken up from us--one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection."

Thus an apostle was an ambassador  representing Jesus and possessing the authority and power of His Lord.

Apostolos was a technical word in secular Greek used of one sent from someone else with credentials on a mission. Peter was an ambassador of Jesus Christ sent by Him with credentials in the form of miracles, and on a mission, that of proclaiming the gospel, the good news of salvation by grace available to all who would believe. Bondservant combined with apostle undoubtedly conveys Peter's deep sense of personal humility and his keen sense of delegated authority.

Vincent makes the point that of all the non-Pauline epistles

Peter’s alone puts forward his apostleship (cf 1Pe 1:1) in the introduction. He is addressing churches with which he had no immediate connection, and which were distinctively Pauline. Hence he appeals to his apostleship in explanation of his writing to them, and as his warrant for taking Paul’s place.

Of Jesus Christ expresses the source of Peter's authority.

Jesus (2424) (Iesous) being His human name, received before His birth as an indication of His saving work through the incarnation (Mt 1:21) and is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Joshua (see note Hebrews 4:8 which means "Jehovah is Salvation".

Charles Spurgeon commenting on Matthew 1:21 wrote that...

The angel spake to Joseph the name in a dream: that name so soft and sweet that it breaks no man’s rest, but rather yields a peace unrivalled, the peace of God. With such a dream Joseph’s sleep was more blessed than his waking. The name has evermore this power, for, to those who know it, it unveils a glory brighter than dreams have ever imagined. (The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit)

Christ (Christos) is the Greek rendering of the Hebrew title Messiah and means "the anointed one" (cf Ps 2:2, Acts  4:26).

Jesus the God Man was indeed the promised Christ or Messiah. Peter's belief in this simple but profound truth arose from his association with Him on earth (cf. Andrew's proclamation to his brother Peter that "We have found the Messiah which translated means Christ" Jn 1:41, "Simon Peter answered "You are the Christ, (the Messiah) the Son of the living God" Mt 16:16 ) and received unshakable confirmation as witnesses of His resurrection and ascension ("This Jesus God raised up again to which we are all witnesses...God has made Him both Lord and Christ --this Jesus Whom you crucified." Acts 2:32-36).

TO THOSE WHO HAVE RECEIVED: hemin lachousin (AAPMPD):

Peter immediately identifies the recipients as those who have an a unique spiritual experience, clearly implying that this message was addressed to all who had accepted the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Received (2975) (lagchano lagchano) means first to obtain by lot (as used by Homer in Greek writings; eg, to obtain by fate by the will of the gods) and so to obtain something as a portion (to receive, to obtain). Lagchano speaks of what comes to someone always apart from his own efforts.

Lagchano is a distinctive verb used only 4x in the NT...

Luke 1:9 according to the custom of the priestly office, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. (Comment: The Mishna informs us that the various offices of priests and Levites in the daily service were determined by lot, a practice described here by Luke. Offering incense was a special privilege, granted each priest only once, and decided by lot.)

John 19:24 They said therefore to one another, "Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, to decide whose it shall be"; that the Scripture might be fulfilled, "They divided My outer garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots."

Acts 1:17 "For he was counted among us (the original 12 disciples of Jesus), and received his portion in this ministry." (Comment: Here Peter uses lagchano  referring to Judas Iscariot. God makes the decision, and thus the thought is that of the allotment of a share in the apostolic ministry.)

2Peter 1:1 (note) Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ:

What Peter seems to be teaching by using the verb lagchano is that the salvation he and his readers had had obtained was not the result of any personal merit or self effort on their part, but was an "allotted" as a gift from God.

TDNT adds that...

the common idea of attainment is present, but with the usual sense of allotment in the background. Attainment to faith is not a human achievement but is by divine allotment. God does not merely grant the possibility of faith; he effects it (cf ) As a divine gift, faith is the epitome of grace; hence attaining to faith is by God's gracious decision, yet closely linked with his righteousness. (Kittel, G., Friedrich, G., & Bromiley, G. W.  Theological Dictionary of the New Testament. Eerdmans)

Salvation is not attained by anything his readers did but was the result  of God’s grace, which is His undeserved and unmerited favor.

Received is aorist tense which speaks of a past completed action. At the moment we believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God, we were "allotted our portion" of the "full package" (see 'isotimos' below). When we were regenerated we passed from death to life, from hopelessness to hope, from futile thinking to the mind of Christ, we were made complete in Christ. Thanks be to God for His incredible gift! (2Cor 9:5)

A FAITH: pistin: 

Faith (4102) (pistis) refers to a firm persuasion that something is true. Contrary to popular thinking "faith" is not just giving mental assent to truth but includes a surrender of one's will to that truth which results in a conduct in keeping with that surrender. Simply stated, faith shows itself to be genuine Biblical saving faith by the changed life in the one expressing the faith. Peter uses faith here to mean the capacity to believe (Ep2:8). Even though faith or belief express the human side of salvation, God still must grant ("allot" would fit with the present context) that faith. 

True faith that saves one's soul includes at least three main elements (1) firm persuasion or firm conviction, (2) a surrender to that truth and (3) a conduct emanating fr that surrender. In sum, faith shows itself genuine by a changed life. (Click here for W E Vine's similar definition of faith)

includes an intellectual element (notitia), which is “a positive recognition of the truth”; an emotional element (assensus), which includes “a deep conviction of the truth”; and a volitional element (fiducia), which involves “a personal trust in Christ as Savior and Lord, including a surrender … to Christ.” (Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1939)

Faith is the only thing that gives God His proper place, and puts man in his place too. C. H. Mackintosh, explains that faith

“glorifies God exceedingly, because it proves that we have more confidence in His eyesight that in our own.”

MacArthur adds that

"Faith, like grace, is not static. Saving faith is more than just understanding the facts and mentally acquiescing. It is inseparable from repentance, surrender, and a supernatural longing to obey. None of those responses can be classified exclusively as a human work, any more than believing itself is solely a human effort."

Spurgeon says that...

"faith does not grow in man's heart by nature. It is a thing which is obtained.  It is not a matter which springs up by a process of education, or by the example and excellent instruction of our parents. It is a thing which has to be obtained.  Not imitation, but regeneration; not development, but conversion. All our good things come from without us. Only evil can be educed from within us. Now, that which is obtained by us must be given to us; and well are we taught in Scripture that “faith is not of ourselves, it is the gift of God.” Although faith is the act of man, yet it is the work of God.  “With the heart man believeth unto righteousness;” but that heart must, first of all, have been renewed by divine grace before it ever can be capable of the act of saving faith.  Faith, we say, is man's act, for we are commanded to “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,” and we shall be saved.  At the same time, faith is God's gift, and wherever we find it, we may know that it did not come there from the force of nature, but from a work of divine grace.  How this magnifies the grace of God, my brethren, and how low this casts human nature!  Faith.  Is it not one of the simplest things?  Merely to depend upon the blood and righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ, does it not seem one of the easiest of virtues?  To be nothing, and to let him be everything--to be still, and to let him work for me, does not this seem to be the most elementary of all the Christian graces?" (If you have questions about Biblical faith or whether your faith is genuine, let me encourage you to take a moment and read Spurgeon's entire sermon (Click Here).

And so God initiates faith when the Holy Spirit awakens the dead soul in response to hearing the Word of God (cf. Acts 11:21; Acts 16:14, Ephesians 2:8 [note]). What a mystery is this precious gift! (see note Romans 3:24). We don't deserve it and we couldn't have done anything to earn it. All things are from Him and through Him and to Him. To God be the glory! Amen.

Alexander Maclaren has the following discussion of faith...

Brethren! you will not get beyond that. The Christ, trusting in whom we have life and salvation, is the Christ whose blood cleanses, Whose righteousness clothes us poor, sinful men. So, while proclaiming with all emphasis, and rejoicing to press it upon all my brethren, that salvation comes by personal trust in the Person, I supplement and fill out, not contradict, that proclamation, when I further say that the Person by trusting in whom we are saved, is the Jesus whose blood cleanses and whose righteousness becomes ours. That righteousness is, in our text, contemplated as God’s, as being embodied in Christ’s, that from Him it may be imparted to us, if we will fulfil the condition on which alone it can be ours, viz., faith. It becomes ours, by no mere imputation which has not a reality at the back of it, but because faith brings us into such a vital union with Jesus Christ as that His righteousness, or at least a spark from the central flame, becomes ours, not only in reference to our exemption from the burden of our guilt, but in reference to our becoming conformed to the image of His dear Son, and created anew in righteousness and holiness. The object of faith is Christ, the Christ whose blood and righteousness cleanses and clothes sinful souls.

Peter calls it precious. Consider its worth as a channel. There is a very remarkable expression used in the Acts of the Apostles, The door of faith’ (Acts 14:27). A door is of little value in itself, worth a few shillings at the most, but if it opens the way into a palace then it is worth something. And all the preciousness that there is in faith comes, not from its intrinsic value, but from the really precious things which it gives into our hands. Just as the dyer’s hand may be tinged with royal purple, if he has been working in it, or a woman’s hand may be scented and made fragrant if she has been handling perfumes, so the hand of faith takes tint and fragrance from that with which it is conversant.

It is precious because it is the channel by which all precious things flow into our hearts and lives. If Ladysmith is, as I suppose it is, dependent for its water supply on one lead pipe, the preciousness of that pipe is not measured by what it would fetch if it were put up to auction for its lead, but by that which flows through it, and without which Death would come.

And my faith is the pipe by which all the water of life comes sparkling and rejoicing into my thirsty soul.

It is the opening of the door that the King of Glory may come in’ (Psalm 24:9)

It is the taking down of the shutters that the sunshine may blaze into the darkened chamber

It is the grasping of the electric wire that the circuit may be completed.

God puts out His hand, and we lay hold of it. It is not the outstretched hand from earth, but the down-stretched hand from heaven that makes the tottering man stand.

So, dear friends, let us understand that salvation does not come as the reward of faith, but that the salvation is in the faith, because faith is the channel by which all God’s salvation pours into us. So there is nothing arbitrary in the way of salvation, as some shallow thinkers seem to propose, and there is no reason in the question, ‘Why does God make salvation depend upon faith?’ God could not but make salvation depend upon faith, because there is no other possible way by which the blessings which are gathered together into that one great pregnant word ‘salvation’ could find their way into a man’s heart but through the channel of his trust. Have you opened that channel? If you have not, you need not wonder it cannot be otherwise — that salvation does not come unto you.

Consider its worth as a defence. The Apostle in one place speaks about ‘the shield of faith.’  (see notes Ephesians 6:16) But there is nothing in the belief that I am safe to make me safe. It is very often a fatal blunder. All depends upon that or Him, to which or whom I am trusting for my safety. Put yourself beneath the true Shield — ‘The Lord God is a sun and shield’ (Psalm 84:11) — and then you will be safe. Your way of running into the strong tower which alone, with its massive walls, protects us from all danger and from all sin, is by trusting Him. (See God's Name-A Strong Tower)

Just as light things on a ship’s deck have to be lashed in order to be secured and lie still, you and I have to lash ourselves to Jesus Christ; then, not by reason of the lashings, but by reason of Him, we are fastened and secured.

Consider the worth of faith as a means of purifying. This very Apostle, in his great speech in Jerusalem when vindicating the reception of the Gentiles into the Church, spoke of God as having ‘purified their hearts by faith.’ (Acts 15:9) And here again, I say, there is no cleansing power in the act of trust. Cleansing power is in that which, by the act of trust, comes into my heart. Faith is not simple receptivity, not mere passive absorbing of what is given, but it is the active taking by desire as well as by confidence. And when we trust in Jesus Christ, His blood and righteousness, there flows into our hearts that Divine life which, like a river turned into a dung-heap, will sweep all the filth before it. You have to get the purifying power by faith. Ay! and you have to utilize the purifying power by effort and by work. ‘What God hath joined together, let not men put asunder.’

III. Now, lastly, note the identity of faith.

‘Like precious,’ says Peter, and, as I said, there may be defended a double application of the word, and two sets of pairs of classes may be supposed to have been in his mind. I do not discuss which of these may be the case, only I would suggest to you that from this beautiful gathering together of all the diversities of the Christian character, conception, and development into one great whole, we are taught that the one thing that makes a Christian is this trust. That is the universal characteristic; that is uniform, whatever may differ. Ah! how much and how little it takes to make a Christian. ‘Only faith?’ you say. Yes, thank God! not this, or that, not rites, not anything that a priest can do to you. Not orthodoxy; not morality; these will come, but trust in Christ and His blood and righteousness. England is a Christian country; is it? This is a Christian congregation; is it? You are a Christian; are you? Are you trusting in that Christ? If you are not; no! though you be orthodox up to the eyebrows, and though seven or seven hundred sacraments may have been given to you, and though you be a clean living man — all that does not make a Christian, but this does — ‘Like precious faith with us in the righteousness of God and our Saviour.’

Again, this great thought of the identity or uniformity of the one characteristic may suggest to us how Christian faith is one, under all varieties of form. There never has been in the Christian Church again, notwithstanding all our deplorable divisions and schisms, such a tremendous cleft as there was in the primitive Church between the Jewish and Gentile components thereof. But Peter flings this flying bridge across that abyss, and knits the two sides together, because he knows that away out yonder, amongst the Gentiles, and here in the little circle of the Jewish believers, there was the one faith that unifies all.

So, dear friends, there should be the widest charity, but no vagueness; for the Christian faith in Him which unifies and bridges over all differences, mental and theological, is the Christ by whose blood we are cleansed, with whose righteousness we are made righteous.

Again, from the same thought flows the other, of the identity of the uniform characteristic, at all stages of development or maturity. The mustard-seed and the tree, ‘which is greater than all herbs,’ have the same life in them. And the feeblest, tremulous little spark in some heart, just kindled, and scarcely capable of sustaining itself, is one with the flame leaping heaven-high, which lights up and cleanses the whole soul. So for those in advance, humility, and for those in the rear, hope. And something more than hope, for if you have the feeblest beginning of tremulous trust, you have that which only needs to be fostered to make you like Jesus Christ. Look at what follows our text: ‘Add to your faith, virtue, and to virtue, knowledge,’ and so on, through the whole linked series of Christian graces. They all come out of that trust which knits us to Him who is the source of them all. So you and I are responsible for bringing our faith to the highest development of which it is capable.

Alas! alas! are we not all like this very Apostle, who, in an ecstasy of trust and longing, ventured himself on the wave, and as soon as he felt the cold water creeping above his knees lost his trust, and so lost his buoyancy, and was ready to go down like a stone? He had so little faith, that he was beginning to sink; he had so much that he put out his hand — a desperate hand it was — and cried, ‘Lord, save me!’ (Mt 14:30) And the hand came, and that steadied him, and bore him up till the water was beneath the soles of his feet again. ‘Lord! I believe; help Thou my unbelief!’ (Mark 9:24) (2 Peter 1:1 Like Precious Faith)

OF THE SAME KIND AS OURS: tois isotimon:

Of the same kind (2472) (isotimos from isos = equal + time = price, worth or merit of some object) means of equal value or honor, equally precious or  esteemed equal to. Of the same kind or same value. In regard to faith the idea is faith with the same privilege as the apostles. In other words, the recipients of this letter (and believers today) are not less advantaged than the apostles! Isotimos was used to designate equal in rank, position, honor, standing, price, or value. It was used in the ancient world with strangers and foreigners who were given equal citizenship in a city.

Vincent says that isotimos does not mean

"in the same measure to all, but having equal value and honor to those who receive it, as admitting them to the same Christian privileges.” How priceless is this gift of faith which admits us to the salvation which God has provided through the death and resurrection of His Son! And what an honor is conferred upon those who are the recipients of this gift of faith!"

Isotimos is variously translated as "as precious as ours" (NET Bible), "like precious (faith)" (KJV), "as valuable as ours" (ISV), "of equal standing with ours" (Eng Std Version), "qui coequalem" (Latin Vulgate), "(obtained an equal privilege of) like precious" (Amplified), and I love the sound of the Spanish translation "igualmente preciosa" (RV '60). It's fascinating that this burly old fisherman gravitates so often to a "soft" sounding word like "precious" (See notes 1 Peter 1:7, 1 Peter 1:19, 1 Peter 2:4, 1 Peter 2:6, 1 Peter 2:7, 1 Peter 3:4, 2 Peter 1:3)

The word "same kind" or “precious” (Webster: "of great value or high price", "highly esteemed or cherished", "dear", "very costly") is isotimon, made up of isos,  “equal in quantity or quality” and time “value, price, honor or esteem rendered towards something.” Isotimon was used for foreigners who had been granted the privileges of citizenship which were equal to those of the native born. Josephus, for instance, says that in Antioch the Jews were made "isotimoi", equal in honour and privilege, with the Macedonians and the Greeks who lived there. So Peter addresses his letter to those who had once been despised Gentiles but who had been given equal rights of citizenship with the Jews and even with the apostles themselves in the kingdom of God. And so Peter emphasizes that all Christians have received the same precious, priceless saving faith. There are no first and second class Christians in spiritual, racial, or gender distinctions (cf. Gal. 3:28). The compound word (isotimon) means either “like in honor” or “like in value” & here modifies "faith" thus emphasizing that the faith given the recipients of Peter's letter by God was of equal honor & privilege as that given to the original apostles. 

Spurgeon adds that...

There is indeed a blessed equality here, for the poorest little-faith who ever crept into heaven on its hands and knees, has a like precious faith with the mighty apostle Peter.  I say, brethren, if the one be gold, so is the other; if the one can move mountains, so can the other; for remember, that the privileges of mountain ­moving, and of plucking up the trees, and casting them into the sea, are not given to great faith, but “if ye have faith as a grain of mustard weed,” it shall be done.  Little faith has a royal decent and is as truly of divine birth as is the greatest and fullest assurance which ever made glad the heart of man, hence it ensures the same inheritance at the last, and the same safety by the way.  It is “like precious faith.” He tells us too, that faith is “precious,” and is it not precious? for it deals with precious things, with precious promises, with precious blood, with a precious redemption, with all the preciousness of the person of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Well may that be a precious faith which supplies our greatest want, delivers us from our greatest danger, and admits us to the greatest glory.  Well may that be called “precious faith,” which is the symbol of our election, the evidence of our calling, the root of all our graces, the channel of communion, the weapon of prevalence, the shield of safety, the substance of hope, the evidence of eternity, the guerdon (reward) of immortality, and the passport of glory. O for more of this inestimably precious faith.  Precious faith, indeed it is.

Considering the context of this letter, Peter's inclusion of this description of the saint's faith suggests that he may have been contrasting their genuine faith in Christ with the "pre-Gnostic" doctrines of the false teachers who often spoke of an "inner circle" of special knowledge attainable by and available to only a privileged few. Or false teachers may have been touting their spiritual superiority and Peter is emphasizing that we are all in "Spirituality 101" so to speak. And with a single specific Greek word Peter refutes any false notions that are being promulgated.

Our faith is esteemed in God's eyes as equal to that of the great apostle Peter. What's practical import does this have in our everyday life? If this is true of our faith, why is the Christian life of many believers in America so "bland & anemic"? Faith is like a muscle. We must exercise our faith for it to ''grow'' (2Pe 1:5, 3:18, cf 1Pe 2:2 ) to it's full potential which is that we would be ''complete in Christ'' (Col1:28 click for note on verse).

As ours (2254) (hemin - dative case plural of ego) - Who are ''OURS''? This could refer to the original apostles. If so the idea would be that even the privilege of being with Jesus physically gained no one greater spirituality than another later believer. Or "ours" could refer to ''all Jewish Christians". Or "ours" could refer to Gentile recipients who are being told by Peter that their faith carries the same privileges as the Jews. In sum "ours" probably refers to the apostles & others who saw Jesus face to face when one compares this verse with (1:16) where Peter refers to ''we...were eyewitnesses''. The point then would be that although the recipients (either because of geographical constraints or by virtue of the fact that 30 years have now passed since Christ was present) had not seen Christ just as BELIEVERS today have not had a face to face encounter with Jesus, our faith is of no less value for KINGDOM WORK. This should encourage us greatly. Despite no personal face to face encounter with Christ as Peter had, we have a faith as valuable as Peter's. So let us all be diligent to press on toward the goal.

BY THE RIGHTEOUSNESS: en dikaiosune: (Righteousness Je33:16; Ro1:17; 3:21-26; 1Co1:30; 2Co5:21; Php3:9)

Righteousness (1343) (dikaiosune from díkaios = being proper or right in the sense of being fully justified being in accordance with what God requires) conveys the idea of conforming to a standard or norm. In Biblical terms it is that which is acceptable to God and in keeping with what God is in His holy character.

Calvin writes that through the righteousness of God is added by Peter

"in order that they might know that they did not obtain faith through their own efforts or strength, but through God’s favor alone."

Peter’s point is that believers share the equal gift of salvation because God’s righteousness is imputed to them. So, not only do they have faith because God gives it to them, they are saved only because God imputes righteousness to them (see Xref's above).

Believers share the equal gift of salvation because God’s righteousness is imputed (see discussion of "imputation" logizomai in Verse by Verse notes on Ro 4) or reckoned to them. That righteousness recognizes no distinction between people except that the sins of some are more heinous than others. So, not only do they have faith because God gives it to them, they are saved only because God imputes righteousness to them. Our Lord Jesus Christ has three “spiritual commodities” that can be secured from nobody else: righteousness, grace, and peace. When you trust Him as your Saviour, His righteousness becomes your righteousness and you are given a right standing before God (2Co5:21). You could never earn this righteousness; it is the gift of God to those who believe.

OUR GOD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST: tou theou hemon kai soteros Iesou Christou: (Savior: Isaiah 12:2; 43:3,11; 45:15,21; 60:16  Lk1:47; Titu2:13)

Our God and Savior - In the Greek there is only one definite article (tou) modifying both "God" (theos) and "Savior" (soter) a construction which demands that we translate it as “our God and Savior, Jesus Christ”. Can you discern the importance of such a seemingly small detail? Peter is teaching the indubitable Divine Nature of Jesus Christ. So much for the argumentative skeptics who claim that the Bible does not clearly state that Jesus Christ is both Savior and God. Wrong! Peter does!

Wuest has an excellent summary of the meaning of the names "Jesus" and "Christ" writing...

"The names, “Jesus” and “Christ” have important meanings. “Jesus” is the English spelling of the Greek word Iesous. This, in turn, is the Greek spelling of the Hebrew word which in English is “Jehoshua,” and which means, “Jehovah saves.” Thus, there are three cardinal doctrines of the Christian faith in the name “Jesus,” the deity of our Lord, His humanity, and His sacrificial atonement. Jehovah could not save sinners except on the basis of justice satisfied, this, in order that He might maintain His righteous government. Justice, to be satisfied, demanded that sin be paid for, and only God can satisfy His own demands. So, He in the person of His Son, stepped down from His judgment throne in heaven, and took upon Himself the guilt and penalty of human sin. But He could not do this except by the incarnation and the Cross. The word “Christ” is the English spelling of the Greek Christos which means “the anointed,” and this Greek word is the translation of the Hebrew word which comes into our language in the name “Messiah.” In the case of the Gospel according to Matthew, the name is a designation of the Lord Jesus as the Messiah of Israel. In the Church epistles, it speaks of Him as the Anointed of God." (Wuest, K. S. Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmans or Logos

Savior (soter from sozo = rescue from peril > from saos = safe; delivered) (Click detailed word study on soter) refers to the agent of salvation or deliverance, the one who rescues, delivers, saves and preserves. Anyone who saves or delivers can be called a deliverer or rescuer (a soter).

Other OT uses Soter describing God  - Dt 32:15; 1Sa10:19; Neh 9:27; Ps 24:5; 25:5; 27:1, 9; 62:2, 6; 65:5; 79:9; 95:1; Isa12:2; 17:10; 45:15,21; 62:11; Mic7:7; Hab 3:18)

Wiersbe describing Savior (soter) adds that

A savior is “one who brings salvation,” and the word salvation was familiar to the people of that day. In their vocabulary, it meant “deliverance from trouble,” particularly “deliverance from the enemy.” It also carried the idea of “health and safety.” A physician was looked on as a savior because he helped deliver the body from pain and limitations. A victorious general was a savior because he delivered the people from defeat. Even a wise official was a savior because he kept the nation in order and delivered it from confusion and decay. It requires little insight to see how the title “Saviour” applies to our Lord Jesus Christ. He is, indeed, the Great Physician who heals the heart from the sickness of sin. He is the victorious Conqueror who has defeated our enemies—sin, death, Satan, and hell—and is leading us in triumph (2Cor 2:14ff). He is “God and our Saviour” (see note 2 Peter 1:1), “our Lord and Saviour” (see note 2 Peter 1:11), and “the Lord and Saviour” (see note 2 Peter 2:20). In order to be our Saviour, He had to give His life on the cross and die for the sins of the world. (Wiersbe, W: Bible Exposition Commentary. 1989. Victor or Logos)