Confirming Your Calling and Election ~ Part 1

In my last post, we explored some background material on Kefa’s second letter to the saints. In this post, we start to unpack Kefa’s letter verse by verse. Although I quoted this letter’s opening in my last post, I want to return to verse 1 to remind who this letter is addressed.

Most letters in the Brit Hadashah are addressed to Believers in specific geographic areas similar to Sha’ul’s letters and Kefa’s first letter. Here, he is addressing a different audience not tied to a geographic area but rather Believers anywhere.

From: Shim’on Kefa, a slave and emissary of Yeshua the Messiah. To: Those who, through the righteousness of our God and of our Deliverer Yeshua the Messiah, have been given the same kind of trust as ours: ² May grace and shalom be yours in full measure, as you come to a full knowledge of God and Yeshua our Lord. ~ 2 Kefa 1-2 (CJB)

The “To“ is, namely, Messianic Gentiles. “Ours,” in the plural, refers to Messianic Jews in general. Messianic Gentiles are considered righteous by God because of their trust, which is the same as that of Messianic Jews. Kefa had made this discovery earlier (Acts10:1–11:18) and made it part of his life (Acts 15:7–11), even though on at least one occasion he needed reminding about it (Ga 2:11–21).  ^[1]

Confirming Your Calling and Election

³ God’s power has given us everything we need for life and godliness, through our knowing the One who called us to His own glory and goodness. ⁴ By these He has given us valuable and superlatively great promises so that through them you might come to share in God’s nature and escape the corruption which evil desires have brought into the world.

Kefa reminds his readers of the resources they had through knowing Yeshua. He provides believers everything they need for life and godliness. Life is eternal life, whereas godliness is godly living; the latter cannot be obtained without the former. The divine call of Believers served as a foundation for Kefa’s appeal for godly living. Yeshua calls to Himself those whom God has saved, and His own glory and goodness bring about this calling. By these (Yeshua’s glory and goodness), He has given us valuable and superlatively great promises.

Kefa asserts that Believers are fully equipped to live a life pleasing to God, overcome any obstacle they face, and persevere under trial. In summary, God is sufficient – a concept that Kefa will come back to later in this letter in chapter 3.

Yeshua offers the only way of escape from the rebellion of this evil world system that is opposed to and alienated from God.

⁵ For this very reason, try your hardest to furnish your faith with goodness, goodness with knowledge, ⁶ knowledge with self-control, self-control with perseverance, perseverance with godliness, ⁷ godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. ~ 2 Kefa 3-7 (CJB)

Try your hardest to add these qualities to your faith. Faith saves, but not if so-called “Believers” are merely passive spectators of their salvation, for then they are barren and unfruitful (James 2:14–26) and fail to make their being called and chosen a certainty. Instead, they deceive themselves into thinking they are saved when they are not (see Hebrews 6:4–6). The only way to be certain one will enter the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Deliverer Yeshua the Messiah, is by letting God act through you as you develop the qualities named in vv. 5–7.

The idea of knowing about God is preceded by the principle of living a life of integrity, emphasizing that the disciplines of a faithful life lead to further understanding of God.

Faith is not just a matter of obtaining salvation; it is a matter of life transformation – overcoming sin demonstrates the power of Yeshua in a person’s life.

In my next post, we will conclude our exploration of Confirming Your Calling and Election ~ Part 2 in 2 Kefa 1:8-15.

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^[1] Jewish New Testament Commentary.