Harmon The God Who Judges and Saves

A Theology of 2 Peter and Jude
1. Auflage 2023
ISBN: 978-1-4335-7568-6
Verlag: Crossway
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 0 - No protection

E-Book, Englisch, 128 Seiten

Reihe: New Testament Theology

An Introduction to the Theology of 2 Peter and Jude from Matthew S. Harmon Even though Peter and Jude wrote their canonical letters almost 2,000 years ago, the church today still faces similar challenges as their original readers. What do these short, overlooked books have to teach Christians today about God, humanity, and God's redemptive plan? In this addition to the New Testament Theology series, Matthew S. Harmon examines the unique themes of 2 Peter and Jude as well as their common ground, addressing topics such as false teaching, God's authority, and the new heavens and the new earth. Analyzing the historical and biblical context of both books, Harmon helps readers understand how these key themes apply to them today-giving Christians comfort and motivation in the face of serious challenges and opposition to the gospel.  - Part of the New Testament Theology Series: Other volumes include The Mission of the Triune God; United to Christ, Walking in the Spirit; and The Beginning of the Gospel - Ideal for Anyone Wanting to Study the Bible More Deeply: Perfect for pastors, seminarians, college students, and laypeople - Written by Matthew S. Harmon: Author of the entries for 2 Peter and Jude in the ESV Expository Commentary (Volume 12) and Asking the Right Questions: A Practical Guide to Understanding and Applying the Bible 

Matthew S. Harmon (PhD, Wheaton College) is professor of New Testament Studies at Grace College and Theological Seminary in Winona Lake, Indiana. He was previously on staff with Cru for eight years and is the author of numerous books, including commentaries on Galatians, Philippians, 2 Peter, and Jude. He also cohosts the Various and Sundry podcast. Matthew and his wife, Kate, live in Warsaw, Indiana, and have two sons.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Harmon, Matthew S.

Leseproben

1

The Word of God

The Bible from beginning to end shows us that God is a speaking God. Indeed, Genesis 1 emphasizes that God creates by speaking, with each of the six days beginning with the expression “And God said” (Gen. 1:3, 6, 9, 14, 20, 24). Revelation concludes with the risen Jesus announcing, “Surely I am coming soon” (Rev. 22:20). In between these two biblical bookends (seemingly on almost every page!) the Bible recounts God speaking in some shape or form.

Yet alongside this pervasive theme of God speaking is an important related theme that runs from the beginning to the end of the Bible: the enemies of God seek to undermine or dismiss God’s word. The very first words of the serpent when attempting to deceive Eve were “Did God actually say?” (Gen. 3:1). As the final step before ushering in the new heavens and the new earth, God casts the devil, who deceived humanity, into the lake of fire, along with all who rejected the truth of God’s word (Rev. 20:10, 15; 21:6–8). In the entire period between Eden and the new Eden God’s enemies actively seek to discredit or dismiss the word of God.

Against that backdrop, it should not surprise us that in our own day there are many who seek to undermine the truthfulness and reliability of God’s word.1 Both Peter and Jude faced opponents who in some fashion attacked the word of God, and rather than back down in fear Peter and Jude enthusiastically defended Scripture from a variety of different angles. More than that, they unapologetically used Scripture to make and illustrate their points.

To help us organize what 2 Peter and Jude tell us about God’s word, we will approach the subject under three separate (but related) headings. First, we will explore how Scripture is sufficient for life and godliness. Second, we will examine how Scripture is both a human and a divine product. Third, we will explain the nascent twofold structure of Scripture. And before concluding the chapter, we will look briefly at what books were considered Scripture.

Scripture as Sufficient for Life and Godliness

The sufficiency of God’s word for life and godliness has its roots in the garden of Eden. Following the pattern of Genesis 1, God speaks humanity into existence:

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. (Gen. 1:26–27)

As part of blessing humanity, God not only commissions them but provides for their ongoing sustenance by announcing, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food” (Gen. 1:29).

Genesis 2 further reveals that God’s word is the source of both life and godliness. After placing the man in the garden “to work it and keep it” (Gen. 2:15)—thus consecrating him as a priest2—God issues a command:

And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Gen. 2:16–17)

By obeying God’s word—one might even say by being godly—humanity would continue to experience life in God’s presence and avoid the death that comes from disobedience.

Of course, Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s command with catastrophic results (Gen. 3:1–24). Their disobedience led to judgment (Gen. 3:14–24) and spiritual death (Rom. 5:12–14). In particular, Adam and Eve were barred from Eden so that they could not “take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever” (Gen. 3:22), with God going so far as placing “cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life” (Gen. 3:24). Yet embedded within the words of judgment were also words of promise that gave them life and hope. An offspring of the woman would one day crush the head of the serpent (Gen. 3:15). Instead of immediately ending their physical lives, God slaughtered an animal to provide Adam and Eve with garments of skin (Gen. 3:21). Adam and Eve were made spiritually alive by their faith in these promises.

A similar pattern is present in Deuteronomy, where Moses prepares a new generation of Israelites to inherit the promised land. Recalling Israel’s encounter with God at Mount Sinai, Moses explains that on that day God instructed him, “Gather the people to me, that I may let them hear my words, so that they may learn to fear me all the days that they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children so” (Deut. 4:10). Fearing Yahweh is at the heart of godliness, and that fear was the appropriate response to hearing, trusting, and living in obedience to God’s word. A primary reason that God fed Israel with manna for forty years in the wilderness was “that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord” (Deut. 8:3).

At the conclusion of his life, Moses issues this stern warning to Israel:

Take to heart all the words by which I am warning you today, that you may command them to your children, that they may be careful to do all the words of this law. For it is no empty word for you, but your very life, and by this word you shall live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess. (Deut. 32:46–47)

Note again the twin themes of life and godliness in connection with God’s word. The words that God speaks are the source of life for Israel, and living in obedience to them is an expression of godliness.

The sufficiency of God’s word for life and godliness is a prominent theme in the Wisdom Literature as well. Perhaps the preeminent example of this is found in Psalm 119. Twice the psalmist explicitly prays “give me life according to your word!” (Ps. 119:25, 107; cf. 119:37, 40, 50, 88, 93, 116, 144, 149, 154, 156). By living according to God’s word one can be blameless (Ps. 119:1, 80), unashamed (Ps. 119:6, 31, 116), upright (Ps. 119:7), pure (Ps. 119:9), steadfast/faithful (Ps. 119:5, 30), and wise (Ps. 119:66, 98–100, 125, 144, 169). Especially noteworthy is the number of verses that connect God’s promises with life, such as verse 50: “This is my comfort in my affliction, that your promise gives me life” (cf. 119:116, 154).

It is against this backdrop that we must understand Peter’s claim in 2 Peter 1:3–4:

His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.

God has given everything necessary for people to experience spiritual life through the word of the Lord announced in the gospel (1 Pet. 1:22–2:3). It is through the proclamation of God’s word that people are “born again to a living hope” (1 Pet. 1:3), and it is God’s word that sustains the spiritual life of believers until they enter “into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 1:11).

The promises found in God’s word are also sufficient for godliness, a term that describes a life that is single-mindedly oriented toward God and is expressed in one’s thoughts, feelings, desires, actions, and words. Godliness captures the essence of what Jesus referred to as the greatest commandment: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matt. 22:37, citing Deut. 6:5). Everything that a person needs to live a godly life comes through God’s word and in particular through “his precious and very great promises.” It is through these promises that believers “become partakers of the divine nature,” an expression that refers to the restoration of the image of God that had been corrupted and distorted when Adam rebelled (2 Pet. 1:4).

On this basis, Peter calls believers to pursue a series of virtues that work out in practical ways the promises found in God’s word (2 Pet. 1:5–7). The ongoing growth of these virtues leads to an effective and fruitful life (1:8), imagery that may even recall God’s original commission of Adam to “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth” (Gen. 1:28). Believers experience this effective and fruitful life by “the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 1:8), which is, of course, mediated through God’s word. From the firm foundation of forgiveness of sins and ongoing growth in godliness experienced...