Outline of II Peter

Rex Hensley
Pastor, Addyston Baptist Church, Addyston, Ohio

1. Introductory notes to the Epistles of Peter.
   1. Introduction to II Peter.   After writing the first letter, Peter was arrested and tried; he wrote this second letter as he awaited execution (II Peter 1:13-21).   The theme of II Peter is assurance and growth in spiritual knowledge.   He sees the danger of false doctrine in the doctrine in the church and warns the believers to beware (3:17).   In other words, the two letters together emphasize the perils of the churches:   Satan can come as a lion with persecution (I Peter), or he can come as a serpent with false doctrine (II Peter).   He is a liar and a murderer (John 8:44,45).   The Christian can depend on God’s grace to see him through the fiery trials; and his knowledge of the Truth will conquer the false teachers that will arise in the churches (II Peter 2).   These two words summarize the two letters:   I Peter – grace; II Peter – knowledge.
   2. Who wrote the book of II Peter?   The Apostle Peter is the author.
   
   
2. Outline of II Peter, emphasizing Christian growth versus false teachers, concluding with the Christian’s hope.
   1. Salutation, 1:1-2.
      1. Apostleship of Peter, 1:1a.
      2. Ascription to Hebrew Christians, 1:1b.
      3. Amity from on high, 1:2.   Grace and peace multiplied through knowledge.
   2. The Christian’s Growth.
      1. Basis of Christian growth, 1:3-4.
         1. Spiritual endowment of believers.
            1. His divine power, 1:3a.
            2. Knowledge of Him, 1:3b.
            3. His Word, 1:4a.
            4. A new nature, 1:4b.
            5. Ability and means to live in a holy manner, 1:4b.
      2. The way to Christian growth, 1:5-9.
         1. Employment of one’s spiritual endowment.
            1. Surety of faith as a requirement for spiritual growth, 1:5-7.
               1. Add virtue to faith, 1:5a.
               2. To virtue, knowledge, 1:5b.
               3. To knowledge, temperance, 1:6a.
               4. To temperance, patience, 1:6b.
               5. To patience, Godliness, 1:6b.
               6. To Godliness, brotherly kindness, 1:7a.
               7. To brotherly kindness, charity, 1:7b.
            2. The surety of faithfulness as a result of spiritual growth, 1:8-9.
               1. Fruitfulness, 1:8.
               2. Fruitlessness, 1:9.
      3. The consummation of Christian growth, 1:10-15.
         1. Assuring our calling and election, 1:10.
         2. Entering the eternal kingdom, 1:11-15.
            1. It shall be abundantly, 1:11.
            2. It demands constant reminding in order to arouse God’s people, 1:12-13.
            3. Reminding is necessary because of his impending death, 1:14.
            4. Reminding is necessary because after his death, his writings will call to mind the truths of the gospel which he had taught them, 1:15.
      4. Christian growth and biblical authority, 1:16-21.
         1. The authority of apostolic testimony: not followed fables but were eyewitnesses of Jesus, 1:16-18.
         2. The authority of the written word, 1:19-21.
            1. Proved inspired by fulfillment, 1:19a.
            2. To be diligently heeded in our hearts, 1:19b.
            3. Divinely inspired, 1:20-21.
   3. False Teachers, 2:1-22.
      1. Their rise, 2:1-3a.
         1. Their activity, 2:1.
            1. Introduce damnable heresies, 2:1a.
            2. Deny the Lord Jesus, 2:1b.
            3. Finally will bring to themselves swift destruction, 2:1c.
         2. Their influence, 2:2-3.
            1. Many will follow them, 2:2a.
            2. Successful opposition to the truth, 2:2b.
            3. Financial exploitation of their victims, 2:3a.
      2. Their doom, 2:3b-9.
         1. Their certain judgment declared, 2:3b.
         2. Their certain ruin illustrated, 2:4-8.
            1. Of fallen angels, 2:4.
            2. Of ancient world, 2:5.
            3. Of Sodom and Gomorrah, 2:6-8.
         3. The divine principle enunciated, 2:9.
            1. Deliverance of the Godly, 2:9a.
            2. Judgment of the ungodly, 2:9b.
      3. Their presumption and greed, 2:10-16.
         1. Their sin of presumption specified, 2:10-12a.
            1. Given to sensuality, 2:10a.
            2. Given to lawlessness, 2:10b.
            3. Given to presumption, 2:10c-12.
         2. The punishment of their sin, 2:12b-13a.
            1. Destroyed by their own corruption, 2:12b.
            2. Recompense of unrighteousness, 2:13a.
         3. Their moral obliquity, 13b-14.
         4. Their mercenary character illustrated, 2:15-16.
      4. Their empty intellectualism, 2:17-18.
         1. They are devoid of God’s Spirit, 2:17.
         2. They are shared by empty intellectualism, 2:18.
      5. Their bondage to sin, 2:19-22.
         1. Their empty promise of liberty, 2:19-20a.
            1. Because they are enslaved by sin, 2:19a.
            2. Because it is not deliverance from sin, 2:20a.
         2. The plight of their victims, 2:20b-22.
            1. Latter end worse than the beginning, 2:20b.
            2. Better if they had not known the way of righteousness, 2:21.
            3. Fulfillment of Scripture, 2:22.
   4. The Christian’s Hope, 3:1-18.
      1. Enmity:   Condition of sinners, 3:1-9.
         1. Coming of scoffers, 3:1-3.
         2. Characteristics of scoffers, 3:4-6.
         3. Condemnation of the scoffers, 3:7-9.
      2. Expectation:   The coming of the Saviour, 3:10-17.
         1. Manner of Christ’s coming, 3:10.
         2. Mode of our conversation, 3:11-17.
            1. Watchfulness of saints, 3:11-14.
            2. Wisdom of the saints, 3:15-16.
            3. Warnings for the saints, 3:17.
      3. Exhortation:   Conclusion of the scripture, 3:18.
         1. Grace for the saved, 3:18a.
         2. Glory for the Saviour, 3:18b.
      
      
3. Outline of II Peter emphasizing the knowledge of God and the Christian’s growth, peril, and hope.
   1. The knowledge of God and the Christian’s Growth, 1:1-21.
      1. Our abundant provision, 1:1-4.
         1. The salutation, 1:1, 2.
         2. The impartation of divine life, 1:3, 4.
      2. Our real progress, 1:5-11.
         1. The stages of our progress, 1:5-7.
         2. The reasons for our progress, 1:8-9.
         3. The results of our progress, 1:10-11.
      3. Our continuing promise, 1:12-21.
         1. The personal interest of Peter, 1:12-15.
            1. His purpose, 1:12.
            2. His motive, 1:13-14.
            3. His provision, 1:15.
         2. The certainty of truth, 1:16-21.
            1. The testimony concerning Christ, 1:16-18.
            2. The character of prophetic revelation, 1:19-21.
   2. The knowledge of God and the Christian’s Peril, 2:1-22.
      1. False teachers, their doctrine, 2:1-3.
         1. Their character, 2:1.
            1. Their success, 2:2-3a.
            2. Their doom, 2:3b.
      2. False teachers, their end (2:4-10a).
         1. Past examples of judgment, 2:4-8.
            1. Fallen angels, 2:4.
            2. Antediluvian world, 2:5.
            3. Sodom and Gomorrah, 2:6-8.
         2. Future prospects of judgment, 2:9-10a.
            1. For the just, 2:9a.
            2. For the unjust, 2:9a-10b.
      3. False teachers, their activities (2:10b-22).
         1. Their arrogance, 2:10b-12.       
         2. Their lust, 2:13-14.
         3. Their greed, 2:15-16.
         4. Their emptiness, 2:17.
         5. Their seductivity, 2:18-19.
         6. Their actual status, 2:20-22.
   3. The knowledge of God and the Christian’s Hope, 3:1-18.
   4. The Second Coming: denied, 3:1-7.
      1. The apostle’s warning, 3:1-2.
      2. The scoffer’s denial, 3:3-4.
      3. The scoffer’s ignorance, 3:5-7.
         1. The past judgment, water, 3:5-6.
         2. The future judgment, fire, 3:7.
   5. The Second Coming: declared, 3:8-13.
      1. The delay explained, 3:9.
      2. The delay ended, 3:10.
      3. The duty resulting, 3:11-13.
   6. The Second Coming: our attitudes, 3:14-18.
      1. Personal purity, 3:14.
      2. Reverence for Scripture, 3:15-16.
      3. Concluding warnings, 3:17-18.

I & II Peter – Selected Bibliography.

1. Barnes, Albert.   Notes on the New Testament, James, Peter, John, and Jude.   Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1969 (A valuable reprint of an old work).
2. English, E. Schuyler.   The Life and Letters of Saint Peter.   New York: Our Hope, 1941 (A good biography and a paragraph by paragraph exposition).
3. Kelly, William.   The Epistles of Peter.   London:   G.A. Hammond, n.d. (Well done, in an excellent style.   The author’s death prevented the completion of the work on II Peter).
4. Lenski , R.C.H. The Interpretation of the Epistles of St. Peter, St. John, and St. Jude.   Minneapolis; Augsburg Press, 1945
5. Meyer, F.H.   Tried by Fire.   Fort Washington, PA; Christian Literature Crusade, 1968 (Exposition on I Peter in a warm, lucid style).
6. Neiboer , J. A Practical Exposition of First Peter.   North East, PA; Our Daily Walk, Inc., 1951.
7. Neiboer , J. A Practical Exposition of Second Peter.   North East, PA; Our Daily Walk, Inc., 1952.
8. Selwyn, E.G.   The First Epistle of St. Peter.   London; The Macmillan Company, LTD., 1947.
9. Stibbs , Alan M.   The First Epistle General of Peter.   London; Tyndale Press, 1959.
10. Wuest , Kenneth S.   First Peter in the Greek New Testament.   Grand Rapids; Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1942.
11. Wuest , Kenneth S.   In These Last Days.   Grand Rapids; Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1955.