What does 2 Peter 1:2 mean?
Peter continues his opening greeting to his readers. While verse one used a common form of introduction, this verse is not a frequent greeting of the time, even among believers. His desire is for the readers to have grace and peace in abundance, meaning "more than enough."What Peter does not wish for, at least here, is for that peace and grace to happen in an instant, or without understanding. Peter prays that his readers would have those things in and through knowledge of God and the Lord Jesus Christ. In other words, Peter's greeting is a prayer that his readers would find abundant grace and peace in knowing God and Jesus the Lord. Peter identifies knowing God as the right path to peace and grace. This "knowledge" of God is something Peter will build on in the following verses.
Notice, also, that after calling Jesus "God" in the previous verse, Peter here separates the name "God" from "Jesus the Lord." Biblically, we understand Jesus to be God, but we also understand Jesus to fill a separate and distinct role in the Trinity.
2 Peter 1:1–2 serves as Peter’s opening greeting to his readers. He identifies himself both by the older form of his Jewish name—''Simeon''—and the more well-known name which he was given by Jesus. He writes to believers, those who share his faith because of Jesus’ righteousness, wishing them grace and peace in the knowledge of God and Jesus.
Peter begins this brief letter to Christians by reminding them they are not missing anything they need to lead the good and godly lives they are called to. They must work, then, to add to their faith the goodness and qualities of Jesus. This requires effort, unlike eternal salvation which is not based on our work. Those who lack these positive attributes will live as unproductive and ineffective servants of God, nearly as blind as unbelievers and forgetting that their sins are forgiven. Peter, near death, insists that his eyewitness testimony about the transfiguration confirms that the prophecies about the Messiah are true. Jesus is coming back.
