Knowledge of God and the Lord Jesus Christ - 2 Peter

 2 Peter 1:2 (ESV)

May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

Does this mean the more we "know" God the more we experience grace and peace? Peter is writing to the church in a time of great persecution and false teachings.  Because of the persecution, Peter states in 2 Peter 1:14 that he will soon be “putting off my body,” a euphemism for death.  He will become a martyr for the Christian faith.   As he starts this letter he wants them to know that the truth “knowledge” of God and the Lord Jesus Christ is essential as an avenue for God’s grace and peace.   Note the other times in this letter that Peter uses the same thought to motivate his readers:

2 Peter 1:3 (ESV)

Confirm Your Calling and Election

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,

2 Peter 1:8 (ESV)

For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Peter 3:18 (ESV)

But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

All these point to the same truth that Peter is trying to convey to his readers.  He wants them to know that to endure the persecution and to avoid the false teaching, they are to increase their knowledge of God and the Lord Jesus.  Knowing God deeply allows us to avoid the shallow false teachings we see in the world and to receive the power we need to endure through very real persecutions.     We can’t “just” know God.  We have to yield to His character in our lives to “escape” the corruption that is in the world.  Some “said” they knew God.  Even the false teachers would say that.  Note what Peter says about these false teachers:

2 Peter 2:20 (ESV)

For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first.

The true knowledge of God and our Lord Jesus Christ will produce more and more fruit and endurance and discernment.  Some will only pretend to have this knowledge and use it for their own gain.    But, those who do increase their knowledge of the Godhead will have power from the Godhead to live in this world, despite the corruptions of the world.