2 Peter 3:5

For this they willfully forget, that there were heavens from of old, and an earth compacted out of water and amidst water, by the word of God;

They wilfully forget ... Far from being any intelligent and well-reasoned objection, the mockery of the scoffers was merely a loud and arrogant denial, "based upon their unbelief in the supernatural, and because they resented any interference in their "walking after their own lusts.'"[19] This is a perfect example of the enmity of the carnal mind against God.

For men who nourish a belief in human self-determination and perfectability, the very idea that we are accountable and dependent is a bitter pill to swallow. No wonder they mocked.[20]

Heavens ... earth compacted out of water and amidst water, by the word of God ... As Payne said, Peter's source here is Genesis 1:6-10.[21] Caffin also stressed this saying, "Peter's words are evidently derived from the Book of Genesis, not from any other sources, whether Greek, Egyptian, or Indian?[22] Therefore, the best commentary on what Peter meant here is in Genesis, to which he obviously referred. Disputes about what is meant by the earth being compacted out of water and amidst the water are best resolved by understanding this as Peter's reference to what took place in Creation. The big point is in the final phrase of this clause:

By the word of God ... The universe itself was created by the great First Cause, who is God. The heavens and the earth were created by God, "not by a fortuitous concourse of atoms, or by spontaneous generation."[23] Peter is presenting arguments against the mockers, his first being against their naturalism, as in this verse. God is behind everything, and that immeasurably important truth the mockers were willfully ignoring.

[19] Eldon R. Fuhrman, Beacon Bible Commentary, Vol. 10 (Kansas City: Beacon Hill Press, 1967), p. 334.

[20] Michael Green, op. cit., p. 129.

[21] David F. Payne, A New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1969), p. 604.

[22] B. C. Carlin, op. cit., p. 66.

[23] Alfred Plummer, op. cit., p. 459.