Verse 2
The first half of Peter’s benediction on his readers is identical with the one he gave in his first epistle (1 Peter 1:2). Grace and peace were the typical greetings the Greeks and Jews used respectively. This probably suggests that Peter wrote this epistle to a mixed audience of Christians, as he did his former letter. Both grace and peace come to us through the full knowledge (Gr. epignosei) of God and of Jesus (again equal, cf. 2 Peter 1:1). The Greeks, and especially the Gnostics, prided themselves on their knowledge, but Peter noted that knowledge of God and Jesus was the key to grace and peace (cf. 2 Peter 3:18). These blessings become ours as we get to know God intimately by reading His Word and abiding in Him. The false teachers could offer nothing better than this.
". . . as used in 2 Peter, . . . epignosis [full knowledge] designates the fundamental Christian knowledge received in conversion, whereas gnosis is knowledge which can be acquired and developed in the course of Christian life . . ." [Note: Bauckham, pp. 337-38.]
"In our day we are rightly warned about the danger of a sterile faith, of a ’head’ knowledge that never touches the heart. But we need equally to be careful of a ’heart’ knowledge that never touches the head! Too many Christians know too little about their faith; we are therefore often unprepared to explain how our ’God’ differs from the ’God’ of Mormonism or of the Jehovah’s Witnesses." [Note: Moo, p. 39.]
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