YOU THEREFORE BELOVED KNOWING THIS BEFOREHAND
BE ON YOUR GUARD: humeis oun agapetoi: proginôskontes (PAPMPN) phulassesthe (2PPMM):
(2Peter
1:12;
Pr 1:17;
Mt 24:24,25;
Mk 13:23;
Jn 16:4)
(Be on guard -
Mt
7:15;
16:6,11;
Php 3:2;
Col 2:8;
2Ti 4:15)
Therefore
(oun) looks back over all that has been said and forms the
basis for Peter's concluding exhortations to his “beloved”
(used 4 times in this letter) readers, urging them to beware of falling
and to continue growing in grace. These last two verses instruct the
reader how to
avoid being swept away into error and destruction.
Knowing...beforehand
(that
there will be those who will come along twisting and distorting the
Scripture and that
you can be destroyed by misusing scripture) is the Greek word proginosko which means "previous knowledge" or "foreknowledge
based upon prior experience" and so they are without excuse for
misunderstanding Peter or Paul on this subject. Peter gives a final
admonition to faithfulness. Although there is no expressed object of
what the readers knew beforehand, clearly in context Peter is referring
to the danger of the false teaching. Their
advance knowledge gave them an advantage. Paul wrote a parallel
thought to the Thessalonians "you, brethren, are not in darkness,
that the day should overtake you like a thief." (1Th 5:4)
To be
forewarned is forearmed. The known danger (knowing beforehand) and the
resultant duty (guard) go together.
Be
on guard
(5442) (phulasso
from phulax = watchman) (click
for in depth study of
phulasso) is a military term that
denotes the activity or office of a watchman whose job it was “to
protect” those who are asleep from harm during the night and prevent
loss or theft. The soldier on watch was accountable with his own life to
protect that which was entrusted to his care.
Phulasso is
present tense,
imperative mood
indicating a command to make this the habit of your
life - "keep on guarding yourselves". The
middle voice
conveys a reflexive sense, you guard yourself being the idea.
Phulasso is not only a notice against dangers from without, but an
admonition to watchfulness from within. Paul gave a similar command
(although using a different verb, prosecho ) to the Ephesian elders to
"Be
on guard for yourselves
and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you
overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own
blood. I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among
you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves (an
"inside job") men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the
disciples after them." (Acts
20:28-30).
Peter used phulasso
in (see note
2 Peter 2:5)
to explain how God preserved Noah through
the flood.
A cursory look at some of the other 31 NT uses gives one an
even better sense of the meaning of phulasso.
Luke uses phulasso to describe the shepherds
keeping
watch (phulasso) over
their flock by night.
(Lu 2:8)
Paul instructs Timothy to
Guard
(phulasso) through the Holy Spirit Who dwells in
us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you."
(see note
2 Timothy 1:14 see
also in
1Ti6:20)
Paul warned
Timothy to
"Be
on guard (phulasso) against (Alexander the coppersmith) yourself, for he vigorously opposed
our teaching." (see note
2 Timothy 4:5)
Paul wrote to the Thessalonians:
But the Lord is faithful, and He
will strengthen and protect (phulasso) you from the evil one. (2Th 3:3)
Phulasso then refers specifically to deliberate and conscious
watching, being on the alert, carrying out sentinel functions, to guard
(one assigned to protect or oversee another) or to protect by taking
careful measures. Adam was commanded by God to keep the Garden of Eden, the Greek translation of
the Hebrew OT using phulasso to translate "keep" (Ge 2:15)
Phulasso
was used of the garrison of a city guarding it against attack from
without. This gives us a picture of our heart which like a citadel must
be guarded against insidious assailants from without.
Watch over your heart with all
diligence, For from it flow the springs of life. (Pr 4:23)
Each time you listen to
a tape, each time you hear a sermon, each time you read an
article...each time you need to be on guard so that the Word of Truth is
preserved.
LEST
BEING CARRIED AWAY BY THE ERROR OF UNPRINCIPLED MEN: hina mête ton athesmon plane
sunapachthentes (APPMPN) te ton athesmon plane te tôn athesmôn:(2Peter
2:18-20;
Mt 24:24;
Mk 13:22;
Ro 16:18;
2Co11:3,
11:13-15)
Here is the danger they need to guard against -- being led astray form
the right path by wrong men.
Be carried away
(4879) (sunapago from
sun = together + apágo
= lead or carry away by a thing) means literally to carry away together
with and is used mostly in a bad sense meaning to be led astray or be
seduced.
Sunapago means
to cause someone else in addition to change from belief in what is true
to belief in what is false. To be carried along with as by a flood which sweeps
everything along with it & then to give one's self up to. This picture
is clearly exemplified by Paul in [Galatians 2:13]
where he wrote that "even Barnabas was
carried away
by their hypocrisy" (pretended piety)
of the wavering Jewish believers during the crisis at Antioch.
This is the son of encouragement giving a ''discouraging'' example!
The
Passive Voice indicates that the action of being carried away is
exerted by an outside "force". In context that outside "force" is "error"
which brings about the "carrying away". The word "error" (plane) refers to a wandering out of the right
way and in the present context specifically a straying from sound
doctrine or orthodox teaching.
Unprincipled
(113)
(athesmos from a
= without + thesmós = law, custom referring not to a law
enacted by lawmakers but that which became prevalent by custom and was
expected to be observed as if law) pertains
to refusing to be subjected to legal requirements and thus refers to men
who are lawless, unruly, unprincipled, not complying with law.
By
implication athesmos refers to those who are wicked or morally corrupt not
ordering their steps in conformity to acceptable custom (thesmós).
And so Peter stamps these men as individuals who are rebellious and
unprincipled in conduct, defying the restraints of law and custom. Their victims are the
untaught and the unstable who distort the Scripture. But the ones who
lead the distortion are the unprincipled men, the false teachers.
In (2
Peter 2:7 - see note)
Peter used this term to describe the wicked men of Sodom. These men are
in the same category as those in Sodom.
YOU FALL FROM
YOUR OWN STEADFASTNESS: ekpesete (2PAAS) tou idiou sterigmou:
(2
Peter 1:10,11;
2:18-22;
Acts 2:42;
1 Co 15:58;
Eph 4:14;
Col 2:5;
Heb 3:14;
1 Pe 5:9)
Here is the danger against which Peter is warning his readers and his
statement implies the possibility of this tragic occurrence. Peter is
not referring to losing one's salvation for that is eternally secure in
Christ. Once the Spirit has taken you out of Adam and placed you into
Christ, this glorious exchange by faith can never be reversed
irrespective of teaching you might have heard to the contrary! On the
other hand Peter is speaking of the believer's fall
from stability in regard to things like doctrine, truth, conviction,
confidence.
Fall
(ekpipto from ek = from + pípto = to fall.) depicts an act of falling away from or out of a
desired position and into a less desired position or condition (cf
Gal 5:4).
In Acts Luke uses ekpipto to describe a ship about to "run
aground
on a certain island."
(Acts 27:26)
Own
(idios)
speaks of their individual steadfastness.
Steadfastness
(4740) (sterigmos from
sterizo = to establish, fix)
means a setting firmly, stability, for instance of the stars. This word
indicates describes the stability in mind and
faith of Peter's readers. Their own security lies in their firm
commitment to God's revealed truth. Their security lies not in their own
strength or perseverance but in their unswerving adherence to the Lord
Jesus Christ. Those who are duped are described as "unstable" (3:16).
Stability or being firmly established in the faith is clearly a quality
which Peter greatly esteems.
It is easy for the unsuspecting to be swept off their feet by the error
of the wicked and to lose their spiritual balance.
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Our Daily Bread - Beware
- Daily life is hazardous to your health. That's the thesis of Laura
Lee's book 100 Most Dangerous Things In Everyday Life And What You Can
Do About Them. It's a tongue-in-cheek look at the unnoticed threats in
life, such as shopping carts (which annually cause 27,600 injuries in
the US) and dishwashers (which harm more than 7,000 Americans and 1,300
Britons each year). One reason for writing this book, the author says,
was "to poke fun at the culture of fear."
In contrast, Jesus Christ calls His followers to a courageous lifestyle
of faith in which our goal is not to avoid personal harm but to pursue
the mission of God in our world.
The apostle Peter vividly described the day of the Lord, which will
bring the end of the earth as we know it (2 Peter 3:10). But instead of
fainting with apprehension, Peter said we should be filled with
anticipation (v.14). Then he warned of those who twist the Scriptures,
and said, "Beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being
led away with the error of the wicked" (v.17).
Proper concern helps protect us, but excessive alarm leaves us
paralyzed. We should be most afraid of failing to live with complete
confidence in God.—David C. McCasland (Our
Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by
permission. All rights reserved)
Living for Jesus a life that is true,
Striving to please Him in all that I do;
Yielding allegiance, glad-hearted and free,
This is the pathway of blessing for me. —Chisholm
© Renewal 1945, The Rodeheaver Co.
The power of Christ within you is greater than the power of evil
around you.
