II PETER: INTRODUCTION TO THE LITERARY STRUCTURE

Below is a summary of a chapter in my unpublished book The Structure of Scripture. The whole chapter will be sent to anyone requesting it at elmerphd21@hotmail.com.

 “This is the most problematical of all the New Testament Epistles,” in Guthrie’s words, and was slow to find acceptance in the early church.  Part of the problem is that most scholars, even conservative ones, consider that II Peter draws on the Epistle of Jude for much of its material (or that they both perhaps borrowed from a common source).

Proposed Divisions

In somewhat of a contrast to the Letter of Jude, studies on the outline of II Peter do not appear to have reached anything approaching an agreement. Even the conclusion of the letter in ch. 3 has been variously assigned to different verses. And there is major disagreement on what constitutes the main sections in the body of the epistle. Many commentators opt for the traditional three-part chapter divisions as the best indicator of the outline of the letter, with the break between chs. 2 and 3 described as “severe” by Towner.  But even going with the majority opinion, there is still considerable disagreement concerning the subdivisions within each chapter. The exact divisions will be best guided by a consideration of the letter’s overall structural characteristics.

Structure

The most thoroughgoing analysis of II Peter, carried out by Bauckham, is as a testament.

Green praises Bauckham’s analysis as showing “superbly the inner coherence of the structure of this letter.”  On the other hand, it appears to be completely lacking in the symmetrical elements typical of other biblical literature. By using the verse divisions of Bauckham’s analysis as a starting point and looking for parallel phrases, key words and thoughts within the text, the symmetrical structure shown in Fig. 1 can be derived.

Verbal markers help to unify some of the individual sections in addition to the thematic unity each of them possesses. Confirmation of Section IIID as the center of II Peter comes from the following word patterns:

The key phrase “the knowledge of our Lord/God ...and Savior Jesus Christ” appears uniquely at the beginning, middle and end of the epistle (see Fig. 1) as do the related Greek words for “glory” and “glorious.” “Apostle” appears only at 1:1 and 3:2, at the beginnings of the two large sections bracketing IIID.

Figure 1: The Structure of II Peter

I. Greeting and Opening Blessing (1:1-2)

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

II. Opening Exhortation (1:3-11)

For this very reason...be zealous

III. Body: Replies to Scoffers (1:12-3:13)

A. Occasion of Address (1:12-15)

Remind you...to arouse you by way of reminder..that...you may...recall

B. The First Coming (1:16-21)

First of all, you must understand this, that...coming

C. The First Judgment (2:1-10a)

Keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment

D. Description of the Ungodly (2:10b-22)

The knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

A'. Occasion of Address (3:1-2)

Aroused your sincere mind by way of reminder that you should remember

B'. The Second Coming (3:3-4)

First of all, you must understand this, that...coming

C'. The Last Judgment (3:5-13)

Being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men

II'. Closing Exhortation (3:14-17)

Since...be zealous

I'. Closing Blessing and Doxology (3:18)

Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

Main Theme

The same controversy concerning the major message of Jude is found in II Peter. On one side we have statements such as:

“ While greatly concerned with the menace of these false teachers...the apostle realized that the basic need of his readers was for spiritual up building and strength...” “Thus, encouragement to spiritual conquest...opens and closes his letter.” (Paine)

and

“ II Peter’s primary function from the outset was to execute the canonical role of instructing future generations of believers in the faith.” (Childs)

On the other hand, Beasley-Murray feels that the “sole concern” of the writer from 1:16 to the end of the epistle is to combat heretical teachers in the church.

Reicke appears to hold to a mediating position when he states that the dual purpose of the letter was “to admonish the church to be steadfast” and “to warn it against deceivers.” These themes are found in chs. 1 & 3, and in ch. 2, respectively, with the “core” of the message in ch. 2.  However, he elsewhere states that the warm concluding words of the epistle “make it clear that the author is not primarily concerned to preach condemnation and destruction...What constitutes the real burden of the author is God’s grace and desire to save, as these have found expression in Jesus Christ.”

The seven-part chiastic structure pictured in Fig. 1 would appear to point to IIID with its emphasis on the unrighteous teachers as the center of the letter. This is seemingly confirmed in the two parallel sequences IIIA-B-C and IIIA'-B'-C' which each culminate in God’s judgment on these figures. However, there are counter-indicative trends associated with both of these features. In the first place, IIIC and C' also contain words of comfort and encouragement for those who are steadfast (see 2:5,7,9; 3:9). Also, the center section of the epistle is itself divided into two portions, directing the reader’s attention away from the center and towards the framework sections. It is in these beginning and ending sections that God’s grace and power to his people are emphasized.

Perhaps the theme most highlighted by the literary structure of the letter is that of living in the “knowledge” of God and Jesus. As previously noted, similar phrases of encouragement containing this idea appear in the first and last sections of the letter (1:1 and 3:18) and act as an inclusio for the first exhortation section (1:3 and 1:8). The only other appearance of “knowledge” is in the center section (2:20) where departure from this knowledge is branded as being worse than not having it in the first place. Green explains that in the context of II Peter, true knowledge was different than what the false teachers claimed to have. “True knowledge of God and Christ produces grace and peace in the life; what is more, it produces holiness.”