Today, we transition into 2 Peter, yet another letter written by the apostle to various congregations located throughout the Roman Empire. As before, this is going to be a letter of encouragement, calling on the believers to whom he is writing, to live as who they are: Son and daughters of God. In these opening verses, Peter will let them know that they have all they need to live godly lives, because of what Jesus had done for them. They are fully capable of becoming "partakers of the divine nature", as he puts it. Or, to put it another way, they have all that they need to become like Christ. And Peter, as he did in his first letter, is going to call them to live as who they are. He seems to know that his days are numbered and that he has a limited amount of time to poor into these believers scattered throughout Asia Minor. He is going to do all he can in the time that he has left, to encourage any and all believers to live in keeping with their calling as sons and daughters of God. They have been imputed the righteousness of Christ, placed into the body of Christ, indwelt with the Spirit of God, and assured by the unwavering promises of God. They had all they needed, and Peter expected them to live like it.
