“…and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation–as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you…”
according to the wisdom given to him
“According to” carries the idea of norm or standard. God gave Paul wisdom for knowing the revelation of Scripture. In fact, he wrote one half of the New Testament. That is the “wisdom” that God gave him. God chose to provide Paul with wisdom in an extraordinary dimension to write much of the New Testament.
This is a significant statement about the canonization of Scripture. Paul was dead at the writing of 2 Peter, and his thirteen epistles stand complete. Note that Peter recognizes them as part of the canon of Scripture.
has written to you
The church in Peter’s day used Paul’s writings as Scripture. This is, in part, how we determine the canon of Scripture. Peter gave the Apostle Paul’s writings the credence of Scripture. Even in Peter’s day, Paul’s letters were known, collected, and widely read as the Word of God.
Peter wrote two books of the Bible, while Paul wrote thirteen books. Notice that Peter praised the man who wrote half the New Testament and did not envy Paul. Envy renders us useless for God’s service.
Principle:
Envy puts leaders on the shelf spiritually.
Application:
Envy can creep into the heart of any Christian leader. If we permit envy to remain in our hearts, it will prevent us from doing the will of God. God will effectively bypass us. He will put us on the shelf (1 Corinthians 9:24-27).
The shores of Christian work are strewn with spiritual shipwrecks and those God disqualified. Their envy probably began with a grudge. Then, it extended to belittling and slandering other Christian leaders. Finally, it terminated in a state of bitterness. But Peter did not have that kind of attitude. He released his anger. He dealt with it.
Have you severed your relationship with someone because they hurt you? Can you still respect those who hurt you? Peter did.
