2 Peter 1:11

for thus shall be richly supplied unto you the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

"Here ends the first main section of this epistle which contains the substance of the whole."[36] Plummer commented upon the unanimity with which even the radical scholars admit the authenticity and genuineness of this first section, adding that, "If this stands, it carries with it all the rest."[37] This is true because all of the various threads of the letter are gathered here; and a change of style is amply accounted for by change to new and exciting subjects. The links between the parts are too strong to be severed by such considerations.

Richly supplied ... This is from the same word used in verse 5, regarding the provisions supplied for a chorus or theatrical company, indicating overflowing abundance.

Into the eternal kingdom ... But were not the Christians of Peter's day already members of the kingdom of the Lord? The answer is affirmative. Paul wrote the Colossians that they had already been translated into the kingdom of the Son of God's love (Colossians 1:13); and therefore Peter's words here are a reference to the eternal state of God's kingdom, the state of its existence after the resurrection and in the eternal world to come. Entrance into that kingdom, or that phase of the kingdom, is also, in the light of this passage, contingent upon the Christian's response to duty, not that any sinless perfection is required; but there must be, as an absolute minimum, the intention and purpose of obedience.

This reference to the kingdom is important in showing that it was everywhere accepted as a foundational Christian doctrine. The fact of references to the kingdom being much more plentiful in the Gospels than in the Epistles does not indicate any rejection of the concept, nor any disappointment with reference to it; but, as Payne said, "It may have been avoided (the reference to the kingdom) for fear that Gentiles would misrepresent it and view Christian teaching as seditious."[38]

Of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ ... Caffin pointed out that there is an exact "correspondence of the Greek words here with those used in 2 Peter 1:1,"<39a> making a very strong argument for the rendition there as "Our God and Saviour Jesus Christ."

Before leaving this verse, we should dwell upon the immeasurable confidence inspired by it. Some have misunderstood Peter's reference to the righteous scarcely being saved in 1 Peter 4:18 as a declaration that Christians themselves shall barely be saved at all; but in the light of this verse, it is clear that Peter was speaking about something altogether different in the first epistle. See notes, above, on that and related verses. If only the Christian's response is what it should be, his entrance into the eternal courts of joy shall be as abundant and overflowing as the generosity of those ancient "angels" who lavishly funded a chorus! Praise God for his wonderful word.

[36] Alfred Plummer, op. cit., p. 447.

[37] Ibid.

[38] David F. Payne, op. cit., p. 601.

<39a> B. C. Caffin, op. cit., p. 6.