“For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water.”
(2 Peter 3:5)
The apostle Peter addresses a deliberate blindness that marks the hearts of ungodly men. He does not describe ignorance that comes from lack of ability or limited opportunity, but ignorance that is chosen, cultivated, and defended … “For this they willingly are ignorant of.” Their blindness is willful; they know enough to know what they are refusing to know, and they refuse it because the truth stands in direct opposition to their desires.
The truth they reject concerns the word of God and the power exercised by that word in creation, judgment, and preservation. Peter points them back to history as the record of God’s mighty acts. By the word of God the heavens existed long ago. By that same word the earth was formed, ordered, and sustained. The world did not arise by chance, nor does it continue by accident. It stands because God wills it to stand.[1]
These men argued that all things had continued unchanged from the beginning of creation. Peter exposes the falsehood by pointing to the flood. The world that then was did not continue. It perished in the flood, judged by God. The same word that once brought order out of chaos brought destruction upon a corrupt world. Creation and judgment flow from the same source: the word and will of God.
Peter then presses the argument further. The present heavens and earth are also upheld by that same word. They are not eternal, and they are not secure by their own strength. They are kept in store, reserved for fire against the day of judgment. Because the flood was not the end of divine judgment in history; what God once did by water, He will yet do by fire.
The ignorance Peter condemns is rooted in lust. Wicked men delight in sins that divine truth condemns, and therefore they avoid that truth. Knowledge of God would disturb their peace. It would awaken conscience. It would interrupt their pleasure in sin. So they treat ignorance as a refuge. They turn away from what would restrain them, while often pursuing other forms of knowledge with great eagerness.
This kind of ignorance hardens the heart and blinds the mind. It makes men careless of judgment and careless of eternity. They willingly forget that the same word which created the world has already judged it once and will judge it again. They prefer a universe without accountability, a history without intervention, and a future without reckoning.
In contrast, believers are called to remember the works of God, past and future, and to interpret them rightly. Because all God’s works are mirrors that reflect His sufficiency, power, and faithfulness. Creation, preservation, judgment, and final destruction all depend upon His word.
Contemplations:
- Willing ignorance. I see how easily I avoid truths that unsettle me. Even as a believer, I am tempted to turn away from what exposes my sin or challenges my comfort. This passage forces me to ask whether there are things I prefer not to know because they demand repentance and change.
- The power of God’s Word. I often treat God’s word as something abstract, forgetting that it created the heavens and governs history. If the world stands by His word, then my life also stands before that same authority.
- Remembering judgment. I don’t like to think about judgment, yet Scripture insists that I must. Just as the flood was real, future judgment is certain. Staying mindful of these things keeps me sober, watchful, and reverent.
- Seeing God in His works. I read Scripture and history too lightly at times. God calls me to see Him in what He has done, not just to observe events, but to behold His power, will, and purpose. I want to learn to read His works with eyes trained for worship and obedience.
Prayer (Supplication)
O Lord God, whose word created the heavens and formed the earth, I come before You in need and dependence. I ask that You guard my heart from the sin of willing ignorance. Do not allow me to turn away from truths that confront my pride, my comfort, or my hidden sins. Give me a heart that desires light, even when that light exposes what I would rather keep concealed.
Teach me to remember Your mighty works. Help me see creation, judgment, and preservation as the outworking of Your sovereign word. When I am tempted to explain life only in terms of visible causes, remind me that all things stand because You will them to stand. Fix my mind on Your authority, not on the illusion of permanence in this world.
Strengthen my faith as I consider Your past judgments. Let the flood remind me that You are patient but not indifferent. Let the promise of future judgment awaken reverence, sobriety, and humility in my soul. And keep me from the careless spirit of this age that mocks accountability and denies the coming day of reckoning.
I ask that Your Word rule my thoughts and shape my life. Where I am dull, make me attentive. Where I am resistant, make me willing. Where I am fearful, give me confidence grounded in Your truth. Let meditation on Your works comfort me as one who belongs to You, and restrain me from sin as one who lives before Your face.
Have mercy on those who now suppress Your truth. Use Your word to awaken them before judgment comes. And for my own soul, grant perseverance in faith, clarity of mind, and obedience of heart, until the day when all things are made new.
In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Further Scripture References for 2 Peter 3:5:
Gen. 1:9; Psalm 24:2; Psalm 136:2; Rom. 1:28
[1] William Ames, An Analytical Exposition of Both the Epistles of the Apostle Peter Illustrated by Doctrines out of Every Text and Applied by Their Uses for a Further Progress in Holiness (London: E.G. for John Rothwell .., 1641), 239–242.
