“And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;”
My Notes
What Does 2 Peter 3:15 Mean?
Peter says something extraordinary: God's apparent delay is actually salvation. The waiting that frustrates you is the mercy that saved you. And then he invokes Paul — the other great apostle — as his co-witness to this truth.
"Account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation" — the command is to reinterpret the delay. Account (hēgeomai) means to consider, to regard, to reckon. Recalculate. The thing you've been calling slowness? Call it salvation. The patience that feels like indifference? It's the reason you're alive. Every day between the promise and the fulfillment is another day someone can repent. The longsuffering is the open door.
"Even as our beloved brother Paul" — Peter calls Paul "beloved brother." Given their public confrontation in Galatians 2:11, this phrase is a monument to reconciliation. The man who once stood against Paul face to face now calls him beloved brother. The conflict was real. The reconciliation was realer. The church's two greatest apostles, who disagreed publicly and sharply, are on the same team — and Peter says so in writing.
"According to the wisdom given unto him" — Peter acknowledges that Paul's insight came from God. The wisdom wasn't Paul's native intelligence. It was given (didōmi) — granted, bestowed, gifted by divine initiative. Peter honors Paul's teaching as divinely authorized while remaining Peter — a different personality, a different ministry, a different angle on the same truth.
"Hath written unto you" — Paul wrote letters that the audience Peter is addressing has read. The epistles are circulating. The churches are sharing them. The apostolic correspondence has become a body of literature the communities treat as authoritative. Peter is acknowledging what will soon become canon: Paul's letters are Scripture-level revelation.
The verse is remarkable for what it does quietly: it unifies the two greatest apostolic voices under a single message. Peter and Paul agree. The longsuffering of God is salvation. And both apostles — the one who went to the Jews and the one who went to the Gentiles — have been teaching the same thing.
Reflection Questions
- 1.How does reframing God's 'delay' as salvation change the way you feel about unanswered prayers and unfulfilled promises?
- 2.If Jesus had returned one generation earlier, would you have been included? How does the delay personally apply to your story?
- 3.What does Peter calling Paul 'beloved brother' — after their public confrontation — teach you about conflict and reconciliation?
- 4.Who in your life might be saved because God's longsuffering keeps the door open one more day?
Devotional
The delay is the mercy. That's the reframe Peter demands. Every day you've been waiting for Jesus to return — every generation that's asked "how long?" — is a day of open-door salvation. Someone is being saved today because Jesus didn't come yesterday. The patience you find frustrating is the patience that gave you time to repent.
You were probably saved during the delay. Think about when you came to faith. If Jesus had returned one generation earlier, you wouldn't be here. If the longsuffering had run out before your parents were born, you'd have missed the window. The delay that feels like broken promise is the delay that included you in the plan. God's apparent slowness is the reason your name is in the book.
Peter calling Paul "beloved brother" is one of the most understated reconciliation moments in the New Testament. These two men had a public, heated, theological confrontation. Paul stood against Peter to his face. And now Peter, in his final letter, calls Paul beloved and affirms his wisdom as God-given. That's what mature faith looks like — not the absence of conflict, but the presence of reconciliation after it. The disagreement didn't end the relationship. It refined it.
The longsuffering of our Lord is salvation. Every time you're tempted to ask "why hasn't He come yet?" — remember that the waiting is the open door. Not just for the world in general. For specific people you love who haven't walked through it yet. The patience extends to them. The delay includes them. And every day God waits is another day the door stays open.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
And account that the longsuffering of our Lord,.... Not his longsuffering towards the wicked, and his forbearance with…
And account - that “the long-suffering of our Lord” is “salvation.” Regard his delay in coming to judge the world, not…
And account that the long-suffering of our Lord - Conclude that God's long-suffering with the world is a proof that he…
The apostle, having instructed them in the doctrine of Christ's second coming,
I. Takes occasion thence to exhort them…
And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation The words have a pointed reference to 2Pe 3:9. Men were…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture