Were the false teachers former members of the church? The answer to the question must be affirmative. Peter writes that these teachers are "even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them." Note that Peter emphatically adds the word even. In addition to subverting the believers, these teachers continue to say that they have nothing to do with the sovereign Lord, who bought them. The expression sovereign Lord applies equally to God (Luke 2:29; Acts 4:24; Rev. 6:10) and Christ (Jude 4). To Jesus has been given all authority and power in heaven and on earth (Matt. 28:18). In the Greek, the word is despotēs, from which we have the derivative despot. It is closely connected with the verb to buy. In the New Testament, this Greek verb occurs twenty-five times in a commercial setting, "but on five other occasions it describes the 'buying' of Christians. This clearly reflects the contemporary terminology of the slave-market" (see I Cor. 6:20; 7:23; II Peter 2:1; Rev. 5:9; 14:3 [redeemed]). With his blood Christ has bought his people that they may do his will. But these false teachers who refuse to obey him demonstrate the height of insolence toward the sovereign Lord. Just as a master has bought slaves from whom he expects obedience, so Jesus as sovereign Lord has bought his servants and demands obedience. But instead of obeying Jesus, these servants continue to reject him (compare Heb. 10:29). They are "apostate Christians who have disowned their Master." In due time, therefore, Jesus will swiftly destroy them.
Doctrinal Considerations in 2:1
The clause who bought them presents difficulties for the interpreter. Can those whom Christ has redeemed ever be lost? Did the false teachers lose their salvation? Some commentators assert that "Christ bought them at the tremendous price of his blood to be his own forever." But the fact that the teachers faced swift destruction contradicts this interpretation.
Commenting on this clause, Henry Alford confidently states, "No assertion of universal redemption can be plainer than this." But if Jesus had given these teachers eternal life, they would never have fallen away. Scripture clearly teaches that those people to whom Jesus has given eternal life "shall never perish" (John 10:28; also see Rom. 8:29-30, 32-35; Eph. 1:3-14).
Although Christ's death was sufficient to redeem the whole world, its efficiency comes to light only in God's chosen people. Were the false teachers recipients of God's saving grace? Apparently not, for they repudiated Christ. If we look at the words "denying the sovereign Lord who bought them" in the light of the broader context, we discover a clue. We notice that at one time these false teachers professed the name of Christ, for they said that they knew him and the way of righteousness (2:20-21). They made it known that Jesus had bought them, but they eventually rejected Christ and left the Christian community. As John writes, "They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us" (I John 2:19; and see Heb. 6:4-6; 10:26-29). Hence, their denial of Christ showed that they were not redeemed.
Baker New Testament Commentary - Baker New Testament Commentary – Exposition of James, Epistles of John, Peter, and Jude.
