2 Peter 1:1-2

1 Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:

² Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord,

Simon … is the straightforward transliteration of the Hebrew form of his name as used in Acts 15:14. This could well be a mark of authenticity: use of the two names together (as on the formal occasions of Matthew 16:16; Luke 5:8; John 21:15) could be a reminder of the change grace had wrought in the apostle’s life. Servant and apostle. The latter title is used alone in 1 Peter (the former by Jude). Together they doubly emphasize the authority by which he writes, as one who is only a servant, yet fully commissioned by his Master for His work. — Guthrie, page 1251

bondservant (v.1) = slave

obtained (v.1) = received by lot, by drawing lots — so, not by works. I also imagine it speaks to the election of Israel as the nation chosen by God above all others.

The term “precious” here is almost exclusively associated with the Prophetic Program. In fact, it is one of Peter’s favorite words. He uses it seven times in his epistles, and for good reason. We must remember that his countrymen, including himself, had been driven out of their homeland into hostile countries where they were hated, persecuted, and executed without a cause. Consequently, their Savior was precious; their faith was precious; their redemption through the blood of the Lamb was precious; and the promises they clung to were most assuredly precious.

But there is another reason Peter uses this term so frequently, a reason that is often overlooked. In the Old Testament it states: “And the child Samuel ministered unto the LORD before Eli. And the Word of the LORD was precious in those days; there was no open vision” (1 Samuel 3:1). In time past, when the Lord was silent it meant He was displeased with His people. When this occurred, the Word of the Lord became more precious because it was the only means to know the mind and will of Jehovah.

Since Israel was being set aside nationally for her unbelief, God was no longer speaking to her through visions and signs as He had done at Pentecost. Thus, the promises found in Peter’s writings became even more precious to those Israelites who had believed (2 Peter 1:4 cf. 3:3-9). — Sadler, page 175-176

To confirm Sadler’s statement that “precious” was “almost exclusively associated with the Prophetic Program,” I looked the word up in a concordance. It’s used 60 times in the Old Testament. It appears 15 times in the New Testament, all of them in books written to and about Israel except for one use by Paul in 1 Corinthians 3:12 when he refers to precious stones.

In the Greek, “like precious” (v.1) is one word, meaning “equally honored, of equal value.”

When Peter says that [his readers] had “obtained like-precious faith with us,” he wants us to understand that his readers had believed the same gospel he and the other kingdom saints had received. this, “like-precious faith” is synonymous with “the apostles’ doctrine” taught by the twelve on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:42).

But what exactly is the apostle’ doctrine? Clearly it is the Great Commission—the terms of salvation being: repent, believe on the name of Christ that He is the Messiah of Israel, and be water baptized for the remission of sins. In addition, they were to render obedience to all the Lord taught during His earthly ministry. — Sadler, pages 176-177.