2 Peter 1:16-21
Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 11 viewsNotes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
A More Sure Word of Prophecy
A More Sure Word of Prophecy
Last week I mentioned this scripture, I want to dig deeper into this specific portion
But first, let’s talk about “The Word”
now words are used to communicate from one party to another, so in it’s simplest sense, how could Creator communicate with creation? In fact a person can’t even get through the first chapter in Genesis, the creation account, without reading the words “…and God said...” 11 times!
Obviously the beautiful thing here is that God has not left us guessing or stipulating as to Who and how He is, He has condescended to us in the sense that He has communicated with His creation, through HIS WORD
‘Can mankind make an image of a god and be convinced.....’
Paul put it this way in
13 If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.
and..
3 For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?
4 God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.
David even mentions in one of the psalms;
2 I will worship toward thy holy temple, And praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: For thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.
Crazy, God evidently even magnifies His Word above His name, in other words, I think it’s safe to say that He means what He says and says what He means.
I’ve heard it said that faith is not merely believing IN God, it’s believing God, taking God at His Word, because God always comes through, what He says always comes to pass, because His speaking IS HIS DOING.
11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: It shall not return unto me void, But it shall accomplish that which I please, And it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
what does this look like??
12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Getting into the Word is like looking into a spiritual mirror, for example, we look into mirrors probably way more than we’d care to admit on any given day, and what do we do?
Carefully examine myself and, “Oh no! There’s a big glob of leftovers on my cheek, or there’s a piece of salad stuck in my teeth! How come nobody told me?!” and we can get all crazy and right away, boom! We are ON TOP of fixing the problem that the mirror has revealed to us is there
So too with the Word of God, only His Word is so powerful that it can even get down into cutting away at the intentions of the heart and such, I’ve experienced this as I’m sure many of you have.
I remember one time shortly after I got saved a kid asked me if I smoked.... Thought I should be forcing my in-laws to not be praying a certain way...
All proof that..
16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
Lengthy introduction, but important for the remainder of the teaching...
16 For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
17 For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
18 And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.
This references the transfiguration recorded in (Matt.17.1,Mark9.2-8, & Luke 9.28-36) The we Peter refers to is himself, James & John, the only 3 privileged to witness the transfiguration. (John refers to this in his account (John1:14) ‘we beheld His glory...’)
What’s significant about the transfig. is in all 3 gospels where it’s recorded, the statement leading up to the event is a promise from Jesus that ‘some of His disciples standing here would not taste death until they seen the kingdom of God in glory and power’
This of course referring to what I’ve been talking about the past cpl wks… the anticipated glorious and powerful Messiah coming to rule and reign (notice v.16, power and coming of our Lord…) Apparently Peter James and John were eyewitnesses of the glorious majesty of Jesus, which to them was demonstration, and confirmation, of the glory and power of Jesus’ 2nd coming. The eyewitness Peter refers to here then takes us to the account of the transfiguration (notice ‘voice from Father when we were in the holy mount’)
So what happens at the transfig, the veil is lifted in a sense, some may describe it as a miracle. Descriptions are as follows: Face shining like the sun, clothing white as light, I think the real miracle is that Jesus was able to keep His glory from being displayed all the time!
This revealing of Christ’s glory would’ve served as an encouragement to the disciples, who were just hearing Jesus talk about His future death on the cross
So we see why Peter uses this event in his letter, because later (3.3) he refutes the false teachers who claim the kingdom of God would never come, a denial of God’s promises revealed through His Word. This is why he opens up with, we’re not following cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming.... in fact, we were eyewitnesses of His glory, in fact going even one step further, WE HAVE A MORE SURE WORD OF PROPHECY regarding His coming in power!
In exchange, the false teachers traded the Word for ‘cunningly devised fables’ the word fable means myth. again, the Greek and Roman world abounded in these, man made speculations (fables) about God and the world and it’s origin.
Paul actually warns Timothy that a time would come when ‘Christians” within the church would do this very thing, turning the ears away from the truth and heaping up for themselves those teachers who would scratch their itch and tell them what they want to hear.
Again, we live in a time when people just want to forsake any offensive truth and lets all just ‘coexist’ nobody’s right, nobody’s wrong, let’s all just get along, blah blah blah! The attack is on the validity of the bible
GOD IS RIGHT, and this is HIS WORD we can stand on because this has got GOD WRITTEN ALL OVER IT!
I’m convinced prophecy is one of the best combatants against the nonsense we face today.
Anyways,
Peter describes what he witnessed at the transfig. (Jesus’ glory) as a demonstration of the power and coming of the Lord Jesus. When Christ came the first time, it was not in power and glory, there was not a shining face or a halo on His head. rather..
2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, And as a root out of a dry ground: He hath no form nor comeliness; And when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
Secondly, Peter not only saw the glory, but he heard the voice, Father GOD confirming Jesus as HIS SON. We were not eyewitnesses to this, Peter was, and he faithfully and accurately recorded the events that took place.
All Experiences, like this one Peter had, fade. But the Word of God endures. Experiences are SUBJECTIVE, but the Word is OBJECTIVE, even what we remember about experiences we’ve had can be unconsciously distorted, but the Word of God remains the same and abides forever.
8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: But the word of our God shall stand for ever.
Later in Peter’s second epistle, he points out that the apostate teachers try to turn people away from the Word and into ‘deeper experiences’ , using ‘feigned words’ instead of God’s Word, and teaching ‘damnable heresies’. In other words, this stuff is serious and important! There is life for the one who believes the truth, and death for those believing lies.
The transfiguration also serves affirmation of several important Christian doctrines. 1)Peter affirms that Jesus is indeed the Son of God, as I stated earlier. You want to test deception or questionable teachings through other ‘religions’? Then ask the question; what is said of the deity of Jesus Christ? Because a false teacher denies Christ’s deity as God (1 John 2.18-29, 4.1-6)
2) we must also ask what is said of the work of Jesus Christ? Why did He come and to do what? Again, Peter affirms the answer within the transfiguration. For Moses and Elijah, who were also present, Moses representing the Law and Elijah representing the prophets, spoke of His ‘decease’ or exodus, which He should accomplish in Jerusalem!!
30 And, behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias:
31 Who appeared in glory, and spake of his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem.
decease meaning exodus—Jesus considered the cross not a defeat, but rather and ‘exodus’, Similar to the book, as Israel was delivered from their bondage to Egypt, Jesus was on the mission which lead to the cross, to deliver His people from the bondage of sin and death!
And here Moses and Elijah, both literally at the transfiguration, as well as symbolically, representing the law and prophets, are speaking of what the Messiah, the Son of God should accomplish at Jerusalem!
17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
7 Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.
37 And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape.
38 And ye have not his word abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not.
39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.
Interesting here, it seems important to note that there is a difference between the written Word of God and the Incarnate Word of God.
19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
look at the transition there from Peter explaining the glorious experience he was able to be a part of on the mountain of transfiguration, Yet, he says, we have a MORE SURE WORD OF PROPHECY.
Peter was not suggesting that the bible was MORE certain than the experience he had, surely his experience was real and true. But even if he had never had the experience, he would still have the sure Word of God, the experience corroborated the prophetic promises, that is gave support to.
And remember, he’s addressing false teachers who say there is no second coming, and he is affirming that there is a glorious and powerful one, NOT JUST BECAUSE he caught a glimpse preview of Jesus’ glory, but because God has laid out in His Word and prophesied this will happen, the transfiguration experience simply reaffirmed what the scriptures have already stated.
Not only is God’s Word SURE, it’s also SHINING (v19) like the mirror analogy I described earlier, not only does the Word expose the truth of how we really “look” on the inside, but it also acts as, everyone could probably quote the scripture, “A lamp unto my feet”
And we ought to let the light of God’s Word lead us as we are in a dark world, stained by sin, until the MORNING STAR (Jesus Christ) (Rev.22:16) arrives
Why do we do well to take heed to the Word? Knowing this...
No prophecy of scripture is of private interpretation, this is not something one man gleans all the insight and truth from, because the author is not men, but the Spirit of God. This is why one must use extreme caution whenever listening to teachers who claim to have some ‘new’ insight into the Word that they’ll sell you for 29.99.
This is one of two(Tim.) important places in scripture affirming the DIVINE INSPIRATION of the Word of God---exactly where the attack is
The Word was written to common folk, not lofty theological professors, and us common people can read, understand, and apply the scriptures through the power of THE SAME HOLY SPIRIT that ‘carried along’ the writers. One does not need a special/spiritual “expert” to teach him all things biblical, a humble believer can read and meditate on God’s Word and gain incredible insight thanks to the Holy Spirit’s teaching. However, this does not discredit the ministry of some members in the body who have been gifted with teaching