Trustworthy Testimony

2 Peter 1:16 CSB

For we did not follow cleverly contrived myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ; instead, we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.

INTRO—

So…when we read the Bible—which is it?

“Has God said?” [“Did God really say?”]

“God has said.” [“God really did say.”]

…AND today we consider how we respond to…

2 Peter 1:11 “For in this way, entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be richly provided for you.”

“Did God really say that entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be richly provided for you?”

…What about ‘might be,’ OR ‘Ain’t no such thing. Instead…,’ OR “What do you mean “will be?”’

“God really did say that entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be richly provided for you.”

HOW DO WE KNOW THIS STATEMENT TO BE TRUE? [We have all sorts of accounting going on! We have trustworthy testimonies on which we can rely!]

HISTORICAL ACCOUNTING [2 Peter 1.16-18]

2 Peter 1:16 “For we did not follow cleverly contrived myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ; instead, we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.”

“For we did not follow cleverly contrived myths…”

[Didn’t make this up.]

“…when we made known to you…”

[We shared knowledge of the truth with you.]

“…the power and coming our our Lord Jesus Christ…”

[The ‘it’s gonna happen’…mark my words, it’s going to happen!; power (strength, awesomeness!) & coming (arrival, return — yet to be)]

“…instead, we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.”

[Because…we’ve already seen a glimpse of this!]

2 Peter 1:17–18 “For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased!” We ourselves heard this voice when it came from heaven while we were with him on the holy mountain.”

“…the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying…”

[‘Ear-witnesses,’ too! (finished out by v. 18—“We ourselves”=We, we…)]

I feel like Peter here is going, “Dude…Dude! What’s yet to come is certain AAANNNDD it’s going to be incredible, because I’ve seen the preview…AMAZING!!!

PROPHETIC ACCOUNTING [2 Peter 1.19]

[Peter goes on to say, “Hand-in-hand with what I saw and heard, is the long-standing, long-lasting prophetic word (testimony, account).”; essentially—that’s cool, and let me tell you something else…!]

2 Peter 1:19 “We also have the prophetic word strongly confirmed, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.”

“We also have the prophetic word strongly confirmed…”

[Like what I said…we have a long-standing, long-lasting testimony — from the prophets, from the word!]

“…you will do well to pay attention to it…”

[Like it’s a good idea to listen to (heed; hear and be impacted; pay close attention;]

“…as to a lamp shining in a dark place…”

[All the biblical references to God’s word/The Truth and it being our light, guide, etc. — especially Psalm 119:105 “Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path.”]

[Until that day dawns and faith becomes clear, well-lit sight]

ACCOUNTING ASSURANCE [2 Peter 1.20-21]

[OK…why do we trust Scripture, especially prophetic scriptures?]

2 Peter 1:20–21 “Above all, you know this: No prophecy of Scripture comes from the prophet’s own interpretation, because no prophecy ever came by the will of man; instead, men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

[[“Above all, you know this: …”]]

“No prophecy of Scripture…”

[Namely, “For in this way, entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be richly provided for you” (v. 1.11).]

“…comes from the prophet’s own interpretation…”

[God determines the words of prophecy and determines the meaning of prophecy…]

[Prophetic words are not left up to anyone’s—nor various—meanings (interpretations—Scripture has one interpretation…with multifaceted application(s));]

[Twisting & Distorting the Bible…specifically here, the prophetic section(s)…is thoroughly prohibited!]

“…because no prophecy ever came by the will of man…”

[Prophecy 🚫 Inclination (personal); This doesn’t mean prophets, or other scripture writers, were merely automatons (like the animatronics at Disney World) programmed to spit out a life-less facsimile of human speech/thought—God utilized the individual’s characteristic(s)]

“…instead, men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

[Carried along—like a sailing ship carried along the waves by the wind (‘wind’ & Holy Spirit); This is the picture of infallible inspiration!!]

CONCL—

Peter’s brackets this letter—his warnings about faithfulness challenged from within the church(es)—with (Peter sets up this particular theme to run throughout this letter…):

2 Peter 1:20–21 “Above all, you know this: No prophecy of Scripture comes from the prophet’s own interpretation, because no prophecy ever came by the will of man; instead, men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

2 Peter 3:15–16 “Also, regard the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our dear brother Paul has written to you according to the wisdom given to him. He speaks about these things in all his letters. There are some things hard to understand in them. The untaught and unstable will twist them to their own destruction, as they also do with the rest of the Scriptures.”

[[FALSE TEACHING includes FALSE APPLICATION of what would otherwise be understood as correct biblical interpretation…]]

Regarding the “Now and Not Yet” of Kingdom Citizenship/Kingdom Living…

INVITATION:

Salvation

Trusting God’s Word

[[…be alert…go make disciples…love, joy. peace, patience, kindness…forgive…]]

2 Peter 1:21 CSB

because no prophecy ever came by the will of man; instead, men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.