2 Peter 1:16-21

2 Peter 1:16-21

Firm Foundation

1. We must build our lives on the firm foundation of God's Word; so He calls us to trust His apostolic witnesses (Vv. 16-18).

   • "For" in the beginning of this passage connects it directly to Peter's previous statement expressing his desire to do all he can to make sure his gospel word is remembered and put into practice in the lives of his readers after he's gone because it's true, and we'll be accountable upon Christ's return. False teachers were attempting, obviously successfully in some instances, to convince these Christians that the apostolic teacher (in this case that Jesus will return in glory to judge the world) was a myth, so they should live how they want to now, enjoying their "Christian freedoms" in this life. Peter contends that what the apostles have declared isn't myth or fable. God Himself testified to the reality that Jesus will return in power and glory to judge all and reign over all. The apostles know this for certain because they were eyewitnesses to a foretaste of this reality on the mount of transfiguration when Jesus' deity was revealed, and He was exalted in glory by the Father who personally pronounced His love for His Son, and ascribed and affirmed to Jesus, majesty, honor, and glory equal to His own. The events of the mount of transfiguration were a prophetic window into the reality of Jesus' bodily, visible, and sudden return. Jesus not only repeatedly taught his disciples of the nature and reality of His sacrificial death, burial, and resurrection, but He also spoke of His role as judge upon His future return. On the mount of transfiguration, Jesus pulled back the veil of His humanity and gave Peter, John, and James, a glimpse of His full glory and power, to which His Father also testified. This is the witness and teaching, specifically in regard to the second coming of Christ, which they have faithfully passed on to others. Why would these Christians, or anyone else, accept the empty words of someone else who seeks only to justify their own inner convictions? If any teaching doesn't clearly glorify and exalt Christ, and align with His own words and the words of God about Him, it must be rejected. (Vv. 16-18; 2 Pet. 3:3-4; Ps. 2:6-7; Isa. 42:1; Matt. 16:21-17:9; 24:23-31; 25:31-46; 26:64; John 1:1, 14; 14:1-3; Acts 1:9-11; 4:19-20; Col. 1:15-20; 2 Thess. 1:7-10; Tit. 2:11-14; 1 John 3:1-3; Jude 25; Rev. 19:11-16)

2. We must build our lives on the firm foundation of God's Word; so He calls us to pay careful attention to properly interpret the truth of His Word (Vv. 19-21).

• But Peter doesn't stop with the apostolic witness. Many people with varying beliefs have "experience" to which they point to validate their beliefs, however they might have come by them. The apostolic witness of the glorification and affirmation of Jesus on the mount of transfiguration not only gave the apostles a glimpse into the reality of the glory of Christ, which will be fully revealed at His second coming, but by putting that experience together with the totality of Jesus' earthly ministry, the apostles were able to see more clearly how the events of Jesus' life, death, resurrection, and glorification verified the prophetic witness of God in the Old Testament. So Peter exhorts these Christians, and us all, to do well by paying close attention to God's Word. The Old Testament predicted the Person and work of Jesus as Messiah, and the experience and witness of the apostles verified exactly what was predicted in God's Word through the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, as well as His glorification on the mount of transfiguration, which foreshadowed His glorious return. Paying attention to God's Word will illuminate our path through this dark, filthy, and dangerous world, until the day our Lord and Savior returns, and His light illuminates our hearts continually and removes the darkness completely. (v. 19; Gen. 49:10; Numb. 24:17; 2 Sam. 7:16; Ps. 22:6-8, 14-18; 119:15; Prov. 6:23; Isa. 7:14; 9:6-7; 35:5-6; 40:3-5; 42:1-4; 53:1-12; 61:1-2; Micah 5:2; Zech. 9:9; Mal. 3:1; 4:5; Luke 24:25-27; 44-48; Rom. 13:11-14; 14:10-12; 1 Cor. 13:12; 2 Cor. 5:10; Eph. 6:12; 1 Thess. 5:4-6; 1 Pet. 1:1-12; 1 John 2:8; 3:2-3; Rev. 2:26-27; 21:22-27; 22:16)

• We must pay close attention to God's Word for light in this dark, murky, and dangerous world, but Peter wants these Christians and us to understand, of first importance, that we aren't free to interpret God's Word just any way we want to; the Bible is God's words, not a human creation. God inspired men through the power of the Holy Spirit, to shape their language and expression, without compromising their personality and character, and produce His authoritative, inerrant, and infallible Word. So the Bible is God's Word and not ours, He gave us His Word and our task is to interpret it carefully and apply it properly. (Vv. 21-22; 2 Sam. 23:2; Jer. 23:16-22; Ezek. 13:2-3; 2 Tim. 3:16-17; 4:1-5; 1 Pet. 1:23-25)