2 Peter 1:16-21 And We Have the More Sure Prophetic Word

You are listening to the podcast of Recast Church in Mattawan, Michigan.

The Authority of God’s Word and the Call to Know Him

Please open your Bibles to 2 Peter, chapter one. Our text for today will be verses 16 through 21. These verses are extremely important as they highlight and prove the authority of God's word. And they are a launching pad that Peter uses to highlight and prove many things.

He uses this for his warning in chapter two as well. Now, I don't know if last time you guys read chapter two, but the entire thing is a warning against false prophets, false teachers. Most of the sections in scripture, they build off the previous context.

And ours is no different today. Last time I was able to bring the first part of 2 Peter was months ago. I don't expect anyone to remember that. What I'd like to do is momentarily touch on a few of those verses to kind of frame this, okay?

In the first 15 verses, there are a lot of things that Peter spoke about, many things. But one of his key points was knowledge or knowing God based off of his revealed word. And I belabor this point because Peter did.

This call to knowing God is one of the main calls of this letter for all believers, not just that original audience. Again, even in chapter two, Peter shows the stark contrast for one entire chapter on those who did not know and follow God in his authoritative word.

In their result, it was tragic. But before we look at how this book flows together, I would like to pause. I've already asked myself this, and I'd like to ask you, where are you at with God in his revealed word this morning?

That's one of the main things we're looking at today. Are these words, words of life to you? Do you hang all of your hopes on the God who spoke these truths? Does God's word shape your thoughts, your words, and your actions?

Do these God-given truths cause you to be assured of the things hoped for, and certain of the things not seen? Do you know these words? And more importantly, do you know the God who inspired these words?

So with that said, let's briefly recall Peter's focus on knowing God in his word so we can set the stage for our text today. So please, open your Bibles if you didn't already have them there. Look at, glance at verse two with me.

Okay, Peter says, may the grace of God and the peace of God be multiplied to you.

How?

What does the text say? In the knowledge or in the knowing of God in what Jesus, our Lord and Savior, has done to save us from our sin debt. Glance at verse three. Peter continues, God's divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness.

Again, how? Look at the text. Through the knowledge or the knowing of him who called us to his own glory and excellence. Glance at verse five. He goes on to say, believers are called to make every effort as much as it depends on you to supplement your God-given faith, and that faith came through these words, okay?

So supplement your God-given faith with virtue and your virtue with, what does the text say? Even more knowledge. Are you guys seeing a theme in Peter's letter? And he's not done, he's just warming up.

We'll look at a few more. Peter continues to focus on knowing Christ and his word in verse eight in our text today, and he kind of concludes these thoughts all the way throughout chapter three. Glance again, two more.

Glance again at verse two. He said that these saints, who he originally wrote this letter to, he said that these saints already knew the truths that he spoke of, and they were established in the truths that they already had.

So we could ask, why continue to press the point then, Peter, right? Look at verse 15. I think that would show us. Peter says, remember in light of all these false prophets and all these false teachings, Peter knew his end was near.

He says this. I will make every effort to remind them of the truths. He says, I'll make every effort so that after my death, you may be able at any time to recall these things. Friends, Peter spent these verses reminding them of knowing the truths and promises that the apostles had already shared with them, the very words that they had been saved through.

And in our text today, he continues by proving these truths and increasing our assurance. Even here, even today, he increases our assurance that Christ is indeed coming back. And his words ensure that the prophecies that they held onto and that we hold onto are the very words of God as prescribed in our Bibles.

This was important for them then. False teachers, false prophets were already among them. They were maligning God's word. They were claiming that Jesus was not coming back. And they were drawing many away from God's faith-building truths.

And friends, this message is just as important for us now. We need this word just as much today. Because I don't know if you realized or not, but there is no shortage of people that are continually trying to undermine God's word and draw us away from its truths.

And in that light and in that context, let's look at our verses for today and allow God's word to continue to speak to us. Church, we need to know these words and be reminded of these words this morning just as much as Peter's original audience did when he penned them 2 ,000 years ago.

So please follow along with me as I read 2 Peter chapter one, verses 16 through 21. This is the word of God. For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.

For when he received honor and glory from the Father, from God the Father, and the voice was born to him by the majestic glory saying, this is my beloved Son with whom I'm well pleased. We ourselves were there.

We heard this very voice born from heaven. We were with him on the holy mountain. And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed to which you will do well to pay attention to as a lamp shining in a dark place until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.

Knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

We're gonna sing some songs after this and then I'm really excited to dive into these verses with you. Let's pray. Father, we do thank you for just countless things. And today with this context, with this message, I thank you for this word that you preserved for us, this word that you've given us.

We thank you that we can know you, that we can know who we are. We can know why you made us. We can know the way that we have failed you and we can know your salvation. Thank you for giving us your word and leading us back to you.

I just pray for all of us this morning that we have eyes to see and ears to hear. May your spirit open up these words to it this morning. Praise you, we love you.

In Jesus' name, amen.

Eyewitnesses, the Transfiguration, and the Threefold Witness of Christ

Please reopen your Bibles to 2 Peter 1, verses 16 through 21. I'm gonna make a statement that many in the world would scoff at.

Ready?

God's word is truth. Many would scoff at that. We'd be called fools for saying that. But God's word is truth, amen? And it often speaks of maintaining truth. And one of the ways that God set up for his people to determine truth was for two or three witnesses to present a case or to validate a claim.

Okay, we can find reference of this, this practice taking place in the book of Deuteronomy, in the words of Jesus, and even in Paul's writings to Timothy. Okay, determining truth matters, especially since there were, there are, and there always will be those who speak against God's sure word.

There are many people who war against God. They divide his people. And their words can darken God's truths by poisoning the minds of their hearers. And in our text today, Peter hangs his hat on the importance and the authority of God's unchanging word.

He shows that as men spoke for God, they were led by God. Do you hear that? As men spoke for God, they were led by God. And he shows the authority of the prophetic word over human experience. And yet, he also shows how the apostles' experience validated them to be trustworthy spokesmen and sources for proclaiming what God has done.

To start off our verses for today, Peter uses the example of Jesus' transfiguration. Most people familiar with that story? It was in at least three of the Gospels. He speaks of an event where a triune God was present, bearing witness.

Okay, God the Father, he was bearing audible witness, an affirmation of God the Son. Jesus, in that text, was seen in radiant glory. And even though Peter does not mention God, the Holy Spirit's interaction in this event, he does mention him as witnessing and inspiring the prophets as they wrote down God's word.

See, Peter mentions all three persons of the Godhead in just a few short verses in our text today. Notice with me, look at verse 17. Do you guys notice mention of God the Father? Flip back or look back at verse 16.

You see mention of God the Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And notice in verse 21, we see mention of God the Holy Spirit. We see in our text for today that God is the first and the primary threefold witness of Christ.

And if we would actually take the time and open up to Matthew, Mark, or Luke that tell of this transfiguration story, and we looked at what they were describing, we would observe another threefold group of witnesses.

Jesus, if you recall in that story, he invited three of his apostles to observe this event and to be a witness of him. These apostles would boldly proclaim later that Jesus is indeed God, that he provided salvation for his people and forgiveness of their sins.

He is coming back, and they would proclaim that he will rule and reign forevermore. And these eyewitness accounts of this event is where our text picks up. So in verses 16 through 18, please look along, you may have noticed that Peter used the word we a handful of times.

Verse 16, he says, "'For we did not follow cleverly devised myths "'when we made known to you the power "'and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, "'but we were eyewitnesses of his, of Jesus's majesty.'".

And look at verse 18, he goes on to say, "'And we ourselves heard this very voice born from heaven, "'for we were with him on the holy mountain.'". According to the gospel accounts of the transfiguration, the we in our verses today are Peter, James, and John.

They observed firsthand what God has done and what he said he would do. See, God said it, God did it, and they observed it. Do you hear the power in that order of events? See, countless false witnesses have claimed and they will continue to proclaim lies such as Jesus is not God, Jesus is not coming back, and some even deny that he ever even existed.

But Peter says in our verse, in verse 16, that the apostles didn't follow myths or feelings or made up stories. He said, rather, they were eyewitnesses of Jesus's power. Notice what some of the things they observed.

If you think back through scripture, they observed, the apostles observed Jesus's words. They observed his healings, his miracles, his complete dependency upon the Father, his death, his burial, his resurrection.

They observed the statement that all authority on heaven and earth has been given to me. And they observed Jesus's ascension. And since Peter, James, and John witnessed Jesus's radiant majesty on that mountain, they could boldly proclaim his return that he himself, that Jesus himself so frequently spoke about and promised.

These apostles, they proclaimed these, these truths, along with the gospel message, that Jesus came to live and die for us so that we could die to us and live for him. And these truths, and these recipients of this letter's faith, as well as our faith, these things are built upon this word, this word.

If God has opened your mind and showed you Christ, it came through this word or someone proclaiming this word. And that's what Peter is proclaiming here. Okay, but proclaiming this message, this message of Christ, this message that he is Lord, that he is coming back, it would cost them much.

The apostles, they were imprisoned, they were hated, they were silenced, they were threatened, they were disowned, okay, and they would ultimately give their lives being a witness. And Jesus said, this was no surprise to them, should be no surprise to us.

He said at one point, they have hated me, they will also hate you. And the world did hate them, but they were not alone. The world will progressively hate us more and more the more we look like, the more we sound like, and the more we proclaim our Lord.

These are hard thoughts, would you guys agree? These are hard thoughts. But God even uses the persecutions for the good and growth of his church. And this is kind of a cool side note as I'm studying through this and thinking was, I see the apostles' persecutions as even a further proof that verified the words that they spoke, that they wrote in this book.

Okay, remove Judas from the equation, he was an unregenerate traitor. Okay, but the rest of them were ultimately persecuted for proclaiming Christ. History tells us that most of them were violently put to death.

Yet, not one of them, think of that, not one of them retracted their message when they were threatened with death. It has been rightly stated that anyone can die for a belief or an ideology that they have heard or bought into, okay, that's easy.

We can be deceived, we can believe a lie and die for a cause because we think it is true. Okay, but none of the apostles folded under the threat of death. Why, have you ever thought of that? Were they just deceived, were they just dying for a lie?

Were they doing the same things that the suicide bombers do? Were they dying for a belief that was just told to them? No, no, they went to their deaths proclaiming Christ because they knew the words that they were speaking to be true.

Okay, the apostles were firsthand eyewitnesses of Christ. Think about that. No one dies for a lie that they made up. People may die for another lie, but they don't die for a lie that they started. What would they gain?

The apostles willingly died to be a witness for their master and to me, this is yet another validation of their message. See, Peter, James, and John, they were not duped. They weren't tricked, they weren't fooled.

They didn't dream up what they had seen on that mountain. All of their senses experienced that event and they bore witness to their testimony. Look again at verse 16 through 18. Okay, let's look at some of their senses, what things that were happening that they observed.

Hey, verse 16, they saw. These three apostles were eyewitnesses of Jesus's majesty. With their own eyes, they saw the Lord transfigured in radiant glory. Hey, look at verse 17. They heard. Peter, James, and John heard the Father audibly affirm the deity of Christ.

With their own ears, they heard the Father. They heard God the Father say to Jesus, this is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased. And notice in verse 18, they were physically present. They were with Jesus on that mountain.

There's no doubt about that. They felt the increased effort in their legs and in their lungs as they walked up that mountain path. Has anyone ever hiked up a mountain? You feel that, right? They felt the terrain around them as they sat down to pray.

And there is no doubt that they felt the wind on their faces, the sun on their skin, and the hunger and exhaustion that would have certainly came during a prolonged time of prayer. See, Peter, James, and John were physically present.

All of their senses were confirming that truth. It's undeniable. They didn't have a group hallucination as some have suggested in events such as this and as the resurrection and many other things. I would say that their senses confirmed their presence and their witness.

And I believe that this was the third threefold witness of Christ in this very event. Does anyone else think that Peter was trying to make a point that they were there, that they had seen this event, that they were eyewitnesses?

Their words were not cleverly devised myths, as he said. They were there experiencing these truths. And on the heels of that awesome experience, Peter goes on to say in verse 19, look at that with me.

This is on the heels of just saying they were there on this mountain. They saw these things. These affirmed this. This is what he says. And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed. Notice a few words in that statement before we try to unpack this verse.

The first word I want to note is the word have. Okay, verse 19, look again. And we have the prophetic word. We have, not had, as if the prophetic word has been outdated. Have, not waiting for, as if the prophetic word has not yet come.

Church, we have obtained the word of God. That's an amazing truth. The second word that I want to note is the word the, simple word, right? But look at verse 19. We have the prophetic word. Notice we do not have a prophetic word as if there were many, many similar options, many true options.

No, there is one suitable option. We have the prophetic word. And there have been, and there will be countless prophecies that come our way, countless. So how do we know what is true? God's word alone is the truth and the standard.

See, some years ago, some thinking through God's word, I was, when I was thinking on this, I had the privilege to teach younger kids. And that can be a challenge. Anyone who's done that. Just trying to keep their attention and make big ideas small.

And I remember, I recall this time where it happened a lot of times, as I'm kind of preparing and getting ready to give my condensed little verse by verse, 15 minute sermon, mini sermon, maybe at best.

I would grab God's word and I would hold it up. And I would say, what is this? To which undoubtedly a kid or two would say, God's word, right? And they were right. They were right. This is indeed God's inspired word.

Friends, we have the prophetic word. We have God's word that we can know, that we can trust, that we can lean on, that we can proclaim. Do you know how blessed we are to have this word? And if you're like me, you can know how hard it can be to even open this some days, right?

But we are blessed. And as we think through these experiences that Peter was just sharing, there's no doubt that the experiences that they witnessed, they helped confirm these prophecies, right? Those experiences confirmed God's word to be true.

That's cool stuff. That is cool stuff. These weren't things that were just set off in some corner that had no validation, right? That is cool stuff. God said what he would do. God did what he said he would do.

And then his followers observed and wrote down the inspired words and events. Again, cool stuff. That's faith building stuff. And if that is the conclusion of what Peter meant in that statement, verse 19, and we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, right?

If that was his conclusion that they saw it and that confirmed the word, then that's enough and we would be blessed. However, according to the original word order and the original language, it appears that Peter may be making a more direct point.

Hey, I wanna read what one commentator states. Hey, he said this. The original arrangement of the sentence supports the interpretation that Peter is ranking scripture over personal experience. So the sentence structure, I looked at it after reading that.

I can't read the original, but I can read the way they're laid out and it interpreted and it does. The sentence structure reads closer to, and we have more sure the prophetic word. Now you may have noticed that this awkwardly worded sentence is the sermon title for today.

That was on purpose. I'm not the best at grammar, English, all that, but good enough to know that that isn't typically how you'd say that. We have more sure the prophetic word, right? But that is exactly what we have.

We have a more sure prophetic word. See, these inspired words that were penned directly after Peter shared the authenticating experiences of that transfiguration, these words were given on purpose. They were inspired on purpose.

And we could ask though, like, why does that matter? And I'd say, well, I think it matters a lot. Both of the apostles and the false teachers. Okay, you have apostles here, you have false teachers here, false prophets.

They're supposedly both of them speaking from experience. They're supposedly both speaking from authority and experience, words that they saw or things they saw, words they heard, right? They're both supposedly doing that.

We could ask what differentiated the apostles' experiences and these false teachers' experiences, right? That's probably smart to ask. And I would say, well, based on Peter's words in verse 16 through 18, I think we could say that the apostles' experience and witness were a fulfillment of what God said he would do and what they observed him doing.

See, in God's word, the Old Testament leading up to these points, right? There were many examples where God said what he would do. And Psalm 2 is just one of them. Don't turn there, I'm just gonna quickly quote.

It's one of the places where God said what he would do. This is directly in context of the transfiguration. What he would do in providing the Messiah, what he would verbally say to him, how the Messiah would reign and how he would return again in power and judgment and glory.

Okay, so that's the apostles. Then you have the false teachers, on the other hand. They were proclaiming experiences and teachings that did nothing but deny the scriptures. They were things they dreamed up.

They'd be based on feeling, they'd be based on thought, they'd be based on agenda. And they would call on their own authority for this most of the time through secret knowledge. I think that's the biggest difference in the experience of the two.

And we could look at it this way, in the idea of experience and God's word being more sure. Okay, the apostles experienced what God said he had done. Okay, they told everyone what they saw God would do.

That's important, right? They saw it firsthand, told everyone, super important. But in the prophetic word, this more sure word, God used men beforehand to tell what he would do. Then God did what he said he would.

Church, we have more sure the prophetic word. And this prophetic word is God's foretelling and confirmation that he does what he said he would. And I think this is important. Human experience alone is not the final authority.

Would anyone agree with me on that? All human experience can do is merely observe what the prophetic word says and then watch it unfold. It's God who confirms his prophetic word by fulfilling it just as he said he would.

As I was studying through this, I thought it'd be a good idea to confirm this, what Peter was saying, right? Is this a standoff, standalone statement that he was making? Was I overthinking this, overanalyzing this?

This understanding that God's word supersedes human experience, right? Is this a one-off statement? I think that's fair to ask. You know, what does the Bible say about this? What did Paul say about this?

He wrote most of the New Testament, right? Well, when speaking of the gospel, Paul said, and that we there is the apostles, but even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one that we preach to you, and who gave that gospel originally to the apostles?

God, right? So he says, so even if we preach a gospel contrary to the one we preach to you, let him be accursed. Why would he say that, right? Because no matter what the experience is, no matter who the messenger is, their only confirmation is the word that God once for all had given to the saints.

These unchangeable truths that we hold in our hands cannot be altered by any angel or any man, no matter who they are. And if they do, Paul says, let him be accursed. These are heavy words. And this is an important note for us who are now, what, thousands of years removed from these experiences, right?

None of us have seen Jesus face-to-face. None of us have heard the audible voice of the Father proclaiming the deity of Christ. None of us have witnessed Jesus' teachings, his miracles, the resurrection, or the ascension of our Lord.

We will never see these this side of heaven, and that's okay, because we can rest assured we have the prophetic word, and we can hold this word in our hands. See, my friends, don't miss the weight of this.

By Peter ranking God's word over personal experience as the final authority, we can rest in the hope that through the scriptures, our faith is built upon a more sure foundation. Our faith is built upon, if it's built in God's word, it is more sure than any personal experience we could have, no matter what we saw or what we heard.

By not witnessing these events firsthand, we didn't miss out, church. We did not miss out. Peter said in verse one of our book, if you glance, he said that we share, and I think that we here is, yes, the original recipients, but I think also us, you and I, we share on an equal standing our faith that the apostles share.

Let that sink in a minute. Our faith is just as sure as theirs, right? Our faith, and I wanna define faith again biblically. Faith isn't, I hope it doesn't rain today. Obviously is, or was, right? Faith is Hebrews 11, one.

Faith is the assurance of things hoped for and the certainty of things not seen. So again, our faith, our assurance, our certainty can rest on the fact that these words that God has given are just as sure as the experiences that the apostles heard and saw.

Do you feel the weight of that? We share on an equal standing as the things they've seen and saw if we have seen God's word. That just blows my mind. Church, we have God's sure word. We can trust this word, and we need to trust it.

See, Peter goes on to say right after, and we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed in verse 19, he goes on to say, to which you will do well to pay attention to. As Peter wrote this letter, again, he was combating those who were saying that Jesus is not going to return.

Could you imagine that hopelessness that they had, things are getting worse. They are starting to feel the persecutions and separations. In Peter's first letter, he said, Peter, to the elect exiles. These brothers and sisters were, if Jesus wasn't returning, they had no hope, right?

And so he's combating this as he says these words. And he pointed that audience, and he pointed us back to know, pay attention to, and remember God's word. And in our day, we're a majority of, and I'll use the word supposed intellect, and supposed science, and supposed experience, are trying to dismiss God's word.

We need to hear the same call that Peter made to that original audience. No matter what the world or the so-called experts say, we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed. And we need to know it.

We need to pay attention to it, and remember these timeless truths. Friends, if quote experts come to a different conclusion than what God has revealed, the conclusion's wrong. If quote scientific studies come to a different conclusion than what God has revealed, then that observation is wrong.

And yeah, the Bible says things like the sun rose, and we know it doesn't, but God also spoke in language we could hear and understand. But how many studies are trying to dismiss God altogether, or God creating, or anything, right?

So if those observations are supposedly proving God wrong, the observation is wrong. And if quote human experience comes to a different conclusion than what God has revealed, then guess what? That feeling of the individual, or that thought that goes against God's word is wrong.

See, God has given intellect, and science, and human experiences to observe what he is doing or what he has done, not to try to disprove him. Every thought, every study, and every experience should point to our awesome God.

And it should conclude in awe and worship for the observer, right? The scriptures say, the heavens declare the glory of God. How many times do we look up and just say, wow, right? And if that's that awesome, how much awesomer, how much more amazing is God, right?

But sadly, often, many people are not seeking truth when they look at their intellect, their sciences, whatever, right? Sadly, just as in Peter's day, many lean on their own dishonest conclusions in attempt to purposely disprove God.

And no wonder Peter concludes in verse 19. Please look with me. He says, we will do well to pay attention to God's word as a lamp shining in a dark place. Church, have you tasted and seen that this is true?

I have. God's word and truth illuminate and stand in judgment of this dark world and its theories. It's not the other way around. And this holy, set-apart word of God will remain as the truth and standard until, as verse 19 says, the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.

This reference, morning star, it's a messianic reference that would have even further confirmed to these listeners that Jesus was indeed coming back. In church, one day, one day, be it through our death and passing or through Jesus coming back, one day, our faith that came from these words will be made sight and we will see our Lord face to face.

Long for that day.

Scripture, Personal Experience, and the Holy Spirit’s Inspiration

Peter concludes his thoughts in verse 20 and 21 when he says, please follow along with me, knowing this first of all, that no true, and I'll add true there because, again, many people prophesy things.

Let me start over. Knowing this first of all, that no true prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. For no true prophecy was ever produced in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

Peter closes his thoughts by confirming that his teaching was not from his own will, his own experience, or his own authority. It was given by God. His teaching that Jesus was returning, right? He's trying to combat these false prophets.

He says, no, he's returning, and that was from God. That was revealed to him from God. His teaching on the final judgment to come was revealed to him by God. They didn't come from his will, his interpretation, his observation.

He says the same for everyone that wrote in this book. He says, he himself, Paul, Matthew, Mark, Moses, David, Solomon, Jeremiah, you name any of the authors of Scripture, Peter says that none of them were speaking from their own will and ideas.

Rather, what does the verse tell us? That they were carried along by the Holy Spirit, inspired by the Holy Spirit. God spoke to the men that he chose to reveal these truths. And these men, when God spoke to them, wrote down what God had given them.

Yes, these men wrote with their own styles. Yes, they wrote with their own personalities. But yes, they only wrote with the truths and the direction that God gave. That's important. This book is not a bunch of rules that man has wrote down to control the masses, as some have wrongly concluded.

I'm not really interested in taking any more time to try to prove that this morning. God has already more than proven these words over and over and over. However, I would say, though, if you're of that belief, if you lean towards that idea, would you please come and talk to me this morning?

I would love to meet with you and just show you more of God's word, take you deeper into that, with the hope, not for argument, but with the hope that you could see God's truth, that you could see his grace, right?

So, as mostly professing believers in this room, I would guess if I went around and asked each one of you, probably most of us would say, yes, I'm a born-again believer. So, as mostly professing believers in this room, what do we do with this section of Scripture?