SECOND PETER 1:12

Peter wrote by the Holy Spirit in Second Peter 1:12, “Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth.” One of the principle responsibilities of a preacher is not necessarily to tell people things that they have never heard, but to do what Peter said he needed to do: to remind people of things that they already know but that they must never forget.

In Second Peter 1:13-14 Peter wrote, “Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance; knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath showed me.” These two verses demonstrate a great similarity between the circumstances that Peter was in as he wrote this epistle and the circumstances that Paul was in when Paul wrote the epistle of Second Timothy. Both men were obviously under a death sentence for their faith in Christ and both were soon to be executed. That is what Peter meant when he said, “shortly I must put off this my tabernacle.”

When Peter wrote, “Even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath showed me,” Peter was stating the fact that Christ, years earlier, had indicated that Peter would die by crucifixion and that was the sentence that had now been pronounced against Peter. The Bible says in John 21:18 when Jesus is speaking to Peter, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, when thou wast young, thou girdest thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee where thou wouldest not.” And then the Bible says in John 21:19, “This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God.” At the writing of these words in Second Peter; Peter was perhaps only a few hours from his death. But death for any Christian is not the end. Peter did not regard his death as the end. He saw death as simply leaving his “tabernacle.” Your body is not the “real” you. The “real” you is inside your body. The day will come when you will leave that body and live somewhere forever.

In Second Peter 1:15 one more time Peter says that these believers need to be reminded of what is true. Peter makes the point that the way for them to be reminded even after his death is to have the written Word to refer to. He wrote, “Moreover, I will endeavor that ye may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance.” Why did God give His written word? This is why: so that every Christian in every generation can know the complete, unaltered, authentic, authoritative Word of God. That is why God gave a written Word, which we know as the Bible.

Being now on the subject of the written Word of God, Peter writes in Second Peter 1:16, “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.” In this verse we are dealing with the veracity and the trustworthiness of the Word of God. What evidence is there that the Word of God is the truth? The evidence is the same evidence that would be received in any court of law: eyewitness testimony. What is one of the most important factors regarding eyewitness testimony? The character of the witness is of utmost importance. The greater the character, the more reliable is the testimony.

Peter included the other witnesses. He said “we” made known unto you. One person might be mistaken or might have a dream and confuse it with reality, but when many reliable witnesses give the same testimony, the truthfulness is established beyond question. The Apostle John said the same thing in First John 1:1, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life.”

The apostles and other believers of the first century were witnesses of the “power” and the “coming” and the “majesty” of Jesus Christ. Jesus was powerful. He performed miracles. The manifestation of His great power was part of the proof of who He was. He was God in the flesh. The “coming” of the Messiah had been foretold for centuries by the prophets of old. When the time was just right, the Messiah came into the world. The truth of His identity was revealed to some, just as the same truth is revealed by faith to some in our day and age. “Many are called, but few are chosen.”

In Second Peter 1:16 the Apostle Peter spoke of three things about Christ. Peter used the words “power, coming, and majesty.” Christ is powerful because He has all power. The word “God” means the Powerful One, the Mighty One. God in the flesh would have power over His creation, and He did. The miracles of Christ not only showed His compassion for the unfortunate, but His miracles proved His power. The apostles and others in the first century were witnesses of the power of Christ. He still has power. Therefore, cast all of your care upon Him.

They were witnesses of His coming. From the beginning of God’s first revelations to mankind; there was a promise that One would come. He would be the Anointed One, the Messiah. He would come to save His people from their sins. In the fullness of time He came, and the apostles were chosen to bear witness of His coming. The prophets of old looked for His coming. Now we look for His coming again. Just as the Messiah came the first time and walked as a man upon the earth, He will come again as the mighty King of kings. We will see Him. All the nations will look upon Him, and then the whole world will see His majesty.

Peter said that he and the others saw the “majesty” of Christ the god-man. Even as a man, His majesty could not be hidden from those who saw Him. The word “majesty” is a word of superlatives. Think of magnificent grandeur and greatness. Jesus was marvelous, He was extraordinary, and He was wonderful beyond compare. It must have truly been a great thing to have witnessed the Christ in His first coming. The grace, the love, the charm, the kindness, the strength, and the character that made up His human being! All that a human being can be, Christ was and more! The type of person that Christ was bore witness of the fact of just Who He was.

Jesus was the Son of God. It is not surprising that the Father bore witness of the Son when the Son was on the earth. Peter wrote about Jesus in Second Peter 1:17-18, “For he received from God the Father honor 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. And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.” Why did Jesus please the Father? He obeyed the Father. He did the Father’s will. No one else has ever pleased the Father like Jesus. Except for Jesus, the condition of all other humans is described in Isaiah 53:6, “All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned everyone to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

The Father spoke from heaven, and one would think that such a word would be the final word. What other Word could match that? What would be needed for the human race in addition to the Father speaking audibly from heaven? How about a written Word? Peter wrote in Second Peter 1:19-21, “We have also a more sure word of prophesy; 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 our hearts: knowing this first, that no prophesy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophesy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”

The written Word, what this passage calls the “scripture,” is said to be “a more sure word of prophesy” than even the audible words that came directly from the Father. The last phrase of Psalm 138:2 says, “for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.” The written word of God is “more sure” than any other witness that we could possibly receive about the truth. This shows us the importance of the written Word of God.

Second Peter 1:19 tells us two things about the written Word of God. It is “prophecy” and it is “light.” The word prophecy has to do with speaking forth the truth from God. The written Word of God is the Word of God just as much as the spoken Word of God. That is why the written word of God is so important and so valuable. These written words are the very words that God Himself gave to the human race. Everyone has the same opportunity to find the truth. No one should be led astray by a false teacher or by a human religious tradition. God’s Word in written form must be read and studied in order to stay well informed of the truth. Human beings go astray when they stop learning from God’s Word.

The written Word of God is called the “light.” We live in a dark world. Spiritual darkness is on every side. For those who understand that they need a light that will shine for them in a dark place, the Bible is the answer. Notice where the light needs to shine: “in your hearts.” “The heart of man is desperately wicked and deceitful above all things.” You will hear many, many ideas given as solutions to the problems of the world, and many of them involve money, but none of them will shine as a light in a dark place. Only the Word of God can do that. Only the Word of God can reveal Christ for who He is.

Of course, the Word of God must not be misused. We all know that there are those who claim to base their teachings on the Word of God, but in reality their teachings are false. Knowing that there are false teachers, some people use this fact as an excuse to avoid studying the Word for themselves. Such people will say that the Bible can be interpreted in any way, and therefore why study it? But they are wrong. There is only one valid interpretation of any portion of the Bible. If two people disagree about the meaning of a particular Bible verse, then one of them is wrong. Sometimes the person that is wrong is the one who is too dogmatic. Some things have been revealed to man, but some things have not yet been revealed. Some things are known now, but other things will not be known until we stand before the King. “No prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.”

The Bible is not open to an individual’s interpretation. It says what it says, and it means what it means. Remember that the Bible is literally the Word of God. Every Word was given from God. Do not look for a hidden meaning. Look for the obvious meaning. The Bible was given by God for every person on the earth. It was not given just for scholars. The foundational truth that must be understood and accepted is that the origin of the Bible is from God Himself. Yes, God used human instruments so that the Bible would be written. But God is the author. That is the message given so clearly in Second Peter 1:21, “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 Holt Ghost.” If you do not believe this, your faith will easily be destroyed. Faith stands on the foundation that God’s Word came from God, that it is true, and that it is without error. Anyone, no matter how educated they are, who departs from this truth, is departing from the faith and is leading others to depart from the faith. Beware of modern textual criticism.

We must notice that “holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” God uses a prepared person for His service. Do your part in becoming prepared for Him. Keep from sin. Confess your sins, and stay in fellowship with Christ. There may yet be something that He has for you to do for Jesus, but remember that those whom God used in the past were “holy.”

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