Welcome back to our study of II Peter...thank you for being here...

Goal for tonight is to better understand the theology of Scripture...how is it that we have the Word of God as we do today...

As we did in I Peter, we’ve identified a theme verse that captures the main thought of the book, and together we’ll commit that verse to memory...while there are a number of verses that could be used, I chose II Peter 3.18...

Let’s practice our scripture memory skills!

But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

Keep working on it...it takes time and repetition to memorize something...you can do it!

Now we’ll turn to our text for tonight...would you stand with me as we read it...

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 God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for 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 as to 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.

Tonight, Peter turns from our sanctification wrought by the Holy Spirit as He builds in us the character of Christ, and turns to the truth that undergirds that work, the truth that Peter refers to in verse 12 when he says So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. 

Peter wants these believers, and believers of all the ages, to know and trust with great confidence the source of the origin of the truth and the interpretation of the truth he and the other apostles preached, and that we now have recorded in God’s word...that’s his topic in this passage, and our topic tonight

The question we want to answer tonight is this: how are we to understand God’s Word? What is its origin and interpretation? Peter gives us great insight into this from both a negative and positive perspective...let’s jump into the text...

The Witness                                 1.16a

Peter begins by denying any use of a common source for religious works...creative human thought...he says with full authority, we did not make up this story...

For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, 

Peter tells his readers that “cleverly devised myths” are not the source of his letters, or in fact any of the Scriptures...as you might guess, these are not common words...”cleverly devised” is a good translation of the Gr word ‘sesophismenois’ ... to slyly and craftily concoct an ingenious and plausible tale, a fictional story...such a story is known in Scripture by the next word, “myth” – a lie passed off as the truth...neither Peter nor the other writers of Scripture, OT or NT, initiated nor followed purely human work, cleverly written stories designed to lead people astray...that is not the source of the Bible we hold in our hands today...though the false teachers may well have claimed that the gospel itself was a myth...

Peter here agrees with Paul, SLIDE who says in II Timothy 2.3-5, 3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. See the contrast Paul draws between the truth and the myths of the false teachers? There is sound, godly teaching – affirmed and consistent OT prophecy and apostolic interpretation, teaching derived from a right handling and careful understanding of the word and the interpretation revealed in the word, known as exegesis – and there is false teaching, which is created by a personal, private, interpretation, designed to suit the itching ears, the desires, of the individual, an understanding not drawn out of or from the word, exegesis, but pushed into the word, eisegesis, defined as an interpretation, especially of Scripture, that reflects the personal ideas or viewpoint of the interpreter; reading something into a text that isn't there...Peter emphasizes that same truth in this passage...as Peter says, we never followed the typical method of the false teachers, which is to invent worldly religious fiction or to misinterpret texts we already have...

These false teachers were active even in the first century, during the period of the writing and collection of the NT...to cite just two examples, Peter speaks of one misunderstood – or maybe intentionally twisted – contemporary teaching, that there would be no second coming...

II Peter 3.1-4:

This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, 2 that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles, 3 knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. 4 They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” 

And Paul’s warning to Timothy in II Timothy 2.15-19:

15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. 16 But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, 17 and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, 18 who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some. 19 But God's firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.”

However, it’s not hard to think of some examples of religious writings that would fit the description of “cleverly devised myths” – it would be a very, very long list...every world religion save the Judaism of the OT, and the Christian faith of the NT...virtually every other faith or non-faith, religions and cults all over the world, have a sacred text or scripture...are they sincerely held as sacred by their adherents? I would assume so...but sincerity isn’t the measure of actual truth...sacred writings aren’t validated by sincerity, they’re validated by historical fact...people all over the world are sincerely wrong about their religious beliefs....the truth claims of Christianity stand opposed to any texts or writings that present a different gospel, whether it claims a divine or overtly humanistic source...

As we consider how the world concocts religious stories, we should recognize a common spiritual source...the father of lies himself, who can take the gospel account and twist it into a wide variety of shapes and sizes and styles...but as believers in the gospel of Jesus Christ, we have to ask ourselves, how much do I attend to false teaching and to myths?

The Example                                 1.16b-18

Our faith is not based on cleverly devised myths that intentionally or unintentionally lead people astray, it is based on eyewitness accounts... listen once again to Peter...

...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 God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. 

To what is Peter referring when he says we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ? Without question it is the second coming of Jesus Christ, His glorious return to earth...the Gr word is ‘parousia’ – it’s used 24 times in the NT, and 18 of those times it refers to Jesus Christ, and all 18 refer to His second coming...twice later in this book of II Peter, chapter 3 verses 4 and 12...

Why would Peter focus on this particular event? Because the return of Jesus Christ is the hope of every Christian, the end of this age, the fulfillment of prophecy, and the culminating event of human history...it is also a significant portion of the teaching of both Jesus and the apostles...His return is the focus of Jesus’s teaching on the last days in Matthew 24, Paul’s teaching in I Corinthians 15, it is one of the central themes of both I and II Thessalonians, and it’s a firm expectation of Jesus, Paul, James, and Peter himself...

And in contrast to Peter’s denial of the cleverly devised myths of other religions, he steadfastly stands his ground on his personal eyewitness account of a particularly important event in the life and ministry of Jesus...the Transfiguration...we read about it in all three of the synoptic gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke...I’ll quote Matthew 17.1-8 here...

And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. 3 And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. 4 And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 5 He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” 6 When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified. 7 But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and have no fear.” 8 And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only. 

Peter was one of only three human witnesses of this incredible event, along with the brothers James and John, and he recounts it here in II Peter to make two clear points...first, that the gospel, to include the critical teaching of the second coming of Jesus Christ, is no myth – it is rooted in historical fact, from the incarnation to the resurrection, and is attested by multiple accounts of eyewitness testimony; and second, that this moment prefigures an even greater moment of honor and glory, the return of Jesus Christ to conclude this world and enter into the next...in all three of the Synoptic gospels, the Transfiguration follows a declaration of the coming of the kingdom in power...the transfiguration, set in the context of the word, affirms that teaching with a picture...

Peter saw the Son of God, shining in resplendent glory, transfigured into a near-heavenly state, and he heard the voice of the Father say, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” ... this was no dream, no vision, no carefully crafted and deceitful myth...this is the ultimate truth of the universe standing on a hillside, the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace of Isaiah 9 shining in unapproachable light...Peter didn’t know it at the time, but this was a visual preview of the glorified Christ, the Jesus that John saw in Revelation 1.12-16, and most certainly an affirmation of the prophesied return of the Christ...

The transfiguration is a historical fact, attested in three of the four gospels, and stands as both an event looking forward to the coming of the kingdom of God in power and great glory, but also as an example of the validity and truth of the biblical record, being witnessed by known and reliable men who both saw and heard what they claimed...

Commentator Christopher Green described the significance of the authority of God’s Word this way: 

The Bible is not the subjective record of a religious quest that we can supplement or challenge with our own experiences. God has spoken. 

As we think about the power of this eyewitness account, I would ask this of us...what testimony can we give of Jesus Christ? When the world wants to know about our Savior, what can we offer? What can we say with confidence that we have both seen and heard of what He has done in our lives? Along with the saints of Revelation 12.11, can we offer the word of our testimony as proof of our God?

The Word                                 1.19-21

Peter began with a rejection of cleverly devised myths, moved to eyewitness accounts of the transfiguration, and now writes one of the most fulsome descriptions we have in Scripture of how God brought about the written record of His Word...

Let’s review beginning with verse 16...we see that the point of the apostolic preaching Peter refers to here is the second coming of Jesus Christ...the “power and coming,” the parousia...he makes the case for the certainty of the second coming by appealing to the Transfiguration, recorded in all three synoptic gospels, and to which Peter himself was an eyewitness...he speaks of seeing Jesus receive honor and glory from the Father, a reference to the transformation of Jesus in transcendent light, and of hearing the voice of the Father call Jesus His beloved Son in whom He was well pleased, an echo of the baptism of Jesus... and his own eyewitness accounts, of both seeing the transfigured Christ and hearing the voice of the Father, provide the certainty of the past event...now he moves from the past to the certainty of the future event, the second coming of Jesus Christ, based on the surety of the prophetic word and how that word is written and validated...let’s pick the text back up at verse 19...

And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to 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.

Before we move any further, it will help to gain some understanding of what prophetic word Peter meant here...is there any clue? I think so...the words of the Father at the Transfiguration echo two specific Messianic prophecies: Psalm 2.7 

The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you.

And Isaiah 42.1 

Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. 

Peter’s retelling of the Transfiguration assures us that the prophetic word is true, and the apostolic interpretation of it is also true...it is more fully confirmed...

What must be our response to this confirmed prophetic word from the OT, depicted in the Transfiguration? We must pay attention to it...take care for it, consider it important...just the way someone in a dark room pays attention to a light...TEST which calls us to consider: are we paying attention to His word? Carefully and closely?

Of great interest is the next two phrases...there is a time limit to how long we have to pay attention to the prophetic word...what is that? until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts...what could that mean? Only one thing, when we look for where this language is used elsewhere in Scripture...the “day” in this context very likely refers to the Day of the Lord, and the “morning star” can mean only one Person: the Lord Jesus Christ, who took for Himself that name in Revelation 22.16

“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”

So we are to depend fully on the authoritative Word and the apostolic interpretation of it until that prophetic word is displaced by the Living Word, until the second coming foretold in the Transfiguration...

Peter draws this passage to a close with verses 20 and 21

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.

Until He comes, we can know that the Holy Spirit Himself is in charge of His own word...no prophecy of Scripture, and the principle holds for all of Scripture, is interpreted from our personal desires, but only from the rest of the Scripture itself, as the apostles did...the false teachers made that mistake as they failed to observe the apostolic interpretation of the OT from Psalm 2, Isaiah 42, and other messianic prophecies...we don’t get to individually interpret and decide what Scripture means...even in our application of Scripture we should be careful to apply it in a way that is consistent with its context, whether it is in the OT or NT, to whom it was written and when it was written...the word “interpretation” renders the Gr ‘epilysis’ to unravel or release something...singular NT use...look to the rest of the Word to unravel the meaning of the text...

And we can also be assured that what we have in our Bibles today is exactly what God intends for us to have...there is much to say on the topics of the authority and sufficiency and origin of the Scriptures, but this passage gives us some critical perspective on these questions...what we learn here is this: the Word of God is not solely the work of man, neither in the interpretation of his mind, nor the decision of his will...instead, the testimony of Scripture about itself is that God communicates through men, carrying them along by His own mind and will...the phrase renders Gr ‘pheromenoi’ in the masculine, plural, and passive voice...multiple men were acted upon by God in the producing of the Scripture...the word means to be moved along while one is being sustained or supported...it is His work through men...the apostles and prophets are co-laborers with the Spirit, but it is NOT a co-equal effort...we recognize different human authors both by attribution and by writing style, but over all the differences among the Spirit’s human partners in the process, the Word of God stands eternally and infallibly as His word, though reliably communicated through human authors

Conclusion: Peter has established the truth of the OT prophets and the authority of the NT apostles, and affirmed that the Scriptures, including the ones we hold today, are in fact the product of a process that affirms sovereign divine authority and authorship while still involving human writers in the process...the conclusion we reach, along with Peter, as scholar Richard Lucas puts it, is that “Peter puts on an equally divine and authoritative footing the message of the New Testament apostles and the message of the Old Testament prophets (cf. 3:2, 16). God spoke to both groups, giving them his once-for-all and irrevocable explanation of his actions.”  What a miracle that we have His word!