Preached Sunday, January 5, 2014 from 2 Peter 1:20-21
Theme: We should receive the Scriptures as God’s infallible message through men to mankind.
(Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are taken from The Holy Bible, New King James Version; copyright 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc.)
Please pick up and hold your Bible.
As followers of Jesus, we are sometimes accused of superimposing upon this book our own beliefs about it. But the truth is that, if we can be accused of anything at all, it’s that we simply believe and affirm what this book says about itself.
The Bible declares itself to be the authoritative, written revelation from God to mankind about Jesus Christ. And as followers of Jesus, we humbly believe what it says; and simply read it and proclaim it as what it declares itself to be. And what’s more, in doing so, we find that it proves itself to be all that it says that it is—”the word of God”, which also “effectively works” in those who believe (1 Thessalonians 2:13).
This morning, I ask that we look together at a passage from the Bible that helps us appreciate its own life-transforming power. There are several passages in which the Bible teaches us something about itself; but one of the most important passages is found in 2 Peter 1:20-21. There, the apostle Peter wrote these words;
. . . knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:19-21).
That’s not a very big passage. It’s just two verses long. But what an amazing affirmation it makes! Do you realize what the apostle Peter was saying about the Bible that you are now holding in your hand? You hold the most precious thing in this world! In fact, the source of what you are holding is distinct from and far above this fallen world! You hold the very thing that the broken and needy people of this world most need, and yet so often insist cannot possibly exist—that is, a tested and proven proclamation of absolute, unchanging truth! You hold in your hand the only reliable lamp from God that shines today in this dark and fallen world!
You hold in your hand an infallible message from God, through men, to mankind!
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Now; when the apostle Peter wrote those words, he was writing a letter of exhortation to his fellow believers. He wrote those words for some very practical reasons. So, let’s step back for a moment and understand how those words fit into the context of Peter’s letter.
Peter had been writing to his beloved brothers and sisters about the full sufficiency of Jesus Christ for everything in their lives. As we have seen over the past few weeks, in just the first few words of this letter, he had affirmed to them that they have—as a present provision—”all things that pertain to life and godliness” through their faith in Jesus Christ (1:3). All that they will ever need to face the problems and trials of life victoriously, and all that they will ever need to be able to live the life that God wants them to live—is promised to them through their relationship with Jesus Himself. He is an all-sufficient Savior; and because they are related to Him by faith, they are given all sufficiency for life through Him. And based on the wonderful promises of God, Peter then urges them to rise up in confident obedience, put these great and precious promises from God to work in their lives, and build faithfully upon the foundation of that faith in Jesus.
Peter was very diligent to issue this call to action. He said that he wanted to remind his brothers and sisters of the things that were theirs in Christ; knowing that he would one day be called away from them by death, and would no longer be physically present to proclaim these things to them. That’s why he said that he wrote this letter. He wanted ensure that they would have a constant reminder of these things.
And do you remember how passionately he declared the absolute reliability of the things that he was telling them? In verses 16-19, he spoke of himself and the other apostles when he wrote;
For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts . . . (2 Peter 1:16-19).
As the Gospels tell us, Peter, James and John were all three with the Lord Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration. They all saw Jesus’ glory revealed to them, and all heard the voice of the Father identify Him as His Son. And now, as Peter said, we have the prophetic promises of the Old Testament Scriptures concerning Jesus “confirmed”; and we “do well” to heed those Scriptures as a light that guides us to eternal life. And that’s one reason Peter spoke the words we find in this morning’s passage. He wanted to affirm to us why it is that the Scriptures—this book that we hold in our hands—truly is a reliable guide to eternal life; and that we will never go wrong if we pay faithful heed to it.
But there is another reason why Peter wanted to affirm the truthfulness and reliability of the Scriptures to his readers. And that was because false teachers were threatening to arise and lead them astray. In chapter two of this little letter, Peter goes on to tell his readers;
But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed (2:1-2).
Peter was very concerned to ensure that his precious brothers and sisters did not get caught-up in the errors of those false teachers. He wanted them to build faithfully on a sincere faith in Jesus and receive a full reward. Knowing that he would soon be taken from them, he wanted to reinforce to them the reliability of the Scriptures;
that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandments of us, the apostles of our Lord and Savior (2 Peter 3:1-2).
And so, that’s another reason why Peter spoke the words we find in this morning’s passage about the truthfulness and reliability of the Scriptures—that is, in order to protect his readers from falsehood. And we need very much to take these words to heart.
The Bible isn’t a mere collection of fairy-tales and myths. Nor is it the mere reflections and philosophic thoughts of insightful and spiritually-minded people. Rather, as Peter affirms, it is nothing less than the revelation of truth from God to mankind. And we need to ‘know’ this as a matter of first importance—and pay diligent heed to the Scriptures as that which will reliably guide us to salvation from sin and to eternal glory in Christ.
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Now; it’s very important that we understand what these two verses are telling us about this book we have in our hands. Let’s begin by affirming what is obvious about the Bible; and that is that . . .
1. THE SCRIPTURES ARE FULLY ‘HUMAN’ IN NATURE.
When we speak of the Scriptures as coming from God, we don’t at all mean to say that it’s not a human book. In fact, quite the opposite; we affirm that it is a profoundly human book.
If you’ve read much from the Bible, you already know how each of its human writers communicated themselves differently from one another. Each author of the individual books of Scripture wrote with his own style and personality and set of experiences. We’re reading this morning from a letter by Peter; but even though the apostles Peter and Paul say many of the same things in their writings, Peter’s letters have a noticeably different style and feel than the letters of Paul. The apostle John wrote a Gospel account; but his way of writing his Gospel is clearly different from the way Luke wrote his Gospel. Matthew wrote his Gospel in a distinctively Jewish style for Jewish readers; and Mark wrote his Gospel in a distinctively Roman style for Roman readers. They all report the same, consistent life of the Lord Jesus and many of the same events; but they—together—give us a whole story from distinctively different human viewpoints.
Or think of the writers of the Old Testament. King David wrote as a poet and songwriter; and his writings touch our hearts at some of our deepest moments of need. His son Solomon, however, was the wisest man who ever lived; and his writings take us down careful paths of philosophic reasoning. The prophet Daniel wrote like a faithful politician. Isaiah wrote like a dignified statesman. Jeremiah wrote like a broken-hearted preacher. Ezekiel wrote like a seer of visions who could barely describe the things he saw. But they all tell us about the same Lord Jesus Christ who was yet to come.
It’s the same throughout the Bible. The Bible was written by over forty-five different human writers, writing from within a wide variety of different nations and cultures, in at least three different languages, over a time period of 1,500 years, through five successive world empires, and from almost every walk of human life imaginable. Some of its writers wrote while in the desert. Some wrote while in prison. Some wrote from king’s palaces. Some wrote from shepherd’s fields. Some wrote while in priestly robes. Some wrote while working on the farm. Some wrote while in a time of peace. Some wrote while in the midst of war. Some were rich. Some were poor. Some wrote while in exile while in a foreign land—far from home. One man even wrote portions of the Bible while in the belly of a fish! They wrote about some of the greatest human experience we could think of; and on the greatest subjects and themes we could imagine; and together tell the full the story of mankind from its beginning in the garden of Eden to the end of this present creation. And the book that preserves all of these various writings has been the single most transformational force in every human culture into which it has ever been introduced—anywhere and anytime on earth.
I would suggest that that there isn’t a single object on earth that’s more ‘human’ in nature than the Bible. It is—without question—the most ‘human’ book ever written!
And have you ever wondered why God would communicate Himself through a book like that? If He had a message to give to mankind, why didn’t He simply utter it Himself from the sky? Why didn’t He simply send a hand-written manuscript from heaven? Why didn’t He simply send mighty angels to declare His message to us? Why did He choose instead to speak to mankind through weak and frail members of humanity? I suggest that it would be because that was the very best way—indeed the only way—for us to relate intelligently to what it was He wanted us to know. He spoke to humanity—but graciously spoke in the language of humanity through human instruments, so that human beings could understand. Perhaps the best analogy of this is our Lord Jesus. Our Savior Himself existed as the eternal “Word”; but as John wrote, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).
I’m so glad that God has communicated to us through ‘the human touch’, aren’t you?
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But just as we affirm that the Scriptures are thoroughly human in nature, we also affirm that . . .
2. THE SCRIPTURES ARE NOT OF HUMAN ORIGIN (vv. 20b-21a).
Look at how Peter expresses this. “[K]nowing this first,” he says, “that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation”.
Now; this has often been badly misunderstood. Many, for example, have taken this to mean that average Christians should never try to interpret the Bible for themselves as ‘private interpreters’—that they should leave the important work of handling the Bible to the priests and scholars and the religious experts. And while it’s certainly true that the Bible should always be interpreted carefully, I don’t believe this verse is saying that private individuals like you and me shouldn’t try to interpret it. Others have understood these words to mean that no single prophecy of Scripture should ever be interpreted by itself in isolation from the others—that it needs to be interpreted by other prophecies, or by the actual fulfillment of the events themselves. And again, while that’s certainly true, I don’t believe that’s what Peter is saying here.
Take a look at that word “interpretation”.. It comes from the joining together of two words in the Greek—the word epi, which means upon; and the word lusis, which means “a release”. Thus, epilusis means to loose something or liberate it. Metaphorically, it means to give an explanation of something that is obscure or mysterious—to, as it were, ‘liberate’ it from its obscurity. And that’s what I believe Peter is means. He is saying that no prophecy of Scripture is the product of any private individual deciding—on their own power—to look over the events of life and give an “interpretation” of what will happen.
The meaning of Peter’s words in verse 20 become even more plain when we read them in the light of the first few words of verse 21. Verse 21 is meant to explain verse 20; and it says “for prophecy never came by the will of man”. “Prophecy” is the forth-speaking of a message from God; and the assertion that Peter is making is that there is not one authentic ‘forth-spoken’ message from God in the Scriptures that has its origin in the ingenuity or creative will of man.
There have been many books written in which their authors claimed to have great insight and the ability to “loose” for the rest of us that which is mysterious and obscure. And indeed, there may even have been writers with a profound ability to look over the times, examine the trends, and make predictions about what might happen next. Some of them are wise, intelligent forecasts; and some of them are just lucky guesses. But Peter is making it clear to us that no prophecy of Scripture is of that sort. No prophecy ever had its source in the ingenuity or creative insight of mere man. They don’t even have their source in the will of man. In fact, the Bible makes it clear that “eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Corinthians 2:9). In Jeremiah 23:26, the Lord spoke through His genuine prophet Jeremiah about the false prophets of that day and said, “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophecy to you. They make you worthless; they speak a vision of their own heart, not from the mouth of the LORD.” Likewise, in Ezekiel 13:3, God speaks through His genuine prophet Ezekiel and says, “Woe to the foolish prophets, who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing!”
The Scriptures, then, are not the ‘prophetic writings’ of men who declare their own insights in accordance with their own will. There’s no hope for the needy people of this world in anything that has its source in man. It would be nothing more than a matter of one fallen human being telling his or her fallen thoughts to another fallen human being. To seek truth and wisdom from fallen man would be, as someone once put it, as fruitless as ‘a blind man searching in a dark room for a black cat that isn’t there’. Peter tells us clearly that “no prophecy of Scripture [that is, the ‘forth-telling’ of a true message from God that is written down for us and preserved in the pages of the Bible] is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man”.
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So; that tells us what the Bible is not. Even though it is a thoroughly ‘human’ book, it is not of human origin. But, so that we can trust what it tells us, notice that Peter then went on in the latter half of verse 21 to say what the Bible is. He tells us that . . .
3. THE SCRIPTURES ARE OF GOD THROUGH MAN (v. 21b).
He wrote, “but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit”; or, as it’s more accurately translated in the New American Standard version, “but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God”. That’s what the Bible is—a word from God through men who were acted-upon by the Holy Spirit.
Look at that word “moved” (or “carried along” as it’s translated in the New International Version). It’s the same word that is used in Acts 27:15 and 17 to describe the actions of a ship that the apostle Paul was traveling in. That ship had been caught in the terrible winds of the Euroclydon and had been blown far off course. So the sailors struck sail and let her be “driven” by the wind. Peter is saying that, in a sense, that’s how God gave us the Scriptures. No word of prophecy was a matter of any man’s private interpretation or will. No human writer in the Bible got up out of bed one day and said, “Today, I shall write a portion of Scripture—and I hope God will like it and see fit to use it.” Instead, men—”holy men” as some texts have it—were acted upon by the Holy Spirit in such a way as to be “carried along” or “moved” or “born along”; so that what they wrote was “of God”.
And let’s understand this carefully! It wasn’t that God put any of His servants into a ‘trance’, and wrote what He wished to write through them as if they were mere passive puppets or robots. Nor were they like ‘sacred secretaries’, simply taking “word-for-word-dictation” from God without any personal involvement. What Peter is telling us is that the human writers of Scripture wrote what they intentionally wrote as any writer would write; but were ‘carried along’ and ‘born along’ by the Holy Spirit in their writing—through their own unique personalities, and through their own styles, and through their own word choices; truly writing what they themselves intended to write, but in such a way as to be protected by God from error, and to communicate—even down to the very words—exactly what God Himself wanted them to say. They wrote what they wanted to write; but they were borne along in their writing by the Holy Spirit so that what they wanted to write was what God wanted written.
This is what the apostle Paul referred to as ‘inspiration’—that is, that the whole of Scripture is “God-breathed” and has its ultimate source in Him. Paul wrote,
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
Elsewhere Paul wrote,
Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual (1 Corinthians 2:12-13).
I see this remarkably demonstrated in what Peter wrote in 1 Peter 1:10-11. He was speaking of the great salvation that has been brought about for us in Jesus Christ; and then wrote,
Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow (1 Peter 1:10-11).
In other words, they wrote—and afterwards, themselves desired to understand the great things that were prophesied for us about Christ in their writings. That was because it was they themselves wrote what was written; but it was God who bore them along in their writing so that they gave forth a message from God that was greater than from themselves. These are the things that Peter says are now “confirmed” to us through their fulfillment in Christ.
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So; the Bible is a thoroughly human book. And Peter makes two great affirmations about it. Though it is a very human book, it is not of human origin; but rather is of God, through men, and to mankind.
And before we depart from this, notice one more thing. As Peter says, . . .
4. IT’S VITAL THAT WE ‘KNOW THIS FIRST’ (v. 20a).
At the beginning of verse 20, Peter says that we can be confident in the Scriptures “knowing this first” about them. What Peter means is that we are to continually know—as a present tense reality—these truths about the holy Scriptures as something “of first order” or “first in priority”.
What Peter tells us in verses 20-21—that is, that no prophecy of Scripture ever came about by the will and creativity of man; but instead, that the Bible is the product holy men being born along by the Holy Spirit, so that they spoke from God—these things are of first importance to know when we pick up our Bibles. And if they must be sure and certain in our minds as we read the Scriptures, then we will gain the benefit from them that God wants us to have.
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Dear brothers and sisters; we’re not left to wander around in the dark. We have a lamp in this world that illuminates the way for us. Pick up your Bible again! Hold it once more in your hand! That Bible is the sure and certain lamp! And until the day finally comes when we behold the Lord Jesus with our eyes, and hear Him say, “Well done!”—until the day when all His promises to us are fulfilled—let’s cling to it faithfully. Let’s know these truths about it continually. Let’s proclaim it’s truths to this world boldly and confidently!