It is a morally dark place. It All Boils Down to Time What a word of confidence this is! Every God-ordained church starts off on a Prophetic Foundation. 13:2-3; Acts 28:25; Heb. When a … This very fact is affirmed by Jesus Himself. Sin robs us of hope and joy. But what about those who fall away? Even in all of this, he was able to find and hold onto the ‘joyful expectation’ that defines hope in God – not the joy of the world, but rather a deep, abiding spiritual joy that is anchored in a faith that cannot be shaken, a faith that is built on the sure foundation of all the promises of God. This is our confidence. Surely these must be professors and not possessors; they are in Christendom but not in the true Church; they have faith in their heads but not saving faith in their hearts; they hold the lamp of testimony but there is no oil in their lamps; they are tares and not wheat (2 Timothy 3:5). In one chapter, he takes just eight prophecies concerning Jesus Christ and uses very conservative estimates to determine how probable it is that anyone who might have lived from the time of those prophecies down to the present could have fulfilled them all. By embracing these three activities and putting them into daily practice, you will build your spiritual strength — your foundation — and begin to experience a powerful new sense of God’s presence and purpose. If we are really the Lord’’s people we shall turn away from wickedness; if we are not doing this –- or ‘’standing aloof from it’’, as the word really means –- there is no evidence that we really are the Lord’’s people. In the context of the Lord’s coming (v. 16), the “prophetic word” refers to the Old Testament prophecies relating to “the day of the Lord,” the day of judgment and salvation (Thomas Schreiner, The New American Commentary, 1, 2 Peter, Jude [Broadman], p.319). First, the Roman Catholic Church uses verse 20 to teach that individuals are not permitted to interpret the Bible for themselves. How should we respond if the foundations are destroyed? So Peter’s first point is, we have the solid foundation of the prophetic word, which was further confirmed by the apostles’ experience of seeing Jesus’ glory on the mount of transfiguration. The third view is that Peter is saying that we aren’t free to interpret Scripture according to our own personal whims. 16-18, for Peter then would be suggesting that his appeal to the transfiguration is not quite convincing, so he needed something better, namely, the Old Testament Scriptures. If you’re going to stake your eternity on that same thing, you really want to be sure that it is the truth. 22:16; see, also Rev. As Peter Davids writes (The Letters of 2 Peter and Jude [Eerdmans], p. 210), “One treasures a love letter while the beloved is absent, but once he or she is present, the letter is laid aside and exchanged for the personal contact.”. For me, 100 feels more like 25.” Sorry, but 25 mph is not a subjective feeling; it is an objective standard by which anyone may be judged. To claim that your view is the only right view is divisive. "The Foundation of the Kingdom of God" The bedrock upon which we must stand, walk and live. Since we have the solid foundation of God’s inspired Word, we must pay careful attention to it and interpret it correctly. One of these seals is on the God-ward side and the other on the man-ward side. Scripture is not to be interpreted subjectively, according to my feelings or preferences, but rather, objectively, according to the meaning of the text. The ‘‘wickedness’’ referred to here includes any transgression of the commands of Christ. To navigate this dark, dirty world safely, you need the lamp of God’s Word. He thinks that Peter is saying that Scripture ranks even above his experience of seeing the transfigured Christ. 3:11). He graduated from Dallas Theological Seminary (Th.M., 1976 in Bible exposition) and Califo... More. In 1:16-18, Peter boldly states that the apostles were not following cleverly devised tales when they made known the power and coming of the Lord Jesus. We must seek to determine what the text meant to the original author and readers in their historical setting before we ask how it applies to us in our culture. His very first temptation challenged Eve (Gen. 3:1), “Indeed, has God said …?” He has attempted to bring down our faith through liberal theologians, who undermine its veracity. Peter compares the Bible to a lamp shining in the darkness, much as Psalm 119:105, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” This is the only New Testament use of this Greek word for “dark.” It has the connotation of being not only dark, but also dirty or squalid. All we believe, all we trust, all we do is to glorify Christ, who in turn glorifies God. “Therefore thus saith the Lord G OD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.” * (Isaiah 28:16) “For who is God save the L ORD? Our foundation is supposed to be built on the Rock, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Jesus told Peter it was not of his (Peter's) own that he had had such a revelation. While certain portions of Scripture were dictated directly by God, in most places He used the personalities and experiences of the authors to shape their language and message, but the final product is, as Hodge puts it, “what they said God said.” (See 2 Sam. It would be utterly tragic to spend your life on a path that you thought led to heaven, only to find out too late that you were wrong! 23:16-22; Ezek. We apostlesa… A strong national foundation consists of law and order, justice, truth, morality, decency, integrity, fairness, and trustworthiness. Jesus Christ is our chief cornerstone, the sure foundation, the Word made flesh. God's plan for His people as individuals and as … It is called a foundation in order to express better its immobility –- now compare Psalm 11:3-4; Matthew 7:24-25; Matthew 16:13-19 and Ephesians 2:19-22. The foundation of our world dates from this event in the garden when Adam and Eve rejected God and chose to go their own way. As the Lord looks at the professing Church He knows those in that Church who are His. But the apostles did not understand how it all fit together until after Jesus’ death and resurrection. They will cover the entire state two feet deep. Why not? There is great comfort in this truth for the following reasons:-, Yes, the word of confidence and the word of comfort is followed by a word of caution, brought out in the other inscription on the foundation –- ““Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.”” The thought here is that if a professing Christian gives no evidence of turning away from wickedness, there is no evidence that he is a real Christian at all –- look up the solemn words of Jesus as recorded in Matthew 7:22-23. Make sure you pay attention to it by spending consistent time reading and studying it. 4. The foundation, Paul tells us, consists of the prophets and the Apostles (Eph. Hearing and obeying the Word will build our lives on a solid, firm foundation that will stand up to and weather any storm. 5:2). Our higher educational system (Harvard, Yale, and Princeton were founded to train men in the Word) is now dominated by skeptics who sneer at God’s Word. Be careful to interpret it correctly. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation, Related Topics: Bibliology (The Written Word), Basics for Christians, Establish, Steve served as the pastor of Flagstaff Christian Fellowship from May, 1992 through his retirement in December, 2018. Now mark one of those silver dollars, stir it into the whole mix, blindfold a man and tell him he can go as far as he wants, but he has to pick just one. Peter continues, “for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” The idea is, you are not free to interpret the Bible according to your feelings or to take or leave parts of it as you like, because (“for”) the Bible is the very word from God to us through these inspired men. 35:5-6), and His triumphal entry into Jerusalem on the foal of a donkey (Zech. © 2021 Words of Life Ministries - an independent evangelical Registered Charitable Trust (no.269381) Cookie Policy | Privacy Policy Website by: TEKOA Creative, Study 10 A GREAT CHRISTIAN’’S DYING TESTIMONY, Study 11 BODILY SICKNESS AND DIVINE HEALING, Study 4 A CALL FOR CONSTANCY AND PERSEVERANCE, Study 6 GOD’’S SOLID FOUNDATION STANDS FIRM. These three sins are mentioned in this chapter:-. 42:1-4; 61:1-2), His miracles (Isa. Engineers put dynamite at strategic places in the foundation. The verb is used of the wind carrying along Paul’s ship in the storm at sea (Acts 27:15, 17). Jesus is the foundation of the Church of God ( 1 Cor 3:11. Even some who claim to be evangelical Christians say that we cannot know the exact meaning of Scripture. Rather, they must depend on the official teaching of the church. If you’re going to base your entire life on something, you want to know that it is solid. In context, Paul is talking about the Corinthian church as "God's building" (3:9). His chances of picking the marked silver dollar are the same chance that the prophets would have had of writing just these eight prophecies (apart from divine inspiration) and having them all come true in one man. For many years, the Church opposed translating the Bible into the common languages of the people for fear that they would misinterpret it. 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. Words mean something and languages put words together in structured ways. Verse 21 is one of the key verses explaining the inspiration of Scripture. Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. In the Old Testament alone, the writers refer to their writings as the words of God over 3,800 times (MacArthur Study Bible, p. 1924). As we’ve seen, Peter knows that he is about to die (1:14). It is the whole number of God’’s elect –- the true Church of Jesus Christ –- joined to Him in a vital union effected by the Holy Spirit. 2:19). ( From Forerunner Commentary ) Luke 6:47-48. Thus. So he probably means that now, in the darkness, the prophetic word shines to illumine our path. 5:10; Rom. We are to depart from every thought, word and deed which is contrary to the moral law of God, and in particular we are to depart from worldliness, impurity and pride. He goes on to show that if you take 16 prophecies, the odds increase to 1 in 1045, an unimaginably huge number. 7:14), of the tribe of Judah (Gen. 49:10), of the lineage of David (2 Sam. 14:10-12)? How would you answer this charge. Then Jesus explained how it was necessary for Him “to suffer these things and to enter into His glory” (Luke 24:27; see, also vv. 9:9). Other prophecies speak of His ministry (Isa. But when Jesus, the morning star, returns, we will have the light of His presence so that we will no longer need the prophetic word. Rather, the experience that they had on the mount of transfiguration, when they saw Jesus’ majesty and glory, was a prophetic glimpse of the truth that He is coming again in power and glory to reign. It is called a foundation in order to express better its immobility - now compare Psalm 11:3-4; Matthew 7:24 … This was fulfilled, of course, in John the Baptist. 3:1; 4:5; Isa. The future … Paul, as an apostle, "laid the foundation," namely, Jesus Christ. We find scriptural references to the triune nature of God both in the Old and the New Testaments. The other leg is (v. 19), “we have the prophetic word made more sure.” I’ll explain this phrase more in a moment, but I think his meaning is that the apostles’ experience on the mount of transfiguration confirmed and clarified the truth of the Old Testament, that the Messiah will come again to judge the world and to reign in glory over His redeemed people. When Paul wrote this letter there were plenty of false teachers in the professing Church, and today the same condition still exists. 61-62) argues that the Greek word order favors that translation. 23:2; Jer. When you get beyond the entrance, it’s pitch black in there and there are a lot of places where the footing is uneven and there are low overhead rocks. What does the Bible say to the church, and to the individual Christian, about the role of politics in the church? But, what does Peter mean when he says, “the morning star arises in your hearts”? It is the word of the Sovereign of the universe, to whom we will give account. This foundation series is designed to form a Biblically based image of what God looks like to you and what you look like to God in truth. How can we be sure that it isn’t just a collection of quaint writings from a bunch of Jewish guys who lived thousands of years ago? When they set it off, the building implodes. It is vital as professed believers in Jesus Christ and adopted sons of God that the Word of God, the infallible Word of God is the foundation upon which we base our relationship with God. GOD'S WORD® Translation Righteousness and justice are the foundations of your throne. 2:18-21). But Paul did not speak of himself as part of the foundation. Roman Catholics contend that the Protestant “right of private interpretation of Scripture” has resulted in thousands of denominations, while their view has preserved the unity of the church. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my … The words of the apostles and prophets are His revelation and they are all still true. 24:17). The question is, is the church over the Word or is the Word over the church? This almost sounds as if the second coming is not an objective, outwardly visible event, but rather an inward, subjective experience in believers’ hearts. Rather, they were moved or carried along by the Holy Spirit. 16:16-18). We not only have the apostolic witness to Jesus as they saw Him on the mount of transfiguration (1:16-18), but also (v. 19 in Greek begins with “and”) “we have the prophetic word made more sure.” “We” refers first to the apostles (as in 1:16-18), and by extension to the church. Peter puts this as a priority (“first of all”) because if Christ is coming again in judgment and His Word is the standard for judgment, then we’d better understand it correctly! The doing of the will of God is nothing more or less than an exhibition of creature willingness to share the inner life with God—with the very God who has made such a creature life of inner meaning-value possible. We stand on that foundation when we confess that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God (Matt. This also refers to the coming of Christ, who calls Himself “the bright morning star” (Rev. But vv. 16-18 demonstrate that Peter believed that the transfiguration was decisive proof for his view, not questionable in the least.”. That end time is called “the day of the Lord.” It will be a day of gladness and hope for believers, because our redemption draws near (Luke 21:28). But the idea is that the Old Testament prophecies about the coming day of the Lord are confirmed and clarified by the transfiguration, where the disciples saw a prophetic preview of Jesus in His glory. But, what does Peter mean when he says “more sure”? Let’s go back to Zechariah 7: 9 from the first devotion in the series. 7:16), in the city of Bethlehem (Mic. Before we leave verse 19, let’s apply it by asking, “Are you paying attention to the lamp that is shining in the darkness?” Do you read the Word regularly to gain the light that you need to live in a manner pleasing to the Lord? As He transforms our life through His Spirit, our actions and … How would you answer a critic who pointed out supposed “contradictions” in the Word? Second, the Bible interprets itself, especially, individual authors interpret themselves. When these are abandoned, the foundation begins to crumble, and the nation is in danger of collapsing. The foundation of God is secure. Then you will rejoice when the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts. The Word of God 3. It would involve a ball of silver dollars extending 30 times as far as from the earth to the sun! Are you living in light of His coming, when we all will stand before Him to give an account of how we have lived (2 Cor. 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