For our Bible study this morning,
please turn to 2 Peter, 2 Peter chapter 1, 2 Peter chapter 1,
and let's begin reading at verse 16. Peter says, We have not followed
cunningly devised fables. That is, the gospel is not a
fictitious story. It's not a fable. The gospel
is fact. When we made known unto 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 there came such a voice to him from
the excellent glory, that is from heaven. Remember God spoke
out of heaven, said, this is my beloved son in whom I'm well
pleased, hear him. This voice which came from heaven,
we've heard when we were with him in the holy mouth. And then
he says in verse 19, 2 Peter chapter 1 verse 19, we have also
a most or more sure word of prophecy, whereunto you do well to take
heed as unto a light that shineth in the dark place until the day
dawn and day star arise in your hearts. Knowing this first, that
no prophecy of scriptures of any private interpretation, for
the prophecy came not at any time or in olden time by the
will of man, but holy men of God spake as they were moved
by the Holy Spirit. Now in these few verses here,
from verse 16 down through verse 21, we have a three-fold witness
of the true gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now there is a
rule laid down in Holy Scripture, back in Deuteronomy chapter 19,
It says this, at the mouth of two or three witnesses shall
every matter be established. Now this is a rule that's laid
down in Holy Scripture. For something to be counted as
fact and not fiction, it must be established on the principle
of these witnesses. And this is exactly the method
that Peter employs in his inspired epistle given to these believers.
Peter says, we've not followed. cunningly devised fables. And
then he proceeds to give us a threefold witness of the true gospel of
God's grace to prove to us that the gospel of our Lord Jesus
Christ certainly is fact and not fiction. And we're not following
fables, Peter says, we're following the truth of God. Now, there's
a threefold witness given here. Let me give you these three points
and we'll come back and look at them. The first one is the
witness of the apostles. He said, we were eyewitnesses
of his majesty. And then we have, secondly, the
witness of the Father, for he received from God the Father
honor and glory. And then, thirdly, the witness
of the prophets. He said, we have a most sure
word of prophecy. The prophet spoke by the power
of God, not by the will of men. Now let's go back and look at
these three points this morning and see the threefold witness
that Peter lays down here in his epistle. Peter and the other
apostles, here's the witness of the apostles. He said, we
were eyewitnesses of his majesty. Peter and the other apostles
clearly witnessed these three things that we read in this verse.
The power the coming and the majesty of our Lord Jesus Christ. All the apostles, you go all
through the epistles and read the book of Acts, all the apostles
of the past preached and declared the power of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is, and they presented him
and they preached him as the almighty God, the power of God. That's why Paul, when he wrote
to the Romans, said, I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ.
It is the power of God unto salvation. He's able to save to the uttermost
all that come to God by him. Peter says, we've not followed
these fables. We were eyewitnesses of his power. Now, they saw his miracles. They
saw the effect of his preaching that it had on people. And they
preached the very power of God in Christ. They witnessed not
only his power, but they witnessed his coming. They were eyewitnesses
of his first coming. In the fullness of time, God
sent forth his son, made of a woman, made under the law to redeem
them. They witnessed his first coming,
and they declared his second coming. Peter said, he's coming
again. The day of the Lord shall come
as a thief in the night, looking for that hasting unto the coming
of the day of our God, when the heavens being on fire shall be
dissolved and the elements shall melt with a fervent heat. Nevertheless,
we, according to his promise, look for a new heaven and a new
earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. They preached the power of Christ,
the coming of Christ. And then thirdly, they preached
this. They also witnessed his majesty. Now that word there
means his deity, his deity. God, who is the Lord Jesus Christ? He's God manifest in the flesh. They witnessed his majesty, his
magnificence, and that's what the word there, majesty, means,
his great splendor, his magnificence. He's the only wise God, our Savior,
Jude says, unto whom be glory and majesty and dominion and
power both now and forever. You see their witness, his power,
his coming, his majesty, that's his deity, his magnificence,
and his great splendor, his great splendor. We read in the book
of Hebrews, who being the brightness of his glory and the express
image of his person. That's the witness of the apostles.
Now secondly, here's the second point. We see the witness from
God the Father. We read in verse 17 of our text,
For he received from God the Father honor and glory, when
there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, saying,
This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Now, this
is the declaration of God the Father when he spoke out of the
cloud on the Mount of Transfiguration. And God the Father declares all
honor in all glory, rightly, and naturally, and sovereignly,
belong to the Lord Jesus Christ. He is worthy to receive all honor,
glory, and blessing. This is the declaration of God. This is my beloved Son, hear
Him. God is well pleased with His
Son. We read in Isaiah 42, He said, Behold, my servant, whom
I uphold, mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth. God is well-pleased
with Christ in all of his office capacity. There's one God and
only one mediator between God and men, and that is the man
Christ Jesus. The Lord Jesus Christ is that
prophet of God that God is well-pleased with, who spoke all the mind
of God. The Lord Jesus Christ is that
priest that God Almighty is well-pleased with, that priest of God who
redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for
us. The priest of God, the Lord Jesus
Christ, he brought the suitable sacrifice, not the blood of bulls
and goats, but his own blood, and he obtained eternal redemption
for us. God is well pleased with his
son in all of his office capacity as prophet, priest, and he's
our king. He rules and reigns over all
things absolutely, infinitely, and wisely. God is well-pleased
with His Son, and God is also well-pleased with those in His
Son, and with those only in His Son. You see, salvation. I've
told you so many times over these years on this broadcast that
salvation is not in a church or profession. Salvation is in
a person. It's knowing the living God in
Christ. In Him we're totally accepted.
We're accepted in the Beloved. He that hath the Son hath life. In Him we're completely justified,
being justified freely by His grace through the redemption
that is in Christ Jesus. In Him we are eternally made
righteous. God made him to be sin for us,
who knew no sin, that we might be made to righteousness of God
in him. You got the first two points?
There's the witness of the apostles. They said we were eyewitnesses
of his majesty. And we have the witness here
of God the Father. All honor and glory, God said,
belong to the Lord Jesus Christ, and I'm pleased with him. And
then thirdly, here's the third witness. the witness of the prophets. We read in the text here, 2 Peter
1, verse 19, we have also a most sure word of prophecy. Knowing
this first, that no prophecy of scripture is of any private
interpretation. That means no scripture is by
human or comes from human origin. For the prophecy came not in
old time by the will of man, but holy men of God spake as
they were moved driven by God the Holy Spirit. Now, Peter lays
down another strong and convincing proof that the gospel is fact,
not fiction. All the prophets of the past,
from Moses to Malachi, gave witness to the birth of the Lord Jesus
Christ. You remember what Isaiah said,
unto us a child is born, a son is given. In his name shall be
called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting
Father, the Prince of Peace. They gave witness to his sacrifice. Isaiah again said in Isaiah 53,
he was wounded for our transgression. He was bruised for our iniquity.
The chastisement of our peace was upon him and with his stripes
we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray.
We've turned everyone to his own way. And the Lord laid on
him the iniquity of us all. It pleased the Lord to bruise
him. He put him to grief. Thou shalt make his soul an offering
for sin. He shall see his seed. He shall
prolong his day. And the pleasure of the Lord
shall prosper in his hand. All the prophets of the past
From Moses to Malachi, all the Old Testament prophets gave witness,
clear testimony to the birth, the coming, the sacrifice, and
the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Peter says this
in Acts chapter 10, verse 43, to him, to the Lord Jesus Christ,
to him give all the prophets witness. Our Lord died for our
sins according to the scripture. We have a sure word of prophecy
from God. Everything we see the Lord accomplishing
in our salvation that's recorded in the New Testament was promised
by the sure word of the Old Testament prophets. Search the scriptures
and see. He says, take heed. Make it your
urgent business to find out who and what this book teaches. The
message of the Old Testament is one thing, someone's coming,
and that someone is the Lord Jesus Christ. Now listen to what
the Lord says. In Luke chapter 24, the Lord
had been raised from the dead, and he joins himself to two men
who are walking on the road to Emmaus, and listen to what he
says about these Old Testament prophets and what they wrote
about. And he said unto them, O fools, slow of heart to believe
all that the prophets have spoken. Ought not Christ to have suffered
these things, and entered into his glory, and beginning at Moses?"
That's way back in Genesis. And all the prophets, all the
prophets, He expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things
concerning himself. And he said unto them, These
are the words which I have spake unto you while I was yet with
you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written
in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the Psalms concerning
me." All the Old Testament prophets had one clear single message. The Lord Jesus Christ is salvation. Our Lord told those Jews one
day, he said, you search the scriptures and in them you think
you have eternal life, but they are they. The scriptures testify
of me. All scripture is God given. God breathed. All through the
Old Testament scripture, the Lord is spoken of in type, picture,
and shadow. No prophecy of Holy Scripture
is of the opinion and revelation and mind of sinful men, but rather
it's a revelation of the mind of God. We believe its truth,
we receive its doctrine, we submit to its ordinances, and we rejoice
in the revelation of Christ, and we rest in the blessed promises
of Holy Scripture. That's what it says here, the
prophecy came not in old time, at any time, by the will of man,
but holy men, that is, they're holy in Christ, they're justified
in Christ, they spoke as they were moved by God, the Holy Spirit. The scriptures, both Old and
New Testament, are God-given, God-breathed, and they give unto
us a clear testimony of the true gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. The true gospel. There's just
one gospel. It's the gospel of His grace,
the gospel of His glory, and the gospel concerning our Lord
Jesus Christ. Listen to this scripture in Romans
15, for whatsoever things were written aforetime were written
for our learning that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures
might have hope. God has ordained his word as
a means to communicate faith. Faith comes by the word, by the
hearing of the word, to communicate life. Of his own will beget he
us with the word of truth, and it's of every mean God has ordained
to give us hope, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures
might have hope. Now this is a threefold witness
that Peter gives of the true gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The witness of the apostles, the witness of God the Father,
and the witness of the prophets, the Old Testament prophets. And
they all agree, and they say one thing. that salvation is
of the Lord and salvation is found in and only in the Lord
Jesus Christ. Now if you'd like to have a copy
of this message to listen again or to share it with a friend
or family member, you can call me at 631-9053 or you can write
to me at Zebulon Baptist Church, 6088 Zebulon Highway, Pikeville,
Kentucky.