The Certainty of the Christian Life (2 Peter 1:16–21)
We live in an age of uncertainty—but the most certain thing we have in this life is the Word of God. In 2 Peter 1:16–21, Peter insists the apostles “did not follow cleverly devised myths.” He builds his case in three steps: the certainty of his eye witness, beholding the majesty of Jesus at the Transfiguration; the certainty of his ear witness, hearing the Father’s voice from heaven; and the supra-certainty of the prophetic word more fully confirmed—Scriptures spoken not by the will of man, but by men carried along by the Holy Spirit.
This sermon calls us to pay attention to that word “as to a lamp shining in a dark place.”
Introduction
If you’ve ever sprained an ankle, you know the feeling of uncertainty the first time you try to walk again. If you’ve ever studied for a test only to have questions you were unsure of, you know the feeling of uncertainty. If you’ve ever walked across an old bridge, you know the feeling of uncertainty. If you live in 2024 America, you know uncertainty!
How much more do we need to be certain when it comes to the foundation of our faith and life as Christians? Note in our text, this certainty is not in you, but in Jesus and his Word. All throughout chapter 1, Peter has been saying our faith and life is centered in Jesus; but how do we know he in whom we’ve believed, actually speaks in the Word? I want you to come to certainty about the Scriptures of our Old and New Testaments being the Word of God and therefore authoritative for your faith life.
Theme
At the end of 2 Peter, we learn the most certain thing we have in this life is the Word of God.
The Certainty of Peter’s Eye Witness
Peter builds his argument, first, with the certainty of his eye witness: 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 (v. 16). The faith of the first believers like Peter was not based on myths. “But everyone says that!” But was everyone an eye witness of the most significant events the world has even seen?
Jesus said the eyes are the lamp of the body, meaning, they give light to all we are and are like a window into our souls. Here, Peter’s soul offers the certainty of one who lived with Jesus for three years. The Gospels record that Jesus chose and called him. Then Peter walked with him. He ate with him. He heard Jesus’ teaching as one with authority. He witnessed Jesus’ astonishing signs and wonders. He was there when Jesus was betrayed. He sadly was there denying the Lord when he was on trial. He saw the Lord risen from the dead (1 Cor. 15). He saw the wounds in his hands, feet, and side. He ate with the Lord after the resurrection and was taught by him for forty days before the Ascension. Do you believe he saw all this?
Peter, in particular, points out that he was there on the Mount of Transfiguration when Jesus’ glory was revealed and Moses and Elijah appeared (Matt. 17): For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory (v. 17a).
Mountains are important in the Bible. They were like climbing up Mount Everest and being at the top of the world. There, you were in the “direct” presence of God—although Gof can’t be contained. Add in a huge storm that humbled you to your core because you’re helpless, and you get a sense of the awe Peter was in.
What is the significance of Moses and Elijah? On Mount Sinai and Mount Carmel, God visited them. So, it’s like saying the law (Moses) and prophets (Elijah) all speak of Jesus! Peter couldn’t have been any more certain for himself that he was established in the truth of God’s precious and great promises. Those ancient promises from the Lord of glory he saw face-to-face. He wants you and me to have that certainty by means of his eye witness.
The Certainty of Peter’s Ear Witness
Then Peter continues his argument with the certainty of his ear witness. He not only saw Jesus transfigured in glory, but he heard the voice of God the Father from heaven. Don’t we all want to hear God speak to us? Yet we so often conceive of this as him speaking about our life circumstances.
But what’s better than hearing the eternal Father speak to you about his Son? That voice Peter heard testified about the truth of who Jesus was: This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. Peter commented, saying, we ourselves [Peter, James, and John] heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain (vv. 17b–18). Note well what Peter is saying. The Father’s voice was as certain as the mountain up which Peter climbed and upon which Peter stood with Jesus.
Peter’s faith and our faith is not founded on cleverly devised myths (v. 16). It’s based in history, in reality, and the tangibility that Peter’s feet got dirty and his muscles burned calories to get up the mountain! This is what John says in 1 John 1: ‘That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life’ (1 John 1:1). The voice was about Jesus!
Peter heard the God of glory whom Israel heard at Mount Sinai. He heard a distinct voice. He heard distinct words. He heard a distinct testimony about the Jesus he was following, listening to, and believing in. In Matthew 17:5, the quote from God continues: “Hear him!” Hear Jesus, beloved! Know the certain sound of his voice” “But how? Where?”
The Supra-Certainty of the Prophet’s Fulfilled Witness
This leads to Peter’s climax. After all Peter says so certainly because of his specific and peculiar experience as an apostle who saw and heard, there was something more fully confirmed or sure (v. 19). This gives us total confidence that we’ve been established in the truth of God’s promises: the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophets.
For example, Isaiah prophesied the Messiah would be born of a virgin (Isa. 7:14). What do we read in the Gospels? Jesus was born of Mary, a virgin (Matt. 1:23; Luke 1:27, 34).
Micah prophesied the Messianic king would be born in Bethlehem (Mic. 5:2). What do we read in the Gospels? God orchestrated history under Caesar Augustus so that Joseph and Mary moved from Nazareth in the north of Galilee to Bethlehem in Judea so that they could be taxed under Caesar’s decree (Matt. 2:1, 4–6; Luke 2:1–7).
David and Isaiah prophesied various aspects of the Messiah’s death (Ps. 22; Isa. 52:13–53:12). What do we read in the Gospels? Chronicles of their fulfillment (cf. Matt. 26–27).
This term, more fully confirmed or ‘more sure’, (bebaioteron) is a vivid one. The NIV and NASB translate it as ‘made more sure’, but ‘made’ is not in the Greek text. The point Peter is making is that the Old Testament Scriptures are more certain and sure; they are not made so. This word is used in several places in the New Testament.
In Hebrews 6:19 it is used of a secure anchor for our souls.
In 2 Corinthians 1:7 it is used of our certain hope.
In Romans 4:16 it is used of the certain promise to Abraham that he was justified by faith.
In Hebrews 3:6 and 3:14 it is used of our certain confidence.
In Hebrews 9:17 it is used of how a last will and testament being valid (‘takes effect’) only upon the death of the testator.
Here in 2 Peter, just before our text in 1:10, Peter uses this word not of ‘making your calling and election sure,’ but of ‘confirm[ing] your calling and election’.
Why is this important to recognize? The prophetic Scriptures of the Old Testament that pointed forward to Jesus Christ are more certain for us than the cleverly devised myths (v. 16) for sure, but even Peter’s apostolic eyewitness and the testimony of God he heard on the Mount of Transfiguration. What Peter is saying is that in comparison with the prophetic word in the Old Testament as it was promised, we now have the total certainty and confidence that those prophecies have been fulfilled in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. All the criticisms of the Scriptures that say they are only human writings ultimately fail because of this prophetic fulfillment.
The Bible is the anvil upon which the hammers of critics have and will be broken. We have something ‘more fully confirmed’ or sure (v. 19) – the prophetic word in their fulfillment and confirmation. This is why Martin Luther (1483–1546) said of this passage: “…although many prophets in the Old Testament have foretold things to come, yet they came and were sent by God for this reason especially: that they should foretell of Christ.” (Commentary on Peter & Jude, 247)
What is said of the words of the prophets is true of all the words that God has given, as a part of the whole. The Old Testament prophesied the coming of the Lord and the New Testament is the chronicle of his coming. This is why one writer said: “The written Word, believed to be the Lord’s mind, is the surest ground for faith to rest upon of any that ever has been or can be given to sinners who are subject to forgetfulness, jealousies and mistakes.” (Nisbet, 1 & 2 Peter, 239) What certainty! What confidence! What assurance we have that God has spoken! God has spoken in the books of the Old Testament about his Son to come. God has spoken in the books of the New Testament about his Son who has come.
In saying this, Peter doesn’t say that this certainty of God’s revelation of himself is found anywhere else. Let me take a moment to make a theological and apologetical point concerning the Roman Catholic Church. Rome says that Peter was the first Pope. If so, why does he say the Scriptures are the surest foundation that we’ve been established in the truth? Why doesn’t he say his eyewitness to Jesus’ Transfiguration was all that was needed? Why doesn’t he say his words as Pope and the rock upon Christ would build his church are all that we need? Where does Peter ever appeal to himself as the final interpreter of Scripture? Peter says it’s certain that God has spoken in Scripture, not that he as a mere man is the only interpreter of that Word! Pope Paul VI (1897–1978), though, decreed at the Second Vatican Council in 1965, that
…it is not from Sacred Scripture alone that the Church draws her certainty about everything which has been revealed. Therefore both sacred tradition and Sacred Scripture are to be accepted and venerated with the same sense of loyalty and reverence. (Dei Verbum, 2.9)
I’ll let you decide who is most certain.
Because of the certainty of the Word taught here, Peter tells us to pay attention to these words as to a lamp shining in a dark place (v. 19). This means devote yourself to the Word’s light in this dark world. Devote yourself to the Word’s certainty in this uncertain world.
How long are you to be devoted to the Word? Until the coming of Jesus Christ when he will again shine as the light of the world on the last day: until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts (v. 19). Between Jesus’ two comings, Peter says that this age is to be one in which you and I stick to Scripture above all! John Calvin (1509–64) said, “All are immersed in darkness who do not look to the light of the Word. Therefore, unless you want to cast yourself of your own accord into a labyrinth, you must take the utmost care not to deviate even a hair’s breadth from the direction of the Word.” (The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Hebrews and The First and Second Epistles of St Peter, 12:342) Stick to the Word, OURC!
Peter concludes with the why of the Word: knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation (including his!). 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 (vv. 20–21). The Scriptures are the words of the Holy Spirit. Do you want to hear God? Read the Word of God, from God the Holy Spirit, that are about Jesus.
Conclusion
There’s so much uncertainty and instability in our world today. We all feel it.
Are you confident you have a sure guide in this dark and uncertain world? That guide is the living light of God himself as he’s revealed himself in the certain Scriptures. He’s our pillar of cloud and fire in our pilgrimage in this life. We know so because he’s spoken in times past. His Word records how Jesus surely fulfilled those prophecies. And because God speaks to your soul, saying, “hear my Son in the Word,” you and I can live in these last days.