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2 Peter 1:16-18
The Apostle Peter has given us a great example of who and what a believer/Christian should be in our relationship with our Creator God and our Savior Jesus Christ. And now, in 2 Peter 1:16-18 Peter inserts a very important message of his credentials as an apostle and disciple of Christ Jesus concerning the truth of his message. He notes that “we,” being the disciples/apostles of Jesus, and most directly related to that of himself, James, and John are eyewitnesses of the, “power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:16, NKJV) and not that their words are taken by that of tales or fables. He goes on to describe the events of Matthew 17:1-13 when Jesus was transfigured before their own eyes and Moses and Elijah appeared with Him. During the transfiguration they heard the voice of God proclaim, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 17:5b). Peter verifies this event by stating that not only did they witness the event, as he noted in 2 Peter 1:16, but goes on in 2 Peter 1:18 to proclaim that they heard the voice of God speak these words.
This is a promise from the Apostle Peter that the words he writes and the lessons he teaches are true and justified in Christ Jesus.
There are many opinions of the words of the Bible; are they true? Are some of the passages true and some not? Do we have the right to choose what we believe and what we do not believe? How do we justify the teachings of the Bible that may otherwise seem hard to believe? The list goes on and on. But as a believer – as a Christian – a person who has put their faith in Jesus as our Lord and Savior, sent to pay the price for our sins to set us free from them for eternity, the Bible is the infallible, justified, and true Word of God. To believe in God and put your faith in Jesus is to believe! We do not have to know all the answers to the mysteries of the Bible; if we did there would be not reason to have faith in God through salvation in Christ Jesus because all your questions would by answered and nullify the need for faith. Faith is believing without seeing. Jesus told Thomas in John 20:29, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
Dear LORD,
The Apostle Peter, one of the closest disciples to Jesus, proclaims the truth in his words to us in his second letter that is to help us grow in our relationship with You through our salvation in Jesus. Please help us to understand that the Bible is Your Words spoken through the Prophets and Apostles by Your Holy Spirits guidance working through them to record the way, the truth, and the life that is for us to grasp today and bring us to saving faith in Christ Jesus. In Jesus name I pray, amen.