Lesson 24: Diligent study of Scripture

Read 2 Peter 1:1-21- https://www.bible.com/bible/59/2pe.1
 16 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.
17 For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,”
18 we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain.
19 And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts,
20 knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation.
21 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.
 
As we read in our last lesson, spending time with Jesus each day is one of the most important things for our Christian life. But Jesus is not physically here now, so we spend time with Him by reading and studying the Bible. Our verses today talk about what it is we read in the Bible.


First, Peter reminds us that what is written in the Bible is not something a writer made up just to entertain someone. Peter reminds us he was personally a witness to the things he preached all his life, the things other people had also written and were preaching. He again mentions the time he and James and John were invited to go to the mountain with Jesus, and Jesus was suddenly revealed to them in all His glory from heaven (Matthew 17:2-9).

But even though this event was burned into Peter’s mind so he could never forget it, he says an amazing thing in Verse 19 – there is something even more important than seeing Jesus in all His glory. We often ask God to show us in visions or supernatural events that what He says is true. Peter says we have better confirmation of the Truth Jesus speaks in the Bible than any vision can give us. What Peter saw on the mountain was real; it was not a vision. But Peter says the Bible is far more reliable and important than even what he saw with his own eyes. This is true because the Bible is God’s word, not just something men have written.

Peter also says in very strong words: we cannot interpret the Bible by our own understanding, because the words did not come from men but from God Himself. The Bible is a single book, not a collection of writings. The whole Bible must be understood as being one book, so what is written in one place cannot and does not contradict what is written in another. We must also understand that it is progressive revelation – meaning what was revealed first is further explained in things that were said next or later. For example, the Tabernacle and its sacrifices were a picture of Jesus and what true worship would look like after His sacrifice on the cross had been made (Leviticus is explained by Jesus in John 4:22-24).

*What have you read in the Old Testament for which you have not yet discovered an explanation from the New Testament?