2 Peter 1

2 Peter 1:2 – “May grace and peace be multiplied to you…[HOW]…in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.”

This verse tells us how to have grace and peace – KNOW God and Jesus our Lord.  How do we know that?  Well we start by where he has revealed himself – in the Bible.  The Bible was written by men inspired by the Holy Spirit – it is the divinely inspired word of God – it tells the church how to be the church – not the other way around.

1:20-21

knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation.  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.

Even though Peter was an eyewitness to the transfiguration of Jesus (Matt 17:1-8), he claims that the transfiguration and the life of Jesus that he witnessed first hand, added surety to the prophetic writings of the scriptures, as they were being fulfilled before his very eyes.

I hate to say it, but the NLT (gasp) actually made this click for me…

1:19 —

Because of that, we have even greater confidence in the message proclaimed by the prophets. Pay close attention to what they wrote, for their words are like a light shining in a dark place–until the day Christ appears and his brilliant light shines in your hearts.

We should have an unshakable confidence in the Word of God.  Even today, being Christmas, we see all the prophecies that were fulfilled by the birth, life, and crucifixion of Jesus.  Let the word dwell in us richly today and let us stir us up by way of reminder!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!