Thursday
Thursday
The Nature of Biblical Truth
Men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
2 Peter 1:21
The second half of the first chapter of 2 Peter is a wonderful passage about the nature of biblical truth. Firstly, biblical truth is written truth. Peter is conscious of his mortality and is anticipating his death. While he is alive, he is still able to remind his readers of his teaching, but after his departure it will need to be written and so made accessible. Behind this human background there lay a divine providence. If God has said and done something unique in Christ, provision must be made for its preservation; it is inconceivable that God would allow it to be lost. Scripture is God’s Word written.
Secondly, biblical truth is eyewitness truth. Peter alludes to the transfiguration when he saw God’s glory and heard his voice: “We were eyewitnesses of his majesty” (v. 16). But the eyewitness principle lies behind all Scripture, for God raised up witnesses to record and interpret what he was doing in Israel. The meaning of his actions was not self-evident. For example, many tribal migrations were taking place in the ancient Near East, but nobody would have known that the exodus was unique unless God had raised up Moses. Again, thousands of crucifixions took place under Roman rule, but nobody would have known that the cross of Jesus was unique unless God had raised up the apostles.
Thirdly, biblical truth is enlightening truth. “You will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place” (v. 19). The people of God are pictured as pilgrims traveling by night. They need a lamp, and Scripture is a plain book with a practical purpose.
Fourthly, biblical truth is divine truth. No prophecy, Peter writes, ever originated in the mind or will of men, but rather of God. “Men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (v. 21).
Thank God for his revealed Word! Without it we would grope in the darkness. Has he given us a lamp to illumine our path, and shall we not use it?
For further reading: 2 Peter 1:12–21