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What does the apostle Peter tell us about prophecy? 2 Pet. 1:21- “For prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” So, what is it that Peter is trying to tell us here? He tells us,point blank, in verse 20. “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation.” So, what Peter is saying is, holy men of God spoke as they were being moved by the Holy Spirit. But the first thing he want us to understand is that, we can not give our own private interpretations about Scripture. So how do we get the interpretation? We let the Bible give it to us. The Bible speaks for itself, this is one thing we will learn in this lesson. The Bible gives us the keys to unlock its own mysteries, we just need to search with-in its pages to unlock the answers we seek.
How were the Scriptures inspired and how can it benefit us? 2 Tim 3:16, 17 - “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” All Scripture, not just some of it, all of it, is inspired by God. The Scriptures benefit us because it gives us God's doctrine, We can use it for reproof, for correction and instruction in righteousness. Why does God want us to be so disciplined? So the person of God can be complete. So the person of God can be thoroughly equipped for good works of God. Essentially, God wants us to be ready to do His will.
What does the Psalms say about God's word? Psalms 119:160 - “The entirety of Your word is truth, and every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever.” So, every word God spoke to us is true. This includes the Old Testament as well as the New. This verse also say that every one of God's righteous judgments endures forever. So if God's righteous judgments endures forever, then everything God ever told us also endures forever.
What does the Psalms say God did with His Words? Psalms 12: 6,7 - “The words of the LORD are pure words, Like silver tried in a furnace of earth, Purified seven times. You shall keep them, O LORD, You shall preserve them from this generation forever.” Here again, the Bible tells us that the words of the Lord are pure. But here in these verses, God's word is being compared to the purification process of refining silver. To get the purest silver it must be melted down seven times. This is how pure God's word is. These verses also tell us that God has preserved His word for all generations.
How long does God's word last? Matt. 24:35 - “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.” These are the words of, Immanuel = God with us (Matt. 1:23), Jesus Himself. Jesus came here to this earth on a mission from God. His mission, to restore the human race back to God. God told us that Jesus is God with us, so this must mean that Jesus is also God. Jesus told us that His words are eternal, so this must also mean that the words spoken by Jesus, while here on this earth, are also God's eternal word.
What is one of the purposes of God's word? Rom. 15:4 - “For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.” One of the many purposes of God's word is to give us hope as we learn about the truths spoken in God's word. But as the verse says, God's word is written for our learning, we can not expect to have a clear picture of the great hope that God's word gives us, unless we learn it. The only way we can learn it is by studying it.
What does the Scriptures make us wise to? 2 Tim. 3:14, 15 - “But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” The Holy Scriptures are able to make us wise for salvation through having faith in Jesus Christ. But we must also continue in these things we have learned and keep practicing these things that we have been assured of. Essentially we must never forget who we learned them from.
Who do the Scriptures reveal to us? John 5:39 - “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.” Jesus tells us that by searching the Scriptures we will find the testimony of Jesus Christ. So essentially, the Scriptures reveal our Savior to us.
As we study the Scriptures, how should we go about it? 2 Tim 2:15 - “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” We need to rightly divide the word of truth. The apostle, Paul, tells us that in order to divide it rightly we need to commit to diligently studying God's word. Paul also tells why we need to diligently study and rightly divide God's word. It is so we can present ourselves approved to God, and we won't need to be ashamed of our work for Him. In-other-words, if we tell someone something about God, and that person decides to go to God's word to see if what we said was Biblical, we won't have to worry about it because that person will find that what we said was by the Bible. So we won't have to be ashamed of telling someone the wrong thing, because we know what our Bible says.
What was one of the main reasons why Jesus sent us the Holy Spirit? John 16:13 - “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.” Jesus sent the Holy Spirit, The Spirit of Truth, to guide us into all truth. Jesus also adds that the Holy Spirit does not speak on His own authority, but tells us what He hears from God. The Holy Spirit will also reveal the future to us.
What benefit do we get by comparing the spiritual things of God with the spiritual? 1 Cor. 2:13 - “These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.” When we compare spiritual things with the spiritual we benefit in God's wisdom. The Holy Spirit teaches us what God wants us to be wise to. Here again, the apostles say that the spiritual message they are speaking does not come from the wisdom of man but by the teachings of the Holy Spirit.
How can we discover truth in God's word? Isa. 28:9, 10 - “Whom will he teach knowledge? And whom will he make to understand the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just drawn from the breasts? For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little.” We can discover God's truth by comparing scripture with scripture, verse with verse and skipping around in the Bible. This verse speaks about context and staying with topic. An example of topic is: righteousness. If we want to know what God says about righteousness, we need to look up all the verses that deal with righteousness. Staying in context means, weeding out all the verses that do not directly pertain to righteousness. The easiest way we can do this is by having a Bible with a good concordance and a topical index in the back.
Where is truth contained and what can we gain by it? John 17:17 - “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.” The truth is contained in Gods word and we can gain sanctification by God's truth. Sanctification, what does it mean? TheFreeDictionary.com says that it means: 1. To set apart for sacred use; consecrate. 2. To make holy; purify. So here in Jesus prayer He is asking God to sanctify them by His truth. Jesus wants them to be set aside for sacred use, to be consecrated to carry on His work, the truth. Jesus is also asking that they be made holy and purified by God's word. Jesus asked this of God for His disciples. But this prayer can be, and is also extended to anyone who wants to carry on the work of Jesus Christ, anyone who wants to carry on His ministry that He began on this earth; His ministry of truth.
What will happen if anyone will to do God's will? John 7:17 - “If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.” If we will to do God's will then we will know whether the doctrine we are learning comes from God or not. So as we approach God's word with an open mind, the Spirit of Truth will guide us into all truth and we will know God's will.
What happens if we tamper with God's word? Is there any warnings against it? Rev. 22:18-20 - “For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.” Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!” We must be careful not to change the meaning of God's words. If we add our own words to the word of God; God will add to us the seven last plagues written in this book. If we take away any of the words that God gave us, God will take away our right to eternal life. The good news is that if we testify to the truth spoken by God, and lay it out in God's true words, we have no danger of these curses that is spoken of here. If we are conveying the truth about God's word, and giving the true testimony, we will say, “Jesus is coming, quickly. Amen Even so, come, Lord Jesus.”
