Bible Text: 1 Peter 1:10-12 | Preacher: Pastor Joe Ricchuiti | Series: 1 Peter, Curious Prophets & Angels

1.  Peter makes the point that the salvation which he has been describing is not new and not novel.  It is solidly based upon the prophecies of the Old Testament.  The prophets themselves did not understand the time and the manner in which their prophecies would be fulfilled.

2.  Peter makes the case that it was the Holy Spirit who was the true author of Scripture (vs. 11; 2 Peter 1:16-21; 3:15,16).  A case also made by Paul (2 Timothy 3:16,17) and Jesus (John 14:26; 16:12-15).  They were very clear about the supernatural nature and authority of the Word of God.  This is the basis for the Doctrine of Inspiration.  It is defined in this way:  “God so superintended the human authors of Scripture so that using their own personalities, they composed and recorded, without error, His revelation to mankind.” (Ryrie)

3.  What others have said about the Scripture:

-“The closing part of this section [vv. 10-12] is a strong declaration of the supernatural character of the Holy Scriptures.” (Gray)

-The hope of these believers…”springs also from their faith in God’s written Word (vs. 11). Peter iterated that faith is not based on the mere writings of men but on the Word of God.” (Raymer)

-“The force behind peophecy is the Holy Spirit—not the human will.” (Blum)

4. Recognizing this, we must not be afraid to defend the Word of God.  C. S. Lewis supplies us with a great illustration of this in Mere Christianity, when refuting critics of the Bible said this:  “The answer to such people is that if they cannot understand books written for grown-ups, they should not talk about them.”