# A preview of coming attractions- 2 Peter 1:12-18



## Puritan Sailor (Jun 18, 2004)

[quote:817c46f049]
12 For this reason I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know and are established in the present truth. 13 Yes, I think it is right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by reminding you, 14 knowing that shortly I must put off my tent, just as our Lord Jesus Christ showed me. 15 [b:817c46f049]Moreover I will be careful to ensure that you always have a reminder of these things after my decease. [/b:817c46f049]
16 For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. 17 For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: &quot;This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.&quot; 18 And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. [/quote:817c46f049]
I just noticed this vague reference here. Peter says he will leave a reminder for the church of &quot;these things&quot; and this reminder will be with them always. He then goes on to recount some breif experiences he had with Christ. 

Do you think Peter was refering to the writing of Mark's Gospel as this &quot;reminder?&quot; Scholars have alleged that Mark was a collection of Peter's sermon material put together by John Mark. Perhaps he knew about Matthew or Luke being written at the time? Or was Peter just refering to the present epistle he had written? 

It seems to me he has a broader &quot;reminder&quot; in his mind especially in light of his commendation of Paul's writings (2 Peter 3:15-16) and his including them with &quot;the rest of the Scriptures.&quot; 

Any thoughts?


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## py3ak (Jun 18, 2004)

Patrick,

In the context, of course, he is referring primarily to what he has been saying. Thus the &quot;exceeding great and precious promises&quot;, the &quot;faith, knowledge, virtue, longsuffering, brotherly kindness, charity&quot; are the immediate referents of the &quot;these things.&quot; See vv. 9,12,15 where &quot;these things&quot; occurs. But having said that, it is interesting that in what follows he immediately introduces a personal reminiscence. Giving to them the reason why he is so diligent to make sure they remember these things he says that they have not followed &quot;cunningly devised fables.&quot; It is worth remembering because it is true. And then, as you know, he proceeds to tell how he was an eyewitness of Christ's majesty. The three elements --the doctrine, the practice and the history are blended together then. J. Gresham Machen drew attention to the fact that doctrine is history with interpretation. And I think it's fair to say that every doctrine has it's practical implication, and every duty it's underlying doctrine. So Peter teaches us that we must know the facts accurately, that we must remember what those facts mean, and also that we must remember to what duty those facts bind and that interpretation bind us. There can be no separation in the Christian life between history, doctrine and practice without resultant spiritual shcizophrenia --witness neo-orthodoxy, or antinomianism.

[Edited on 6-19-2004 by py3ak]


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