Daily Devotions
2 Peter
"By the word of God"
Text: 2 Peter 3:5
REFUTING FALSE TEACHINGS
Peter was sharp in knowing where the false teachers had gone wrong. He refuted the wrong teaching of the false teachers.
“For this they wilfully forget:
that by the word of God the heavens were of old,
and the earth standing out of water and in the water,
by which the world that then existed perished,
being flooded with water.”
2 Peter 3:5-6
1. “For this they wilfully forget”
a) The false teachers were obviously cunning.
b) They “forget” what they wish to forget.
c) This was wilful on their part.
i) They knew the doctrine well enough.
ii) They picked and chose what would fit into their schemes.
d) They were subtly attacking the doctrine of the word of God.
e) They were denying the power of God’s word.
Peter saw through them and exposed their wrong teaching.
2. “That by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water”
a) The word of God
i) Peter held fast to his belief in the word of God.
ii) He presented the proper understanding of the doctrine of the word of God.
b) Creation came about by the power of God’s word.
i) God made the heavens.
ii) God made the earth.
iii) All God needed to do was to speak the word and creation came into being.
3. “By which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water”
a) The world had become corrupt and evil.
b) God spoke the word and that world perished.
c) The word of God had power.
i) God could speak that word directly.
ii) He could speak through the prophets of old.
iii) He could speak through the apostles too.
The power of the word of God cannot be denied or set aside by the false teachers.