2 Peter 1:16 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 2 Peter 1:16-18

Here we have the reason of giving the foregoing exhortation, and that with so much diligence and seriousness. These things are not idle tales, or a vain thing, but of undoubted truth and vast concern. The gospel is not a cunningly devised fable. These are not the words of one who hath a devil, nor the contrivance of any number of men who by cunning craftiness endeavour to deceive. The way of salvation by Jesus Christ is eminently the counsel of God, the most excellent contrivance of the... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - 2 Peter 1:16-18

1:16-18 For it was not cleverly invented fables that we followed when we made known to you the power and the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ; it was because we were made eye-witnesses of his majesty. This happened to us on that occasion when he received honour and glory from God the Father, when this voice was borne to him by the majestic glory--"This is my Son, the Beloved, in whom I am well pleased." It was this voice that we heard, borne from heaven, when we were with him in the sacred... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Peter 1:16

For we have not followed cunningly devised fables ,.... Such as Jewish fables, cautioned against Titus 1:14 which their traditionary and oral law, their Talmud, and other writings, mention; as concerning the temporal kingdom of the Messiah, the sumptuous feast, and carnal pleasures and entertainments, of that state, with many other things; some of which indeed are not very cunningly put together, but weak enough: or Gentile fables concerning the theogony and exploits of their deities; and... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Peter 1:16

Cunningly devised fables - Σεσοφισμενοις μυθοις . I think, with Macknight and others, from the apostle's using εποπται , eye witnesses, or rather beholders, in the end of the verse, it is probable that he means those cunningly devised fables among the heathens, concerning the appearance of their gods on earth in human form. And to gain the greater credit to these fables, the priests and statesmen instituted what they called the mysteries of the gods, in which the fabulous appearance of... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Peter 1:16

Verse 16 16.For we have not followed cunningly devised fables. It gives us much courage, when we know that we labor in a matter that is certain. Lest, then, the faithful should think that in these labors they were beating the air, he now comes to set forth the certainty of the gospel; and he denies that anything had been delivered by him but what was altogether true and indubitable: and they were encouraged to persevere, when they were sure of the prosperous issue of their calling. In the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Peter 1:12-21

Reasons for diligence in his apostolic work. I. THE TIME IS SHOUT . 1 . We need continually to be aroused. We may know all things necessary for salvation; we have known them, it may be, all our lives; we are firmly convinced of their truth; but we need to keep that knowledge vividly before our hearts, to bring it to bear upon the circumstances of our daily lives. Few of us have this recollectedness, this persevering watchfulness; we need constant exhortation. St. Peter's... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Peter 1:16

For we have not followed cunningly devised fables; rather, did not follow. The participle ( ἐξακολουθήσαντες ) is aorist. This compound verb is used only by St. Peter in the New Testament; we find it again in 2 Peter 2:2 and 2 Peter 2:15 . Bengel and others have thought that the preposition ἐξ , from or out of, implies wandering from the truth after false guides; but probably the word merely means "to follow closely," though in this case the guides were going astray. Perhaps... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Peter 1:16-18

Witness to Christ. The Divine Saviour was the theme of apostolic preaching. They, whom he himself commissioned for the purpose, published the tidings of their Lord's first advent as the object of human faith, and of his second and future advent as the object of human hope. Thus the "power and presence of our Lord Jesus Christ" was the great thought that inspired the apostles' minds, and animated them in their labours. And it was most natural and wise that, for their own sake and. for the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Peter 1:16-18

Certainty concerning Christ the secret of spiritual earnestness. The apostle gives the reason for his earnestness in the passage before us, and certainty is the key-note of his utterance; He declares he knows what he enforces, that error has not been palmed on him for truth, that his eyes have seen and his ears have heard what he tells. Then our subject is— Certainty concerning Christ the secret of spiritual earnestness. Doubt and deadness go together, certainty and vigour; and in an... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Peter 1:16-21

Threefold testimony to the truth of Christianity. In laying out the grounds of his own faith, and the grounds, too, on which he would have his readers build their faith, St. Peter indicates the lines of a threefold evidence. I. THE TESTIMONY OF THE APOSTLES . 1 . They were "eye-witnesses"— a rare word, describing spectators who were admitted into the highest grade of initiation into mysteries. How true of Peter and James and John, with regard to the life of our Lord! ... read more

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 2 Peter 1:16-18

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - 2 Peter 1:16-18

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Peter 1:16

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Peter 1:16

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Peter 1:16

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Peter 1:12-21

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Peter 1:16

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Peter 1:16-18

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Peter 1:16-18

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Peter 1:16-21

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