Rock of Faith
Matthew 16:13-18 When
Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do
people say the Son of Man is?” 14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist;
others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 “But
what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You
are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you,
Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father
in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build
my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.
BECAUSE the name “Peter” means rock, it is often considered
that Jesus was pointing to Peter to say he will build his church out of the
disciple. This is far from the truth.
When Jesus says, “on this rock I will build my church”, he
is pointing to himself. Peter’s confession of Jesus as the Christ is the rock
of faith that will form the solid foundation of true believers in the church to
come. Only those who confess Christ will stand on Him against the gates of Hell.
True confession of Jesus as Savior will keep His own against all hellish persecutions
and heresies to come.
Peter is an
example of one who confesses Christ, but Peter did not do so in his own power.
Jesus declares, “this was not revealed to
you by man, but by my Father in heaven”, to teach us that, “it is by grace you have been saved.” (Eph
2:5) The Holy Spirit awakens God’s own to Jesus as Lord.
If you truly
believe Jesus is the Christ, give thanks the Spirit has revealed eternal truth
to you.
LIFE Link: Faith.
No comments:
Post a Comment