READ MATTHEW 16:13-20!
Upon This Rock!
13 When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?"
14 So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
15 He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"
16 Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
17 Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.
18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."
20 Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ. Jesus got very excited when He heard these words come out of Peter's mouth as to who He was.
Matthew 16:
16 Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Jesus knew immediately (by Peter's response) that the Spirit of wisdom and revelation had entered into this disciple's life. He knew that what Peter was now seeing was beyond what flesh and blood, or anything natural, could ever reveal to a man. Matthew 16:
17 Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.
But, there were many times when the disciples didn't get it, and Jesus would have come again to them to explain what was happening, or who He truly was. Here is just one of those many times... John 14:
6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.
8 Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.
9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?
...But this time, hallelujah, Peter got it!!!
Jesus then continues speaking, and says to Peter, Matthew 16:
18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."
The Rock that Jesus is building His Church on is "the true revelation of who He is." Once we get this revelation, by the Spirit of the Living God, of who Jesus truly is, everything changes. Jesus will give Keys of His Kingdom to those who know by Divine revelation who He is.
These Keys of the Kingdom will then begin to unlock the "hidden things of God" and the believer can begin to rule and reign with true authority. God's Kingdom is invisible to our natural eyes. But, is made clearly visible to us by the Spirit we have been given. Ephesians 1:
17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him,
18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,
19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power...
The greatest Key of God's Kingdom is "revelation" and this is what happened to Peter concerning who Jesus was. Revelation is the Rock by which our Lord will build His Church and the very gates of hell will not be able to prevail against it. When all doubt is gone, and we see by Divine Revelation, Jesus for who He truly is, the enemy fears and trembles. His power is broken. He flees!
May our prayers continue to be;
Thy Kingdom come, they will be done, on earth as it is in heaven...
Don't forget to share!!!!
I really enjoyed your post today, Sister Linda.
ReplyDelete