Matt 16: 13 When Jesus came
into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do
men say that I the Son of man am?
14 And they said, Some say that thou art John
the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.
15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I
am?
16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art
the Christ, the Son of the living God.
17 And Jesus answered and said unto him,
Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto
thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art
Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall
not prevail against it.
19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and
whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever
thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
20 Then charged he his disciples that they
should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.
As we read these scriptures about how the church was
founded – it is important that we understand exactly who Jesus is . . . is He a good man . . . like Peter - is
He simply “another” in long line of prophets . . . or is He
literally The Son
of God in human form which is to say (The Christ) . . . If we answer that Jesus is the Christ . . . or that He is God
in the flesh – then “like Peter” we are not aware of this because our
education has allowed us to “figure it out”
But to know that Jesus is “the Christ” – is for this
knowledge to have been revealed to us by God through His Holy Spirit . . .
Now I say this because “The Bible” is not to be read
as just another book . . . The Bible is “The Living Word of God” – and what
this phrase means is that The Bible “and what It Says” actually IS God
Heb 4:12 For the word of God
is quick, and powerful, and sharper
than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and
spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and
intents of the heart.
For The Word of God “To be quick” and powerful refers
to how The Word of God actually “lives” . . . and to how The Bible and what it
teaches us “is active” within our lives.
By this I simply mean that once we read John 3:16 which
says . . .
16 For God so loved the
world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him
should not perish, but have everlasting life.
We realize that this means - that it was God’s love “for the sinner” which
motivated Him to sacrifice Himself on the cross for our sins . . .
God’s love for those who were without hope – is what led
Jesus to the cross . . . The righteousness of Jesus Christ is transferred to “the
sinners
account” when that sinners BELIEVES that Jesus died to
pay for OUR sins – because He had no sins of His own . . . To “believe in Jesus”
is to put our trust in Him as one who has risen from the dead for
the purpose of
“saving” those who put their faith in Him . . . to believe in
the death of Jesus – to believe in the resurrection of Jesus – to believe in
our sinfulness – to believe in His sinless-ness . . . to turn toward God in our
heart . . . to
accept His sacrifice to God on our behalf (knowing that He took
our place in death) – this is how faith and repentance allows us to gain everlasting life . . .
For God’s Word to be “quick” or alive . . . for God’s
Word to be powerful – or active within
our lives means that the concept of faith – salvation and
repentance which is found in John 3:16 – is a
realization that will always be present within us throughout the remainder of
our lives . . .
John 12:32 (Jesus says of
His death) And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.
What this means is that this concept of faith – repentance
and salvation – which is seen in the death of Jesus on the cross “for our sins”
is
something that has placed a burden on every human
heart from Adam to the present . . . this burden is that we are responsible for
the
sufferings of Jesus – and God has extended to us the
hope of salvation in His willingness to FORGIVE us – if we admit our guilt –
and trust in His promise of forgiveness . . .
For God’s Word to “be alive” means that “The Bible”
will “never” stop having an effect upon our lives.
We can read Tom Sawyer – or we can read Shakespeare .
. . these stories will teach us a few things and they will have an effect upon
us for a
while . . . but they are soon to be forgotten – the morals
and the entertainment which they contain may be remembered – but in years
to come
- they will not provide us with any type of lasting spiritual guidance – “the Lessons of Literature” will
never be able to burden our heart – in times of trials the words of Mark Twain
will not give us
spiritual comfort – but the Words of God will give us
comfort . . . the point – is that The Bible and the lessons we find there – are
not “intellectual” in
nature . . . they are “spiritual” in Nature . . . The
Wizard of Oz entertains our flesh - as it teaches us that there is no place
like home . . . But The Word
of God “convicts the heart” as it teaches that we are
to learn that God will never leave us nor will He ever forsake us – and with
this knowledge – we are to be content with such as we have . . .
Php 4:11 Paul says . . . for
I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.
So when Jesus talks about Himself being “The Christ” and
that flesh and blood has not revealed this to Peter - He reinforces the idea
that He never
offers any proof of this . . . all we have is His word
as we remember the definition of faith . . . as the substance of things hoped
for and the evidence of things NOT SEEN.
when Jesus talks about “the beginning” or the
foundation of His New Testament Church – and
how this church would be built upon Himself as the
rock of ages (the big stone) - as opposed to being built upon Peter or some
other man (as a little
stone) so that the gates of hell would never prevail
against (overcome) it – Jesus again
refuses to offer any type of proof . . . but He does promise
that after He ascends back into heaven - to send His
Holy Spirit upon “the church” to teach them
John 14:26 But the
Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he
shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance,
whatsoever I have said unto you.
So when we say that The Bible is the living Word of God
– we say this because it is made a living thing to us by The Holy Spirit of God
. . .
So do we look at The Bible as just another book – or do
we look at The Bible as we would look upon God Himself . . . do we try to interpret
God’s Word with our education – or we let The Spirit guide us?
