If you were going to build a structure that you wanted to stand as long as possible - which of the "rocks" shown above would you choose as the foundation? The BIG rock of ages . . . or the small rocks shown below it?
II Thessalonians 1: 1 Paul,
and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians in God our
Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
2 Grace unto you, and peace, from God our
Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
In verse #1 “The church” is referred to as being IN
“God our Father” and also as being a church that was IN (fixed or resting upon) “THE Lord Jesus Christ”
as the rock of ages.
Paul clarifies that “The church” (unto whom this
letter is being addressed) is not simply “a temporary” social organization of
man . . . but to
state that “the church” was IN “God our Father” was
for Paul to indicate that the church was not a short-term institution – but
that “the church”
was in a “fixed” (permanent) location (or position
that would NEVER change) – and that this stationary (unmovable) position was
not resting
upon men – but
“as such” the church was currently
“positioned” and would remain “positioned”
where-ever God was LOCATED.
Mt 16:18 And I say also unto
thee, That thou art Peter, and (not upon YOU – but) upon this rock (upon Myself) I will build my church; and the gates of
hell shall not prevail against it.
The point that Jesus is making here – is that there is
a BIG DIFFERENCE between “the stability” or the character of Peter and “the
stability” or the
character of Jesus . . . Peter was indeed “a rock” or
a stable feature concerning the
teachings of Jesus and the early church . . . but what Jesus is saying
here is that even though Peter is “a rock” or a stable
force concerning “the faith” – Jesus is a much BIGGER rock or a much larger stabilizing force than Peter or any “other”
man is.
Remember that Peter was “just a man” – and that as a man – Peter is the one who openly denied
Jesus not once but “three times” prior to the
crucifixion . . . so even though Peter repented and
was later “converted” which means nothing more than that he reverted (returned) back to “the
faith” that he had earlier denied (as he allowed God
to turn his life around through repentance).
Peter was in this respect a
“little” stone or a
“small” rock concerning “the faith” while on the other
hand – Jesus was a BIG stone or a MASSIVE rock . . . or what we refer to as
“the rock of ages.”
So when Jesus says “thou art Peter and upon THIS rock I will build my church” – He
was pointing out that even though Peter was a good man (what we
would refer to a rock concerning “the faith” – he was
also a man that was subject to sin –
he WAS strong in the faith – but he was not as big of a
rock as Jesus was . . . so Jesus tells us – that the
church was not built upon a little rock like Peter – but that it was built upon
Himself as “the rock of ages”
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.
(You are the rock of ages)
17 And Jesus answered and
said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona (Peter) : for flesh and blood
hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
Jesus tells Peter that he had been blessed of God
concerning the fact that “Jesus” was The Christ. For “flesh and blood not to have revealed this unto thee” indicates that Peter did not
use his
education to “figure out” that Jesus was The Christ –
but that God had revealed this to
Peter . .
What God had revealed to Peter was that there was a difference between Jesus and John the
Baptist – there was a difference
between Jesus and Elias –
There was a
difference between Jesus and Jeremias – there was a difference between Jesus and “one of the prophets” . . . These
prophets were all
good men – but these prophets were ONLY men – while
Jesus was MORE than a man – He was literally God in the flesh . . . so it was
with this
background regarding the difference in stature which exists between Jesus and the
prophets - that Jesus explains in the next verse
18 And I say also unto thee,
That thou art Peter (you are like one of these prophets that have been
mentioned – you are a good man - but you are not the Christ) and
(pointing to Himself – He
says not upon you but) upon THIS rock (upon Myself “not as a prophet” but as The Christ – Upon Myself as The Son of the living God) I will build
my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail
against it.
The gates of hell had already prevailed against Peter once when he denied Jesus
. . . the gates of hell had already prevailed against the life of Peter
when he failed in Galatians 2 – as he gave in to pressure
and refused to teach that in the New Testament that we are no longer under the
Law
Galatians 2: 11 But when
Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed.
12 For before that certain came from James, he
did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated
himself, fearing them which were of the
circumcision.
Now this latest account of failure in the life of
Peter was at least three years after his conversation with Jesus in Matt 16
about building the church
upon THIS rock.
So if Peter was “this rock” upon which the church was built (instead of
that rock being Jesus) then
what right did Paul have to accuse Peter of leading
the church into error (who if the church had been
built upon Peter instead of upon Jesus) – would
mean that Peter is the one who had been given the keys
of the kingdom “to bind or to loose” in both heaven and earth?
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.
Who has possession of “the keys” of the kingdom.
What do you think these “keys” of the kingdom of
heaven are . . . and
What is it that is “bound or loosed” by the use of
these keys.
Our next lesson will deal with the "living word" and we will discuss "the keys" in one of our later lessons.
