“Jesus replied, ‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. 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.'” Matthew 16:17-18
The kingdom of heaven is not of flesh and blood [1 Corinthians 15:50], so too, understanding the mysteries of Christ does not come from man but from God [Galatians 1:16].
Certainly we are charged to preach the gospel and to live its light before all humankind. However, the Holy Spirit continually works on the hearts of all people to will and to act according to God’s good purpose [Philippians 2:13], a goodness which, when it takes root in us, works for God’s good in all and for all [Romans 8:26-28].
And though God has set a propensity to seek and understand eternity in each of us [Ecclesiastes 3:11], many harden their hearts toward Him [Romans 1:18-32] so that they cannot receive the revelation of the Holy Spirit. So that they are blind to the truth of God.
Peter’s eyes, however, were wide open to God’s truth. And He demonstrated a Holy-Spirit-taught understanding of it.
When Jesus pronounced the blessing on Peter, it was not to give him that blessing, it was to let him know that he was and would be blessed—extremely joyful–because of God’s truth at work in him.
Then, Jesus reaffirmed Simon–the listener’s–God-given name, Peter, meaning rock or bedrock [John 1:42]. Using a double entendre, or a second way to understand the word meaning, Jesus stated that on this rock He would build His church.
This rock could be referring to Peter himself as he did much work to spread the gospel in the known world after Jesus’ death. However, it most certainly meant the bedrock understanding that Jesus was the promised Messiah, the anointed One of God.
And the Greek word church, ekklesia, originally meant a popular meeting (often religious in nature) or assembly, from kaleo, a calling out. Therefore, Jesus would call all people to Himself, to join the assembly of the heavenly kingdom, on the bedrock understanding that He alone is the way, the truth and the life; and that no man comes to the Father but by Him [John 14:6].
Once our eyes are opened to the truth, our struggle is not against flesh and blood [Ephesians 6:12]. The term Hades literally means the unseen world, that which is spiritual. It is also translated as hell, the burning abyss of Satan and all those who reject God in life. But Jesus overcame death, hell and the grave by becoming flesh and blood Himself and laying that life down for us as the payment for our sins [Leviticus 17:11; Romans 6:23; Hebrews 2:14].
When we, by grace through faith, respond to the Holy Spirit’s revelation of Christ in our lives, then we can be reconciled to–that is made right with–God. Truly, though everything else be destroyed, the foundational truth of Jesus is eternal [Ephesians 2:20]. And when we let it root in our hearts, when we hold onto it as it grows in us, nothing even from the unseen spiritual rebellion can undo God’s truth in us.
Have your eyes been opened to God’s truth? Do you recognize God’s truth in all the so-called “truths” that the world offers?
KCS
Generation Heroes 