Matthew 16:17–18 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.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.
On this stone the Jewish believers Church was founded. he would lead the followers of Jesus Christ to build the early Church.
John 1:40–42
40 One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated, the Christ). 42 And he brought him to Jesus. Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, “You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas” (which is translated, A Stone). The New King James Version
In the age of grace we are covered in the Blood of Jesus and cleansed of our sin. Jesus defeated satan as the Son of God in His death and Resurrection. Whoever has the Spirit of God sin is not imputed.
1 John 3:5 And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.
The righteousness of God without the Law is given to those who believe in the finished work of the Cross. The love of God has covered our sins and we are free to love and care for others as He loves and cares for us. Holy Spirit changes us precept by precept into mature followers in the character of Jesus Christ.
1 John 3:18 My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him. For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment.
To the Jewish believers Jewish was the Messiah their King the Son of God promised to them in the Old Testament. They recognized Him as part of the tripartite Godhead. All things were created by Him and for Him. The Gospel of Grace had not been revealed to the Jews but was revealed to the Gentiles by divine revelation to Paul that the Gentiles. All who believe in Him are covered in His birth, death and resurrection. Jesus died for all of mankind but it was a new revelation that was hard for the Jewish believers to comprehend.
Matthew 16:15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”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.
Jesus is the hope of the world and the world looks for the reappearing of our Savior.
Titus 2:13 looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.
Be aware of those who profess any salvation other than Jesus Christ. The fullness of the Godhead is manifested in Him. He is the way, the truth and in Him is life.
Colossians 2:8 Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.
Those who had seen Jesus had seen the Father. He is in the Father and the Father in Him.
John 14:8 Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.”
Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves.
The flesh will always fight against the Spirits long as we are in human bodies. Only the Holy Spirit in us can overcome the flesh. Carla
Galatians 5:17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
John is the only new testament writer to use the word messias, transliterating the Hebrew word mashiach into Greek. While John uses several Hebrew and Aramaic terms, he is careful to explain their meaning to his Greek audience. “Messiah” is the Hebrew equivalent of the Greek term christos, or “Christ.”
As soon as he came to faith, Andrew must have sought out his brother Simon Peter. The excitement of discovering the Son of God, the Messiah was contagious among the early believers.
Andrew appears two more times in the Gospel of John both times he is bringing someone to Jesus. Cephas is the Aramaic word for “rock”. The NKJV Study Bible
The Gospel of John is generally accepted to be the latest, written as much as 30–40 years after Mark and 50–60 years after Jesus’ ministry. John presents a dramatized and highly stylized version of Jesus’ public ministry, crucifixion, and resurrection. Cephas is Aramaic for “rock,” translated to Greek as petros or Peter. Faithlife Study Bible
It is good for us to be where Christ is, wherever it be. We ought to labour for the spiritual welfare of those related to us, and seek to bring them to Him. Those who come to Christ, must come with a fixed resolution to be firm and constant to him, like a stone, solid and stedfast; and it is by his grace that they are so. Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Matthew 4:18–22 And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”…
We are citizens of heaven (Philippians 1:27), yet we live as sojourners and strangers in a land that is not our own as we await the return of our King, Jesus, who will bring with Him the fullness of His Kingdom. In the meantime, our "exile" on earth is in fact an opportunity to establish outposts of the heavenly Kingdom of God. Wherever God's people gather, serve and live in faithfulness to Him, God's Kingdom is established as a beacon of hope for a hurting world.
We see this clearly in scriptures like Jeremiah 29:5-7, where God commanded His people to do the following things during their exile in Babylon:
● "Build houses and live in them."
● "Plant gardens and eat their produce."
● "Find wives for yourselves, and have sons and daughters. Find wives for your sons and give your daughters to men in marriage so that they may bear sons and daughters. Multiply there; do not decrease."
● "Pursue the well-being of the city I have deported you to. Pray to the LORD on its behalf, for when it thrives, you will thrive."
First5
Life can be very topsy-turvy. And life’s turvyness “storms” can too easily untether us.
So. How do we choose to see?
How do we choose to navigate?
How do we choose to engage?
It’s easy to be derailed, isn’t it? To fall off the wagon of well-being. Or, to give way to anger, division, bitterness, playing a victim. Downheartedness.
It’s not the emotion or reaction that derails us, it’s that they become our narrative. They tell us who we are.
This much is true: All the above, have this in common; Scotoma… Selective blindness. In other words, we see only what we want to see. Which means, with scotoma, we wall off tenderness and grace and gentleness and kindness and inclusion and healing and reconciliation... and hope. All that is alive and well inside every single one of us.
So. A good reminder to hit the reset button.
Let us begin here: Be gentle with yourself. Sabbath Moments
No comments:
Post a Comment