NETBibleTagger

Monday 2 February 2009

On This Rock

Peter got a revelation that Jesus was the promised Messiah who was also the Son of God (Matthew 16:16-18). "This rock" refers to the revelation Peter received. All who get it are built into the church like "living stones" (1 Peter 2:5).

The church of God was no longer to be built according to the system of animal sacrifices and the law of Moses. No-one would enter the Kingdom of Heaven by following the tenets of Judaism. That fig tree will never bear fruit again.

This does not mean God has abandoned the Jews or Israel. People who lived before 1948 could be excused for holding that view. Today the very existence of the state of Israel is one of the strongest arguments one can use in favour of our belief in the Almighty.

John declares that those who deny that the Christ (Messiah) has come in the flesh, are anti-christs (1 John 2:22). This is another way of saying that the revelation Peter got from the Father is a prerequisite for becoming a member of the Body of Christ, which is the same as being born again.

Just after Peter was commended for hearing from the Father he received a rebuke from Jesus for being mindful of the "things of men". That was because he attempted to persuade Jesus not to submit himself to the suffering he had been destined to.

In the same way the Church which was built on the rock soon got it wrong by setting up an earthly kingdom. They did not understand what "this rock" meant and took it to be the man Peter. This faulty interpretation may also elicit from God: "Get behind me satan".

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