Revelation Knowledge

February 18, 2016

Revelation Knowledge

Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being.

Matthew 16:17

Peter’s confession of faith is one of my favorite passages in the Gospels. (Matthew 16:13-20) Jesus, ever the teacher, engages the disciples in a dialog about the populist perception of him, and his ministry. Peter’s answer is the perfect model of Saint Paul’s imperative that the followers of Jesus are to “walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7 NRSV). The disciples noted that the popular perception was that Jesus was like John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah or one of the other prophets. Then Jesus challenged them with, “But who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

Whoa! Where did that come from? I suspect Peter, and all the disciples were stunned at what came out of Peter’s mouth. They needed Jesus to help them grasp the significance of Peter’s declaration: “. . . my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being.” Actually, Peter’s declaration is a summary of all that had been revealed about Jesus thus far in Matthew’s Gospel, but this was the first time all the truth about Jesus was put together in one cohesive affirmation.

Peter’s confession is not only a model of walking by faith, not sight, it is also a model of Jesus’ promise for the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives: “But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.” (John 14:26).

Jesus concludes this teaching episode with his own declaration: Peter has revealed the rock upon which he will build his church and all the powers of hell will not conquer it. What’s the rock? Most commentators of this passage say it is Peter’s confession of faith that is the foundation of the church. Maybe. Certainly Peter’s confession is an integral part of the church’s foundation. However, for me, the central core of our faith is God’s revelation knowledge: “You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being.” I believe what has enabled the church to remain faithful to her mission for two millennia is the proactive voice of the Holy Spirit leading faithful disciples to live out Peter’s confession in a fallen world.

We are not alone. God is with us. Carry on!

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.