Your Own Divine Revelation

April 26, 2019

Your Own Divine Revelation

“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

Matthew 16:15

Today’s text is the answer to the question I have raised in the last few weeks: Have my personal experiences with Jesus been sufficient to earn my unconditional, unqualified obedience? I cannot answer out of my mortal human experience, but I am not without help. What is impossible for me is possible for God!

When Jesus was in Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do you say I am?” The town had a Roman name because it had a temple built to the Roman god, the Emperor. Jesus asked that question as he was surrounded by idols to the Roman gods. Jesus’ question and Peter’s answer are meaningful to the followers of Jesus today from two perspectives.

First, our relationship with God is inherently personal. Each of us has the responsibility of responding to the message of Christ and committing our lives to him fully and without reservation. No other person can make this decision for us. In making our decision, we ultimately are responsible for responding to Jesus’ question, “But who do you say I am?” I have been blessed to have studied under great teachers and pastors. I’ve had good friends to encourage me along my journey. Even so, Jesus doesn’t ask me who Brennan Manning or Fred Craddock says that he is; he asks me, “Who do you say I am?”

Secondly, Jesus’ question is almost a Catch-22, since the question is beyond any human’s capacity to correctly answer. As soon as “Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God” Jesus made it clear that Peter’s response was one of divine revelation: “Jesus came back, “God bless you, Simon, son of Jonah! You didn’t get that answer out of books or from teachers. My Father in heaven, God himself, let you in on this secret of who I really am” (Matthew 16: 17 MSG).

My Takeaway: As you journey through life, seeking to make the life in Christ your way of life, you can rest in the sure knowledge that God will take all the bits and pieces of information you have received about Jesus, and transform them into a divine revelation for you. Just as God authored Peter’s confession, so also will God reveal to you the rock of our salvation: Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God.

Sē’lah

Alex

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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 New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.