11-23-23-ENG.

"Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. "

Matthew 16:16 
SAVIOR AND SON
 
Read It: Matthew 16:16-17
Chalk one up in the win column for Simon Peter. Old Pete nailed this one. His confession of the identity of Jesus Christ is one of the greatest est statements in all the Bible. Remember, Jesus was about to tell the disciples about the Church for the first time, but He didn't want to reveal His plan until they were clear about His Person. Peter's confession covered all the bases. By calling Jesus "the Christ," Peter was identifying Him as the Messiah, the Anointed One, Israel's promised Redeemer. Peter was saying that Jesus was the fulfillment of all the Old Testament's promises and prophecies. He was the Lamb of God who would come to bear the sins of His people and of the world. Peter also recognized Jesus as deity by calling Him "the Son of the living ing God." This statement means He shares the very essence of deity with the Father. All that makes the Father the eternal God belongs to the Son. So Peter covered Jesus' humanity and deity. What Peter said was enough to earn him an advanced degree in theology, ology, except that Peter had never been to seminary. The explanation, of course, is that Peter didn't figure this all out on his own (v. 17). Knowledge like this can only come through the revelation of God. And that's still true today. Now we have an advantage because we have the completed revelation tion of God.

The Bible tells us very clearly that Jesus is the Son of God and Savior of the world. But the only One who can make those words come alive in our hearts is the Spirit of God. What I'm saying is that if you are a Christian, you did not get saved just because you woke up one day and decided you'd like to believe in Jesus. You did not conjure up the faith to be saved. God came looking for you. He revealed the truth about Christ to you and burned the conviction of it into your heart. This is important to remember, not just for personal salvation, but as we talk about the Church. The Church is God's idea from beginning to end. He just lets us in on the good stuff. Think About It Since the Church is God's idea, we can't make it work merely by the force of our will and our effort.