Upon This Rock.

The foundation and ongoing construction of the assembly that Jesus is constructing.

By Colin Thompson, Gateshead, England, 17/05/06

Mat 16:13 When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?

Mat 16:14 And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.

Mat 16:15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?

Mat 16:16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

Mat 16:17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

Mat 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church (literally assembly); and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Mat 16:19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be (literally ‘is’) bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be (is) loosed in heaven.

Mat 16:20 Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.

Mat 16:21 From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.

Mat 16:22 Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.

Mat 16:23 But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan (literally enemy): thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.

Mat 16:24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

Mat 16:25 For whosoever will save his life (psyche) shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life (psyche) for my sake shall find it.

Luk 6:43 For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

Luk 6:44 For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes.

Luk 6:45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.

Luk 6:46 And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?

Luk 6:47 Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like:

Luk 6:48 He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.

Luk 6:49 But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.

It would be a tragic mistake to start building a house on a great, strong foundation and then carry on building with shoddy, substandard materials. Jesus certainly will not build with sub-standard stones. Flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. In my flesh there is no good thing. Spiritual things can only be discerned by the spirit.

In the record of Simon Peter’s revelation from the Father, of Jesus being the Son of God, the Christ, we are at the same time shown dramatically that the carnal mind or psyche of Peter was blind to the things of God. In the Greek text, ‘satanas’ means simply ‘enemy’ or ‘opposer’. The enemy of our souls is also known as ‘satanas’ so some may conclude that Jesus inferred it was not Peter speaking but Satan. However in the context it is reasonable if not prudent to take it that Jesus is identifying natural man Peter to be the enemy or opposer of the mind of God.

Our natural minds are spiritually blind and will always lead us into the ditch.

Having begun in the Spirit, as in the initial revelation from the Father that Jesus is the Christ, we can all then go on in the flesh – to our ruin.

The answer is in knowing the hopeless condition of our natural minds and turning instead to Jesus, hearing what He would tell us and carrying out what He tells us.

In turning to Jesus, the Christ of God, listening to Him, and doing that which He tells us, we are coordinated with the will or mind of heaven. This is the keys to the Kingdom. Not our will or thought, but ‘Thy will be done’. ‘Let this mind which was in Jesus be in you’. This Jesus, son of man, Son of God, the anointed to save, never did anything of His own thought, but only that which His Father showed Him to do.

As it is written in Isaiah, your thoughts are not my thoughts, therefore neither are your ways my ways. Fruits come from trees, ways come from thoughts. So we are bidden to come, buy without money, eat without price, that which is come down from heaven, Jesus.

Do we wonder, ‘How on earth will the Assembly of Jesus be built?’

‘Not by strength, not by might, but by my Spirit, says the Lord.’

There is no place in this construction for the thoughts of men, the well meaning reactions of our blind, carnal minds.

Jesus is sticking to the blueprint given by the Father, from before the beginning of creation.

What a privilege to given a part in this, despite proving at times to be at total opposition to the purpose of God.

The simple answer?

Come to Jesus. (In the Spirit.)

Look upon Jesus.

Listen to Jesus.

Hear what He tells you. (Not what He tells someone else.)

Do it.

So we will be His disciples. (Pupils.)

Fantastic!

Colin Thompson, Gateshead, England.

http://www.followingjesuschrist.co.uk/ : colin@followingjesuschrist.co.uk