Monday, January 04, 2010, 8:16 a.m. – I woke this morning to this song in my mind: Upon This Rock / by Gloria Gaither and Dony McGuire / Artist: Sandi Patti
Sandi Patti - Upon This Rock LYRICS
When others see with earthly eyes
Just what they want to see
You will see the things that never die
You will know and recognize
By simple child-like faith
The priceless truth that
Others will deny.
When others say I'm just a man
Who likes to dream His dreams
When others call a miracle a myth
You'll listen for eternity
In moments as they pass
And see with spirit eyes
What others miss.
If in a simple carpenter
You see the Son of God
If you would choose to lose
When you could win
If you would give your life away
For nothing in return
Then you are where
My kingdom will begin.
Upon this rock I'll build My kingdom
And on this rock forever and ever it shall stand
And all the powers of Hell itself
Shall never more prevail against it
For Satan's thrones are built on sinking sand
Upon this rock I'll build My kingdom
And on this rock forever and ever it shall stand
Upon this rock of revelation
I'll build a strong and mighty nation
And it shall stand the storms of time
Upon this rock.
This song is based off of this passage of scripture in Matthew 16:13-19:
My Understanding: Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Then, Jesus went on to tell Peter that he was blessed because he had received this revelation of knowledge from God the Father in heaven, not from man. Then, Jesus told Peter that “on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it…”
I looked this passage up in a couple of commentaries. There are varied interpretations as to the “rock” upon which the church is built. I believe that, in this context, it is clear that the “rock” is this revelation of truth that was revealed to Peter by God the Father, not by man - this revelation that Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of the living God. It would be upon this testimony that the church would be built. The next verse, I believe, solidifies this idea when it says:
“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."
A key is a way or means of achieving something; the aspect of something that, once understood, provides a full understanding or explanation of the whole; crucial – vital in achieving understanding; an instrument used to lock or unlock doors (Encarta).
Jesus was basically telling Peter that he was going to increase his understanding and that it would come through spiritual revelation, not through book smarts, and that this understanding of the truth of the gospel, as revealed to him by the Holy Spirit of God, would open and shut the doors of heaven to mankind. In other words, the gospel is clear on the way (the key; the door) into heaven, that it is a narrow road, that few enter, and that it comes through faith in Jesus Christ as lived out in obedience to God’s commands and via repentance. In other words, faith = repentance and faith = obedience.
Peter would preach the first message of the gospel of Jesus Christ to the Jews. It is recorded in the second chapter of Acts - Acts 2 - Passage[wash my mouth]Lookup - New International Version - BibleGateway.com. It is here that Peter told them how to be saved. They needed to repent, i.e. to turn from their sin and to turn to God, and they needed to be baptized, i.e. they needed to die to the flesh and to be raised in the Spirit. In other words, their old life must die and they must be regenerated; they must be born again.
The way that I know this is speaking of a spiritual baptism as opposed to merely a physical baptism is found in the passage of scripture I read for my quiet time with the Lord today. I read Romans 2:28-3:31:
In Romans, Paul was addressing the whole matter of justification by observing the law vs. justification by faith. Yet, faith does not exclude the need to obey God’s commands. Rather, faith upholds the commands of God. We are not saved via good works. We can not earn our way to heaven. Yet, true faith is faith in action. True faith is faith that is lived out in our lives. True faith results in repentance; it results in obedience. So, it does not nullify the need to obey God’s commands. It just recognizes that we do not earn our way into heaven via outward acts of adherence to the law. Jesus was clear with Peter that he did not learn the truth about who Jesus truly is from man but rather it was revealed to him by God the Father. True faith recognizes the source as being of God and not of ourselves.
The song, Upon This Rock, speaks of human sight and insight vs. spiritual sight and insight. The message here is that the true church of Jesus Christ, i.e. the Body of Christ, i.e. the people of God, is not built on the teachings, reasonings, thoughts or works of man, but rather the true church of Jesus Christ is built upon the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ – that He is the Messiah, the Son of the living God, our Savior, our Redeemer and it is only through true faith in Jesus Christ that we have entry into the doors of heaven. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
The true Rock upon which we stand is Jesus Christ, and it is upon that Rock that the church is built. When we stand upon that Rock, we stand upon the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ and it is that gospel that is able to save lives for eternity. We need to be like “rocks” in our stand upon that gospel. We need to not be swayed by the teachings of man, but we need to remain firm in our beliefs about our Lord Jesus Christ and him being the ONLY way into heaven. When we stand upon the Rock, Jesus Christ, and upon the Rock of Revelation of the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ, it is through that testimony that our Lord is able to build his church.
If in a simple carpenter you see the Son of God
If you would choose to lose when you could win
If you would give your life away for nothing in return
Then you are where My kingdom will begin.
Sandi Patti - Upon This Rock LYRICS
When others see with earthly eyes
Just what they want to see
You will see the things that never die
You will know and recognize
By simple child-like faith
The priceless truth that
Others will deny.
When others say I'm just a man
Who likes to dream His dreams
When others call a miracle a myth
You'll listen for eternity
In moments as they pass
And see with spirit eyes
What others miss.
If in a simple carpenter
You see the Son of God
If you would choose to lose
When you could win
If you would give your life away
For nothing in return
Then you are where
My kingdom will begin.
Upon this rock I'll build My kingdom
And on this rock forever and ever it shall stand
And all the powers of Hell itself
Shall never more prevail against it
For Satan's thrones are built on sinking sand
Upon this rock I'll build My kingdom
And on this rock forever and ever it shall stand
Upon this rock of revelation
I'll build a strong and mighty nation
And it shall stand the storms of time
Upon this rock.
This song is based off of this passage of scripture in Matthew 16:13-19:
My Understanding: Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Then, Jesus went on to tell Peter that he was blessed because he had received this revelation of knowledge from God the Father in heaven, not from man. Then, Jesus told Peter that “on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it…”
I looked this passage up in a couple of commentaries. There are varied interpretations as to the “rock” upon which the church is built. I believe that, in this context, it is clear that the “rock” is this revelation of truth that was revealed to Peter by God the Father, not by man - this revelation that Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of the living God. It would be upon this testimony that the church would be built. The next verse, I believe, solidifies this idea when it says:
“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."
A key is a way or means of achieving something; the aspect of something that, once understood, provides a full understanding or explanation of the whole; crucial – vital in achieving understanding; an instrument used to lock or unlock doors (Encarta).
Jesus was basically telling Peter that he was going to increase his understanding and that it would come through spiritual revelation, not through book smarts, and that this understanding of the truth of the gospel, as revealed to him by the Holy Spirit of God, would open and shut the doors of heaven to mankind. In other words, the gospel is clear on the way (the key; the door) into heaven, that it is a narrow road, that few enter, and that it comes through faith in Jesus Christ as lived out in obedience to God’s commands and via repentance. In other words, faith = repentance and faith = obedience.
Peter would preach the first message of the gospel of Jesus Christ to the Jews. It is recorded in the second chapter of Acts - Acts 2 - Passage[wash my mouth]Lookup - New International Version - BibleGateway.com. It is here that Peter told them how to be saved. They needed to repent, i.e. to turn from their sin and to turn to God, and they needed to be baptized, i.e. they needed to die to the flesh and to be raised in the Spirit. In other words, their old life must die and they must be regenerated; they must be born again.
The way that I know this is speaking of a spiritual baptism as opposed to merely a physical baptism is found in the passage of scripture I read for my quiet time with the Lord today. I read Romans 2:28-3:31:
In Romans, Paul was addressing the whole matter of justification by observing the law vs. justification by faith. Yet, faith does not exclude the need to obey God’s commands. Rather, faith upholds the commands of God. We are not saved via good works. We can not earn our way to heaven. Yet, true faith is faith in action. True faith is faith that is lived out in our lives. True faith results in repentance; it results in obedience. So, it does not nullify the need to obey God’s commands. It just recognizes that we do not earn our way into heaven via outward acts of adherence to the law. Jesus was clear with Peter that he did not learn the truth about who Jesus truly is from man but rather it was revealed to him by God the Father. True faith recognizes the source as being of God and not of ourselves.
The song, Upon This Rock, speaks of human sight and insight vs. spiritual sight and insight. The message here is that the true church of Jesus Christ, i.e. the Body of Christ, i.e. the people of God, is not built on the teachings, reasonings, thoughts or works of man, but rather the true church of Jesus Christ is built upon the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ – that He is the Messiah, the Son of the living God, our Savior, our Redeemer and it is only through true faith in Jesus Christ that we have entry into the doors of heaven. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
The true Rock upon which we stand is Jesus Christ, and it is upon that Rock that the church is built. When we stand upon that Rock, we stand upon the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ and it is that gospel that is able to save lives for eternity. We need to be like “rocks” in our stand upon that gospel. We need to not be swayed by the teachings of man, but we need to remain firm in our beliefs about our Lord Jesus Christ and him being the ONLY way into heaven. When we stand upon the Rock, Jesus Christ, and upon the Rock of Revelation of the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ, it is through that testimony that our Lord is able to build his church.
If in a simple carpenter you see the Son of God
If you would choose to lose when you could win
If you would give your life away for nothing in return
Then you are where My kingdom will begin.
