Who Do You Say that I Am?
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| The inner paradigm we carry affects us in every sphere of life |
When Jesus came into the region of Ceaserea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?”
So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.”
Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.
And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 16:17-19)
Note that this was the same fisherman who had met Christ by the lake of Gennessaret. It was the same Christ that had met the fisherman. However, Peter had come to the place of knowing the Lord in His deity as the Son of God.
There is a world of difference between having information that Jesus is the Son of God and knowing this by revelation. Jesus Himself made it clear that this understanding did not come to Peter through any natural means. It was not through an effort of human intelligence or genius on his part. And because it was received by true revelation, it had an immediate impact.
There is some history to the location where this account took place. Originally, the city was called Paneas, but Philip the Tetrach, the son of Herod the Great, rebuilt it and called it Caesarea, in honor of the Roman emperor. However, in order to distinguish it from Ceasera Stratonis, which was another city along the Mediterranean coast, Philip added his own name to it. This was how it came to be known as Ceaserea Philippi.
Fittingly, it was in this setting that Jesus brought up the matter of identity. When Peter declared “You are,” Jesus responded, “I also say to you, you are.” The same applies to both you and I. We can never understand who we are until we know who He truly is. The scriptures state that our lives are hidden. The mystery of our identity and destiny can only be unfolded in His presence. In His light, we see light. For the believer, the true knowledge of Christ is not static. It is a revelation that is ever unfolding. Each time we come to a place of a deeper revelation of who He truly is, our lives cannot remain the same. This revelation releases the keys of authority which unlocks our true identity and our destiny on earth.
As we journey through life, perceptions come to us from a variety of sources. They may come from socializing agents who largely influenced our development during childhood. They may come from unexpected challenges or major events that took place as we grew. Whatever the case, each of us finds that we have a set way of viewing ourselves and the world around us. This affects how we behave and how we live. Sarah laughed off the idea of senile motherhood because she saw herself in a different way. Moses saw himself as a hesitant stammerer. Jacob was identified as a deceiver or supplanter. Jabez's mother actually gave him a name which meant trouble. Gideon saw himself as being the least of the least clan of the least tribe. The list goes on. Each had his or her own inner script that rose up to challenge their true identity.
Even as believers today, the inner paradigm we carry affects us in every sphere of life. Paul makes it clear that the believer has a choice on whether to continue being transformed or to slip back into a life of conformity. Allowing ourselves to take the latter course means we begin accepting the wrong form and it should not come as a surprise if our lifestyle begins to differ from what is described in the scriptures.
Going back to the account in Matthew 16, Simon Peter was already someone who had accepted the call to follow Christ. So it begs the question, why is it that the handing over of the keys to the Kingdom and the changing of his name (symbolic of identity), did not take place during his first encounter with Christ at the lake of Gennessaret? Because this was a different stage in his life. Simply because we have the understanding of Jesus Christ as the Saviour who died for us and forgave our sins does not mean we are at the point where we can receive the full inheritance and destiny that is connected with our true identity.
Education is the process by which information is imparted. It this by itself sufficient? Our public jails and rehab centres are full of educated people most of whom prior to being there, had a wealth of knowledge on the legal and moral consequences of their actions. Education may impart information, but it cannot deal with the inner conflict of forms that ensues afterwards. This is why many well-meaning, sincere people are perplexed by the fact that they have been through so many teachings in form of books, tapes, CDs, DVDs, podcasts, webinars, seminars and conferences, without seeing much change in their lives.
I believe that practical teachings are important and that leaders should continually seek to impart knowledge to the groups they lead. However, I do not believe that the Lord ultimately intended for His church to function as an educational centre. There is a major difference between students joining the university to acquire a degree or certification and soldiers who are involved in a cosmic, spiritual battle that bears very real eternal consequences. Teaching for the former involves communication of facts. For the latter, transformation is a matter of life and death. And there can be no transformation without revelation.
Ecclesia is different from Academia. What indicates a church or fellowship is growing is not the number of topics or subjects covered within a given period of time. The answer is not in trying to disseminate or absorb as much information as possible. Remember, our lives are affected primarily, not by how extensive our knowledge is or by how much information we have, but by what wins the inner conflict. This is one reason why the process of reformation which began after the Dark Ages, never fully came to completion. It had been intended to correct the position of the church and to bring it ultimately into her destiny. The process began in the right way. A new understanding had been gained and change was taking place. Scriptures that had been read several times had suddenly come alive. Information had given way to revelation. The text was the just shall live by faith. Light had come and there was now a movement from salvation by works toward salvation by grace.
However, many of those who pioneered this movement also found themselves deeply scripted in the structures or forms they were trying to pull away from. Revelation had set them on the course of transformation. But a serious battle now ensued between the old way of thinking and the new. Out of this battle came a variety of opinions. Some wanted to preserve parts of the old religious system while at the same time trying to accommodate the new revelation on justification by grace. This effort of trying to merge conflicting forms together gave rise to differences, which is part of the reason we have several denominations today.
Centuries later, movements arose which have since tried to correct doctrinal errors and restore the truth such that the Body could become what she was meant to be from the beginning. However, in this quest, it has often been assumed that what creates the problem is lack of knowledge and so the way to correct this is to make as much information available as often as possible. In reality however, the root of the problem is much deeper than absence of information. Something needs to happen deep within, at the very core where identity is scripted. Remember, the Lord's purpose ultimately, is not an informed church, but a transformed church.
He understands that we are only truly reformed to the extent transformation has taken place within us. In His grace, He is raising voices on the earth in this generation which are speaking powerfully to the church. These prophetic and apostolic companies are bringing a message that is different. It is not just about information. It is about foiling deformation. It is about the Body coming into transformation, the life-changing exchange where the old gives way to the new.
So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.”
Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.
And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 16:17-19)
Note that this was the same fisherman who had met Christ by the lake of Gennessaret. It was the same Christ that had met the fisherman. However, Peter had come to the place of knowing the Lord in His deity as the Son of God.
There is a world of difference between having information that Jesus is the Son of God and knowing this by revelation. Jesus Himself made it clear that this understanding did not come to Peter through any natural means. It was not through an effort of human intelligence or genius on his part. And because it was received by true revelation, it had an immediate impact.
There is some history to the location where this account took place. Originally, the city was called Paneas, but Philip the Tetrach, the son of Herod the Great, rebuilt it and called it Caesarea, in honor of the Roman emperor. However, in order to distinguish it from Ceasera Stratonis, which was another city along the Mediterranean coast, Philip added his own name to it. This was how it came to be known as Ceaserea Philippi.
Fittingly, it was in this setting that Jesus brought up the matter of identity. When Peter declared “You are,” Jesus responded, “I also say to you, you are.” The same applies to both you and I. We can never understand who we are until we know who He truly is. The scriptures state that our lives are hidden. The mystery of our identity and destiny can only be unfolded in His presence. In His light, we see light. For the believer, the true knowledge of Christ is not static. It is a revelation that is ever unfolding. Each time we come to a place of a deeper revelation of who He truly is, our lives cannot remain the same. This revelation releases the keys of authority which unlocks our true identity and our destiny on earth.
As we journey through life, perceptions come to us from a variety of sources. They may come from socializing agents who largely influenced our development during childhood. They may come from unexpected challenges or major events that took place as we grew. Whatever the case, each of us finds that we have a set way of viewing ourselves and the world around us. This affects how we behave and how we live. Sarah laughed off the idea of senile motherhood because she saw herself in a different way. Moses saw himself as a hesitant stammerer. Jacob was identified as a deceiver or supplanter. Jabez's mother actually gave him a name which meant trouble. Gideon saw himself as being the least of the least clan of the least tribe. The list goes on. Each had his or her own inner script that rose up to challenge their true identity.
Even as believers today, the inner paradigm we carry affects us in every sphere of life. Paul makes it clear that the believer has a choice on whether to continue being transformed or to slip back into a life of conformity. Allowing ourselves to take the latter course means we begin accepting the wrong form and it should not come as a surprise if our lifestyle begins to differ from what is described in the scriptures.
Going back to the account in Matthew 16, Simon Peter was already someone who had accepted the call to follow Christ. So it begs the question, why is it that the handing over of the keys to the Kingdom and the changing of his name (symbolic of identity), did not take place during his first encounter with Christ at the lake of Gennessaret? Because this was a different stage in his life. Simply because we have the understanding of Jesus Christ as the Saviour who died for us and forgave our sins does not mean we are at the point where we can receive the full inheritance and destiny that is connected with our true identity.
Education is the process by which information is imparted. It this by itself sufficient? Our public jails and rehab centres are full of educated people most of whom prior to being there, had a wealth of knowledge on the legal and moral consequences of their actions. Education may impart information, but it cannot deal with the inner conflict of forms that ensues afterwards. This is why many well-meaning, sincere people are perplexed by the fact that they have been through so many teachings in form of books, tapes, CDs, DVDs, podcasts, webinars, seminars and conferences, without seeing much change in their lives.
I believe that practical teachings are important and that leaders should continually seek to impart knowledge to the groups they lead. However, I do not believe that the Lord ultimately intended for His church to function as an educational centre. There is a major difference between students joining the university to acquire a degree or certification and soldiers who are involved in a cosmic, spiritual battle that bears very real eternal consequences. Teaching for the former involves communication of facts. For the latter, transformation is a matter of life and death. And there can be no transformation without revelation.
Ecclesia is different from Academia. What indicates a church or fellowship is growing is not the number of topics or subjects covered within a given period of time. The answer is not in trying to disseminate or absorb as much information as possible. Remember, our lives are affected primarily, not by how extensive our knowledge is or by how much information we have, but by what wins the inner conflict. This is one reason why the process of reformation which began after the Dark Ages, never fully came to completion. It had been intended to correct the position of the church and to bring it ultimately into her destiny. The process began in the right way. A new understanding had been gained and change was taking place. Scriptures that had been read several times had suddenly come alive. Information had given way to revelation. The text was the just shall live by faith. Light had come and there was now a movement from salvation by works toward salvation by grace.
However, many of those who pioneered this movement also found themselves deeply scripted in the structures or forms they were trying to pull away from. Revelation had set them on the course of transformation. But a serious battle now ensued between the old way of thinking and the new. Out of this battle came a variety of opinions. Some wanted to preserve parts of the old religious system while at the same time trying to accommodate the new revelation on justification by grace. This effort of trying to merge conflicting forms together gave rise to differences, which is part of the reason we have several denominations today.
Centuries later, movements arose which have since tried to correct doctrinal errors and restore the truth such that the Body could become what she was meant to be from the beginning. However, in this quest, it has often been assumed that what creates the problem is lack of knowledge and so the way to correct this is to make as much information available as often as possible. In reality however, the root of the problem is much deeper than absence of information. Something needs to happen deep within, at the very core where identity is scripted. Remember, the Lord's purpose ultimately, is not an informed church, but a transformed church.
He understands that we are only truly reformed to the extent transformation has taken place within us. In His grace, He is raising voices on the earth in this generation which are speaking powerfully to the church. These prophetic and apostolic companies are bringing a message that is different. It is not just about information. It is about foiling deformation. It is about the Body coming into transformation, the life-changing exchange where the old gives way to the new.
