by Scott Harper on Sunday, 2 September 2012 at 02:30 ·
Dear ones there is something that is heavy upon the Lords heart and it is concerning the state of His Church-Ecclesia! For many, many generations there has been 2 churches - the wheat church, the real ecclesia of God, true sheep. Then there is the Whore church- the tares, the goats, those with a form of godliness who forsake the power. To understand the structure that has been erected, many times you must go to the foundation and look to see what the edifice has been built on. For truly, if one had built upon an erroneous foundation, then the error of the foundation will disrupt and eventually destroy the structure that has been built as well as endanger those found within. For many years there has been a huge error taught to the church, upon this one error we have seen entire ministries come forth, huge churches, denominations, bible schools and even so called movements. Many men and women have believed this error and have caused much destruction, delusion and deception to be taught believers. The error is taught has come from the carnal reasonings of man concerning this portion of scripture:
Matt. 16:13-20
Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.” Then He warned the disciples that they should tell no one that He wasthe Christ.
There have been many who have built erroneously upon what they consider the true Rock to build upon is. The Roman Catholic Church holds to a certain interpretation of this passage as the foundation of its authority structure. he was saying that Peter himself was the rock upon which the church would be built. That is, Peter was to have primacy over the other apostles. And that the keys of the kingdom that Jesus talks about in verse 19 refer to the prerogatives that Jesus has given to Peter as the first leader of the Christian church and also as the first Bishop of Rome. As most already know, the Roman Catholic Church looks to this passage as the proof that Peter was indeed the first pope.
One of the most popular evangelical answers goes something like this: There are two different Greek words used for "Peter" and "Rock." Peter is petros, which can mean a small stone and "rock" which is the Greek word- is petra which can mean a large rock. In that case the Evangelicals say that Peter is not the rock; the rock is "his confession of faith". Then some say Jesus was there with them in front of this massive Rock cliff which was the demonic stronghold for the Syrian inhabitants of Caesarea Philippi and may have said, "You are Peter" and then gestured toward him when he said, "Upon this rock I will build my church." There you have the two popular answers to this question of what is the rock upon which the church is built? IS IT ON PETER HIMSELF? Or is it his CONFESSION OF FAITH?
Then there are the Word of Faith- Charismatic camp who say that Jesus there in front of this demonic stronghold- massive rock deliberately set himself against the background of the worlds religions' error and confusion: and here He inquired of His disciples about His identity. Peters answer to the Lord in vs. 16 is set apart from and beyond the carnal reasoning of the soul. Thus the reason for Jesus' commending Peter for having heard from God in the realm of the Spirit in vs 17. But here is where the Faith-Charismatic camp miss it just like the Catholic and the Evangelical camp has missed the proper understanding of this passage. The Faith-Charismatic camp believe and teach that the proper emphasis is based on the premise that: Proper leadership in His Church should always lead and be based not on mans ability to reason things out as much as on his readiness and receptivity to hear God through "REVELATION KNOWLEDGE" and that the things which God unfolds by the rhema word. In other words they base the establishment, leadership and the growth of the Church upon Revelation Knowledge in their Leaders this is missing the mark!!!
Lets look at the passage again!!!
Matt. 16:13-20
Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.” He said to them, {{{“But who do you say that I am?”}}} Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, {{{the Son}}} of the living God.” And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood {{{{did not reveal this to you}}}}, but My Father who is in heaven. I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.” Then He warned the disciples that they should tell no one that He was the Christ.
The Church is to be built upon SONSHIP. You see dear one it was Jesus' identity as Son that God revealed to Peter and it is and has always been the Rock of Sonship that we are to build the Church on. Not upon Peter himself, not upon our confession of faith and not upon revelation knowledge! All three of these answers are wrong and all three have used this erroneous foundation to build their kingdoms of mixture on, they have built a whore church upon a foundation that has not, is not, nor ever will be Truth. These kingdoms of mans religion have all been built on errors that some man got from their carnal reasoning of their soul, not from the Spirit of God.
The solid Rock foundation to build the Church upon is Jesus as the Son of God and our identity as Sons of God. The greatest fear Satan has concerning us is that we will wake up to the Eternal Truth of our Sonship! When Jesus was growing-maturing in His Sonship as the Son of man the enemy saw how Jesus was led of the Spirit. He saw how Jesus was not being hindered by his flesh nor by his soul. He saw that if he could get Jesus to give into temptaion in one of three areas he would be defeated. These three realms must be overcome to pass on into fullness. They are the lust of the fles, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. It is these three areas that even today, the enemy targets and means to attack your sonship - your identity as a Son.
Matt 4:1-11
Then Jesus was {{{led up by the Spirit}}} into the wilderness to be tempted by (and to overcome...my words here -SH) the devil. And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. And the tempter came and said to Him, “{{{{If You are the Son of God}}}}, command that these stones become bread.” But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’” Then the devil took Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, {{{{“If You are the Son of God}}}}, throw Yourself down; for it is written, ‘He will command His angels concerning You’; and ‘On their hands they will bear You up, So that You will not strike Your foot against a stone.’” Jesus said to him, “On the other hand, it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; and he said to Him, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’” Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him.
Satan showed Jesus everything that was his inside his kingdom of flesh and of soul (m ind, will and emotions) But you see Jesus had spent 40 days starving his flesh and soul and feeding his Spirit man. He went into the temptaionwilderness being led by the Spirit, walking in the realm of the Spirit as a Son, He stayed in the Spirit while being tempted, he Heard from the Spirit of God what to say in response to the enemy, even when he used the Word to tempt. As sons we love reading the written Word, but we listen to and only do and say what we see and hear from the Living Word. Here Jesus examples this for us to follow. Jesus was already living by "every (living) word that proceeds out of the mouth of God." So you see sons of God are not bound by the letter, we live in in a higher realm, we abide in realm of the Spirit, seeing face to face and hearing from the Livingm Word...this is the God-life!
Will you see the error of your ways oh Church, will you repent? Will you change your mind, and be renewed in your understanding? Will you come out of the whorish condition of the soul and flesh of the psuedo church which has built upon erroneous foundations?! Come now and embrace the Truth. Come now and build His Church on its proper foundation of Rock which is your true identity of Sonship!!! Will you??? I believe you will!!!
Chris Welch Writes.....Upon Which Rock?
More or less the same...except I'm not ditching anything we have learned by the Spirit en route.
It is obvious that God is somehow highlighting this passage if Scott Harper has felt so strongly to write upon it.
So "Upon this Rock"
means as Lisa has said first AND LAST, Allpha and Omega...Jesus.
He who begins a good work in You.....shall complete it.....
There is no other rock.
But this 'ere Rock means so much.And we must know some of these things if we are to be co-priests and co-intercessors in His house.
Faith comes by hearing and hearing comes by the Word of God.
Jesus was speaking Word to the multitudes and His disciples. He obviously had not spelt out the things Peter was confessing. So it shocked Jesus in a good way.
So a platform of "hearing" had already been created in Peter by the Word that Jesus had been speaking on other matters to do with the Kingdom. So Peter's very own faith was now starting to operate from this new "hearing base" that had been switched on in Peter.
Now this hearing base is where we start hearing our own Rhema Words direct from the Father. "Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you but My Father in heaven."
I don't know what it is about South Africans , perhaps they are now having an allergic reaction to Ray Macauley and Rhema movement. But whether or not the movement still is continuing, this capacity to hear direct from the Father ourselves, IS HOW THE KINGDOM Comes in this earth. This is one side of the Rock.
Jesus said I am in the Father and He is in Me....and now...we will make our home in you....
But the confession itself is also the Rock. It is one of those forensic evidence proofs that the apostles give in their letters every so often.
One is LOVE. By this shall you know them.
Another is...
1 John 4 : 1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; 3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.
This as God has been pressing on me is our Rock...
that Jesus is the Only Begotten Son of the Father....because Adam was NOT begotten...the reproductive cycle means that we were begotten according to the flesh...BUT OF ADAM...the one scooped out of the soil and breathed into.
Jesus is the first heavenly man. The Man of heaven. But curiously , in only the way God can dream up things....
although conceived supernaturally....Jesus WAS BORN of a woman....Mary. And this confused everybody, so Jesus got called a bastard for the rest of His life.
But He was truly the Son of Man. But Divine.
And we are heavenly born in Christ, the Son of Man too, by virtue of the Cross. So that makes us the corporate Son of Man.
Just as Jesus got flack for saying He was God in the flesh...so we, speaking from the same spirit, and effectively confessing the same thing, because we too have been born again from on high, are also fulfilling that scripture above... 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God;
But we are being specific...this Jesus born in us!!!!He has come in our flesh. This is the Rock on which the actual Kingdom is being built in the Earth. The rest is like lining up dominos by the shoreline waiting for the tide to knock them over.
Can you see now when God spoke in the 70s and said
Restore the ruins
Build up a Highway of Holiness
set up waymarks
He was speaking of a TRUE AUTOROUTE along which the multitudes of the Earth shall travel that is built on Jesus Own Substance.
Reproducing after His own Kind
What was from the beginning, what WE have heard, what WE have seen with our eyes, what WE have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life— 2 and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us— 3 what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. 4 These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete.
Do you begin to see why this took so long?
It's not any foundation. It's not just the foundation of forgiveness of sins.
It's not a charismatic or Rhema Movement foundation ALTHOUGH I am not discarding the Spirit methods we learnt en route.
It is an existence which has DUG DOWN TO THE ROCK...to Jesus Himself...to see the whole of Life with a single Eye...to see and live ....purely God going on in us and outside of us
But there are a couple more things...
One is connected with Rhema Word...or prophetic Word.
We don't just believe anything we like about ourselves...we try to sense what our innermost heart is saying about the plan for our lives....and to be open for the prophetic Word direct from the Lord or through other people.
Remember Peter didn't just tag along idly. He heard the Master say to Him . "Leave your nets, come follow Me."
He didn't just decide that just because he was the pushiest character, that that made him eligible to start the Church...the way leaders muscle up now. Strength of character. Charisma. Who speaks the loudest. Who looks the most dishy .
No the Word was laid on Peter specifically " I give you the Keys of the Kingdom."
OK let's have a look what that Rock was in Peter's Life that meant he could use the Keys to open the door in the first ever sermon of the church, to which 3,000 were added the first day in Acts 2.
The Keys WERE ALL OF IT!!!
Whaaaat!
All Peter's experiences of failure and success. As with any characer described in the Old Testament. Everything is there to see. All the dirty washing. King David committing adultery.Peter denying Jesus adamantly three times.
So this is Peter's own personal Rock. I don't mean that His version of Jesus is personal so back off! No His Jesus is the same as our Jesus. But this is the story of how Peter reached "Rockbottom". Ground Zero. Where he learned personally the hard way that the only one who could live his life was Jesus Christ. That there is no such thing as an independent self in this universe . We are not self-empowered beings. It was the spirit of sin in the flesh that powered my whole Tree of Good and Evil existence. This is what Peter came to learn . This is what Paul came to learn in Arabia and was writing about in Romans 7.
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