Your Identity And The Rock
If you ever doubt for one moment to believe that God, in all things, carries out the plan of His will and see’s the end from the beginning. If you ever doubt that when you believed on Him and trusted in His name, you were given the right to become the child of God. If you ever doubt that God took you in that moment you believed and you when were baptized in water and by His Spirit and were born again. If you ever think for one moment and try to believe the enemy’s lie that your life circumstances are greater than God’s plan for your life. Let me tell you about a man named Peter.
Peter had never met Christ. His brother Andrew came looking for him and spoke excitedly to him, “‘We have found the Messiah’. Then he took him to Jesus.
Jesus looked him over and said ‘You are Simon, the son of John. From now on your name shall be Cephas (which means Peter, or Rock).” John 1:41-42
Now take notice of the capitalization of the word “Rock”. Jesus was letting Peter know, whether he realized it in that very moment or not, that He was naming Peter after Himself. Jesus is mentioned several times as being the Rock. Look at Psalm 18 where David mentions the Lord as his rock:
“The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer, my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge.” vs. 2
“For who is God besides the Lord? And who is the Rock except our God?” vs. 31
“The Lord lives! Praise be to my Rock!” vs. 46
In all the Bible, the first mention of God as the Rock is when Moses gave a song at the end of his life for the children of Israel to memorize. Peter had to have learned this growing up as a young man in the synagogue. Very close to the beginning of this song, these are the words he sang:
“I will proclaim the name of the Lord.
Oh, praise the greatness of our God!
He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is He.”
Deuteronomy 32:3-4
So when Jesus, having never met Peter before, says to him that his name is Cephas which means Peter or Rock, Jesus is sharing with him his new identity. Who looks at you and hears your birth name, cuts out any preliminary social chit-chat and goes straight to changing someone’s name? Aha! God does!
If you’ve read much about Peter’s life as he lived with Jesus for the three years before Jesus was crucified, we see a man who was not perfect by any means. But he stayed with Jesus. He failed often and yet never gave up laying hold on Christ. And that name Jesus gave him was true of Peter. He became like the Rock. His identity was all wrapped up in Christ.
You as well dear child of God are identified with the Rock. In the book of Revelations it is said,
“The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on them my new name.” Revelation 3:12
Stay hidden in the Rock. Keep the identity you have and cherish it. He has written your new name and delightfully, you’ll find that your new name is wrapped up in who God is. And as He is, so are you in this life.
Later, the revelation of who God is became real to Peter. When Jesus asked His disciples who He is, Peter was the first to answer:
“‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.’ Jesus replied, ‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. 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.’”
Matthew 16:16-19
There is so much at stake when you realize your identity is wrapped up in Christ. Child of God, the gates of Hades will never overcome Christ in you - one with Him!
Peter had never met Christ. His brother Andrew came looking for him and spoke excitedly to him, “‘We have found the Messiah’. Then he took him to Jesus.
Jesus looked him over and said ‘You are Simon, the son of John. From now on your name shall be Cephas (which means Peter, or Rock).” John 1:41-42
Now take notice of the capitalization of the word “Rock”. Jesus was letting Peter know, whether he realized it in that very moment or not, that He was naming Peter after Himself. Jesus is mentioned several times as being the Rock. Look at Psalm 18 where David mentions the Lord as his rock:
“The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer, my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge.” vs. 2
“For who is God besides the Lord? And who is the Rock except our God?” vs. 31
“The Lord lives! Praise be to my Rock!” vs. 46
In all the Bible, the first mention of God as the Rock is when Moses gave a song at the end of his life for the children of Israel to memorize. Peter had to have learned this growing up as a young man in the synagogue. Very close to the beginning of this song, these are the words he sang:
“I will proclaim the name of the Lord.
Oh, praise the greatness of our God!
He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is He.”
Deuteronomy 32:3-4
So when Jesus, having never met Peter before, says to him that his name is Cephas which means Peter or Rock, Jesus is sharing with him his new identity. Who looks at you and hears your birth name, cuts out any preliminary social chit-chat and goes straight to changing someone’s name? Aha! God does!
If you’ve read much about Peter’s life as he lived with Jesus for the three years before Jesus was crucified, we see a man who was not perfect by any means. But he stayed with Jesus. He failed often and yet never gave up laying hold on Christ. And that name Jesus gave him was true of Peter. He became like the Rock. His identity was all wrapped up in Christ.
You as well dear child of God are identified with the Rock. In the book of Revelations it is said,
“The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on them my new name.” Revelation 3:12
Stay hidden in the Rock. Keep the identity you have and cherish it. He has written your new name and delightfully, you’ll find that your new name is wrapped up in who God is. And as He is, so are you in this life.
Later, the revelation of who God is became real to Peter. When Jesus asked His disciples who He is, Peter was the first to answer:
“‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.’ Jesus replied, ‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. 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.’”
Matthew 16:16-19
There is so much at stake when you realize your identity is wrapped up in Christ. Child of God, the gates of Hades will never overcome Christ in you - one with Him!
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