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?” (Matt. 16:13).
Jesus asked His disciples two questions: the first one was, Who do men say that I am? Or in today’s vernacular, What are the people saying about me? His disciples answered him saying, Some say you are John the Baptist, or Elias, or one of the prophets.
Then Jesus asked the second question, But who do you say that I am? And as usual Peter spoke up and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
Notice Jesus’ response to Peter’s answer, He said, Blessed are thou, Simon Barjona. The word blessed means empowered to prosper. So, Jesus was saying to Peter, Empowered to prosper are you, Peter, for you are a rock.
Jesus called Peter a rock. He said this to the man that He knew would fail Him. Why? God doesn’t call those things that are as they are. He calls those things that are not as though they were – did you get that?
So, this should help us understand why we need to stop calling debt debt, and start calling it paid. And stop calling our bodies sick, and start calling them healed. And stop calling our marriages failed, and start calling them recovered. You see God knows we’re going to mess up, but He will still talk as though we are winners.
So Jesus said in Matthew 13:18, …thou art Peter, and upon this rock, I will build my church…. Now the Greek word for this rock is petro, which means a huge rock, like the rock of Gibraltar. And the Greek word, petra means small rock—Peter. So Jesus is saying, Upon this rock, petro, this huge rock, I will build or confirm my church.
Then Jesus confirms the fact that flesh and blood didn’t reveal this to Simon Peter. He found this out by revelation knowledge. It was supernatural. So upon this revelation knowledge will I confirm my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
It is the revealed knowledge of the Word of God that you need to cause you to live victorious in this life. When you study and meditate in the word of God about a particular subject, the Holy Spirit will help you to understand what you read. He will confirm it in your heart. And it is that revealed knowledge that stands strong, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Scripture References: Galatians 1:11-12; Ephesians 1:17, 3:3-11
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Keith Butler has been an ordained minister since 1974. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan and holds diplomas from Canada Christian College and Rhema Bible Training Center.
He serves in ministry with the support of his lovely wife, Pastor Deborah L. Butler, and their children: Pastor Andre Butler (granddaughters Alexis, Angela, and April), Pastor MiChelle Ferguson and husband Pastor Lee (grandson Lucas), and Minister Kristina Jenkins and husband Pastor Joel (grandsons Andrew and Austin, and granddaughter Alyssa).