In this issue
1. Happy New Year
2. Are you Peter or Simon?
Happy New Year
For some people, the new year is nothing special; they don't feel the taste of it; and they do not make any New Year resolution. For them, life goes on as the past year. Because those kinds of people don't have a goal, they do not have any success or progress in life. Are you that kind of person? There are some people who make New Year's resolutions and see improvement in life, and there are others who do not follow through with their resolution to the end. While there are some who make decisions and achieve their goals to become a successful person, because their achievements are only of the world, their achievements do not last forever but gone in the near future.
If that's the case, what kind of New Year's resolution should you make? Before answering that question, it is important to know that in God's eye, every human being is heading the wrong direction. Isaiah said, "We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way;"(Isaiah 53:6). The psalmist also said, "All have turned away, all have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one." (Psalm 14:3). Why does God see that man is walking on the wrong path? It is because man is going on his own path rather than following where God wants him to go. Man is on the wrong path because he does not know the will of his Creator; not living according to His will but living as he likes; and trying to reach his life goal in his own way. Let us therefore, reject our desire in this new year, and accept God's will for us.
Adam and Eve
God's will for Adam and Eve was to, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” (Genesis 1:28). They did not have to work. They just needed to listen to God and fill the earth. However, instead of listening to God, they went astray by listening to the snake.
Noah
God's will for Noah was that He was "going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. 14 So make yourself an ark of cypress[a] wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out." (Genesis 6:13-14). Noah and his family fulfilled God's will by building a giant ark for many years. By doing so, their lives were spared from the flood.
Abraham
God said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. 2 “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” 4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran." (Genesis 12:1-4).
Abram left his people and country and went to the land of Canaan that God had given him. When Abram arrived in the promised land, God did not put anything there to be desired in the land, and he was also greeted by starvation: "Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe." (Genesis 12:10) but he returned to Canaan (Genesis 13). The writer of Hebrews said, " By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9 By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God." (Hebrews 11:8-10) "All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. 14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them." (Hebrews 11:13-16)
In human thinking, the goal that God set for Abraham was the land of Canaan. But the writer of Hebrews says, it is the land of heaven. The writer said that Abraham lived as a guest in the land of Canaan in order to reach that heavenly land. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called the God of Abraham because he knew the goal set by God for him and followed it to the end. His was a life worth living.
Christ
It can be seen that Christ also ran to the goal set by the Father. “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work." (John 4:34) And when he prayed, he prayed like this: "I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do." (John 17:4) Christ was frightened when he almost reached the goal set for him. Therefore, he prayed like this.Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” (Matthew 26:39) But by denying his own will and accepting the Father's will, he reached the finish line. We should also be like Christ: rejecting our own desires and accepting God's will.
God's will for everyone
Paul wrote the will of God is for all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. (1 Timothy 2:4) Therefore, it is God's will for you that you be saved and know the truth. Those who have been saved also need to know the truth. The TRUTH is Christ himself (John 14:6). The TRUTH is also the Holy Spirit (John 15:26). IT is also the Word (John 1:1). Therefore, it can be said that the truth is God and his plan. Knowing the truth is not enough. It is necessary to walk in the truth. John said, " It gave me great joy when some believers came and testified about your faithfulness to the truth, telling how you continue to walk in it. 4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth."(3 John 1:3-4). Therefore, it is God's will that you are not only to be saved; but also, to know the truth; and to walk in the truth. Are you saved? If you're saved, do you know the truth? If you know the truth, then, are you walking in the truth?
Are you Peter or Simon?
His disciples said, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets." (Matthew 16:14). Why do some people say that he was John the Baptist? It was written in the Bible, "At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the reports about Jesus, 2 and he said to his attendants, “This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead! That is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”" (Matthew 14:1-2)
Why did some people think that he was Elijah? It was because God said through Malachi: “See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes." (Malachi 4:5)
Why did some people say that he was a prophet since Jeremiah? It was because Moses said, " The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him." (Deuteronomy 18:15)
Then Jesus said, “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” (Matthew 16:15). Jesus wanted to know what his disciples think who he was. Then the quick-spoken Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:16). Simon Peter was able to answer correctly how he thought who Jesus was. Therefore, Jesus said, Simon son of Jonah, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. (Matthew 16:1).
Jesus continued, "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."(Matthew 16:18). Why did Jesus rename Simon to Peter? The word Peter in Greek is Πέτρος that is pronounced Petros in English. Petros means a small stone. Again, Jesus said, on this rock I will build my Church . What the Lord Jesus called "this rock" is πέτρᾳ in Greek and is pronounced petra in English, which means a large rock. Paul wrote that the rock was Jesus himself. "For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 3:11). And Peter said, "As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 2:4-5) Therefore, the church must be built on the rock, which is the Lord Jesus. However, most churches today are not built on Jesus the rock. Instead, they build their Church on people, which is sand. Everything that is not related to Jesus is sand. That is to say that most Churches are built on nationality, race, group of people and on denominations. What is your church built on?
Because Jesus said, "My church," the church must belong to Christ. In addition, because he also said I will build, the church must be built by Christ himself. But today's churches are not owned by Christ. If it is owned by the pastor, it must be built according to the will of the pastor; If it is owned by church elders, things need to be done according to the will of the church elders; If it is owned by Church members, everything goes according to the wishes of the Church members. Who owns your church and to whose wish do they follow? If your church is not owned by Christ, the will of Christ will not be important for your Church. The Church may bear Christ's name, but inside, everything is done according to the wishes of the elders or the members of the Church.
Christ said, I will build my Church. Peter wrote a letter to the people in the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, "rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 2:4-5)
The Lord who is the precious living stone of life whom God has chosen, rejected by men, is Jesus. He is the living stone. On that rock, the Church, also known as the Spiritual House, was built. That Church was made up of believers who were known as the living stones. Only Peter wrote that believers are the living stones. The reason Peter wrote that is because Jesus called him Peter the small stone. Therefore, spiritually alive believers are also small living stones or Peters. Are you a small living stone? Or are you a small dead stone? If you are a small living stone, you are the right person to build the living church. If you are a small dead stone, you are not fit to build a living Church. The church must be built only of living stones. (Here, the name, Peter, used by Christ, and the small stone used by Peter are different in the Greek word. Christ used Πέτρος which is pronounced Petros in English. On the other hand, Peter used λίθοι, which is pronounced lithoi in English. But the underlining meanings are believed to be the same.)
Christ called Peter a small stone in Matthew 16. 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 16:19)
Christ gave Peter the keys of the kingdom of heaven. The gate of the kingdom of heaven is to be opened with those keys. In other words, Peter had the rights to issue visa to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. That right is the most important right and task in the world. By preaching on the day of Pentecost, Peter opened the key to heaven (Acts 2). He also opened the key for the people of Samaria in Samaria (Acts 8). Next, he opened the key to heaven at the house of Cornelius for the Gentiles (Acts 10) Why did Christ give Peter the opportunity to open the heaven gate? It is because he was able to correctly answer who Jesus is (meaning, Jesus is Christ). Later, everyone who knows Jesus as Christ also gets the right to open the key as well. In other words, everyone who knows who Christ could be called Peter (the small living stone). That person also receives the key to the gate of heaven.
Go back to old job
Although Peter had received the key to heaven's gate, he returned to his old profession of fishing after Jesus had died on the cross. "Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. 3 “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing." (John 21:2-3). Why did they not catch the fish? One possible reason is that Jesus caused them not to catch the fish. Even though they disowned him before his death, Jesus did not give up on Peter and his disciples. Instead of putting the blame on his disciples, Jesus searched for his disciples and met them where they were. He even served them with bread and fish for breakfast.
What happened after that reception? When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”. (John 21:15)
Why did Jesus asked Peter three times, "Do you love me?" The usual answers given are like this: It was because Peter disowned Jesus three times, or Jesus wanted to make sure Peter really loved him. Since the author John did not elaborate, it can be interpreted in various ways. Here, the word "love" used and asked by Jesus and the word "love" used and answered by Peter are different. Jesus asked him about the agape love. That love is God's love, it is love associated with self-sacrifice. Peter answered with the love of a friend. Therefore, It can be said that Jesus did not get the answer he was seeking from Peter. For example, there are two types of love in Burmese. 528th degree of love means brotherly love. 1500th degree of love means love between two lovers. If a young man asked a young woman if she loved him with 1500th degree of love, then if the young woman responded by saying she loved him with 528th degree of love, the young man did not get the answer he wants to hear. Likewise, when Jesus asked Peter twice if he loved him with the love of God, Peter replied that he loved him with the love of a friend. Finally, Jesus asked if Peter loved him with the love of a friend. Peter seemed to love his master only as a friend.
In the Bible passage above, why did Jesus not call Peter by his given name, but three times by his old name, Simon son of Jonah? It is something to think about. The Bible doesn't explain why. In all likelihood, Peter was the name given by Jesus as a recognition as the recipient of "the keys to the kingdom of heaven." However, Peter did not use the key to the kingdom of heaven. He instead returned to his former occupation of fishing. In other words, Peter went back to his old life. Therefore, instead of calling him Peter, Jesus called him Simon, his birth name.
As mentioned above, everyone who believes that Jesus is God as he truly is, is also Peter or small living stone. The Lord wants these believers to open the door of heaven and bring everyone into the kingdom. However, instead of opening the key of heaven for people to enter, believers today are engaged in their former worldly work just like Peter who went back to fishing. Therefore, anyone who does not tell people about Christ's salvation is Simon. It can also be said that anyone who opens the door of heaven for others to enter is Peter. If so, are you Simon or are you Peter?
