The Rock of Ages
He only is my rock and my salvation; he is my defense; I shall not be greatly moved. (Psalms 62:2)
When Moses led the Hebrew children through the wilderness after their deliverance from the bondage of Egypt, he was given the following command from God:
Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. (Ex 17:6)
The identity of the Rock, which Moses smote, is given in both the Old and the New Testaments. In First Corinthians, concerning the ancient Israelites, we read:
And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; And did all eat the same spiritual meat…
And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.
Jesus is that ROCK. The Psalmist understood that the Lord is our only rock:
For who is God save the LORD? or who is a rock save our God?
There is no rock upon which our faith can be built other than Jesus. This is a stumbling stone to some, a rock of offense, as we are told in Isaiah 8:13-14 and reminded in 1 Peter as follows:
Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.
Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner,
And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.
We grievously err if we build on any foundation other than Christ. But if we follow the ROCK of our salvation, we become like Him. We are hewn out of that ROCK, made into His image. We are of the same material as the Rock if the Life of Jesus dwells in us. And if we are of that ROCK, then we are the children of Abraham, the children of faith. We are in Christ Jesus, the Seed of Abraham. We are Sons of the same Father God, joint heirs with Christ, our ROCK.
Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the LORD: look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged. Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him. (Isaiah 51:1-2)
When Jesus ministered while in the flesh, he made it abundantly clear that He is that ROCK. He taught a parable, given in the gospel of Matthew (7:24-27), about a wise man who built his house upon a rock and a foolish man who built his house upon sand. He had this to say about them:
Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
When the rains came and the winds blew, the house built on sand collapsed, but the house built on the rock withstood the test. Those who follow Jesus and heed His teachings are building on the ROCK, our only ROCK. We become like that ROCK as we conform to His image. Those who build on any other foundation are building a structure that will not stand when adversity comes. To hear the teachings of Jesus believe them them is to build upon a solid foundation that will not fail. Today Jesus teaches us by the Holy Spirit whom He promised to send to lead us into all truth.
Revelation Knowledge
Jesus has more to say about the ROCK in the same gospel of Matthew (16:15-20) where He has already been identified as the ROCK upon which we must build. In the sixteenth chapter, Jesus has a session with his disciples, including Peter. Peter (Simon Barjona) had received the revelation that Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ, and is told that he is blessed because flesh and blood did not provide him with this spiritual insight. Peter did not figure this out with his intellect. Only the Spirit of God knows the mind of God and Peter had received revelation knowledge by the spirit of God, always a great blessing. Jesus then named Simon Barjona with the name of Peter at that very time. Peter, or Cephas in Greek, is a word that means rock. Jesus knew that Peter was being hewn out of the Rock that is Christ.
Now what has just taken place here? Peter received spiritual insight from our Father God and pleased the Lord Jesus who has taught us that revelation knowledge comes only by the Holy Spirit. Jesus called critical attention to the importance of revelation knowledge by associating it with the ROCK of our salvation. Revelation knowledge comes by the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead. Jesus let his disciples know that such knowledge does not come by flesh and blood. We cannot figure out the things of God with our own intellectual endowment. Peter was indeed blessed. He had received a touch from God and Jesus rejoiced that Peter was being taught by the Holy Spirit. Peter was being hewn from the ROCK that is Christ. There is only one ROCK but we can be of that ROCK — and Peter was of that ROCK. He was finding his true and everlasting identity in Christ. Peter saw that Jesus is seen as the chief cornerstone of the temple of God not built with human hands.
As we walk with the Master, we receive revelations from His Spirit. We rejoice when our children receive teaching from us. Why should we not think that our God rejoices when we receive revelation from Him? When we receive divine insight and walk in that knowledge, we are being hewn out of the everlasting ROCK. Like Peter, we find our identity in Christ, our ROCK.
To receive wisdom from Christ, we need to spend time with Him. Are we sometimes too busy serving Him to spend quality time with Him? Are we too involved in the noise of this world to hear His channel? He is always broadcasting. How is our receiver?
Jesus, the only rock foundation upon which we can successfully build, told Peter and the other disciples that He is going to build His Church upon the ROCK. His Church is hewn from the ROCK of Christ. It is built upon the teachings and faith and personage of the Lord Jesus. There is no other foundation. His Church is the Body of Christ. The Body is hewn from the ROCK of Christ, filled with His Spirit. He builds His Church out of living stones. We, as believers, are the temple of God of which He is the chief cornerstone. His Church is built out of ROCK and upon the ROCK. It finds its life and total meaning in Christ Jesus.
He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Now, Jesus was having a teaching session with several disciples. There is no reason to think he was limiting his promise to give the keys to the kingdom just to Peter. Jesus is clearly relating the Kingdom of God to the Church in this passage. If one understands, through walking with Jesus, what these keys to the Kingdom are, this becomes abundantly clear. We are all called to enter His Kingdom, which is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. His Kingdom is a spiritual Kingdom in which He is the King. His Kingdom is not of this earth, as He clearly tells us. His Kingdom comes without observation. And we must all have the keys to this Kingdom provided us by Christ if we are to enter into it and enjoy its fruit.
These keys unlock the doors of understanding within us and open our hearts to the things of God. There are many doors to open if we are to fully receive from God of the abundant riches in Christ Jesus. There is always a deeper faith to which we may attain as we walk in Him…and let Him walk in us. The Lord Jesus would share His keys with us today. He wants us to study His ways and learn of Him. He would provide us with keys to unlock the doors of increasing faith that we might go from glory to glory in Him. He would share His keys that our understanding might be enlightened and that we might put on the mind of Christ.