More than anything else, Paul wanted to know Jesus (Philippians 3:3-12). Peter ended his second letter by encouraging his readers with these words that he wanted them to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity.” He Peter them to not just know about Christ, but to grow in knowledge and grace of Jesus Christ.That should be our goal—to continue learning more and more about Christ.In Matthew 16:13-18, He asked Peter, “who do people say I am?” Peter answered, “John the Baptist, or Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.” Jesus asked, Who do you say I am? Peter’s answer has reverberated across the centuries: You are the Christ, the son of the living God.This truth is the most fundamental of all truths, that Jesus is God’s son who came from heaven to earth, and He came to save us.Jesus continued: “You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church” (Matt. 16:18). It is interesting that Jesus essentially said to Peter, “you are a rock.” The word Peter is petros that means a “rock,” a “stone,” or “pebble.” But then He said, “upon this rock,” and He used a different form of the word, He used “petra” that means “bedrock,” a “cliff,” or large massive rock. Paul would call Christ the “foundation stone” of our faith (1 Corinthians 3:11). And in 1 Cor. 10:4, he said that Christ was the “petra” that was with the Israelites in their journey to the promised land.So this “petra” that Jesus was going to build His church upon was the truth Peter had just confessed—the truth that Peter just stated was that Christ was the Christ, the Son of God. So the bedrock, or foundation of our faith is Jesus Christ Himself.We must believe who He was and is. We must believe that he came to be our sacrificial Lamb and that His blood purchases our forgiveness and salvation (Galatians 3:13-15).If we believe this then our spiritual journey is to continue to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ.” Let us challenge ourselves to enthrone him in our hearts.
