Who God is

114. Christ the Rock

Building on the Foundation

When Jesus revealed Himself to me in 1979, He found me in bondage to fear, guilt, and to the world, and under the control of people who practiced witchcraft. I had no idea of any of these bondages until after I became free years later. But one thing I did know: if I would spend 5 to 8 hours daily in God’s Word, I had peace, freedom from oppression, and I felt OK. Little did I know that I was building a foundation in myself which was based upon Jesus Christ, the Rock. Still to this day, I love being in the Word of God more than anything in life. To me, IT IS LIFE. It is fellowship with Jesus.

We need to know that when we meditate in the Word and act on it, it builds something inside of us that is very real.

World-known author and Bible teacher, Derek Prince, wrote in his book, “The Sprit-Filled Believer’s Handbook,” chapter 1 – “Christ The Rock as our foundation.”

The Foundation of the Christian Faith

In various places the Bible compares the life of a believer to the construction of a building. For instance, the epistle of Jude says: “Building yourselves up on your most holy faith” (v. 20).

The apostle Paul also uses the same picture in various places:

“You are God’s building… as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation” (I Cor. 3 9-10).

“You also are being built together for a habitation of God in the Spirit” (Eph. 2:22).

“I commend you… to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up” (Acts 20:3).

In all these passages the believer’s life is compared to the construction of a building.

Now, in the natural order, the first and most important feature of any permanent structure is its foundation. The foundation necessarily sets a limit to the weight and height of the building to be erected upon it. A weak foundation can support only a small building. A strong foundation can support a large building. There is a fixed relationship between the foundation and the building.

In the city of Jerusalem I once lived in a house that had been built by an Assyrian. This man had obtained from the municipality a license to build a house of two stories, and the foundation was laid accordingly. However, in order to increase his income from renting the building, this Assyrian had built on a third story without obtaining permission to do so. The result was that, while we were actually living in the house, the whole building began to settle down on one comer and eventually went right out of perpendicular. What was the reason for this? The foundation was not strong enough to support the house which that man tried to erect upon it.

Even so, in the spiritual order the same thing happens in the lives of many professing Christians. They set out with every intention of raising a fine, imposing edifice of Christianity in their lives. But, alas, before long their fine edifice begins to sink, to sag, to get out of true. It leans grotesquely. Sometimes it collapses completely and leaves nothing but a ruined heap of vows and prayers and good intentions that have gone unfulfilled.

Beneath this mass of ruins the reason for the failure lies buried. It was the foundation. Never properly laid, it was unable to support the fine edifice which had been planned.

Christ the Rock

What, then, is God’s appointed foundation for the Christian life? The answer is clearly given by the apostle Paul: “For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (I Cor. 3:11).

This is confirmed also by Peter as he speaks of Jesus Christ: “Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, ‘Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious’” (I Pet. 2:6).

Here Peter is referring to the passage in Isaiah which reads: “Therefore thus says the Lord God: ‘Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation’” (Is. 28:16). Thus Old Testament and New Testament alike agree in this vital fact: The true foundation of the Christian life is Jesus Christ Himself – nothing else, and no one else. It is not a creed, a church, a denomination, an ordinance or a ceremony. It is Jesus Christ Himself – and “no other foundation can anyone lay.”

Consider the words of Jesus:

“When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, ‘Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?’ So they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ And Simon Peter answered and said, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it’” (Matt. 16:13-18).

It has sometimes been suggested that these words of Jesus mean that Peter is the rock upon which the Christian church is to be built, and thus that Peter is in some sense the foundation of Christianity rather than Christ Himself. This question is of such vital and far-reaching importance that it is imperative to examine the words of Jesus very carefully to ascertain their proper meaning.

In the original Greek of the New Testament there is, in Christ’s answer to Peter, a deliberate play upon words. In Greek, the name “Peter” is Petros; the word for “rock” is petra. Playing upon this similarity in sound, Jesus says, “You are Peter [Petros], and on this rock petra] I will build My church” (Matt. 16:18).

Though there is a similarity in sound between these two words, their meaning is quite different. Petros means a small stone or a pebble. Petra means a large rock. The idea of building a church upon a pebble would obviously be ridiculous and therefore could not be Christ’s real meaning.

Jesus uses this play on words to bring out the truth He is seeking to impart. He is not identifying Peter with the rock; on the contrary, He is contrasting Peter with the rock. He is pointing out how small and insignificant the little stone, Peter, is in comparison to the great rock upon which the church is to be built.

Common sense and Scripture alike confirm this fact. If the church of Christ were really founded upon the apostle Peter, it would surely be the most insecure and unstable edifice in the world. Later in the same chapter of Matthew’s Gospel we read that Jesus began to forewarn His disciples of His impending rejection and crucifixion. The account then continues:

“Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, ‘Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!’ But He turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men’” (Matt. 16:22-23).

Here Christ directly charges Peter with being influenced by the opinions of men, and even by the promptings of Satan himself. How could such a man be the foundation of the entire Christian church? Later on in the Gospels we read that, rather than confess Christ before a serving maid, Peter publicly denied his Lord three times.

Even after the resurrection and the day of Pentecost, Paul tells us that Peter was influenced by fear of his countrymen to compromise at one point concerning the truth of the gospel (see Gal. 2:11-14).

Surely, then, Peter was no rock. He was lovable, impetuous, a born leader – but a man just like the rest, with all the inherent weaknesses of humanity. The only rock upon which Christian faith can be based is Christ Himself.

Confirmation of this vital fact is found also in the Old Testament. The psalmist David, prophetically inspired by the Holy Spirit, says this:

“The Lord is my rock ... in whom I will trust;

My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold” (Ps. 18:2).

In Psalm 62 David makes a similar confession of faith:

“Truly my soul silently waits for God;

From Him comes my salvation.

He only is my rock and my salvation;

He is my defense;

I shall not be greatly moved.

My soul, wait silently for God alone

He only is my rock and my salvation;

He is my defense;

I shall not be moved.

In God is my salvation and my glory;

The rock of my strength,

And my refuge, is in God (Ps. 62:1-2, 5-7).

Nothing could be plainer than that. The word rock occurs three times, and the word salvation occurs four times. That is to say, the words rock and salvation are by the Scripture intimately and inseparably joined, each is found only in one person, and that Person is the Lord Himself. This is emphasized by the repetition of the word only.

If anyone should require yet further confirmation of this, we may turn to the words of Peter himself. Speaking to the people of Israel concerning Jesus, Peter says:

“Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name

under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

The Lord Jesus Christ, therefore, is the true rock, the rock of ages, in whom there is salvation. The person who builds upon this foundation can say, like David:

“He only is my rock and my salvation;

He is my defense;

I shall not be moved” (Ps. 62:6).

Confrontation

How, then, does a person build upon this rock, which is Christ?

Let us turn back again to that dramatic moment when Christ and Peter stood face-to-face and Peter said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt 16:16). We have seen that Christ is the rock. But it is not Christ in isolation or abstraction. Peter had a definite personal experience. There were four successive stages in this experience.

1. A direct, personal confrontation of Peter by Christ. Christ and Peter stood face-to-face. There was no mediator between them. No other human being played any part at all in the experience.

2. A direct, personal revelation granted to Peter, Jesus said to Peter, “Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 16:17). This was not the outcome of natural reasoning or intellectual understanding. It was the outcome of a direct spiritual revelation to Peter by God the Father Himself.

3. A personal acknowledgment by Peter of the truth which had thus been revealed to him.

4. An open and public confession by Peter of the truth which he acknowledged.

In these four successive stages we see what it means to build upon rock. There is nothing abstract, intellectual or theoretical about the whole thing. Each stage involves a definite, individual experience.

The first stage is a direct, personal confrontation of Christ. The second stage is a direct, spiritual revelation of Christ. The third stage is personal acknowledgment of Christ. The fourth stage is an open personal confession of Christ.

Through these four experiences, Christ becomes for each individual believer the rock upon which his faith is built.

Revelation

The question arises: Can a person today come to know Christ in the same direct, personal way that Peter came to know Him?

The answer is yes, for the following two reasons:

First, it was Christ in His purely human nature who was revealed to Peter: Peter already knew Jesus of Nazareth, the carpenter’s son. The One who now revealed to Peter was the divine, eternal, unchanging Son of God. This is the same Christ who now lives exalted in heaven at the Father’s right hand. In the passage of nearly two thousand years there has been no change in Him at all. It is still Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today and forever. As He was revealed to Peter, He can still be revealed today to those who sincerely seek Him.

Second, the revelation did not come by “flesh and blood” – by a physical or sensory means. It was a spiritual revelation, the work of the Holy Spirit. The same Spirit who gave this revelation to Peter is still at work in all the world, revealing the same Christ. Jesus Himself promised His disciples:

“When He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you” (John 16:13-14).

Since spiritual revelation is in the eternal, spiritual realm, it is not limited by material or physical factors, such as the passage of time or the change of language, customs, clothing or circumstances.

This personal experience of Jesus Christ the Son of God – by the Holy Spirit revealed, acknowledged and confessed – remains the one unchanging rock, the one immovable foundation, upon which all true Christian faith must be based. Creeds and opinions, churches and denominations – all these may change, but this one true rock of God’s salvation by personal faith in Christ remains eternal and unchanging. Upon it a person may build his faith for time and for eternity with a confidence that nothing can ever overthrow.

Acknowledgment

Nothing is more striking in the writings and testimony of the early Christians than their serenity and confidence concerning their faith in Christ. Jesus says:

“And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (John 17:3).

This is not merely to know God in a general way through nature or conscience as Creator or Judge. This is to know Him revealed personally in Jesus Christ. Neither is it to know about Jesus Christ merely as an historical character or a great teacher. It is to know Christ Himself, directly and personally, and God in Him. The apostle John writes:

“These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life” (I John 5:13).

The early Christians not only believed, but they also knew. They had an experiential faith which produced a definite knowledge of that which they believed.

A little further on in the same chapter John writes again: “We know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ” (v. 20).

Note the humble, yet serene, confidence of these words. Their basis is knowledge of a person, and that Person is Jesus Christ Himself. Paul gave the same kind of personal testimony when he said:

“I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day” (2 Tim. 1:12).

Notice that Paul did not say, “I know what I have believed.” He said, “I know whom I have believed.” His faith was not founded upon a creed or a church, but upon a Person whom he knew by direct acquaintance, Jesus Christ. As a result of this personal acquaintance with Christ, he had a serene confidence concerning the well-being of his soul, which nothing in time or eternity could overthrow.

Confession

For a number of years I conducted regular street meetings in London, England. At the close of the meetings I would sometimes approach people who had listened to the message and ask them this simple question: “Are you a Christian?” Many times I would receive answers such as, “I think so,” or “I hope so,” or “I try to be,” or “I don’t know.” All who give answers like these betray plainly one fact: Their faith is not built upon the one sure foundation of a direct, personal knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Suppose I were to put that same question to you: Are you a Christian? What kind of answer would you be able to give?

One final word of advice from Job: “Now acquaint yourself with Him, and be at peace; Thereby good will come to you” (Job 22:21).

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