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Repent, for the Kingdom of the Heavens Has Drawn Near |
Week 17 --- Jesus Sends Out the Twelve Apostles – Part 2 |
Friday --- Scripture Reading: Matt. 3:11; 16:18-19, 24; 17:1-5, 24-27; Rom. 6:6 |
“For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin” (Rom. 6:5-6)
The Lord has been speaking to us in a very special way about denying our soul-life. In Matthew 16, Jesus reveals the church and continues speaking on how to live it, highlighting the need to deny the soul-life.
Matthew 16:18 says, “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.” After that, in verse 19, he reveals the connection between the church and the kingdom: “And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” The church has been given authority for it holds the keys to the kingdom of the heavens.
The authority comes from the kingdom and it is the authority of the kingdom. Hence, whatever we bind on the earth is bound in the heavens and whatever we loose on the earth is loosed in the heavens. This authority has been given to us through the Lord’s death on the cross and His resurrection (Matt. 28:18-19).
We have already seen that the Lord died first and then blood and water flowed out from His side. Along with Him, our old man was also crucified (Rom. 6:6). The old man is our soul-life. In the past, we attempted to eliminate it through the sufferings which would come upon our flesh. Some would fall gravely ill, suffer much, confess their sins, repent before the Lord, and even be healed—yet the problem of the soul-life would remain untouched. This happens when we only look at problem of sin and neglect the grave problem of the soul-life.
The apostle Peter heard Jesus speak of the need to deny the self in order to follow Him (Matt. 16:24). Nevertheless, it was only as an older man that Peter realized that the sufferings produced by the outward circumstances were not enough to completely eliminate the soul-life.
We already know Peter’s story. Despite having his old man buried through baptism, he would still manifest it at times. In Matthew 17, six days after having heard the Lord speak about the importance of denying the soul-life in order to follow Him, Peter held Jesus as an equal to Moses and Elijah, suggesting three tents should be made for them (vv. 3-4). However, the Father said: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!” (v. 5). Peter should have learned the lesson and not acted according to his impulses at that moment.
On a different occasion, those who collected the temple tax, or the two-drachma tax, asked Peter: “Does your Teacher not pay the temple tax?” (v. 24). Peter immediately answered and said “Yes!” The Lord anticipated Peter and asked, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth take customs or taxes, from their sons or from strangers?” (v. 25). Peter realized that he had failed and spoken in himself, thus manifesting his soul-life. He realized the dangers contained in his soul-life and understood that his answer had been too hasty. The Lord Jesus had mercy on Peter and sent him out fishing to find a piece of money inside the mouth of the first fish he caught. The coin he found was the exact amount to pay the tax for both (v. 27). This was one of the situations used by the Lord to expose Peter’s natural soul-life.
Peter realized that it was essential to burn the impurities of the soul-life in the fire of the Spirit. Advanced in years, Peter realized that despite the many times he had been exposed by the Lord, his soul-life still had not been completely eliminated. Likewise, it is time that we understand the dangers of living by our soul-life and repent like Peter by allowing it to go through the fire of the Spirit (Matt. 3:11; 1 Pet. 1:6-7).
Realizing the dangers of living by the soul-life.
What can we learn from Peter’s experience amid sufferings?
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