Peter’s Confession

[Chris]

Peter

Peter’s Confession
By Dr. Arnold Frutchenbaum

It should be kept in mind that Peter’s confession – You are the Christ, the Son of the living God – in Matt 16:13-19 took place after Yeshua (Jesus) was rejected as the Messiah by the leadership and the nation of Israel in Matthew 12.[1] After He performed one of His key messianic miracles, the leaders rejected His messianic claims on the grounds of demon possession. As a result, Jesus warned His disciples against three types of leaven (i.e. sin) between chapters 12 and 16 of Matthew: the leaven of the Pharisees, the leaven of the Sadducees, and the leaven of the Herodians (Mat. 16:5-12; Mk. 8:13-21). These three major religious groups also served as political groups. Even though they did not all say the same thing about Jesus, they all had something against Him and taught things that simply were not true.

First, the leaven of the Pharisees was that Yeshua was demon-possessed. Secondly, because Yeshua began His public ministry by overturning the tables of the money changers in the Temple Compound and by chasing out the sellers of the sacrifices (Jn. 2:16), the leaven of the Sadducees was that He was against the Temple worship service. Thirdly, the leaven of the Herodians was that Yeshua was against Roman rule through the House of Herod. After training the disciples for a period of time and warning them against these three types of leaven, Yeshua brought them to a point where He administered an examination.

Matthew 16:13b-16

Jesus asked two questions:

(1) “Who do men say that the Son of man is?”

The disciples answered that there were different opinions among the masses. In general, the people recognized His supernatural authority; they connected Him with one of these significant characters of the Old Testament or with John the Baptist of the New Testament. However, they failed to clearly discern who He really was. He was none of these; He was Yeshua the Messiah. They all guessed wrong in that they did not discern Him to be the Messianic Person.

(2) “But who say you that I am?”

The Greek text is more emphatic, “But you, who do you say that I am?” Would the disciples merely make the same wrong conclusion concerning His supernatural character that Yeshua was Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah or some other prophet? Or would they believe what the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Herodians had said? Peter answers in v. 16:

“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

The disciples passed the examination; they had learned their lessons. They knew Yeshua was not merely a supernatural character, but the Messiah Himself.

Matthew 16:16-19

Yeshua now turned to Peter and made a series of statements about Peter. These five statements are provided only by Matthew’s gospel. They entail:

The source of Peter’s understanding was by divine illumination (v. 17)
The meaning of the “Rock” (Petros/Petra) and the Church (v. 18a)

You are Peter (petros)

and upon this rock (petra)

I will build my church

Jesus uses a play on words here. When he said: you are Peter, He used the Greek word Petros, which is a masculine noun, meaning “a small stone” or “a small pebble.” When He said: upon this rock I will build my church, He used a different word, Petra, a feminine noun, meaning “a massive rock cliff,” just like the one overshadowing Caesarea Philippi, where they were. Grammatically, it could not possibly mean that the Church would be built upon Peter. On the contrary, Jesus was contrasting Peter, a small stone, with the massive rock cliff. Yeshua was also presupposing a very important Old Testament symbol. Whenever the word rock is used symbolically in Scripture, it is always a symbol of the Messiah throughout the Old Testament. So the Church would be built, not upon Peter, but upon the Messiah; more specifically, upon what Peter had just said about the Messiah, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the God, the Living One.” It was upon this confession of Peter that Jesus would build His Church.

The meaning of the “Gates of Hades” (v. 18b)

In this statement “and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it,” Jesus pointed back to a very common Old Testament idiom for physical death (Job 38:17; Ps. 9:13; 107:18; Is. 38:10; Jon. 2:6). Upon this rock He would build His Church, and physical death would not be able to destroy it—not His death, nor the death of the apostles, nor the long history of martyrdom. According to Ephesians 2:20, the Church was built upon the foundation of New Testament Apostles and Prophets, with the Messiah being the Chief Cornerstone. Thus, the Church has prevailed and God’s intended program will be fulfilled.

The meaning of the Keys of the Kingdom (v. 19a)

All jokes and misconceptions about Peter granting access to heaven at the Pearly Gates aside, Peter does not have such authority. That decision is made solely on the basis of the acceptance or rejection of Jesus. Once again Yeshua referred to an Old Testament concept. When the word key was used symbolically in the Old Testament, it symbolized authority (Is. 22:20-24), including the authority to open and close doors. In this context, Peter was given the authority to open the door of the Church. In the gospel period, humanity was divided into three groups: Jews, Samaritans, and Gentiles. Once Peter opened the door for one group, it stayed open. The Church is the Body of the Messiah (Col. 1:18), and the means of entering the Body is by Spirit baptism (I Cor. 12:13). There is an inseparable connection between Spirit baptism and the existence of the Body—one cannot exist without the other. Peter, the keys, and Spirit baptism would all come together for each of the three groups in the Book of Acts.

The meaning of “binding and loosing” (v. 19b)

At this point, only Peter was given the special authority to bind and to loose. After Yeshua’s resurrection, it was given to the other apostles as well, but it did not go beyond apostolic authority. In modern days, this verse has been pulled out of context and made to mean something other than what it meant in its Jewish frame of reference. It has often been applied to the binding and loosing of Satan or demons in spiritual warfare. However, the context here is the establishment of the Church, not Satan or demons.

The terms “binding” and “loosing” were commonly used in rabbinic writings of that day in a judicial sense and a legislative sense. In a legislative sense, to bind meant “to forbid something,” and to loose meant “to permit something.” The Pharisees claimed to have the authority to permit that which the Law may have forbidden and to forbid that which the Law may have permitted. When it was used in a judicial sense, to bind meant “to punish,” and to loose meant, “to release from punishment.”

What Yeshua gave to Peter and later to the other apostles was something unique to apostolic authority. The apostles had the authority to bind and to loose both in the area of legislation and judicial punishment. Legislatively, the apostles were given the authority to permit and to forbid. This is the authority they exercised throughout their epistles. In the New Testament Epistles, the apostles used apostolic authority to forbid things that formally were permitted, and to permit things that were formally forbidden. Because Ananias and Sapphira lied to the Holy Spirit, they were bound for punishment by Peter as an example of legislative usage in Acts 5. They died because Peter bound them for punishment, using apostolic authority.

This authority to bind and to loose in the area of legislation and judicial punishment was something that came with apostolic authority and was never passed down through apostolic succession. Later generations of the Church had no right to this kind of authority, even though the Roman Catholic Church has often claimed this type of authority for itself. That was not the intent of apostolic authority.

Thus, the confession of Peter and the response of Jesus set the stage for the establishment of the Church and the recording of New Testament Scriptures through apostolic authority.

[1] This post is a modified version of Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum’s original Messianic Bible Study. The full version may be obtained here.

[mattfivefour]

This is the typically excellent exposition we expect from Dr. Fruchtenbaum. However, I must disagree with one very important aspect of what he says: and that is the "binding" and "loosing". In part he is correct— the rabbinical explanation is bang on. But because of the translation he uses, we miss the real import of what Jesus was telling Peter and, thus, us.

Totally apart from the rabbinical understanding of binding and loosing of which Dr. Fruchtenbaum speaks, I am going to focus on the Greek grammatical aspect that he himself used in demonstrating that "grammatically, it (Jesus calling Simon 'Petros') could not possibly mean that the church would be built upon Peter." Since Dr. Fruchtenbaum leans his argument on grammar here, I shall do likewise in the point I wish to expound.

You see, most translations get Matthew 16:19 wrong. The NASB, WEB, Williams, Wuest, Phillips and Young's Literal are among the few to get it right. You see, the mistake the other translators have made is to translate ἔσται δεδεμένον (estai dedemenon) and ἔσται λελυμένον (estai lelumenon) as simple future verbs followed by perfect passive participles. Viewed this way, they appear correct in translating estai (they will be) and dedemenon (being bound) and estai (they will be) and lelumenon (being loosed). But they have missed a very basic and important part of Greek Grammar.

In English we use helping verbs to help express tense. He was running. He will run. He is going to run." The root verb in each case is "run"; the tense is indicated by the helping verbs: "was", "will", "is going to". But Greek is not at all like that. When Greek wants to express a tense, it uses a different form of the root verb itself. It does not use helping verbs. So, when you see what appears to be a helping verb, specifically a form of the verb eimi ("to be") followed by another verb form, specifically a participle, then you should ber alerted to the fact that you are seeing something called a "periphrastic construction". Literally it is a way of expressing a specific idea in Greek.

Let's examine this particular instance and find the idea ... because the idea is what Jesus was saying and what God wants us to know.

First of all, estai is the 3rd person singular future tense of the verb "to be". Dedemenon and lelumenon are both perfect passive participles. When a future form of the verb "to be" is combined with a perfect participle it is indicating that the action of the participle is something that took place at a fixed point in the past but continues on indefinitely. And since both participles are also passive, it means that an outside force performed the action. Thus the correct translations should be "what shall have been (and continues to be) bound in Heaven" and "what shall have been (and continues to be) loosed in Heaven." This makes a huge difference in our understanding of the passage. Jesus (knowing that God has chosen Peter to lead the beginning of the Church, that he will soon be indwelt by the Holy Spirit and anointed to preach, teach and lead) is saying that whatever Peter does will not be of his own accord but will be in perfect alignment with that which had already been decided in Heaven. As Dr. Fruchtenbaum explains, "binding" and "loosing" mean "forbidding" and "permitting". Thus, when Peter led the Church at its very beginning, he would not be breaking new spiritual ground or making decisions based on what he thought was correct; instead he would be—under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit— speaking and acting in accordance with God's established will as to what was permitted and what was not.

Periphrastic constructions are found throughout the New Testament and offer very useful insight into the ideas contained in the verses in which we find them. One very good example is the well known Ephesians 2:8a). It reads, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith ..." Here Paul is getting across to his readers that the act of salvation is an ongoing part of a believer's life. It is not something you do and that's it. It is something you walk with daily through faith. The verb "to be" here is in the present tense and the participle is in the perfect tense. Therefore the best translation is "You are having already been (and will continue to be) saved through faith." Additionally the participle is passive; therefore the action of being saved is performed by an outside agent— namely, here, the grace of God. Thus we are being shown that salvation does not begin and end with conversion. It begins there and continues throughout our Christian life until we receive the end of that salvation: our glorification in Heaven. As long as we hold our faith in Christ and what HE acomplished at the Cross, God is working in us that which is according to his good pleasure. Hence the harmony of Philippians 2:12-13.

Can you see how this understanding is critical to fully comprehending the concept of salvation. As Baptist Greek scholar and teacher Dr. Paul Jackson writes in one of his Exegetical Insights, "Struggling through the sanctification part of salvation, which is our post-conversion life, not only authenticates our relationship with Christ, it also drives us to grow in our Christian experience."

This may be a bit too meaty for some people, but it underlies a lot of the doctrine I share here— salvation is not a once for all thing. This is so important for Christians in order to be able to move on to maturity in Christ. It is the antidote to cheap grace, to carnal Christianity, to wolves in sheep's clothing. Our salvation begins with conversion and is manifested daily in us as we walk in faith in Christ. We demonstrate the reality of that salvation by continuing in the faith. Not that we may not stumble and fall, but that we continually get up and keep walking. Indeed, that is the proof we were saved in the first place and thus are guaranteed that God will finish in us that which He started and we WILL be presented perfect, holy and blameless before the Father. We are indeed eternally secure in Christ.

I pray this helps somebody.

[Any Minute]

Good stuff Matt, it helps me!

"Periphrastic constructions are found throughout the New Testament and offer very useful insight into the ideas contained in the verses in which we find them. One very good example is the well known Ephesians 2:8a). It reads, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith ..." Here Paul is getting across to his readers that the act of salvation is an ongoing part of a believer's life. It is not something you do and that's it. It is something you walk with daily through faith. The verb "to be" here is in the present tense and the participle is in the perfect tense. Therefore the best translation is "You are having already been (and will continue to be) saved through faith." Additionally the participle is passive; therefore the action of being saved is performed by an outside agent— namely, here, the grace of God. Thus we are being shown that salvation does not begin and end with conversion. It begins there and continues throughout our Christian life until we receive the end of that salvation: our glorification in Heaven. As long as we hold our faith in Christ and what HE acomplished at the Cross, God is working in us that which is according to his good pleasure. Hence the harmony of Philippians 2:12-13."

I've heard sermons and read commentaries on Philippians 2:12-13, many times focusing on the "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling" part without out verse 13.
Many were as simplistic as work (walk, live out) your faith with fear and trembling (do it scared, but do it anyway) type of explainations. Those never completely set well with me.
I've even read some that would try to make it into a works based salvation, which we know is incorrect and would contradict Ephesians 2:8 (and many other verses). The "work" is obviously not to obtain salvation, nor the "fear and trembling" fear of Hell and eternal damnation for a born again believer.

Is it a streach or out of context to apply or use this verse from Ephesians to help clarify what is being taught in Philippians 2:12-13? My Bible gives Hebrews 13:21 as a reference.
Ephesians 2:10
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them.

Hebrews 13:21
Make you complete in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Sorry if this is considered a derail. Your explaination above and the harmonizing with Philippians 2:12-13 brought this to mind so I thought I would ask your thoughts and maybe you could bring out in the Greek what is being spoken of in that Philippians passage.

[dave-o]

The other day I was listening to a Romans-based sermon. The pastor explained that throughout the NT salvation is expressed in all 3 tenses; We have been saved, we are being saved and we will be saved.

He said that all 3 are true. (I'm writing from memory and hope I didn't miss anything)

1) We have already been saved in the sense that our lives are secure, hidden with Christ in God. (Colossians 3:3) Nothing can change our ultimate future of dwelling with God forever.

2) That we are being saved is the act of sanctification going on in the here and now. God has very specific purposes for this and we must NOT take this lightly. After #1 happens, #2 begins and it is God who does it all. This is Gods assurance that your faith was not in vain (Romans 8:16) For another thing, sin has consequences in the here and now and God desires to keep you from those. Also we would do well to remember that God doesn't actually need our help to bring all those whom He foreknew would be conformed to the image of His Son (Romans 8:29-30) to Himself. He has bestowed upon us the privilege and blessing of His working through us to reach the lost. If you are not actively being saved through sanctification you are stifling the Holy Spirit working through you.

3) That we will be saved refers to the redemption of our bodies. (Romans 8:23) Only then will our salvation (the "adoption" into God's family) be truly complete. God never intended that any person's soul and spirit should be separated from their body. It is NOT a natural part of living. It is a consequence and punishment for sin, period.

[mattfivefour]

I thought I would ask your thoughts and maybe you could bring out in the Greek what is being spoken of in that Philippians passage.

I hesitate to get into this area in an open thread where anybody can read, because it is so filled with the possibility of misunderstanding. The second we begin to talk about God’s rightful expectations or demands on our lives, about how a Christian is instructed and, indeed, commanded to live, people begin to see law and works. They are used to the milk, and they choke on the meat.

Paul addresses this in his first letter to the church at Corinth.

“I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ. I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able…” (1 Corinthians 3:1-2) For Paul, of course, the evidence that they were not yet ready for “meat” (that is to say, the solid food of the Word) was their fleshly behavior in cliques and jealousy toward each other. But the evidence that Paul saw is not the point. The point is that not all people are ready to receive of the depth of God’s Word at the same time. It takes growth in Him in order to be ready and not choke and become scared to continue. Until then, they are like little babies who do not know how to chew or swallow solid food but will choke on it. They need to be fed just milk and formula until they learn, indeed until they are equipped (with teeth) to chew what they are given.

Jesus essentially said the same thing as Paul when He said to His disciples, as recorded in John 16:12, “I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.” Literally, He was saying they could not endure the further things He had to say, at that time. But there did come a time when they were able to receive those other things. So, too, with all who truly name the name of Christ.

The writer to the Hebrews (whom, incidentally, I believe to be Paul) used the same “food” metaphor when he wrote, “Concerning him (Christ and His eternal priestly role) we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food.” (Hebrews 5:12)

It is too easy to “wrest the scriptures to [our] destruction” when we get into the deeper things of God, unless we allow ourselves to be guided by the Holy Spirit and be prepared to accept His teaching as revealed in His Word, rather than what we have been taught by others and/or what makes us feel most comfortable.

With that in mind, I will step forward and discuss what you ask in open forum. However a further preamble is necessary. I have put it in the form of a question and answer so that my responses to the questions may be crystal clear.

Are we saved by grace? Yes

Alone? Yes

Is this grace activated by faith? Yes

Alone? Yes

Is this faith in Christ, who He is and what He did at Calvary? Yes

Alone? Yes

Is our salvation by works? No

In any way? No.

So, in summary, are we saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone and His finished work alone and not through anything we have done, are doing , or will do? Yes.

I have given that as an underpinning to everything I am about to say. Whenever you think that I am saying we are bound by external laws or we must add our works to Christ’s, please go back and re-read that Q&A. It plainly states my belief, a belief that reflects the true doctrine of God’s Word.

OK. With that as a foundation, let us go on to explore the meatier things of God’s Word regarding salvation, things which have a direct impact on the way we live as Christians.

It has been said that salvation is both a thing and a process. It is given to us the second we turn to Christ. But it is worked out as we live. And finally received , never to be at risk again, in Glory. Some have used the allegory of the lifeboat.

We are in the water drowning. A lifeboat comes by and we get in. That is the point of salvation. The moment of our conversion we are in that boat. But that boat is not our destination, the shore is. So as we remain in that boat and it travels toward the shore, we are being saved … as is reflected in the process we call sanctification. Then, one day, we finally reach that golden shore and we receive the full measure of our salvation, manifested in our glorification. So we are both saved, and being saved, and heading toward our goal of eternal salvation.

And here is where the confusion and the problems start, where Christians become divided over what salvation entails, with many confusing obedience to God with works. They fail to see that obedience is not the cause of our salvation (other than obeying the gospel to repent and believe in Christ), it is in fact the result of it. Christ alone saves us; and when He does we receive a new life, we are born again, we are new creations. And the Holy Spirit lives within us. He is the first fruits, the guarantee, that we are sealed by God until the time of our full redemption.

The Bible, however, makes it clear in many NT passages that we have not now received the totality of our salvation. For example, Paul tells the Thessalonians that we are “destined to obtain salvation” (1 Thessalonians 5:9), meaning that we have not yet obtained it in its fullness. The chief apostle Peter tells us that we “are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:5). Returning to Paul, we see he passionately spoke in his epistle to the Philippians that he wanted to “attain to the resurrection from the dead” (Philippians 3:11), which is another way of saying “eternal life”. And he then continued, “Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:12). This again is speaking of final and full salvation. Paul does not believe he yet possesses it, and so he repeats that fact for emphasis, “Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet” (Philippians 3:13a). Yet he then gives us and all who read this PROOF that he is God’s and that he is being kept by the very power of God— he says, “ … but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you; however, let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained. (Philippians 3:13-16)

You see, it is not in the possession—or in the self-puffing up of believing we are already in full possession—of it that we confirm our salvation, but by our perseverance in following God. In fact, Paul tells us that God has chosen us “for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.”

And here is where many go off the doctrinal rails. They think, “Well, I believe in Jesus, therefore I am saved and nothing else I do matters, since salvation is by faith alone. Therefore, I’ll try to act like a Christian, but there’s a lot I have to take care of in my life and now that salvation is taken care of I can go off and live my life. And if I fail to live like a Christian, so what? God’s Word tells me I am saved.” But God’s Word does not say that as a blanket statement. God’s Word has an IF to every promise— If you continue, if you overcome, if you hold fast, if you hear my words and do them. We need to pay attention to God’s conditions. Each of them speaks of obedience to—and continuing faith in—God.

(Now do you see why I inserted that Q&A prior to my beginning this? Without that, by now people would be thinking I am preaching works and law.)

No, if we are among the saved we are saved eternally. But how do we know that we are among the saved? Paul said that we should examine ourselves. “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?” (2 Corinthians 13:5) The NASB is perhaps a little clearer in modern English: “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you-- unless indeed you fail the test?” The KJV word “prove” and the NASB word "test" in Greek (δοκιμάζετε dokimazete) is a very strong word and is used in metal assaying to indicate the testing of a metal to see whether it is the real thing, or not. That is how we are to test ourselves, with the view in mind to discover whether we are the real thing.

So, how do we test ourselves? Simple. We look at our lives as reflected in the mirror of God’s Word, superimposed over the image of God’s Son that we see pictured there. There will, in all of us, be a great dissonance between the two. Then we ask ourselves, not “How well am I doing or not doing”; but rather, “Do I want to be like Christ? Do I have within myself the desire to please God, regardless of the cost? Not in order that I might earn some favor with Him or gain some good thing from Him, but simply because I love Him? And I love him because He first loved me?" The answer to that is the proof that you are saved.

Progressively we become closer in image to Christ. We will never achieve total likeness to Him until we are glorified, which will only occur in the next life when “this corruptible will have put on incorruption.” But the measure of our obedience, and thus our salvation, is not in our success but in our desire. And if our desire is truly to love and serve Him, then the longer we walk with Christ the more we shall be like Him.

Do you see how confusing this can be for Christians who are young in the faith? They have learned that salvation is by grace alone through faith alone, but now they are faced with the issue of obedience which seems to imply works play a part in their salvation. What they do not understand is that works DO play a part, but not a causative part: works are the RESULT of salvation, not part of the act itself. So we prove that we have already received the gift of salvation by our desire to maintain good works. This is the import of James who tells us that faith can only be seen through works. Not that works create faith, or that works replace faith, or are even added to it. Faith alone is the agency, but how do we know that faith is real, that it has some substance to it? By works. Works are the evidence of our faith. Simple. Works do not save us, but they show us that we ARE saved.

Paul makes all of this clear to Titus when he writes, “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; that being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works”. (Titus 3:5-8) Here Paul is stressing the fact that works of righteousness do not in any way save us; but when we are saved we should, as it says literally in the Greek, “take heed (care) to give attention to good works.” It is interesting that the word phrontizo that is translated “take heed” comes from the word phroneo “to think”, “to direct the mind”, and both come from the noun phren which refers to the mind and the heart.

You see, the desire for works flows from our new hearts. It comes from the work and presence of the Holy Spirit dwelling in us in the new hearts God has given us in salvation and demonstrates the reality of that salvation. But because, as Jeremiah 17:9 says, "The human heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked,” we need to ensure that we are hearing the right “voice”. It is too easy to become lax and careless, like the sleeping virgins who did not maintain oil in their lamps. Paul himself worried that he might not run correctly. He told the Corinthians that “I keep under my body (literally “discipline my body by hardship”), and bring it into subjection (literally “make it my slave”): lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway (literally “unapproved”). That word “unapproved” is ἀδόκιμος (adokimos) in the Greek, the adjectival form of the word dokimazete that I showed above is an assay term meaning "to test to see if something is the real thing." In other words, Paul did not want any behavior of his that might persist and in the long run prove that he was not the real thing, that he never really possessed salvation. Now we know that was a baseless fear in his case. We know he was the greatest of all of the apostles. But that is not the point. The point is his own attitude towards himself.

Too many Christians have a high attitude towards themselves. They think they are certainly saved and entitled to all sorts of rights to self. This is one of the greatest problems with the Western world. We have entirely too high a view of ourselves as individuals and too low a view of God. God is high and holy, holiness referring not only to purity but to separateness. He is as far above us as the height of space is from the bottom of the ocean. We are poor and wretched. All we have we have only in Christ. And we only possess it as we are IN Christ.

And this is where we now come to the understanding of Philippians 2:12-13.

“"Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." Or, to use the NASB, "So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure."

I have quoted these two verses as they are in the Greek— one continuous thought. And as one thought, they clearly must be in harmony. And they are. At the point of our conversion, God worked in the seed of our salvation. If we were to have died at that very instant our soul would have gone to be with Christ in Heaven, instantly. But, if you are reading this, that was not God's will for you. He has a purpose for you living. He has something that He has created you to do for His glory and His Kingdom. Thus it is up to you to cooperate with Him and work out that which He worked in at the moment you were born again.

The word translated "work out" is κατεργάζομαι (katergazomai) and is an intensive form of the verb “to work” or “to produce”. According to Greek scholar and Bible translator Kenneth Wuest, it means “to carry out to the goal, to carry to its ultimate conclusion,” and he uses the example of a student “working out” an arithmetic problem. He keeps working at it until he reaches the end of it and has the answer.

The “fear” of this verse is not slavish fear, but deep distrust of self. It is fear of coming short of what God has intended for us. (Hebrews 4:1) It is fear that goes back to what I said earlier about Christians having too high a view of themselves. Romans 11:20b tells us to “be not highminded, but fear!” Indeed, the Holy Spirit through Paul advises—no, commands—each of us “not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.” (Romans 12:3) This is the fear of which Philippians 2:12 speaks— the antidote to highmindedness. In other words, it is a reverential fear.

The “trembling” is the product of that fear. What a fearful thing it would be to think ourselves something and discover, too late, that we were nothing. How terrible for those “many” at the judgment who say “Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I (Jesus) profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." (Matthew 7:22-23) I do not know about you, but this certainly causes me to tremble at the thought. Can you imagine?!

But God does not leave us uncertain, wondering how it is that some might wind up unknown by Christ. The preceding verse tells us clearly: "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." (Matthew 7:21) This is what separates us from them, we who are truly saved from those who discover they were not.

And here, by this verse, we discover we are back to “doing”. Doing the will of God the Father. And what is the will of God? He tells us in His Word:

“For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God; and that no man transgress and defraud his brother in the matter because the Lord is the avenger in all these things, just as we also told you before and solemnly warned you. For God has not called us for the purpose of impurity, but in sanctification. So, he who rejects this is not rejecting man but the God who gives His Holy Spirit to you.” (1 Thessalonians 4:3-8 NASB)

That is pretty clear. God wills our sanctification … which is, as we saw earlier, the working out of our salvation. In part it is accomplished, as it says in this passage, through the putting to death of the works of the flesh. And clearly we are responsible for that. But, as I have pointed out many times on this forum, we do not do so by employing the power of the flesh to accomplish this. This would be utter foolishness: the flesh cannot conquer the flesh. No, Romans 8:13 reveals that it is by (or through) the Holy Spirit that we put to death the works of the flesh. And that now takes us to Philippians 2:13 which, after verse 12 has warned of the utter seriousness of persisting in faith and obedience until the very end, assures us that it is God Himself who is at work in us not only to perform His works in us but to give us even the desire for those works to be performed!

God indeed is the Author and the Finisher of our faith, a faith unto ultimate salvation. Christ is our surety. The Holy Spirit is our down payment. And God Himself is at work in us. David understood that it did not lie in himself to stay pure before God. In Psalm 19 he asks God to “Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous (insolent, willful) sins; let them not have dominion over me: then I shall be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression” (Psalm 19:13) David could not purify himself; but he knew God could do so.

As we are in Christ so are we secure. If we have truly been born again and we KNOW that the Spirit of God dwells in us, that we are not the same as we were before, then we are in Christ. And the evidence is that we hold to Christ (Philippians 2:16), for we need to remain faithful to Christ until the end (Matthew 10:22; Mark 13:13). But that work does not depend upon our work ... only our will. Paul says that he is “confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. “ (Philippians 1:6) And this is confirmed repeatedly in the New Testament. I offer 1 Corinthians 1:8; the Philippians 2:13 we just read; Colossians 1:22, 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24; Titus 2:14, all as proof that we who are Christ’s are secure in Him.

But remember the overarching lesson of the New Testament, as I have done my best to expound in this message: we are never to think of ourselves as having attained; but, being low-minded and humble, we are to daily pursue obedience to God in all things. We are to make Him the very center of our life, not just one aspect of it. We are to realize that God has called us from sin, not in sin, and that His calling is for us to live in righteousness (1 Peter 2:24).

This does not mean living a life of sinless perfection. Nor does it mean we cannot stumble or fall. It means that God has put in us, at the point of our conversion a new life, the seed of His life, and the Holy Spirit who indwells us from that moment will bring forth from that seed the likeness of Christ —to some degree in this life and to its fullness of perfection in the next life— as we maintain our faith in what Jesus accomplished at the Cross. And the evidence of that new life is the insuppressible and inexhaustible desire to please Him. We may fail and falter, but we will always get right back up.

Anything else is not salvation.

Sorry for the "wall o' words", it is much more easily spoken than written! But I pray this has gone some way toward answering your question and will help not just you but others, as well.

[Any Minute]

No need to apologize for the 'wall o' words', I can't thank you enough for taking the time to share this teaching with us. There is so much meat in this thread that I'm going to have to take small bites and chew well to swallow it all.

Many of the different elements I'm familiar with, though some have been standing alone, not fitting together well as a whole. Now of course some questions are going to arise (for me anyway) but I need to prayfully read and consider all you have presented from Gods Word first.
Just a thought, I know this isn't my thread but maybe this could be moved to Bible Study so as not to be shuffled out of sight in the fast moving Prophecy section.

Thank You and may God Bless you for all you do here brother!

[RandallB]

Excellent mattfivefour!!! Really a deep work!

I agree dave-o in the 3 tenses of the term salvation.

Many mixed messages & confusion happens because the wrong tense is assumed.

1) Past Tense - Justification - We were and eternally are saved from the penalty of sin.

2) Present Tense - Sanctification - We are being saved daily thru the conforming of our lives to the image of Jesus. We are being saved from the power of sin.

3) Future Tense - Glorification - We will be glorified thru Christ Jesus at the rapture. We will be saved from the presence of sin in New Jerusalem and eternally at the end of the MK.

These are all the work of the Holy Spirit.

[Any Minute]

Excellent mattfivefour!!! Really a deep work!

I agree dave-o in the 3 tenses of the term salvation.

Many mixed messages & confusion happens because the wrong tense is assumed.

1) Past Tense - Justification - We were and eternally are saved from the penalty of sin.

2) Present Tense - Sanctification - We are being saved daily thru the conforming of our lives to the image of Jesus. We are being saved from the power of sin.

3) Future Tense - Glorification - We will be glorified thru Christ Jesus at the rapture. We will be saved from the presence of sin in New Jerusalem and eternally at the end of the MK.

These are all the work of the Holy Spirit.

I agree, this is how I understand it also. The book of Romans really helps to bring out these truths. I also understand that the word 'salvation' is an inclusive word encompasing all the redemptive acts and processes such as justification, redemption, grace , propitiation, imputation, forgiveness, sanctification, and glorification. So depending on the context of how and when it's used, we might not all be on the same page.

First salvation, then works. A real battle is not to be brought into works of the flesh (stemming from ourself and our own effort). I like how you boldly state it is the work of the Holy Spirit (in us), clearly shown in scripture. Unfortunately many within the church may say that, but go on to teach another type of works that stray outside of obedience to what is defined by NT scripture, and either try and bring you under OT Law or works of their own imagining, what they think is required or pleasing to God. So many books and church programs out there telling us what God really meant to say.

[mattfivefour]

Excellent responses!

[Patiently...]

I have often thought how fortunate this forum is to have this wealth of knowledge to teach and guide.
mattfivefour, I so enjoy your lessons. Being able to understand the original language to bring the word
alive to its true meaning is a great gift. I and many others, I am sure, are soaking this in like a sponge.
Our language now is so watered down for lack of better wording. Perhaps too generic is better? Your knowledge and ability to explain difficult areas are a major reason I joined this forum.
Thank you.

[Phillip B]

I've often wondered what Paul meant in 1 Corinthians 3: 1-2 when he talked about giving them milk and not solid food. Thank you mattfivefour for explaining it to us in very clear/understandable detail.

Like my brother Any Minute, I will have to

take small bites and chew well to swallow it all.

and

prayerfully read and consider all you have presented from Gods Word.

Thank You

[AndyM]

Thank you Matt for your understanding clearity of the scriptures. It sure opens my eyes to the truth. God bless you and your understanding to lead us to Gods holy word through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Glory be to God.

[TheAprazer]

Wow! a lot of words to ponder over, a couple of things though, and I say these with all due respect and not to be argumentative, for as you state and I know so clearly, others may come upon this site and think "where's is the love?" and "sheeeeesh! this is a lot of reading that I don't understand!"

First off, I believe Peter's confession, while having other "spiritual applications" for our daily living was the example Jesus applied and put before us to "test the spirits". As a little test, go around asking your fellow Christians "who do you say Jesus is?" and see what their response is. According to Scripture, there can only be one answer. And emotional and Biblical "nickenames" (Counselor, Wonderful, etc.) don't count. Will those that you ask give "other answers" like a couple of disciples did which was based on "what others say" or will they answer like Peter with an answer that was given to him from above? In all practicality and spiritual application, this should be the first question asked of any Christian!

Second, John 6:28 Then they said to him, "What must we do, to be doing the works of God?" 29 Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent." and John 6:38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day." This is the first and foremost will(s) of God, all other "will(s)" found in Scripture should reconcile to these two.

Bottom line is that ALL disciples, apostles, and every believer still has free will after believing in Jesus, and yet, because of their belief they deny their free will and struggle every day to "live a life worthy of praise" from our Father. I often ask people, what would you rather hear our Father say "well done good and faithful servant" or "you are/were a man after my own heart". My personal choice is the latter, for I know that no matter how hard I try, fighting my flesh, trying to be holy and spiritual at every given breath I take, that I can not be a good and faithful servant to Him, but it is only by the "good and faithful" Servant that lives within me that I'm even capable of doing something "righeous".

As Peter writes, Paul may have been hard to understand but we have to take into consideration that the world had just changed forever and learning the full extent of Grace after being subjected to the Law for so many years can be quite confusing to even the most learned scholars of that time. We've been afforded the luxury of living in the age of Grace without our forefathers having to live by the law, although they tried and still to this day, try and combine Grace and the Law together.

And even after all our writings in these forums, if we have not love, then our writings are nothing, so to those who read this whether a believer or not, know that you are loved, not as I can love (or write), but by the One who is able to love you enough to die for you! And know this, Jesus is real, faith in Jesus is real, and believing in Him is real! The evidence is before you and will be shown to you if you ask!!

[mattfivefour]

[IamPJ]

Thank you Matt for your understanding clearity of the scriptures. It sure opens my eyes to the truth. God bless you and your understanding to lead us to Gods holy word through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Glory be to God.

Amen to that!