Free Republic
Browse · Search
Religion
Topics · Post Article

To: Uncle Chip; adiaireton8; wmfights; Dr. Eckleburg; hosepipe; Quix; .30Carbine
Er, if I may...

"The Rock" is a Name of God (Song of Moses which will be sung in heaven.)

Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth. My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass: Because I will publish the name of the LORD: ascribe ye greatness unto our God. [He is] the Rock, his work [is] perfect: for all his ways [are] judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right [is] he. – Deu 32:1-4

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. – Matt 16:17-18

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

In the Matthew 16 passage, the emphasis should be on the Father’s revelation to Peter as it is in Isaiah 51 to His calling of Abraham. The emphasis, the priority, the first love always goes to God. (Matt 22)

As to who or what will overcome the gates of hell, Jesus is speaking of Himself, the power of God (I Cor 1:24) the brightness of the Father's glory (Hebrews 1:3) by Whom and for Whom everything exists (Colossians 1) Indeed, Hell itself is thrown into the Lake of Fire in Revelation 20.

Likewise, in reference to the second verse adiaireton8 mentioned, we should remember that we who are indwelled by the Holy Spirit are now the temple of God under the new covenant sealed by the blood of Christ (John 3 et al):

But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. – I Timothy 3:15

What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost [which is] in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? – I Cor 6:19

As with so many other things in the words of God, Scripture – there is a physical type for a spiritual reality, the earthy and the heavenly, the metaphor/symbol and the Truth it conveys.

The ark of the covenant on earth was a type of the ark in heaven, the tabernacles/temples were a type of the temple in heaven, the brass serpent raised by Moses was a type for the crucifixion. And likewise, the physical assembly of Christians in the flesh is a type of the Spiritual body of Christ we eternally are (I Cor 12.)

I assert that we ought to focus on the Spiritual Truths the physical types convey. For instance, Peter and Abraham were both firsts and both called rocks – but Jesus is The Rock, He is "The" First of all!

Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether [they be] thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all [things] he might have the preeminence. For it pleased [the Father] that in him should all fulness dwell; And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, [I say], whether [they be] things in earth, or things in heaven.– Col 1:15-20

Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; 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. – 1 Cor 10:1-4

When we focus on the earthy, the carnal, the types - we risk losing our way. That is the heart of Romans 8.

144 posted on 07/21/2007 10:58:35 AM PDT by Alamo-Girl
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 141 | View Replies ]


To: Alamo-Girl
As to who or what will overcome the gates of hell, Jesus is speaking of Himself, the power of God (I Cor 1:24) the brightness of the Father's glory (Hebrews 1:3) by Whom and for Whom everything exists (Colossians 1) Indeed, Hell itself is thrown into the Lake of Fire in Revelation 20.

AMEN!!!

"For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,

That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;

That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,

May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;

And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God." -- Ephesisans 3:14-19


145 posted on 07/21/2007 11:10:56 AM PDT by Dr. Eckleburg ("I don't think they want my respect; I think they want my submission." - Flemming Rose)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 144 | View Replies ]

Free Republic
Browse · Search
Religion
Topics · Post Article


FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson