Do You Really Wish Your Faith Could Be the Same As Peter’s Faith? (Matthew 16:13-20)
(Matthew 16:13-20)
“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?’
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. 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.’ Then He commanded
His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the
Christ.”
How Is Your Faith?
Today,
I would like to share the Word with you on how you can strengthen your
faith to be as strong as Peter’s faith. Here in this passage of
Scripture Jesus asked His disciples who people were saying He was, what
was their response? They answered by saying, “Some say John the Baptist,
some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets” (Matthew
16:14). Peter then confessed his faith and said, “You are the Christ,
the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16).
In
Scripture we find three anointed offices. Firstly, kings were anointed
when they ascended to the throne of Israel. For instance, when David
became king, the Prophet Samuel filled the horn of a ram with oil and
poured it on his head. The Scripture says that “the Spirit of the LORD
came upon David from that day forward” (1 Samuel 16:13). Secondly, the
High Priest, that is, the chief of the priests were anointed when they
assumed their office. Thirdly, prophets were anointed.
When
Peter said to the Lord here in the Bible, “You are the Christ,” he was
confessing his faith, saying that Jesus was his King. He was also
confessing that the Lord was his Prophet. Peter was confessing his faith
in the following way: “Jesus Christ is the Savior, and He has saved
sinners by shouldering the sins of this world through His baptism and
shedding His blood on the Cross.”
Jesus
Christ is the God of creation and in the beginning made the heavens and
the earth (Genesis 1:1-31). By making the heavens and the earth, the
Triune God made it possible for us to be born and exist on this earth.
Jesus Christ, God the Father, and the Holy Spirit together made Adam and
Eve, the first man and woman. The universe and mankind now exist
because they were created by God. It’s by the will of God the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Spirit that we were born and to exist in this
world.
The
fact that the Triune God is alive teaches us and makes it known to us
who our Creator is, and who our Savior is. What role does the Holy
Spirit play for us? The Holy Spirit testifies and guarantees that Jesus
Christ the Son of God has indeed washed away all the sins of this world
by coming to this earth, being baptized by John the Baptist, the
representative of mankind, and shedding His blood on the Cross. The Holy
Spirit assures us that Jesus Christ has blotted out all the sins of
this world with the gospel of the water and the Spirit. And He
guarantees us that our salvation has been fulfilled by God the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Spirit. He teaches us that Jesus Christ came to
this earth to save all sinners from the sins of the world, was baptized
by John the Baptist, shed His blood on the Cross, rose from the dead
again, and has thereby become the true Savior. Unless Jesus Christ
became our Savior by being baptized by John the Baptist, shedding His
blood, and rising from the dead again, no one could ever blot out our
sins. Jesus is our Savior, our Creator, and our true Shepherd.
The
faith that sustains us in these end times is the faith Peter had with
him confessing, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew
16:16). Satan is causing confusion and void to many people in this age
with many different false religions. I am keenly aware of the dire need
for the gospel of the water and the Spirit to be preached to every
corner of the world. To this end, I have been preaching the gospel of
the water and the Spirit to all those who are unaware of it. These
people do not know the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit because
they are yet to realize from the Word of Truth that Jesus indeed is the
Son of God, the Savior of mankind, and the true Prophet. Whether or not
we know Jesus Christ depends on whether or not we know the gospel of the
water and the Spirit which God gave to us.
Jesus
is the Creator, and He is the Savior who has delivered us from all the
sins of this world. I urge you to believe in this Truth. Jesus is the
true Prophet who has taught us all truths, He is the Savior, and He is
our King. To deliver his people from their sins, the King of kings bore
the sins of the world on His body by being baptized by John the Baptist,
sacrificed Himself by shedding His blood on the Cross, and has thereby
become our true Savior. To you and me, Jesus is the High Priest of the
Kingdom of Heaven, the King of kings, and our true Prophet. Do you
believe that Jesus is our Savior and our true God?
Let
me state it clearly here that if you and I neglect even just one of
these three understandings and neither grasp it nor believe in it, then
you will forever be unable to receive the remission of sins and end up
being destroyed. If you and I were not to know the gospel of the water
and the Spirit, it would only mean that we do not know Jesus Christ the
Savior of mankind either. What are we relying on and what do you believe
in now? Isn’t it the gospel of the water and the Spirit? Or do we
believe in Jesus as our Savior only as a matter of religion?
No
religious faith is recognized in the Kingdom of God. So you need to
think about how you can wash away the sins that are in your heart now.
Is it possible for you to have the true faith that Peter had without
faith in the gospel power of the water and the Spirit? No, of course
not. You must, therefore, of necessity, believe in the gospel of the
water and the Spirit without delay.
Do
you really appreciate that the most precious thing on this earth is the
gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit? We must know that Jesus
Christ the Savior has given us the gospel of the water and the Spirit,
and we must believe that He has saved us from the sins of the world
through His birth, baptism, shed blood, death, and His resurrection. Our
Lord has saved us from the sins of the world through the gospel of the
water and the Spirit in these end times. So, let us build our faith on
the Truth, the gospel rock of the water and the Spirit.
This
gospel of the water and the Spirit is the true gospel that has saved
all of us from all our sins. Those who do not believe in this gospel
will be forsaken, but those who believe in it will obtain absolutely
perfect salvation. The gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit has the
power to bring true salvation to all who believe in it fully. If you
believe in this gospel, you will not only be saved from your sins but
also receive God’s love forever. However, if you do not believe in this
gospel, then not only will you betray God’s love, but the Lord’s love
will also remain forever out of your reach.
Do
you not know that even your future sins have already been washed away
once and for all by the God-given gospel power of the water and the
Spirit? If not anything else, you must know this Truth without fail no
matter what the cost. And you must believe in it. The salvation of your
soul depends on whether or not you believe in the gospel of the water
and the Spirit. If you believe in this gospel, you will come to know its
true worth.
Believing In the Gospel Truth of the Water and the Spirit Is the Key to the Kingdom of Heaven
It
is on account of Peter’s faith that the Lord said that He will give him
the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven. What, then, was Peter’s faith, do
you know? His faith is shown by the confession he made, “You are the
Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16). This faith is the
key to the Kingdom of Heaven. To deconstruct this faith in detail for
understanding purposes and to possess it as well, we must first
understand clearly and believe in what the gospel of the water and the
Spirit is saying. Jesus Christ has come by the gospel of the water and
the Spirit, and whether or not we believe in Him as our Savior will
determine whether or not we can receive the keys to the Kingdom of
Heaven.
The
Lord said to Peter in Matthew 16:19, “I will give you the keys of the
kingdom of heaven.” The key to the Kingdom of Heaven here refers to the
understanding of the gospel of the water and the Spirit and the faith in
the real Truth. This faith is all about knowing and believing clearly
that Jesus is our Savior, and that He has saved us from the sins of the
world by the gospel power of the water and the Spirit.
Peter’s
faith teaches us that the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit is
the perfect Truth. If you believe in the gospel of the water and the
Spirit now, you will be saved perfectly even if the whole world were to
crumble down. If we believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit,
our souls will not stumble and we will overcome all our adversaries. The
Lord said that if we have faith even as small as a mustard seed, then
with this faith we will overcome the world on the day the Lord returns.
On the very last day of this world, we will be able to receive the Lord
boldly, all thanks to the gospel of the water and the Spirit. The
believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit can therefore defend
their faith until the day this world ends.
It’s
because we have faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit that we
are able to raise God’s Church and save many souls from their sins. It
would be impossible without this faith. The Lord said that we can build
God’s Church on this earth and lead the sinful to Him only if we have
faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
Just
as the Lord said to Simon Peter that He would give him the keys to the
Kingdom of Heaven on account of his faith, we must also make sure we
have the exact same faith that Peter had. After all, it’s only after the
Lord heard Peter’s confession of faith that He said to him, “I will
give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven.” Given the fact that the
Savior and our God fulfilled His three offices as our King, our Priest,
and our Prophet in his earthly ministry, how could we not also fulfill
the duties by believing in these three offices?
Jesus
Christ is God Himself and the Savior to you and me. To become the
Savior of sinners, Jesus was incarnated in the flesh of man and born
into this world from the body of Mary. Matthew 1:1 says, “The book of
the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham.”
This, of course, teaches us that Jesus came to this earth as the Savior
through the household of David. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, David said,
The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
Till I make Your enemies Your footstool” (Psalm 110:1).
David
was speaking of Jesus when he spoke of “my Lord” here. In other words,
David was confessing that Jesus was his God. However, when the Messiah
actually came, people failed to recognize him and treated Him as a mere
human being. In contrast, moved by the Holy Spirit, David confessed that
Jesus Christ was his God.
Jesus
is our God and our Savior. He is our Shepherd. Peter confessed that
Jesus was his God, his Savior, and his Prophet. These three beliefs are
denoted by the word “Christ.” We believe that as the One who has saved
us from the sins of the world, Jesus is the King of kings, our Savior,
and our true Prophet and Shepherd who teaches us everything.
It’s
absolutely indispensable for us today to also believe in Jesus as our
God, our Savior, and our Prophet. Jesus is my God and yours, and He is
our Savior and our King, just as Peter said to the Lord, “You are the
Christ, the Son of the living God.” All of us must have this faith.
Because faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit is absolutely
indispensable to us, the Lord has enabled us to have the keys to the
Kingdom of Heaven - only by this faith. Yet, many people today are
dismissive of the gospel of the water and the Spirit. This is the same
as dismissing what God Himself did when He came to this earth.
If
Jesus says that He has blotted out all our sins once and for all by the
gospel power of the water and the Spirit, then we ought to just believe
accordingly without questioning. Jesus was more than able to blot out
all the sins of the whole world and become the Savior. Having come to
this earth, He has saved us once and for all from all the sins of the
world through the gospel of the water and the Spirit. He is our Savior
and our King. When we believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior, we must
believe that the baptism He received from John the Baptist and the blood
He shed on the Cross were for the remission of sins. If we do not
believe in either one of them, then our faith, which is supposed to save
us from our sins, will collapse all at once.
Whenever
our faith is weakened, we must confess our faith in the gospel of the
water and the Spirit. Whenever we encounter difficulties in our lives,
we must pray to God to help us by trusting the gospel of the water and
the Spirit. What we need to realize is that praying to Jesus is the same
as praying to God the Father. When we believe with our hearts that God
the Father and His Son are the same God to us, our prayers are not
shaken. It is by believing in Jesus that we were able to be saved from
all our sins, and it is also by this faith that we are able to pray to
Jesus for His help. Jesus is our Creator and our God. It’s because of
our faith in Jesus the Savior that we’ve come to know who God the Father
is, and to realize His love. That is why we are now living as those who
have been saved from all sins.
Whenever
we encounter difficulties, we pray to Jesus to help us overcome these
hardships and to bless us. There is absolutely nothing wrong with such
prayers. Some of us may wonder to whom we should pray, whether we should
pray to God the Father or His Son Jesus Christ. We can pray to either
One. The reason is because God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ are
the same God to us.
You
may then wonder if this means the Holy Spirit is not divine. That’s not
what it means. The Holy Spirit is also the same God to us. It’s just
that the Holy Spirit assures us of the work of salvation completed by
God the Father and the Spirit, and so we don’t pray in His name. Other
than this difference, the Holy Spirit is clearly the same God to us
also. That’s because when God created the heavens and the earth, God the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit together created the universe and
us (Genesis 1:26-28).
It’s
absolutely important for us to believe that Jesus is the God who
created us, and the Savior God who has delivered us from the sins of the
world. If we recognize Jesus just as our Savior and deny that He is our
God, then our faith will flounder. Jesus is indeed our God, but if we
deny this, then it would be to our loss. You may be still wondering, “Is
Jesus divine? Is He really God Himself? I do believe without a doubt
that Jesus was indeed born from the body of Mary, took upon all our sins
by being baptized, and bore the condemnation of all these sins by
shedding His blood. But where is the evidence showing that Jesus is
God?” Countless evidences are found everywhere in the Scripture. The
Bible is full of passages testifying the divinity of Jesus.
What God Says in the Epistle to the Hebrews?
Let’s all turn to the Epistle to the Hebrews and see what the Word of God says. It’s written in Hebrews 1:8-12:
“But to the Son He says:
‘Your throne, O God, is forever and ever;
A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom.
You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness;
Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You
With the oil of gladness more than Your companions.’
And:
‘You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth,
And the heavens are the work of Your hands.
They will perish, but You remain;
And they will all grow old like a garment;
Like a cloak You will fold them up,
And they will be changed.
But You are the same,
And Your years will not fail.’”
The
Bible says here in verse 10, “You, Lord, in the beginning laid the
foundation of the earth,” and the “Lord” here refers to the Son of God
mentioned in verse 8. It says clearly here that Jesus is God, as it
says, “You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth.”
Who made this world? He is none other than Jesus Christ. Who is God
then? He is God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, who had all
decided to save us from our sins. Jesus is our Savior, just as the Bible
says:
“You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth,
And the heavens are the work of Your hands.
They will perish, but You remain;
And they will all grow old like a garment;
Like a cloak You will fold them up,
And they will be changed.
But You are the same,
And Your years will not fail” (Hebrews 1:10-12).
Who
is the “Lord” written about here? It is none other than Jesus Christ,
the Creator of all things. The heavens and the earth of this present
world will all disappear one day. Even though all these things will
disappear, the Bible says, “You are the same, and Your years will not
fail.” This means that only God is eternal and forever living. Jesus
Christ is the forever-living God, and He is the Son of God the Father.
Jesus Christ is our God.
When
the Bible says here in Hebrews 1:10, “You, Lord, in the beginning laid
the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your
hands,” it is speaking of no one else than Jesus Christ. Jesus is the
true Prophet of mankind, and He is the Savior God who, according to His
Word of prophecy, came to this earth, received baptism, and shed His
blood to save us from the sins of the world. God Himself has saved us
from all the sins of the world by the gospel power of the water and the
Spirit. It is an absolute must for you and me to recognize these three
offices.
Let
me pause a moment and tell you a funny story. Long ago, there was a
certain man who, upon converting into Christianity, began insisting on
his uncle to also start attending church. After being pestered endlessly
by this nephew, the uncle finally relented and accompanied him to the
church. He saw his nephew praying as soon as he sat down on the pew, and
he heard him saying, “Father, thank You for this wonderful day.”
Hearing this, the uncle thought to himself, “Hmm… if God is my nephew’s
Father, then God and I must be brothers.” So he began praying by saying,
“Brother, how are you?”
If
we do not know nor believe that Jesus is God Himself even after
receiving the remission of sins through Him, how could we pray to Him?
Given the fact that God the Father has saved us from the sins of the
world by sending His Son, it becomes clear that Jesus is our Creator and
our Savior. It is therefore Jesus Christ who made us in the beginning,
and it is He who has delivered us from our sins. The Creator who made
the heaves, the earth, and us human beings is none other than Jesus the
Son of God. Jesus is our Savior and God Himself. Lacking clarity, we may
think that even though we have been saved by Jesus, it would be wrong
to pray in the name of the Son when there is God the Father, whom we
think is higher than the Son. So we may be worried about mistakenly
calling the Son as our God. But this is an unfounded worry. It is in
fact correct to call Jesus our God. That’s because Jesus Christ is
indeed God Himself to us.
My
fellow believers, the Jesus who has saved us from our sins is God
Himself. There is nothing strange about calling Jesus as “our Lord,”
“our Savior,” and “our God,” just as we call God as “our God” and “our
Father.” This is all correct. Having delegated to His Son all the
authority to judge, God the Father has saved us from our sins and
destruction by sending the Son to this world. The Son of God, our God
and our Messiah, is none other than Jesus our Savior. It is the Son of
God who has saved us from the sins of the world through the gospel of
the water and the Spirit. Of course, this was done at the behest of the
Father, but Jesus has absolutely no defect at all for us to call Him our
Savior and our God.
When
it comes to our faith, we must not only believe clearly that Jesus is
the Son of God who has saved us from our sins through the gospel of the
water and the Spirit, but we must also believe that He is our Creator,
our Savior, and our Shepherd. And we must also believe that He is our
Judge, and that He has all authority and power over us. If we pray to
God and live by this kind of faith, then we can all overcome any and all
difficulties that come on our way.
In
these end times, let us never lose the faith that the Triune God
planned to deliver us from our sins through the gospel of the water and
the Spirit, and that He has in fact delivered us as planned. Let us
never let go of the faith that Jesus is our God. Let us instead live by
believing that Jesus is our Savior, and that He is the God of salvation
who has delivered us from our sins. Let us carry on with our lives in
these end times with courage, believing unwaveringly that Jesus Christ
is the true Prophet who has taught us everything.
We Must Know the Gospel Truth of the Water and the Spirit
Only
when we know the gospel of the water and the Spirit can we rely on
Jesus Christ in our lives no matter what difficulties we may encounter.
Some people still hesitate when they pray, wondering, “Should I pray to
God the Father or the Son?” But it doesn’t matter whether we pray to the
Father or His Son Jesus Christ. What really matters is that we pray by
faith, believing clearly with all our hearts that the Jesus who has
saved us from all our sins is fundamentally God Himself.
You
and I must have a clear grasp of what it means to believe in the gospel
of the water and the Spirit, and what it means to believe in Jesus as
the Son of God. Everything is so evil in these end times. We can see
just how little faith people have in one another nowadays, and just how
hard Satan is shaking their hearts to prevent them from believing in the
gospel of the water and the Spirit. The Devil is doing everything he
can to shake not only our trust in fellow human beings but also our
faith in God, trying to throw us back into a state of confusion before
the foundation of the heavens and the earth. Therefore, as those who are
living in the end times, we must believe unwaveringly that our Savior
is none other than Jesus Christ, and that He is our God. Jesus has saved
you and me from all our sins, and the condemnation of sins; and He is
our God, the Creator who made us, and the true Prophet who has taught us
everything about the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
Jesus
told us that those who are saved from their sins by believing in God
the Father and the Son, but lose everything of this world as a result,
will be rewarded a hundredfold. Jesus Christ promised that when His
Kingdom descends on this earth, He will give His believers the right to
become God’s very own children. Sadly, however, we see many impostors
scamming people with a false and fallacious gospel.
Jesus
said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as
little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.
Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest
in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3-4). When it comes to believing
in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, you must become simpleminded
like a child even if you are old or learned. Even if you are old, you
must be honest before God, and even if you are a pastor, when you see
unrighteousness you must get angry at the congregation, rant at them,
and rebuke them. Your heart and spirit must be like a child. Before God,
you must be naïve and honest like a child.
It’s
absolutely important for us to understand and believe in the Word of
God properly. So we must first grasp exactly what God is saying to us,
and believe according to this Word. Only when we clearly know the will
of God revealed in His Word can we defeat Satan by faith. It is when we
believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit that our faith remains
unshaken. Even though we have received the remission of sins, we still
must know the will of God clearly. And the will of God is to make the
gospel of the water and the Spirit abound on this earth.
Let
me explain this with an illustration. Let’s say that you heard someone
saying to you at this hour, “The gospel of the water and the Spirit is
too rudimentary. It is really nothing.” If the gospel of the water and
the Spirit were nothing, then what other gospel would you believe in to
receive the remission of sins and become God’s child? Wouldn’t you
pursue some other gospel, if the gospel of the water and the Spirit is
not the answer? The moment we hear someone saying, “The gospel of the
water and the Spirit is nothing,” we realize even more that this gospel
is the genuine gospel. If you have no faith in the gospel of the water
and the Spirit, you will likely end up seeking false teachings and
signs, such as speaking in tongues or performing miracles. You will then
look for shallow, outward signs of spirituality from your church
leaders, you will judge them based on their outside appearance, and you
yourself will, in likeness, be trying to spruce up your own outside
appearance. If the gospel of the water and the Spirit were nothing, then
your faith will flounder. If the purpose of our faith is set on
something else other than becoming God’s children, then we are bound to
drift towards destruction.
Since
we have already received the remission of sins by believing in the
gospel of the water and the Spirit, we can now reach a clearer
understanding of the Word of Truth and grow exponentially. From our
perspective as the believers in the Truth, the gospel of the water and
the Spirit is not rudimentary at all, but it is everything. However, the
imposers defrauding the people with a false gospel use seemingly
similar Christian doctrines to beguile them. They use dogmatic beliefs
to hoodwink Christians cunningly. Crooks dupe people by stroking their
greed and making all kinds of wonderful promises that cannot be met.
For
instance, when they hear about some successful business, they use this
to float their scheme, saying, “If you invest in this, you will strike
it rich!” Because the imposters always have some plausible grounds
behind their story, it doesn’t sound so far-fetched. They talk about how
someone else struck it rich from making the same investment, assuring
the victims that if they invest, they, too, will see spectacular returns
on their investment. Many people end up buying into such assurances,
and once they do, they become completely hoodwinked. Even the victims of
fraud do not succumb to any scheme that is totally ridiculous. But when
they hear something that sounds somewhat plausible, that’s when they
begin to slide into the trap. That is exactly how Satan works. Even when
the Devil doesn’t say much, he speaks his words so cunningly that
almost everyone who hears him succumbs to his influence.
So,
today, I am telling you with absolute certainty that Jesus is God
Himself, so that you may not be misled by the Devil telling you
otherwise. Jesus is God. He is the Savior. He is the Prophet. He
fulfilled His threefold offices, and if we deny any of the three offices
fulfilled by Jesus, then our faith will drift towards the wrong
direction and ultimately end up being corrupted. I believe that Jesus is
our Savior and our God. I believe that Jesus is God Himself. It’s
absolutely important for us to believe without a trace of doubt that
Jesus is our God, just as we believe in the Word of God that says, “The
world was made through Him” (John 1:10). It’s also absolutely
indispensable for us to have the undeniable evidence with us. And we
must understand and believe in the Scripture exactly as it is written.
You and I should never listen to anyone who says otherwise using their
own thoughts.
Jesus
is the vine, and God the Father is the vinedresser. And we are the
branches of the vine. Using these three figures of speech in John
chapter 15, Jesus told us that He is the vine, God the Father is the
vinedresser, and we are the branches. The Lord said that if we abide in
Him as His branches, we will bear much fruit, but if we do not abide in
Him, we will wither away. The branches of the vine refer to the members
of God’s Church. Jesus is the Head of God’s Church, while the saved
saints are God’s children and part of His body. To put this in terms of
the vine, the saints are the branches, while Jesus is the root. So if
the saints abide in Jesus, they will bear abundant fruit.
This
very place where the saints are gathered is Jesus’ Church. As the Head
of the Church and our Prophet, Jesus is teaching us the gospel Truth of
the water and the Spirit. As our Savior, He is blessing us with the
grace of the remission of sins. As our God as well, Jesus is guiding His
people to the land of Canaan. That we are abiding in Jesus as His
branches means that we believe that Jesus is our Savior and our God,
that we are one with Him, and that we trust in every Word Jesus has
taught us.
Jesus
is the Master of the gospel of the water and the Spirit. He is our God
and our Savior. God is our Savior and the Creator who made us. We were
all made by Him (John 1:11). It’s because He has taught us that we have
come to know and believe in the Truth. As Peter confessed, the Lord is
indeed the Christ and the Son of the living God. Can you make such a
confession of faith to God?
What
we need to do in God’s Church which the body of Christ for the rest of
our lives is the following: We must know and believe clearly that Jesus
is our God; we must have the evidence with us; and we must preach the
gospel of the water and the Spirit, the Truth through which Jesus Christ
has saved us from all the sins of this earth, so that we may deliver as
many souls from sin as possible in these end times. If God’s Church
were to devote itself to saving even just one soul, it would be doing
something that’s approved by God. This work is what God’s Church must
do. The saints who have already received the remission of sins must
believe that Jesus is God, fight against Satan, fight against
themselves, defend their faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit
until the day the Kingdom comes, and live a life of faith that
glorifies God before they go to see the Lord face to face.
Our
duty is spreading the gospel of the water and the Spirit in this world.
And another must for all of us is believing in the gospel Word of the
water and the Spirit that Jesus has taught us as our Prophet, let
ourselves be led by the spiritual guidance of God, and submit to His
teachings in our everyday lives. To the believers in the gospel of the
water and the Spirit, the Lord has given the keys to enter the Kingdom
of God, the Kingdom of Heaven.
Many
Christians nowadays practice hypocrisy, commit spiritual fraud while
trying to look like they are spiritual. In fact, many of them pretend to
have been sanctified for fraudulent purposes. But there is no
incremental sanctification for anyone. We are transformed once and for
all by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. The false
prophets practice spiritual hypocrisy to defraud others. And as their
hearts are drawn to the lust of the flesh, they try to adorn themselves
with something that is outwardly visible. Rather than seeking to build
and strengthen their faith in God, these spiritual imposters only care
about meeting their own greed. Such spiritual crooks have no faith in
the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and they are bound to drift
toward their own lust of the flesh. Jesus Christ is our Savior, our
Creator God, and our true Prophet. If we leave out and fail to recognize
even one of them, then we would find ourselves among the spiritual
imposters.
Even
if you believe in God, unless you actually preach the gospel of the
water and the Spirit, you would have nothing to preach. What should we
then do for God? We ought to do God’s work, and none other than serving
the gospel of the water and the Spirit is doing God’s work. James 4:17
says, “To him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is
sin.” Clearly, then, we ought to serve God rather than ourselves, but
what exactly should we do to serve God? We should believe in and preach
the gospel of the water and the Spirit. That is how we serve God.
Without believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, it is
impossible to do anything good in God’s sight. God alone is good.
Therefore, we must grasp that serving God is believing in and preaching
the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Believing in and preaching this
gospel is the most virtuous work in God’s sight.
We Must Defend Our Faith in the Gospel Truth of the Water and the Spirit
God
said in Proverbs 4:23, “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of
it spring the issues of life.” There is a good reason why God said this.
At all times, whether we are struggling, weary, sad, in pain or joyful,
we must defend our hearts’ faith in the gospel of the water and the
Spirit. That’s because unless we believe in this gospel and keep our
hearts, we cannot stand before God. It’s absolutely imperative for us to
have the faith to say to God, “Lord, You are my God, the Creator who
made me, the Savior who has delivered me from all the sins of the world,
and the true Prophet who has taught me the Truth.” And we must defend
this faith of ours. Therefore, we should never let ourselves be drawn to
any other gospel other than the gospel of the water and the Spirit, nor
be shaken by any ludicrous claims made by anyone.
To
be frank, what spiritual work could there be, if not serving God and
the gospel of the water and the Spirit? There is none! Now that we have
received the remission of sins, unless we believe in, follow, and preach
the gospel of the water and the Spirit in our everyday our lives by
faith, would we be able to manifest anything spiritual? No, of course
not! How could we manifest anything of a spiritual nature, when we would
be too busy with our own affairs and boast of just our own
achievements?
Believing
in the gospel Word of the water and the Spirit, the Word of prophecy
that God spoke to us beforehand, we must serve the Lord and follow Him.
When we believe that God is not only our Savior but also everyone else’s
Savior, when we follow Him, when we offer our material possessions for
the spreading of the gospel of the water and the Spirit, when we pray
for it in unity, when we work with one heart, and when we serve the Lord
with self-sacrifice, all these things we do are God’s spiritual work.
In the life of faith, there is the spirit and the flesh; believing in
God, following Him by faith, and serving the gospel of the water and the
Spirit are of the spirit, and these are the works that save lives.
My
fellow believers, our hearts must lean toward ever greater faith in the
gospel of the water and the Spirit. We must believe in Jesus as our
Creator God, as the God of our salvation, and as the Prophet who teaches
us everything. When you and I believe with our hearts that Jesus has
saved us from all our sins, we cannot help but thank Him from the depth
of our hearts; when we realize that this God is our Creator God, we
can’t help but obey His Word; and when we believe that Jesus Christ has
taught us every Word beforehand to protect us, so that we would not be
deceived by Satan, we can’t help but realize even more profoundly that
Jesus is indeed God Himself and our Savior, and thank Him even more. We
are so grateful to God for teaching us everything that we are compelled
by our gratitude to serve the gospel of the water and the Spirit, follow
it, believe in it, and obey it.
When
the Lord said to Peter, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of
heaven,” He meant that He would build His Church on this confession of
faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Our God has indeed
built His Church on Peter’s faith and his confession. The same is true
for us as well. We admit our present faith and recognize the entirety of
the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit. By believing in Jesus as
our Savior, we are recognizing that He has saved us from all our sins,
and if this is the case, then we are also recognize that He is our God.
Moreover, we are also acknowledging Him as our Prophet. We admit that
Jesus is our Savior. It is on such faith in the gospel of the water and
the Spirit that God has built His Church. And He has kindly called us to
be the members of His Church.
Having
said that He would build His Church on the Peter’s faith, Jesus said,
“The gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). Now
then, no matter how hard Satan tries to harm God’s Church, he cannot
take away God’s children whom the Lord has saved through the gospel of
the water and the Spirit.
My
fellow believers, wherever those who believe in and preach the gospel
of the water and the Spirit are gathered together, that is God’s Church.
Through our faith in the baptism of Jesus and His blood, we passed all
our sins to Him, we died with Christ, and we were brought back to life
with Christ. The Church of the born-again believers in the gospel of the
water and the Spirit is the very Church that the Lord spoke of to
Peter, and the saints are the members of this body of Christ. I am so
grateful to God for such wonderful blessings.
The
believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit are God’s own
people. And they are the ones whose faith is just like Peter’s faith. I
give all my thanks to the Lord for giving us such unwavering faith.
Hallelujah!
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