“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?” Matthew 16:13
The centrality of Christ is the “rock” upon which the Lord builds the church. Where there is the centrality of Christ, there is the building of the church. The Lord opens up the significance of building upon this rock in Matthew 16:13-18: 13 “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? 14 So they said, Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets. 15 He said to them, But who do you say that I am? 16 And Simon Peter answered and said, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. 17 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. 18 And I also say to you that you are
Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.”
Peter’s confession, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God,” is both definite and singular: Christ is uniquely the Son, and He is the only Son, distinct and particular. The Lord responded to Peter’s confession by saying that what he saw was not revealed to him by flesh and blood, but by the Father. Although these verses are
familiar to us, we may have overlooked their real impact on our Christian lives. To make a confession based upon revelation that Jesus, the Son of Man, is the Christ, the Son of the living God, is to be a person who is reduced, focused, and centered upon one Person. It is a confession that Christ is the unique anointed One — He is the One appointed to live out the Father’s life, do the Father’s will, and accomplish everything in God’s economy. To confess that Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God is to acknowledge Him as the One who has the approved relationship with the Father, as well as the proper relationship with all things, both negative and positive. This
confession is an all-inclusive utterance concerning the Christian life. It is a confession that recognizes that Christ is all and in all.