Who do you say I am?

In the past week I saw several comments in the media about who various people think God is and who not. Some declared that He is a mythical creature, some think He is a cruel God, while actually we just suffer the consequences of our own choices and sin. Some think He is outdated and was only relevant in ancient times when people did not have scientific explanations for complex problems, some think He has given up on creation and walked away from man and all that is on earth. Some think God does not exist.  Interesting though how God almost always is accused that He causes bad things to happen to us.  I wonder how we get there?  We question His existence, certainly do not pay attention to His moral laws, create our own laws and decide what we think is right, wrong and moral.  However, when things go wrong, it's all God's mistake.  Hardly ever do we take responsibility for the mess we create ourselves. 

 

This is not a new phenomenon.  When the Pharisees asked Jesus who He was in John 8, He told them He was the Messiah - they did not believe Him, and so we can quote numerous passages from the Bible where people were challenged with who God is - and who His Son is, only to see how He is denied, His Name slandered and His nature defiled by our own perceptions of who He is.  All this while He has given us ample opportunity to get to know Him in the finest detail with never ending treasures in His character to discover.   

In Mathew 16:13-20 we read how Jesus himself asked His disciples this very question:

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 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.

 

 From this scripture we see that people then also had their own ideas of who Jesus was in their particular context.  But then came Peter's answer.  "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God"  And Jesus' answer:  "...flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven"  The Father testifies and reveals His Son to the World.  He revealed Him as the Word, the Light, Emmanuel God with us.  He revealed Him as His only begotten Son in whom He is well pleased.  He revealed Him as the Messiah, the saviour of the world and so I can continue, but ultimately the question Jesus asks each one of us is, "Who do YOU say I am?"  The revelation of who He is, is here, its available, it has been given from the beginning of time.  The answer is not hidden, the revelation has already been given.  The question is - do we believe what was revealed?

 

I want to challenge you and myself this week to answer this question in unadulterated truth.  Who do YOU really believe God is?  Who do you believe Jesus is?  Take that question one step further and answer the question, What do you believe about the nature of God?  Measure your answer against God's revelation of Himself and His character in the Bible.

 

Let's discover a deeper revelation of who He is and let us worship Him for who He is and not for whom we think He should be or should have been in our opinions.  The result of who He is makes all the difference to who we are.  It changes who we are, it changes our characters, it changes our position, our perspectives, our hopes, it moves us from the kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom of Light.  Listen to this song from Hillsong on who we are, knowing that we can only be who He says we are because of Who He Is. 

 

 Who do you say I am?  Hillsong