Luke 9:18–22
Peter’s monumental, historic confession is the “Rock,” the foundational, Gospel truth upon which the Church is built. The trajectory of everything we believe and do as the Church departs from the Rock solid conviction and confession that Jesus is exclusively and necessarily the “Christ of God.” For the last 2,000 years God has been calling out the nations, and asking them one by one, “Who do you say Jesus is?” This pointed question is also the very one we pose in varied fashion after every Gospel presentation we make: “So who do you say He is?”There are three main implications for the Church that grow out of this confession: 1) The Church’s confession is built on this foundational, Gospel truth; 2) The Church’s culture and worldview are defined by this foundational, Gospel truth (The Gospel is the reality that defines our lives.); and, 3) The Church’s purpose (mission) is to proclaim and disciple all nations with respect to this foundational, Gospel truth.