Jesus spoke in parables to ensure that those who truly seek Him would find Him. While those who are only interested in being entertained simply hear a story. Parables contain hidden spiritual truth to the sincere seeker of righteousness. Keeping that in mind, please examine this often misunderstood saying found in Matthew 16:15-18.
15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the son of the Living God.
17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
18 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.
In it Simon Peter declares that Jesus is the Christ and Jesus responds that Simon Peter could only know that through revelation from God. Then Jesus declares that He will build His church upon the rock, meaning the rock of revelation. Many times this passage is misunderstood to mean that Christ wanted to build His church on Peter, whose name means ‘rock’, but this is not the complete picture.
Clarifying, Jesus Christ declared how He builds His church –
20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
As our mediator with Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ reconciles us to God through His infinite atonement and our sincere repentance and devoted discipleship. It is only through sowing the seeds of faith in prayer and obedience that we can receive a personal revelation through the Holy Ghost and receive a witness of the Lord Jesus Christ for ourselves.
So, now we have two foundation stones of the Church of Jesus Christ, Revelation and Jesus Christ as the chief cornerstone. All can search the scriptures to learn of Jesus Christ, His ministry and His doctrine. The scriptures also have the testimonies of those who knew Him. To gain your own firm witness, a person needs to follow His teachings and prayerfully seek spiritual confirmation.
Our own revelation is important.
Even the witness and testimony of the original Apostles had to be rooted in the testimony of the Holy Ghost. A prophet has told us that the witness of the Holy Ghost makes an impression on our soul that is more significant than “a visitation of an angel” (Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation,). And the Bible shows that when we testify on the basis of this witness, the Holy Ghost testifies to those who hear our words (see Acts 2; 10:44-47)
Our witness of truth grows stronger as the Holy Ghost testifies. Our witness, coupled with the Holy Ghost, can change lives for the better.
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