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he Training Of Peter Part II
by
A K Whitehead
March 24, 2006
(It will continue to be useful to have a copy of the
Bible handy for this article.)
If the Holy Spirit is to teach and train us we need to learn to be still
before God. When we hear, we need to be able to accept what he tells us.
It may not always be as difficult for us as for Peter as a lifelong Jew,
but there will be difficulties. This will not be attained without:
4. TOTAL COMMITMENT "Commitment" does not sound too bad, but "total"?
Peter was shown that he must be totally committed, not just to Jesus as
the Christ, but also to his fellow Christians. We have few details of
how that very first Christian community came into being in Jerusalem,
but Luke was "gob smacked" by it (for the uninitiated, a memorable
Yorkshire phrase). So much so that he tells us about it twice (Acts 2.
44 - 47 and 4. 32 - 35). Peter must have been important in its
development (although its leader was James, known as "the brother of the
Lord"). They worshipped together (making full use of the Temple), they
shared all their goods and the better off supplied the needs of the
poorer members. Through his commitment to it, Peter came to know the
importance of what he later referred to as "living stones" (1 Peter 2.
4, 5). We know we have to be that if we are to live and work together
for the kingdom.
Peter was to be a rock in its foundation. He really was already a rock
-- but a rock in his own nature, and that was an obstacle to God's work.
He had to be, as it were, melted down and then reformed. Yes, a very
painful process.
But it was mitigated for Peter, as it will be for us, through the
growing realisation of how beautiful Jesus really is. He experience
something of that at the Transfiguration (Mark 9. 2 - 13 but also ask
yourself about verse 15). It was what allowed him to take the rebuke
from Jesus that he was an ally of Satan (Matthew 16. 23). Yet, once we
realise something of that beauty, we cannot wait for God to change us
into something nearer himself.
5. DISCIPLINE OF THE TONGUE In the earlier days God was always having to
interrupt Peter. As example:
a. On the Mount of Transfiguration after Moses and Elijah had appeared
with Jesus (Luke 9. 33, 34). Note that it says " While he (Peter) was
still speaking). When we do not know what we are saying, the best thing
is to shut up. But Peter was overawed.
b. In Capernaum over the payment of the temple tax (Matthew 17. 24f).
(This tax derived from Exodus 30. 11 - 16 and was a special voluntary
tax but, before the time of Jesus, it had obeyed the first law of taxes
and had become compulsory!). Peter committed Jesus to paying it, but
Jesus would have claimed exemption because of who he really was.
c. At Cornelius' house in Caesarea, while Peter was still speaking the
Spirit descended on the whole family and household. Peter and his
companions were amazed.
Father, Son and Holy Spirit all intervened at various times to interrupt
Peter in full flow. We must be ready to accept God's interruption to our
words or actions. This is part of our being pure in heart.
6. THE PURE IN HEART The sixth beatitude at Matthew 5. 8 promises the
vision of God to the pure in heart, and Peter was brought to this state.
It is a heart condition which God requires for the fulfillment of his
purposes of grace. Purity of heart simply means a state where there is
no hindrance to seeing and accepting God and his plan for all and for
each of us.
It is a requirement for living in the kingdom while we are here on
earth. It is a present reality for those who can believe that Jesus
brought the kingdom and established it here. It exists wherever the pure
in heart exist, and there is no reason for our not seeing it -- except
the barriers we erect ourselves, in our own thinking and attitudes.
For example, how often do we hear and read other Christians denigrating
their brethren who belong to churches other than their own? Often this
is expressed contemptuously and with less than a modicum of insight but
with pretension. Watchman Nee once said that, to stop us seeing an
object, it is not necessary to put a dirty cloth over it; a clean one
will do just as well. Our attitudes can appear sanitised but if they
denigrate other Christians there is something there which is unclean.
In his first letter (1 Peter 1.13, 14) Peter warns us against
conforming to evil desires and bringing into our present lives the kind
of ignorance we once exhibited. He was moulded by experience and God's
grace to truly be the first among Jesus' disciples. He still made
mistakes -- anyone who is human will. But he could stand to be corrected
for that and to accept the correction. (e.g. Acts 10. 9 - 16 and 17 -
48; 15. 5 - 11; Galatians 2. 11 - 21). It was part of his training, a
training that continued all way the Rome and an inverted cross.
850 Words
This article is copyright but may be reproduced
providing all the information here is included A K Whitehead has
over twenty-three years in Christian healing teaching writing
ministries. Wide range of secular employments before being called by the
Lord into full time independent ministry in 1987. With his wife Iris he
has ministered both in the UK and USA. Has written several books on
healing meditation and various aspects of spirituality. Formal
qualifications include: B.A. M.Phil. Cambridge University Certificate in
Religious Studies Post Grad Cert in Education.
A K Whitehead Web Site:
http://www.christianword.co.uk
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