And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 16:17
Jesus said to Peter, “Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you.” You didn’t work this out for yourself. And you didn’t get this faith from someone else.
As you think about your own journey to faith, if you are a believer, you will be able to think of people who helped you along the way. Maybe your mom played a role in you coming to faith, or your dad. Maybe a close friend in college or later in life encouraged you to open the Bible. God works through means—moms and dads, churches and friends, and He even uses strangers.
But here is what you need to remember: however great the influence of your mother, father, church, or friend in your coming to faith, you did not get your faith from your mother, father, church, or friend. Flesh and blood did not reveal Jesus to you.
Then who did? Jesus said, “My Father who is in heaven” (16:17). Yes, your mother taught you, or your friend helped you, but God opened your eyes. God caused your dead soul to live, and He gave you a heart that loves and trusts Him.
Here is the faith we confess: Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; faith is a believing response to Jesus; and this faith is a gift from God (Eph. 2:8). Will you confess faith in Jesus today?
If you are a Christian believer, what “means” did God use to bring you to faith? If you are not yet a Christian, who is He using to open your eyes to Jesus Christ?
