of God and King of Israel, then the Lord had attested to the truth of these testimonies by His wonderful words and works. He has now come to a new period in His manifestation. He must begin to break to them the tidings of suffering and death: the Shadow of the Coming Cross must fall upon the little flock. Preparatory to this, He desires to fix upon their minds the fact of His Mes- siahship afresh, so He propounds the question to them which brings from Peter that heaven-born answer, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." The world has its own opinion of the Man of Galilee: with some He is a John, with others an Elias, with oth- ers a Great Prophet or Teacher, but it is of more importance to Christ to know what His own followers have to say of Him. "But ye, whom say ye that I am?" The response of Christ to this startling confession was as remarkable as the confession. Peter had honored • His Lord with a clear-cut confession of His faith, and His Lord now honors him with an honor never before con- ferred upon man, He gave unto him the keys of the kingdom. The Lord did not give Peter place for self glory however; He humbled him there, also: Peter, you have not been able to say this through any human wisdom; this is no clear guess of yours, Peter; you were given this answer by my Father in heaven. The scene is remarkable and well worth studying. The lesson that comes to us is well worth remembering. What tes- timony do we bear to the world con- cerning Himself? This is what He wants to know. Only real fellowship with the Father will enable us to bear witness to the sacred truth of His Lord- ship, for no man can say that Jesus is the Lord but by the Holy Ghost. Thanks be unto God, every believer can bear this testimony, if he will, to the Lord- ship of Christ. Will it not be true, that in some way, if we are faithful to this testimony, there will be put into our hands keys that will unlock the mysteries of God, keys that will enable us to enter doors where we will find richest stores of heavenly grace? That was a gala day for Peter and the disciples! LESSON 8 November 24, ISM2 Golden Text—Luke 9:35 In our last lesson we had the con- fession of Peter to Christ's Messiah- ship; in this lesson we have the testi- mony of the Father, uttered in the
heavens. "This is my beloved Son, hear ye Him." At the Transfiguration scene the disciples were in danger of associ- ating Moses and Elijah on terms of equality with the Lord Himself. God differentiates Him from even the great- est of the prophets. It is well worth noting that this abrupt termination of Peter's proposal for tabernacles for three is designed by Almighty God to set at rest forever the place accorded in heaven to His beloved S'on. In times past God spake unto the fathers through the prophets, but in these last days by His Son. Three times God spake from heaven witnessing to the Sonship of Christ. Matt. 3:17, 17:5; Jno. 12:28. Moses and Elijah were brought from heaven to this scene in order that God might forever set at rest the fact of the infallibility of the Scriptures. God says, "This is My Son, hear Him," and we have His Son. Be- ginning at Moses and all the prophets He expounded unto them, in all the Scriptures, the things concerning Him- self. On the Mount Jesus is the central figure, in all Scripture He is the central figure, and the command from heaven , is "Hear ye Him." The Son of God has a message for the souls of men; He will answer every question, He will solve every problem of your life. This message will be in exact accord with all of the messages given by Moses and Elijah. It will be in exact accord with the will of the Father. "But as my Father hath taught me, I speak." Jno. 8:28. "This commandment I re- ceived of my Father," Jno. 10:18. His words will be authoritative. "My doctrine is not Mine but His that sent Me." Jno. 7.16. To the paralytic He said, "Arise, take up thy bed and walk." Jno. 5:8. To the leper, "I will, be thou clean." Mark 1:40. To the demons, "Come out of him." To the waves, "Peace, be still." To Lazarus, "Come forth." They will be words of wisdom. "And all that heard Him were astonished at His understanding and wisdom." Luke 2:47. They will be words of warning. Read Mark 10:23-27 and Luke 17:22-37. They will be gracious words. "And all bare Him witness and wondered at the gracious words which proceedeth out of His mouth." Luke 4:22. "Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest." Matt. 11:2 8. Hear Him in His last recorded words, "Surely, I come quickly. Amen." Rev. 22:20.
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