Revelation and Sacrifice

Revelation and Sacrifice

“And Simon Peter answered and said, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. . . . And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.’”

Here we see the great importance of having revelation. Jesus said to Simon, “Blessed are you.” There is a big difference between hearing someone relate something which he himself has seen and heard and listening to someone who is repeating what others have seen and heard. It is safe to say that the other apostles also believed, but they were not as enthusiastic as Simon, the one who had seen and heard it himself. In all probability they became enthusiastic afterwards.

Jesus said, “And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven.” When those who stand in the Lord’s secret counsel themselves see and hear His Word and then proclaim His Word, it is just as if they open a door to the listeners. Jer. 23:18. Either the listeners rejoice and enter through the door, or they harden themselves and remain outside. The words of those who see and hear are spirit, and they are life. John 6:63. When they speak, they cause division. We read about Jesus that there was division because of the words Jesus spoke. John 7:12, 43, 10:19. He was destined for the fall and rising of many. Luke 2:34.

The words of those who have not seen or heard cannot cause this division between the upright and those who are not upright. Therefore they sit together in religious assemblies and listen to all kinds of preachers. Some of them are more or less zealous for what is right and good, others live in sin. Some of those in the assembly long for victory over sin; others are indifferent as long as they can believe in the forgiveness of their sins. But as soon as a man of the Spirit comes, who stands in the secret counsels of the Lord, he causes a stir in the assembly. Then the door is opened to those who yearn for an overcoming life, and the others harden themselves. They will no longer sit together. What fellowship does light have with darkness, and what part has a believer with an unbeliever? 2 Cor. 6:14-17.

Those who do not have personal revelations do not have these keys, even though they can speak very well and correctly, but they can draw people to those who have these keys. In this sense they can perform a great work because they believe in what has been proclaimed to them. John 4:42.

“Then he said, ‘The God of our fathers has chosen you that you should know His will, and see the Just One, and hear the voice of His mouth. For you will be His witness to all men of what you have seen and heard.” Acts 22:14-15.

It was Paul who experienced this, and he had keys. His words were extremely effective. Not only that, he also got to see all his own greatness and everything that was gain to him, as dung, counting it as loss. Phil. 3:7-8. We can ask: How much did Paul have to sacrifice? He had to sacrifice dung and loss. Was that actually such a great sacrifice? Those who have not received revelation and have not seen the glory of Christ see themselves and all earthly things as great. They speak about sacrifice when they have to lose some of their honor and earthly possessions for the sake of their Christian faith. However, it was no sacrifice at all for Paul who had seen the Just One. To him it was dung and loss; it was liberating to be rid of it. In Romans 12:1 he teaches us the true meaning of sacrifice. It means to give your body to God—a body that has been redeemed from serving sin, a body that is holy.

This is how Jesus came to His heavenly Father: “A body You have prepared for Me to do Your will, O God.” Heb. 10:5-7. Everything else, whatever you have and can be, is pure trash. This is the reality for those who have seen the Just One.