Simon Peter answered and said, “You
are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Matthew 16:16
“Denotation” and “Connotation”: Two words that are throw-backs to high school English class. The first is the dictionary meaning of a word, and the second is what it means to the people who hear it.
Technically, the word “Christ” means “anointed one.” It could refer to any prophet, priest, or king who had oil poured on him, but it especially referred to the Jewish Messiah who held all three of these positions.
When Jesus asked His disciples who they thought He was, Simon Peter just blurted it out, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” Peter wasn’t giving the theoretical or politically correct definition of Christ; he was calling it as he saw it.
The Lord Jesus is the one and only Son of the living God, yet He adopts people into His family to make them children of God. It is hard to understand why, but faith accepts it as a miracle of love and grace.
C.S. Lewis once said, “The Son of God became a man to enable men to become sons of God.” What does that mean, exactly? Each word can be defined and analyzed, but that is no guarantee that someone will really understand what a new relationship with God is all about.
When I was a boy, I heard a Scottish preacher explain it this way: “It’s better felt than telt.” That nails it! Knowing Christ through experience by far surpasses knowing about Him in theory.
Christ came into this world to save sinners, and this only happens when people encounter Christ and experience Him to be the Son of the Living God.
August 27
