Who Do You Say I Am?

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Who Do You Say I Am?

He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? Matthew 16:15 

Who Was Jesus To His Disciples?

Who do you say I Am?

When Jesus asked His disciples this question, the Spirit-led answer Peter gave was, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God. (Matthew 16:16 KJV). The disciples had enjoyed a closer walk with Jesus for three years and had come to know Him intimately and intuitively. Intimately because when Holy Spirit came to live in them to lead them through life and ministry at Pentecost/Shavuot, they were able to recognize Him and easily discern that the Spirit which lived in them was the Spirit of the Lord Himself, allos, the same as the Lord, of whom they had detailed knowledge, and whom they had come to know from spending time with Him every day in a close and personal way. The disciples also knew Jesus intuitively because they knew by the witness of the Spirit in them that Jesus was the promised Messiah of God, the Son of the Living God; their Friend who sticks closer than a brother who came to give them Eternal Life in Him.

 Who Does Jesus Say He Is? 

Who does Jesus say He is?

Jesus says He is the Christ, your Saviour; that He is your Redeemer, your strength and your Deliverer; He is the Son of the Living God, the Darling of Heaven, and the hope of glory in you. 

To whom God would make known the riches of the glory of the mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: whereunto I also labour, striving according to His working, which worketh in me mightily.  Colossians 1:27-29

We cannot come to know who Jesus wants to be known as apart from the revelation of the Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit reveals Jesus to our hearts. Holy Spirit builds deeper relationships with Jesus in us where Deep calls unto deep; where we, the deep respond with complete abandon and trust to The Deep, Father God. 

What Does Intimacy With Jesus Look Like? 

Jesus wants us to come to the point (as Holy Spirit conforms us from the inside out into more of the image of Christ) where we have intimacy with Him in every area of our lives. 

1) Emotional Intimacy with Jesus is when you come to the place where you feel safe with Jesus. As the human species, we were designed for intimacy. But to get to that point where we can truly trust another person with our fears, dreams, hopes, and with the secrets of our hearts without feeling judged or condemned takes time, effort and discernment. If we are wise, we will not seek intimacy with those who show us contempt, who try to impede our progress in life, who try to make us look and feel stupid, or who think it amusing to embarrass us, making us feel awkward, self-conscious or ashamed, or who belittle us. 

Jesus is probably the safest landing place for any Believer. People you love will disappoint you, reject you or even betray you, but Christ will never leave you, forsake you, belittle you, ridicule you or spread malicious gossip behind your back. You can rest assured that Jesus always has your back! Jesus never belittled His disciples. They felt safe with Jesus. They knew He cared deeply for them and that He loved them until the end. 

Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour was come that He should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved His own which were in the world, He loved them unto the end.  John 13:1

Intimacy with Jesus is His will for each one of us. The disciples knew Jesus intimately because He never hesitated in sharing His heart with His disciples. 

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life— I John 1:1

He told them about the Father whom He loved and who loved them. 

Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My

Word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.  John 14:23

The disciples possessed intimate knowledge that God had a good plan for each of their lives, that they could trust Him to fulfill those plans in spite of adverse conditions or persons. 

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11

True emotional intimacy is knowing the other person is listening to understand you and not merely waiting to correct you. It is knowing that when, like Peter, you are sinking, that they will always reach out a helping hand to you; that when you feel scared, you can run to them for safety, validation and emotional support. Jesus can be all that to you if you will let Him. 

2) We also need Intellectual Intimacy in life where we will have no fear of rejection, conflict, jealousy or hurt ego's when we share our opinions, ethics and differences. Finding relationships where you are respected for who you are are relationships that should be treated as special treasures! Everyone is not interested in your opinion. Many will become defensive or angry when you do express what you feel. You may have the same reaction, too. But if you are someone who is secure enough in who you are in Christ Jesus, then you will not be easily moved to anger or swayed by another's opinion. 

Jesus is that way. He is never shocked by our beliefs, hang-up's, pet hates or opinions! You will not hear Him arguing with you during your Quiet Time. But in time, if you let Him, He can change even your worldly ideology or stinking-thinking! 

For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

Philippians 2:13 

3) Experiential Intimacy is the part of our Journey With Jesus that is full of adventure and shared experiences which draw us closer to Him. The disciples saw God's love in action through the works, miracles, signs and wonders Jesus performed here on earth and later through the power of the Holy Spirit at work through their own lives. They came to know intimately what pleases God and what does not. The disciples trusted their all in God. They gave the Holy Spirit the leeway to plan their route and so could enjoy the Journey and the destinations and victories with Jesus. 

The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, And He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; For the Lord upholds him with His hand.

Psalms 37:23‭-‬24

Every problem we have overcome, every mountain we have climbed that seemed too high, and every battle we have won and every good work we have performed with Jesus enriches our Experiential Intimacy with Him. And no one can take away those intimate experiences we know we have shared with Him. They are as much a part of who we are as our very bodies.

4) Lastly, Spiritual Intimacy defines those special moments in the Presence of God which we will trade for nothing else on this earth! Praying in the Spirit, worshipping God, having our understanding enlightened through His Word, and having our faith built up from weak to unshakeable, are sweet moments of fellowship to be treasured forever! 

God loves spending time with us as much, if not more, than we do. He always shows up when we make time to Be with Him. The disciples shared so many deep spiritual moments with Jesus, such as worshipping God the Father together with Jesus. 

And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Mark 14:26

Or when they went on a much-needed vacation with Jesus in a restful place.

And He said to them, "Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while." For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat. So they departed to a deserted place in the boat by themselves. Mark 6:31-32.

We, too, can enjoy special moments with God, following His guidance, reading our Bibles together with Him, praying with the Holy Spirit and making melody in our hearts to the Lord! 

Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.  Romans 8:26 

But be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, Ephesians 5:18‭-‬19 

So Who Do You Say I Am? 

So who do you say Jesus is to you today?

Is He Lord over all your life, or is He only Lord sometimes, on weekends, or when you are in trouble? Is Jesus everything to you, or do you have a constant battle with keeping Him First Place over all the delicious things life and the world parades before your eyes? 

Who do you say Jesus is? Who is Jesus to you? 

I would suggest that you do as Peter did and listen in your spirit to what the Spirit is saying. Peter knew by the revelation of the Holy Spirit who Jesus is supposed to be to them. Listen as the Spirit leads you, too, to an understanding of who Jesus is to you. 

So who do you say I Am? Jesus asks today.

May we all respond by grace through faith, 

You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God, and there is none other. I am Yours, and You are mine!

Meaghan Spies © 2022