St. Peter Here Confesses that Our Lord Is
W. Denton, M. A., W. Denton, M. A. Matthew 16:13-17 When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?… I. (1) The Christ — not merely an anointed one, as priests and prophets of old might have been anointed, but that He is the One anointed of God, having received this gift in a super-eminent manner. (2) The Son — not one son merely out of many, but that He was so beyond all others, and in a way which singled Him out from them. Son and only-begotten, not by grace, but of the substance of the Father. (3) The Son of the living God — not of the gods of the heathen world, the object of Gentile idolatry, but the Son of the One living, and true God, who has life in Himself, who is uncreated life — the living life-giving principle to all mankind. (4) That He is Christ and at the same time Son of the living God — in contradistinction to the crowd, who believed Him to be the Baptist, Elias, or one of the prophets; Peter acknowledged Him to be Christ, and the Son of the living God. II. IN THIS CONFESSION THERE ARE INCLUDED THESE. TRUTHS — (1) The nature which Christ took; the human nature, that is, which was anointed or consecrated. (2) The anointing which He received, the fulness of the Holy Spirit, imparted without measure to Christ at His conception. (3) The object of this anointing — that He might be the Christ, the King, the Priest, the Prophet of His people. (W. Denton, M. A.).This truth was not revealed to Peter — (1) By carnal men, nor indeed by men at all, since man cannot of himself make known the things of the Spirit; (2) Through mere carnal reasoning (1 Corinthians 2:11.); (3) Nor was it the revelation of Christ's flesh. It was not merely that Peter had been able to pierce beyond the veil of Christ's human nature, and through that, and by means of that, to understand the Divinity. No. It was the direct act of the Father, by which he was enlightened. (W. Denton, M. A.) Parallel Verses KJV: When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? WEB: Now when Jesus came into the parts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?"