The name "Simon," and this phrase, "whose surname is called Peter," is found some six times in the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. But "Cephas," this name, is found only in Paul's epistles, and John 1:42:
"...And when Jesus beheld him, He said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone."
Having established that Peter's name was to be changed to Cephas, we can now consider the subject before us, "Cephas" and Paul's Gospel. Thus it is essential that we realize that when Paul speaks of Cephas in his epistle to the Galatians, he is actually referring to the Apostle Peter:
"And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision" (Galatians 2:9).
This is most significant because, although our Lord had changed Peter's name to Cephas, he is referred to as "Simon Peter" some nineteen times in the Gospels. However, it is also interesting to note that the Apostle Paul refers to Peter as Cephas four times in First Corinthians (ICorinthians 1:12; 3:22; 9:5; 15:5). And these are the only passages where this name Cephas is found. But what's more interesting about the gospel that Paul preached is that in the context of I Corinthians 15:3,4, the Apostle of the Circumcision, "Cephas" (ICorinthians15:5), had come to understand that salvation today is "through faith" in Christ's shed blood -- Romans 3:25; I Peter 1:18,19. In early Acts, Peter had only preached the resurrection of Christ to sit upon the throne of David's prophesied kingdom (Acts 2:25-31). He did not know what the crucifixion of Jesus Christ had accomplished (Luke 18:34). There he only knew that "by wicked hands [Israel] had crucified and slain" the Son of God (Acts 2:23). Even as late as his visit to see Cornelius in Acts 10, the Apostle Peter had not understood the preaching of the cross. It is through Paul's Gospel that Peter came to see what the finished work of Christ actually accomplished, and through this knowledge he became a stalwart for the truth. And this is why he is called Cephas in Paul's epistles, a "PILLAR" for the truth of God's Word "rightly divided."
According to the Apostle Paul then, Peter and all believers, Jews or Gentiles, are instructed to leave the so-called Great Commission with its repentance and water baptism, and come on unto "perfection" through the Pauline revelation (Hebrews 6:1,2). And having seen this, Peter obeyed, and gave to Paul and Barnabas "the right hands of fellowship" (Galatians 2:9). Again Peter's own words later written in his first epistle:
"For as much as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with THE PRECIOUS BLOOD OF CHRIST, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot" (I Peter 1:18,19).
Again, in the context of I Corinthians 15:3,4, Paul goes on to say: "Therefore whether it were I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed" (ICorinthians 15:11). In Acts 15:7-11 Peter had declared that Jews are saved exactly the same way Gentiles are saved today. No longer does the law, nor repentance and water baptism save.
Would to God that all our Baptist friends would come to see the truth of the Mystery as Peter had. These are not the words of Paul and Silas in Acts 16:31, but Peter's own inspired words, to his own countrymen at that Jerusalem Council:
"BUT WE BELIEVE THAT THROUGH THE GRACE OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST WE SHALL BE SAVED, EVEN AS THEY" (Acts 15:11).
Paul not only "received" this Gospel from the Lord Jesus, but he also "delivered" that same Gospel, which he had "received" to the Corinthians.
"Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you... For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that CHRIST DIED FOR OUR SINS ACCORDING TO THE SCRIPTURES; And that He was buried, and that He ROSE AGAIN the third day ACCORDING TO THE SCRIPTURES" (ICorinthians 15:3,4).
And this, beloved, is consistent with the Apostle Paul's words in Romans 16:25,26, that Christ's death, burial, and resurrection (ICor.15:3,4) was "according to his gospel, AND THE PREACHING OF JESUS CHRIST, ACCORDING TO THE REVELATION OF THE MYSTERY, WHICH WAS KEPT SECRET SINCE THE WORLD BEGAN, But now is made manifest, AND BY THE SCRIPTURES OF THE PROPHETS, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to ALL NATIONS for the obedience of faith" (Romans 16:25,26).
This also explains how John 3:14-16 is so greatly used of God today. Peter and John had both come to see "the grace that was given" to the Apostle Paul in all the types and shadows of Calvary's cross (Galatians 2:7-9; II Peter 3:15-18; I John 1:7).
"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: THAT WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH IN HIM SHOULD NOT PERISH, BUT HAVE ETERNAL LIFE. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that WHOSOEVER believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:14-16).
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How God Saves Men
Believing Christ DIED, that’s HISTORY.
Believing Christ DIED for YOU SINS and Rose again that’s SALVATION.
Read Romans 1:16, Romans 10:9-10 and 1. Corinthians 15:1-4
Believing Christ DIED, that’s HISTORY.
Believing Christ DIED for YOU SINS and Rose again that’s SALVATION.
Read Romans 1:16, Romans 10:9-10 and 1. Corinthians 15:1-4
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