In the same passage, Jesus commends Peter for being open to the Holy Spirit and rebukes him for supporting Satan:
“When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” 20 Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
21 From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
22 Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”
23 Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” Matthew 16:13-23
When human concerns go against the concerns of God, they are from Satan.
Mark records the same incident leaving out that Peter’s revelation Jesus was the Messiah, was from the Holy Spirt:
“Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?”
28 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.”
29 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.”
30 Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.
31 He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. 32 He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” Mark 8:27-33
Matthew especially makes it clear that we can hear from the Holy Spirit and then from Satan in the next moment. Peter obviously thought both his statements were his own conclusions. However, we, with the explanation of Jesus, can understand that this was not accurate. Peter’s statements came from completely opposite sources.
How does this apply to us?
First, we must realize that no one person is right all the time. If we know a person is led by God, we can know that they are more apt to be wise in what they say and do. But not always. We should pray and seek truth for ourselves. We can know that a person who does and speaks evil is usually wrong and evil in what they say. But even the devil speaks the truth when it suits his purpose. It is important to know when truth ends and lies begin, or even the premise could be wrong. It is easy to be deceived; we have a tendency to believe what we hear.
Second, we must realize that we do not always speak and know the truth. “Blessed are the poor in spirit…” Matthew 5:3 means that those who are blessed are those who rely on Jesus because they know they could easily make a mistake. We all make many mistakes, but God can use those mistakes to make us wiser – “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28. We should learn from other’s mistakes and not make the same mistake over and over. We should not condemn ourselves when we do make a mistake or even sin. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9
Another thing we can do is ask forgiveness for what do not realize we are doing wrong:
“Who can discern his errors? Forgive my hidden faults.” Psalm 19:12
All truth and wisdom come from God and all deception and evil come from Satan. We should pray that God will give us discernment. Discernment is extremely important so we will not deceive ourselves or those who hear see and hear us.
The most important thing we can do to acquire discernment is to know God. Paul prays for believers:
“And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ – to the glory and praise of God.” Philippians 1:9-11
“God is love”:
“…God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sin.” 1 John 4:8-10
“…God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.” 1 John 4:16
God’s love is a sacrificial love based on what is good for the other person. When our actions and speech are based on wanting what is best for others, we are showing God’s love.
When Paul prays that our “love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight” he is praying that we become more and more like Jesus who is “in very nature God…” Philippians 2:6
Having discernment can often be based on what we know from the Bible is God’s will, but sometimes we don’t understood. When Peter rebuked Jesus, his motives were possibly because of his love for Jesus. But he was wrong in his rebuke. Peter going against what Jesus says would be wrong even if it didn’t make sense. Peter would come to realize that Jesus is always right when he fully understood who Jesus is. We can learn from Peter’s mistake that Jesus is always right.
We can know what Jesus thinks about every situation by asking for His wisdom which He promises to give:
“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. 6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.” James 1:5-8
The requirements for receiving wisdom is to believe in Jesus and believe what He says when He gives us wisdom.
Sometimes God’s will is not clear, Because God’s word is alive, it can have new meaning at a particular moment. For instance, I used to give milk from our cow to other Christians. Jim would take the jars to people on the way to work. I was complaining to God that sometimes we wouldn’t get back our jars (maybe they didn’t appreciate the milk), or that people were spending their money foolishly. I knew I shouldn’t judge how others spent money, but it was hard not to when I was giving them something. The Lord said to me, “The integrity of the upright will guide them…” Proverbs 11:3. The thought came to me to charge for my milk. I decided to charge a few cents more than the store (although they soon raised their price) because I considered my milk more valuable. When I started doing this our cow stopped producing as much milk. Our neighbor bought a little milk (I could deliver it) and one man bought the rest (Jim didn’t have to go out of his way much).
Jim drove the church bus to pick up people for church and for youth trips into the city for conferences, roller skating, etc. Another church member, a mechanic, kept the bus repaired, and Jim paid for gas. Sometime later Jim told me that he couldn’t afford the gas for the bus if it weren’t for the money we made from selling milk. I was thankful that I was doing God’s will; it validated what God had said to me.
Several times God has spoken to me directly from His word. Many times I know wisdom from people’s experiences that He relates in the Bible. Sometimes I know wisdom from the advice of another person.
Knowing God is a growing experience. Why would Paul pray, “that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight” if God expected us to already know everything?
We can think God’s thoughts or speak God’s words one minute and think Satan’s thoughts or speak Satan’s words the next minute. We need grace for ourselves and others. We should also have the discernment and wisdom to know the difference between God’s voice and Satan’s:
“My son, pay attention to what I say; listen closely to my words. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; for they are life to those who find them and health to a man’s whole body. Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” Proverbs 4:20-23