"The Gospel is the fulfillment of all hopes, the perfection of all philosophy, the interpreter of all revelations, and a key to all the seeming contradictions of truth in the physical and moral world."
Peter's Character.
Many years have passed since Peter met Jesus, and was told that he should be called "Cephas which is by interpretation, a Stone." Little did Peter realize then, why the Lord desired to have this fisherman's character become as a rock. Little did he realize what mighty responsibility his Master desired to place upon him. But the years that have intervened have been filled with wonderful experiences, all of which tended to make Peter not only the Rock-man Christ had desired him to become, but the great leader and chief apostle in the Church of Christ.
Fearlessness, faithfulness, prayerfulness, humility, and an untiring zeal in his efforts to instruct and to bless the people are traits of Peter's character that shine out in his life.
We should be reminded, however, that this rock character was not formed all at once. It grew gradually. You remember how Jesus, watching its formation, reproved Peter's weaknesses, commended his strength, and encouraged him, time after time, to remain true to the work as a "fisher of men."
A "Fisher of Men."
We have now reached that period in his life when this man who at one time pulled nets full of fishes from the sea of Galilee can look back over his years of ministry and see numberless nets full of men, women, and children drawn from the sea of ignorance and sin and put safely in the Church of Christ.
There was this difference, however, between the results of his fishing for fish and his fishing for men: The fish he dragged from the element of life to physical death; the men he drew from the element of death to eternal life.
For five years after his deliverance from the third imprisonment, Peter continued his visits from city to city, province to province, preaching the Word of the Lord. During many of these travels, he was, undoubtedly, accompanied by his faithful wife.
Opened Door to Gentiles.