Lord and master over against me
Brother beside me
Bread and wine in me
Body of fellowship around me
Neighbour in need appealing to me
The way to life before me
Fulfilment and salvation awaiting me.

Rev Willemine van Veen-de Graeff, The Netherlands

The World Alliance of Reformed Churches will hold its 22nd general council in August 1989, in Seoul, Korea. From across the world representatives from our one hundred sixty four member churches (70 million Christians) will gather to consider crucial issues of faith and life that face the Christian and world community. The aim of the general council will be to seek out ways in which the Reformed family of churches can be more faithful in its witness through solidarity to Jesus Christ and to each other. The theme chosen for the council is Jesus' question, "Who do you say that I am?".

You are invited to share in study and prayer on our general council theme. Necessarily the number of persons delegated to the council will be limited, but Reformed Christians and churches across the world can use this occasion to explore in their own contexts what it means to confess Jesus Christ and to engage in witnessing in his name. Thus the purpose of these Bible studies goes far beyond preparation for the council; the purpose is to assist the Alliance's member churches to consider their response to Jesus' question, "Who do you say that I am?".

The Bible studies in this booklet are written by women and men representing different contexts throughout the world. Each of the writers is from a church with membership in the World Alliance of Reformed Churches: Elizabeth Moltmann, Federal Republic of Germany; Hee-Suk Moon, Korea; Ofelia Ortega, Cuba; James Van Hoeven, USA; Joon Suh Park, Korea; and Saindi Chiphangwi, Malawi. The executive committee of the Alliance is grateful to these writers for their contribution.

The theme chosen for the council is a direct quotation from all three of the synoptic gospels (Mt 16.15; Mk 8.29; Lk 9.20). It is the crucial question Jesus asked his disciples at a critical turning point in his life. In each of the gospels, Jesus' question is immediately followed by the announcement of his passion and the summons to the disciples to follow him on the way to the cross (Mt 16. 21f; Mk 8.31; Lk 9.22). It is important that Jesus' question be placed within the whole of this passage. Indeed, it can be said that the fundamental answer to Jesus' question is not so much Peter's confession, "You are the Christ". Rather, it has to do with the relation between that confession and the shocking new revelation that the messiah and his church must suffer.

Jesus' disturbing new teaching concerning his way to the cross provides the framework for the Bible studies in this booklet. Thus the studies are not simply interpretations of Peter's confession from different angles of vision. Rather, the attempt is to examine some other gospel texts in light of the full meaning of this passage. First, however, it is necessary to study the "great" confession itself, and point to some of its implications for our faith and witness.