Month: June 2016

In Matthew 16.15-18 Jesus engaged his disciples in a discussion of his identity. But as his response to their confession that he was the Son of God, he turned the conversation to a Bible truth of fundamental importance – both then and now: “… on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (16.18)

In Part 1 we noted several metaphors from scripture that give us some sense of what this church really is. In Part 2 we noted how the church is discussed in the Bible in a universal sense – that is, all the people in the world who are or ever have been faithful disciples. In this Part 3 we will consider the other sense in which the church is described in the New Testament – the local church – that is, a congregation of individuals that meets in one location.

A local church or congregation is what Paul referred to when he wrote to the Romans that “all the churches of Christ greet you” (Romans 16.16) – several different local churches in various places. He also wrote to the Corinthians explaining that certain brothers were “messengers of the churches” (2 Corinthians 8.23). Paul also used the term “church” in this way when he wrote to the Galatians that he “was still unknown in person to the churches of Judea that are in Christ.” (Galatians 1.22). Clearly Paul was referring to local churches of Christians in certain locations – not the entire body of all the saved people everywhere in the world. Continue reading “The church that Jesus built – Part 3”

The Bible tells us that Jesus came to the earth to establish His church. Matthew records an occasion when Jesus was questioning his disciples, and he asked them who people thought he (Jesus) was. After a couple of erroneous answers. Jesus asked the disciples:

And he said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Simon Peter replied, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ And Jesus answered him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.’ – Matthew 16.15-18

Some people believe the church was established because Jesus failed in His mission to establish His kingdom. But the Bible says that the kingdom and the church are the same thing – and that Jesus established His kingdom on earth, exactly as God had planned. Jesus’ plan was to build His church – a church that belongs to him. And he built this church on the foundational fact that Peter confessed: Jesus the Christ is the Son of God!

Continue reading “The church in God’s eternal purpose”

In Matthew 16.15-18 Jesus engaged his disciples in a discussion of his identity. But as his response to their confession that he was the Son of God, he turned the conversation to a Bible truth of fundamental importance – both then and now:

… on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. – Matthew 16.18

In Part 1 we noted several metaphors from scripture that give us some sense of what this church really is. We noted that the Greek word ekklesia means “assembly” – so the church is a gathering of people. It is not a church building, or an institution, or an organization. The church is people.

In this second part we advance the idea of one of the two senses in which the church is discussed in the Bible. Here we consider the church in the universal sense – that is, when Jesus said he would build his church, he was referring to people who would become his disciples throughout the ages, not limited to a certain location or time. All of these people God would add to the church (Acts 2.47), in all places, throughout all time. The Hebrew writer talks about church as a kingdom that cannot shaken, writing this:

But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. – Hebrews 12.22-24

Continue reading “The church that Jesus built – Part 2”

In Matthew 16.15-18 Jesus engaged his disciples in a discussion of his identity. But as his response to their confession that he was the Son of God, he turned the conversation to a Bible truth of fundamental importance – both then and now:

… on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. – Matthew 16.18

Jesus’ statement was a confession on his part – a confession of his mission in coming to earth. It was to “build his church.” As the passage in Matthew reveals, the foundation of this church is the deity of Jesus – that he is the Son of God. (Contrary to some teaching, Jesus did not build the church “on Peter,” but rather, on Peter’s confession of Jesus’ true identity.) Jesus is the cornerstone of the church (Ephesians 5.21) – the apostles merely built onto the church that Jesus established (Ephesians 2.20). But there remain some important questions: What is the church? Who is part of it? How does one gain entry? And many others. Continue reading “The church that Jesus built”