“And I say unto thee, that thou art Simon Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
A lot of people have given up on the church. There are many reasons why this is so, and some of them might be valid if the church was just a human institution. We need to take another look at “church” and see why it is important. In the text above Jesus asked His disciples who they thought He was. Peter answered, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus told Peter that the heavenly Father gave him the answer. Then he made this great declaration concerning His church:“Upon this rock I will build my church.” This verse gives us the answer to “what is the church?” It is Christ’s church! He said “I will build my church.” Christ’s church is not a building, it is not a club, it is not merely an organization. Christ’s church is a living body – an organism made up of the people of God. We are in the habit of referring to the church we attend as “our church.” That is understandable in a way, but if it is indeed ours, it is not what Christ intended it to be. The church does not belong to us, it belongs to Jesus. Jesus gave His life for His church: “Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to feed the church of God, whichHe has purchased with His own blood.” In Acts 2, on the Day of Pentecost, Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to His church. He has promised to never leave or forsake His church. It is the only institution, if that is the right word, that Jesus is using to fulfill His kingdom’s work. There are a lot of good organizations doing good work in this world, but they cannot take the place of Christ’s church. Remember Jesus said, “I will build MY church.” Christ’s church is comprised of imperfect human beings. Jesus said, “Thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build my church.” Jesus was referring to Peter’s profession of faith. Christ’s church is built upon the faith of imperfect people like Peter and like you and me. When I was a young pastor, I wanted to find the perfect church, where I would be a perfect fit. But the Lord convinced me that if I found the perfect church I could not join it, because if I joined it, it would not be perfect anymore. As imperfect as we are, we are His church. As already written, Christ’s church is built upon our faith. It is also built upon our service, our dedication, our prayers, our willingness to witness and to be the arms, legs and mouths of Jesus. The churches to which we belong will be as effective as we allow the Holy Spirit to use us to make it. The church is not ours, but it is comprised of us. (I know, bad grammar.) Thank God, it is not us alone. Jesus is present with us and His Spirit urges us on, but He calls us to His work and if we don’t get it done, it will either not get done, or He will use someone else to get it done. Jesus said:“and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it (His church).” Make no mistake, local churches do die, because they become clubs where people meet with their friends, not organisms, where the people of God are in fellowship (partnership) with each other. But the church as the “body of Christ” cannot be destroyed. If Christ’s church could be killed, the devil would have killed it a long time ago. The church cannot be destroyed because it belongs to Jesus Christ, who defeated death, hell and the grave to establish it. Whatever church you are in, it is Christ’s church. Keep this in mind as you conduct His church’s business. Bro. Joe
0 Comments
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
All
Archives
September 2021
|