Timeless Truths: What Christians believe about… #2-The Church (Part 2)
10. What Christians believe about… #2-The Church (Part 2)
March 17, 2016
All Scripture quotations are from the NIV.
13 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.” (Matthew 16:13-19)
Matthew 16:18 is Jesus’ promise to build His church on “this rock.” Debate abounds over what “this rock” refers to. For the purpose of this study, “this rock” refers to Peter’s answer in verse 16 where he proclaims Jesus to be not only the Messiah but also “the Son of the living God.”
Since Jesus is omniscient, He had to know of the role Peter would play when he told him to be part of the building of His church. He also provides Peter with a resource, “the keys of the kingdom of heaven.” That resource is available to Christians today.
23 …Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 25 …Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. (Ephesians 23, 25-27)
In Ephesians 5, Paul describes the relationship between Christ and His church as similar to that between a husband and wife. Christ is the Head of the church. [husband in the analogy]. We are the body of the church [wife in the analogy]. Notice the reference to Scripture as essential to being a radiant church.
We end this blog post by returning to Luke’s words about “everyone” being unified.
All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. (Acts 4:32)
This is the model—the ideal. If you keep reading in Acts, you’ll find that all the believers weren’t saints. There were saints and aints in the same church! Each group had a different definition of “church.” Nevertheless, as Christ told Peter, “and the gates of Hades will not overcome it [the church].” And they haven’t!
Think of the church today as being a family picture album. We hand our album to those around our neighborhood and the world to emphasize the difference God has made in our lives. We invite everyone to become part of our family—a group of wonderful saints.
When their picture is added to the album, they become part of “a radiant church” and begin sharing the album with others. That’s how the church and God’s kingdom grow.
Thanks to Rev. Scott Peterson for the central teachings used in this blog.
Next Thursday's Timeless Truths Series: What Christians believe about… #2-Atonement
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