Thursday, July 14, 2011

I Will Build My Church!, Part 2

Several weeks ago we examined Peter’s confession of Christ in Matthew 16. When Jesus questioned His disciples about the community’s perspective of Himself, they responded that the people saw Jesus as nothing more than a great teacher or prophet.

But it is Peter’s confession that changed the entire conversation. Peter said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!” (Matthew 16:16). Jesus commended Peter on his confession and explained how a new program would be built on that confession: the church!

“…upon this rock [this confession of Jesus as the Messiah] I will build My church” Matthew 16:18.

We looked at the first two words of Jesus statement last time. Let’s look at the two more. The third word is build. The building of the church is a process which will take place over time. Christ is still building His church until He comes again for the saints. The church is an organism as much as it is an organization. The church has leadership, committees, strategies, and ministries. But more importantly, it is an organism. It breathes, pulsates, and moves. It is fluid and dynamic. It grows and changes in response to the power of the Holy Spirit.

The fourth word is My. This first person possessive pronoun asserts ownership and authority. There are several analogies in the Bible to describe Jesus’ position in the church. He is the Author and Finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). He is the cornerstone (1 Peter 2:6). He is the Head of the church (Colossians 1:18; Ephesians 1:22, 23). The church originated with Christ and belongs to Him. Not to anyone else!

Let us keep Christ at the center of everything we do!

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