Leson13

Lesson 13.
CHRIST'S TRUE CHURCH

On this rock l will build my church and the gates of Hades' will not overcome it (Matthew 16:18)

Do you belong to this church, which is built on a rock? Are you a member of the only true church? These are serious questions! There are five things in this statement that demand our attention:

1. A building                               "My church"
2. A Builder                                "Christ says, `I will build my church'
3. A foundation                          "On this rock"
4. Perils implied                         "The gates of Hades"
5. Security assured                    The gates of Hades will not over come it

1. The building

This church is not a building; not the Eastern Church or the Anglican church; not the Baptist church nor church of Rome. When Jesus speaks of `My church' he means all true believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, all who are converted and holy people. He means all who have been born again, who have repented of sin and are being sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
All such, of every nation, people, language, tribe and class compose the true and living church of Christ.
   The members of this church do not all worship God in the same way, but they all worship and serve with one spiritual love. They are all led by one Spirit. They are all seeking after the same holiness. Outside this church there can be no salvation.

   2. The Builder

   This true church of Christ is tenderly cared for by all three Persons of the Trinity. In the plan of salvation as revealed in the Bible we see that God the Father chooses, God the Son redeems, and God the Holy Spirit sanctifies every member of this church. Nevertheless, it is Christ who is chiefly thought of as the Redeemer of the church.
   Believers are called to belong to Jesus Christ (Romans 1:6). The Son gives life to whom he pleases (John 5:21). So Jesus is the Builder of this church.

   a) Christ shows great wisdom in building his church. Every?thing is done at the right time and in the right way. Sometimes the work of building (gathering members into his church) goes on swiftly, sometimes slowly. He makes no mistakes.

   b) Christ shows great condescension and mercy as he builds his church. He sometimes chooses the most unlikely persons, and makes them holy people. He often takes the most ungodly people and makes them new people. And he often uses very humble servants as his ministers to take part in this work.

   c) Christ uses great power in building his church. He carries out the work in spite of opposition and the persecution of his people. In troubled times as well as in good times he continues his work of building unhindered. We should be very thankful that the work of building the church worldwide is in the hands of One so powerful, so merciful and so wise!

3. The foundation

What did the Lord Jesus Christ mean when he spoke of this foundation? Did he mean that the Apostle Peter, to whom he was speaking, was this foundation? I think not. If he had meant that Peter was the foundation of the church he would have said, `Upon you I will build my church'. He went on to say, `I will give you the keys ...' (v.19), so there is no reason why he should not have said he would build his church on Peter, if that was what he had meant.

No, it was not Peter in person who was meant, but it is Peter's inspired statement about the Lord which is the foundation of the church, `You are the Christ, the Son of the living God' (Matthew 16:16). It is the truth concerning Jesus Christ which is the rock on which the church is built: every member of Christ's true church is joined to the foundation of who Christ is and what he has done. Without this you will never stand in the day of judgement. To base your salvation upon any other foundation is to build upon sand!

    4. Perils implied

    Jesus speaks of the gates of Hades. By this he means the power of Satan. The history of the church has always been one of conflict because the evil one hates Christ and all that is to do with him. That battle never ends in this world. And warfare with the powers of hell is the experience of every member of the true church of Christ. Each one has to fight. The gates of Hades have been continually attacking Christ's people.

    a) We must not be surprised at the hostility of the devil. If we belonged to the world,' the world would love us (John 15:19). As long as the unbelieving world is against Christ it will be against his people. As Martin Luther once said, `Cain will go on murdering Abel so long as the church is on earth.'

    b) We must put on the whole armour of God and so be prepared for the devil (Ephesians 6:10-18). That armour has been used by millions of believers like us, and has never been known to fail.

c) We must be patient under the attacks of the devil. The experience of them will help to humble and to sanctify us. It will drive us nearer to the Lord, and wean us away from the world.

d) We must not be depressed by the attacks of the powers of hell. The struggles the true child of God has with the power of wickedness is as much a mark of the grace of God in them, as is the inward peace they may sometimes enjoy. If there is no spiritual conflict in our lives we may well doubt whether we belong to the church on the rock!

5. Security assured

    Jesus has given his word that despite all the attacks of the gates of Hades, his true church will continue to stand. It will never be overcome. Great world empires have risen and fallen again; great cities have fallen into ruin yet the true church of Christ remains. Even churches in earlier years have passed out of existence now, yet others have arisen; the true church lives on in every age. The gates of Hades will never destroy the church entirely, for it has flowing in it the spiritual life of Christ; in that sense it is his body on the earth.

Some members of the church may suffer because of the power of unbelievers; they may even be killed. But not all the power of Satan can cast one true believer out of Christ's true church. He to whom believers commit their soul has all power in heaven and in earth. Relatives may oppose you, neighbours may mock what you do, the world may ridicule your faith, but all these will have no strength against the salvation of your soul. All is going on well though our eyes may not see it so, yet.Strive, then, to live a holy life whatever the consequences. Walk worthy of the true church to which you belong. Or if that is a certainty you do not yet possess, then I say, Come and join the true church. Come and join yourself to the Lord Jesus Christ by faith, without delay. Blessed are they who belong to the church on the rock!

   ' Hades. In ancient Greek literature, hades was the kingdom of the spirits of the dead. The same Greek word is translated in the King James Authorised version of the Bible as `hell'. It is also sometimes used to mean `the grave', or `death'. In Revelation 1: 18 we are told that Christ has the keys of it.

   (From the Dictionary of Theological terms, published by Grace Publications Trust).

   'World. The word `world' is used in a number of different senses in the Bible, one of which is, `A symbol for mankind as it is under the power of sin and Satan and hostile to God'. That is the sense in which the word is used here. (For a full explanation of the ten or so meanings that can be indicated by the word `world' in Scripture, see the Dictionary of Bible symbols, published by Grace Publications Trust).