Title: Jesus Established the Church / Matthew 16:18
Contents Jesus established the church / Matthew 16:18
“And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it” (Matthew 16:18).
We live in the world knowing that it is the truth, but in reality, there are many lies and misunderstandings. It is fixed because of old cultural practices and habits. There are people who go to church but do not know what the church is and just live the church life. There are people who think that the chapel building is a church and think it is just an organization.
There are two facts in today's text that you should know clearly in ecclesiology. First, the church is God's called people. It is in this text that Jesus first used the word church. The church here is 'ekklesia'. It is a compound word of 'ek' (out) and 'kaleo' (to call). So, first of all, the church is not a building or an organization concept, but 'people'. The church is the disciples that God has called out of the sinful world to learn the Lord and follow Him.
In Matthew 18:20, He promised, “Where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in the midst of them.” Therefore, the church is the people of God who gather and worship the presence of the Lord. The church is the people who were sent back according to the command given by the Lord who was present in the meeting (Matthew 28:19-20).
Second, the Lord of the church is the Lord. Jesus said, "I will build my church." How did the Lord establish the church? He came as the Messiah, died on the cross for sinners, and rose again. Therefore, those who believe in Jesus will live in a relationship of life with Jesus. So, in Ephesians 1:22-23, Jesus is said to be “the head of the church” and “the church is his body”. Therefore, it is not an organization, but an organism, that is, a living organism. The church is a group of people who have received Jesus as their Savior, so they are all members connected to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore, Christianity is life. If you believe in Jesus but do not unite with the church, you are against the law and contradictory. No, it's not life. So Jesus told the parable of the vine and the branches that a branch cannot live apart from the vine.
Dear brothers and sisters, the life of faith is the life of the church, and the life of the church is the life of faith. If you deny the church life, your faith will never grow healthy.