Title: Purpose of Establishing the Church
Contents
Matthew 16:16-20 The purpose of establishing the church (12.06.03)
Today we are having a very meaningful worship service. Since Yelim Church was established here in Cambridge 17 years ago, today we are holding a thanksgiving service to commemorate the 17th anniversary of the establishment of Yelim Church. Through this worship, I hope that there will be such grace that we are being built into a church that fulfills that purpose well while thinking about the reason and purpose of our church. Therefore, I would like to briefly share the sermon under the title of 'The Purpose of Establishing the Church' centering on the main text.
The text shows who founded the church. In verse 18, the first half says, “And I say to you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church.” Yes, the founder of the church is said to be Jesus Christ. People often say, 'This church was probably built by an elder' or 'A certain priest built it', but they say that they were used by God, and they are not the church founders, but Jesus is the church founder. Since you said, ‘I will build my church,’ you have to acknowledge this fact.
Jesus called out sinners who were entangled in sin in the world, had them make a 'confession of faith', and worked so that the church was built around them. Therefore, Jesus is the Lord of the church, and we are gathered together to form a church community with the difference that we were called a little earlier or a little later. The church was not created by man, but by the Lord.
So, how did Jesus establish the church? In Acts 20:28, it says, “Be on your own or for the whole flock, for the Holy Spirit has made you overseers among them, to shepherd the church, which God bought with his own blood.” The important word here is ‘the church that God bought with his own blood’. The church was established when Jesus shed His blood on the cross. Therefore, the church is the gathering of a community that believes that Jesus died on the cross and shed His blood for me.
However, Luke, who wrote the book of Acts, does not use the expression “the church that Jesus bought with his own blood” but “the church that God bought with his own blood”. This expression sounds a bit awkward, but in fact, this expression is possible because God the Father and Jesus the Son are one indistinguishable one. Moreover, since the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the cross is an event based on the love of God the Father, who To emphasize that meaning, the expression 'the church that God bought with His own blood' is used. However, it is clear that the church purchased with blood is not the shed blood of God the Father, but that the Son Jesus took up the cross and shed his blood so that we became members of the church. The Lord established the church with this grace.
Then why did Jesus buy his own blood to establish the church? Whatever it is, the purpose is important. No matter how good a job is, it is meaningless if the purpose is not clear. For example, if there is no purpose in studying, the study is meaningless. If you have no purpose in making money, you can just eat well and live well. God didn't let us end our lives like that. The most important thing in anything is a purpose. Therefore, the Lord must have had a purpose when establishing this Open Church. Therefore, we who worship on the 17th anniversary of the foundation must clearly understand the purpose that Jesus established this Open Church and unite our hearts to achieve that purpose. is.
So what is its purpose? Look at the second half of verse 18, it says, “The gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” Yes, it is said that the purpose of the founding of the church is to ‘break the powers of Hades. Here, ‘the authority of Hades’ refers to ‘the authority of death’ and ‘the authority of hell’. This authority in Hades is claimed by Satan, and human beings under this authority are destined to go to ruin.
Why did this happen? After Adam and Eve sinned by eating the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil forbidden by God, the powers of Hades began to take over the world. So death came, commonness, sighs, sickness, tears, and evil came to an end, and the final destination of life is to go to hell.
Originally, this world was not like this when God created it. Every time God created each one, He said, “It was good to see.” However, while Satan was active in the beautifully created world, he tempted the first man, Adam and Eve, and Adam and Eve fell into Satan's temptation, broke God's law and fell.
However, it was not God's will for the world to become like this, so God sent Jesus Christ to this earth to break the authority of Hades and established the church by letting Jesus shed His blood on the cross. Therefore, the Lord said that no matter how strong the authority of this grave is, it cannot overcome the church. The reason is that Jesus, the Lord of the church and the head of the church, died on the cross to atone for the sins of mankind, and would rise again on the third day. As he is resurrected and lives forever, he will become the ‘guarantee of the resurrection’ of the church community that confesses ‘the Lord is the Christ’ and ‘the Son of the living God’, so the powers of Hades will not be able to deceive the church.
However, the important thing is that in order to become a church that enjoys this authority, the church must be like a church. For a church to be like a church, the owner of the church must be Christ, the Lord must be with the church, and the church must have a confession of faith in the Lord as the Christ and the Son of the living God, and worship that God accepts. And in that church, only when the members carry out the God-given mission well, the church will become a church-like church.
I want to go to this church, which was established 17 years ago, as a church like a church. So in the future, I want this church to take charge of such a work in which more souls are freed from the power of Hades. We want to become a church that not only saves unbelievers in Cambridge, but also contributes greatly to evangelizing the world. I pray that the grace and blessings of the Lord be with all of you who want to be used in this kind of work.