Jesus Promises to Build His Church
“17) And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18) I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. 19) I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.”” Matthew 16:17-19
It merits special time and attention to study the church from a biblical frame of reference. This study by nature follows the discussion of the indwelling Holy Spirit we have recently completed.
The “age” or “epoch” we are now in could equally be called “The Age of the Indwelling Holy Spirit”, or “The Church Age.” Though they cover the same time frame, they constitute a different theme and subject matter.
The indwelling ministry of the Holy Spirit can be viewed from the perspective of an individual believer. The church by nature has to be viewed as a collection of all born-again believers. We need to view these two subjects through different lenses .
In the above text, Jesus promised to build His church. He did not promise to build my church, your church, our church or a certain denomination. He promised to build His Church.
We get in trouble the moment we take ownership of the church. We quickly change the meaning and structure of the church from being a living organism to a mechanical organization.
I love the church. I view it as the precious bride of Christ. Jesus promises to protect and empower His bride. He promised to make her beautiful, glorious and spotless.
But something tragic is happening in many churches today. There is fighting, contentions, liberalism, legalism, immorality, carnality, spiritual abuse and control issues.
What’s the problem?
I suspect many churches do not belong to Jesus Christ. They have buildings and membership roles, but they are not part of His Bride.
Stay tune as we take an in depth look at “the Church” over the next several weeks. Helping churches become healthy and fruitful has been one of my key callings over the years. It has been a wonderful journey with some amazing lessons on revival and church renewal.
Daily Bible Commentary By Terry Baxter: Cofounder of GoServ Global
Sent from my iPhone
“17) And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18) I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. 19) I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.”” Matthew 16:17-19
It merits special time and attention to study the church from a biblical frame of reference. This study by nature follows the discussion of the indwelling Holy Spirit we have recently completed.
The “age” or “epoch” we are now in could equally be called “The Age of the Indwelling Holy Spirit”, or “The Church Age.” Though they cover the same time frame, they constitute a different theme and subject matter.
The indwelling ministry of the Holy Spirit can be viewed from the perspective of an individual believer. The church by nature has to be viewed as a collection of all born-again believers. We need to view these two subjects through different lenses .
In the above text, Jesus promised to build His church. He did not promise to build my church, your church, our church or a certain denomination. He promised to build His Church.
We get in trouble the moment we take ownership of the church. We quickly change the meaning and structure of the church from being a living organism to a mechanical organization.
I love the church. I view it as the precious bride of Christ. Jesus promises to protect and empower His bride. He promised to make her beautiful, glorious and spotless.
But something tragic is happening in many churches today. There is fighting, contentions, liberalism, legalism, immorality, carnality, spiritual abuse and control issues.
What’s the problem?
I suspect many churches do not belong to Jesus Christ. They have buildings and membership roles, but they are not part of His Bride.
Stay tune as we take an in depth look at “the Church” over the next several weeks. Helping churches become healthy and fruitful has been one of my key callings over the years. It has been a wonderful journey with some amazing lessons on revival and church renewal.
Daily Bible Commentary By Terry Baxter: Cofounder of GoServ Global
Sent from my iPhone
