Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being. Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it. Matthew 16:13-18 (NLT)
I’m sure this passage is familiar to all of us. Jesus gives His disciples a “pop-quiz” so to speak. The answer Peter gave was “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus said, “You are blessed Peter because God has already reveled this to you, and on this rock (the confession of Peter) I will build my church.” Many scholars think that this is perhaps the first instance in the ministry of Jesus where He used the word “church” to describe what would remain of His ministry after He was removed from the scene. As I read this passage, there are a couple of things that jump out at me:
The Church was conceived in the heart of Jesus
The church is a remarkable institution. It is the Kingdom of God that exists within the larger context of this world. The Greek word that Jesus uses here referrers to a gathering of “called-out” people. The church is people that Jesus has called-out of their sin and into his kingdom, and whom He has called together as His body.
This entity we call the church didn’t come from the mind of men, it came from the mind of God. It was born in the heart of Jesus. And the church is here today because God himself intended it to be.
I sometimes hear people say, “You don’t have to go to church to be a Christian.” This may be theoretically true, but if you are a follower of Christ, why would you not want to be a part of what God is doing in this world? The church is the one institution in this world that God conceived of to do His work. The Bible says in Ephesians 5 “that, Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her.” Ephesians 3 tells us that God has chosen to show his power to principalities and powers through the church. And it also tells us that he receives glory through the church. Why would you not want to be a part of what Jesus conceived and brought forth from His heart?
The church is the work of Christ.
Notice Jesus said in that passage, “I will build MY church.” The church belongs to Jesus, and He is the chief builder of the church. Jesus was fully human, but He was also fully divine. The church is referred to as the Body of Christ. Would it not stand to reason then, that though the church is made up of human beings, it is also a divine organism? And Jesus, our Savior, is responsible to build it.
I can’t tell you what a relief that is to me. I’ve spent a number of frustrating years in ministry trying to “build the church.” It has taken me a long time to realize that it’s not my church to build.
A passenger jet was suffering through a severe thunderstorm. As the passengers were being bounced around by the turbulence, a young woman turned to a minister sitting next to her and with a nervous laugh asked, "Reverend, you’re a man of God, can’t you do something about this storm?" To which he replied, "Lady, I’m in sales, not management." That is good advice for us to remember. Managing this church is God’s business. Our business is to be the best advertisement for Jesus we can be.
The church belongs to Jesus, and it is to be built by Jesus. Our part is to do what Jesus calls us and equips us to do, and He will take care of the rest.
