“Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; 20And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; 21In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: 22In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.”
* Let me clarify something before i continue in this study:
There are those in the catholic church that believe that Peter alone is the 'rock' and 'foundation' of Jesus' church and so they pray to Peter instead of to Jesus.
Let's be clear on this, the foundation of the church made, that Jesus is talking about, is through the confession and testimonies of his servants(Peter, John, Matthew,etc) in Christ. That as Jesus is the cornerstone/main purpose of the building/growth of the church, the message is for all who accept the truth and have as the center of their christian faith.
Peter was a mere man doing the Lord's work, even though he did great works for Jesus as others (john, Paul,etc) in the bible did as well, we are not to pray and serve to no man(living or dead; that is a form of idolatry) but only Jesus Christ, who is surely Alive!!!
Leviticus 26:1 "Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am the LORD your God."
also call no man father(ex: praying and asking forgiveness through a priest,pastor), but it should only be to our living God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Matthew 23:9 "And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven."
Peter was just a messenger for Christ doing the works for the Lord, as he was spreading the news of Christ; but no where does Jesus say that people are to serve and pray to peter and the other apostles, even go as far to pray to his physical mother Mary. Mary was chosen for one purpose, and that was to fulfill prophecy of a virgin to bring forth Jesus into this world, but afterwards her job was complete in that aspect. She then when married to Joseph had more children, not making her a virgin(pure in that sense)anymore.
I only add her into this discussion because of the fact that people worship the creation than the creator, and that is not what Jesus intended. Now moving on.....
Peter confessed of Jesus and believed through the spirit that Jesus is the way to life and by that confession, Jesus said that His church will be built and a foundation will be laid for all to hear and know of Him and be saved.
I hoped i cleared a few things up for those reading and had these questions in mind.*
“When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea
Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man
am? 14And they said, Some say
that thou art John the
Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. 15He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? 16And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the
Son of the living God. 17And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou,
Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in
heaven.”
1. Jesus questioned His
disciples concerning His
identity...
a. He asked who others thought He was
b. He then asked who they thought He was
c. Peter responded: "You are the Christ,
the Son of the Living God."
d. Jesus commended Peter, stating that his
confession of faith was
based upon what the Father Himself had revealed
2. Jesus then used this opportunity to speak of His church
a. He promised to build His church
b. He mentioned the foundation upon which it
would be built
c. He described the ultimate victory of His
church
d. He spoke of great authority that would be
given
3. This passage naturally raises several
questions...
a. What is this "church" Jesus
promised to build?
b. What is the "foundation"
upon which it would be built?
c. How would "the gates of Hades"
not prevail against it?
d. What "authority" was given
by Jesus, and to whom?
[Anyone who believes in Jesus should have a
vital interest in the
answers to these questions. So let's begin by noting first of all...]
I. THE CHURCH JESUS BUILT
A. THE CHURCH DEFINED...
1. The Greek word is ekklesia, meaning
"an assembly, a
congregation"
2. It is used in the Bible most often in two
senses:
a. The church "universal" - the
whole assembly of people who
are saved, both living and dead
b. The church "local" - a
company of saved people in a
geographical area who work and worship together
as a local
congregation
3. In our text, Jesus is using the word
"church" in its universal
sense
B. THE CHURCH CHARACTERIZED...
1. It is called "the body of Christ"
“And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, 23Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in
all.”
2. It is called "the temple of God"
“Now therefore ye are no more strangers and
foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; 20And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and
prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; 21In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto
an holy temple in the Lord: 22In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of
God through the Spirit.”
C. THE CHURCH ESTABLISHED...
1. It is evident that the church was not
established at the time
Jesus spoke...
a. He said "I WILL build My church..."
“And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this
rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against
it.”
b. He told His disciples not to tell anyone that
He was the
Christ (a fact certainly related to the
establishment of
His church!)
“Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man
that he was Jesus the Christ.”
2. The church is mentioned after Jesus'
resurrection...
a. The Lord was adding people to the church
“Praising God, and
having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such
as should be saved.”
When the Spirit was poured out on the apostles
“And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all
with one accord in one place. 2And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as
of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
3And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon
each of them. 4And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak
with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. 5And there were dwelling
at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. 6Now when this
was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because
that every man heard them speak in his own language. 7And they were all amazed
and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans?
8And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born? 9Parthians,
and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and
Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, 10Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the
parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes,
11Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works
of God. 12And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another,
What meaneth this? 13Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine. Peter
Preaches to the Crowd.14But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his
voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at
Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: 15For these are not
drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. 16But this
is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; 17And it shall come to pass in
the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your
sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams: 18And on my servants and on my handmaidens
I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: 19And I
will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and
fire, and vapour of smoke: 20The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the
moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:21And it
shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be
saved.”
b. When Peter preached the first gospel sermon
“Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man
approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by
him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know: 23Him, being delivered by
the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked
hands have crucified and slain: 24Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the
pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.
25For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord
always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved:
26Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my
flesh shall rest in hope: 27Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell,
neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. 28Thou hast made
known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy
countenance. 29Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch
David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this
day. 30Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath
to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise
up Christ to sit on his throne; 31He seeing this before spake of the
resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh
did see corruption. 32This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are
witnesses. 33Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received
of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye
now see and hear.
34For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith
himself, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, 35Until I make
thy foes thy footstool. 36Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly,
that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and
Christ. 37Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said
unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
38Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the
name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift
of the Holy Ghost. 39For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to
all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. 40And with
many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this
untoward generation.”
c. When thousands were saved, and the Lord added
them to His
church
“Then they that gladly received his word were
baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand
souls.”
II. THE FOUNDATION OF HIS CHURCH
A. MANY PASSAGES PROCLAIM JESUS AS THE
"CORNERSTONE"...
1. As foretold by Isaiah
“Therefore thus saith the Lord
GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious
corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.”
2. As proclaimed by Peter
“This is the stone which was set
at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. 12Neither is
there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given
among men, whereby we must be saved.”
3. As taught by Paul
“For other
foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”
1) Jesus Christ is the cornerstone, the primary
foundation
“And are built upon the foundation
of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner
stone;”
a. Jesus had just praised Peter for his
confession, which was
the result of divine revelation
“And Simon Peter answered and
said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. 17And Jesus answered and
said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not
revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.”
b. Jesus went on to say how Peter would possess
the keys of
the kingdom and the power of binding and
loosing, all
related to the work of the Holy Spirit in the
lives of the
apostles
“And I will give unto thee the
keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be
bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in
heaven.”
-- If so, then Jesus is making the point that
His church,
while established through the work of men like
Peter and
the apostles, would be built on a solid
foundation since
they would be led by divine revelation
a. I.e., the truth of the confession: "You are the Christ,
the Son of the Living God"
III. THE AUTHORITY OF HIS CHURCH
A. AUTHORITY WAS PROMISED TO THE APOSTLES...
1. To Peter was promised "the keys of the
kingdom"
a. The figure of "keys" suggest the ability
to allow entrance
into the kingdom
b. Peter exercised this ability through
preaching the gospel,
as he did on the day of Pentecost
2. To the apostles was promised the power
"to bind" and "to
loose"
a. To Peter in this passage
b. To the rest of the disciples was promised
similar power
“Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever
ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose
on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
-- Of course, presumed in all this would be the
guidance of
the Spirit, promised to lead the apostles into
all the
truth
“I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear
them now. 13Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you
into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall
hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.”
IV. THE ULTIMATE VICTORY OF HIS CHURCH
A. THE "GATES OF HADES" WILL NOT
PREVAIL AGAINST IT...
1. The phrase "gates of Hades" has
been variously interpreted as:
a. The powers of death (i.e., death itself)
b. The forces of hell (whatever forces Satan
might bring to
bear)
2. In either case, the "gates of
Hades" have not prevailed!
a. Death did not prevent Jesus from building His
church
b. The forces of Satan have not succeeded in destroying
His
church
B. WE CAN SHARE IN THE ULTIMATE VICTORY OF HIS
CHURCH...
-Nothing,
not even death itself, can prevent us from being
"more than conquerors"
“Who shall separate us from the
love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or
nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36As it is written, For thy sake
we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 37Nay,
in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
38For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor
principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39Nor
height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from
the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
- The glory of this ultimate victory is
beautifully portrayed in
the visions of the Revelation
“After this I beheld, and, lo, a
great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and
people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with
white robes, and palms in their hands; 10And cried with a loud voice, saying,
Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. 11And
all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four
beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God,
12Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour,
and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen. 13And one of the
elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white
robes? and whence came they? 14And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he
said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed
their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15Therefore are they
before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he
that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. 16They shall hunger no more,
neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.
17For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead
them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from
their eyes.”
**If you would like to give your heart to Jesus today, repeat these words below:
'Dear Heavenly Father,i come to in the name of Jesus; Forgive me a sinner and wash me in your precious blood. Make this heart of stone to be made flesh, so that your word may be sown in it. Any addictions that i may have, remove them now in Jesus name! I've accepted Jesus Christ as my savior and believe that He died and rose from the dead! And from this day forward, i commit my life to you and seek for guidance and understanding in your word, as i walk in your path of righteousness, In Jesus name i pray, AMEN!!!'
If you have recited these words and meant them in your heart, you are saved and if the Lord would come today, you will be ready to go to Heaven!! I will keep you all in prayer, to continue to walk in the ways of Jesus Christ our Lord. READ, PRAY, SEEK and TRUST in Him and you will overcome this wicked world! **
I have also provided a link to the Full Gospel Holiness Church below, where you will find sermons from the word of God (no comprising to sin) but the Full truth to the Word of God! You can also view our contact information to email us or call us for prayer. May God bless you!
http://www.fghconline.com/
