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By Van Sprague

“Simon Peter answered and said, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’

Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it’” (Matt 16:16-18, Unless otherwise stated: Scripture is taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Used by permission. All rights reserved).

“On this rock” was Jesus’ reference to His followers’ foundation. What is it? The fact that He is the Christ, the Son of God. He will establish, empower, and preserve those who build upon this fact. A church with any other foundation cannot be the one about which Jesus instructed Peter (1 Cor 3:11).

He called the church He would build, “My church.” It belongs to Him. The purchase price was the blood He shed in humiliation, agony, and love (Acts 20:28; Heb 12:1-2; John 3:16). His blood was offered by God and drawn by the hands of sinful men (John 19:11; Acts 2:23). Any who are washed by it, in the watery grave of baptism, are added to the body, the blood-bought church (Acts 22:16; 1 Cor 6:9-11; Rev 1:4-5; Acts 2:36-47).

Since it is His, He runs it. He is the head of the body, the church (Eph 1:22-23). That means He is the leader. Just as one head does not have more than one body, a body does not have more than one head. We submit to the leadership of Christ by obeying His Word. If someone says they are part of His church, but do not obey Him, they lie (1 John 2:3-4).

Finally, Jesus said, “the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.”  Death would not defeat Him at the cross and it will not overcome His people. Jesus will destroy death when He comes to bring His church, His bride, to be with Him in heaven forever (1 Cor 15:24-26; Eph 5:25-27).

“Does it matter what church you go to?” is a common question.  Jesus died for one, started one, rules one, and will come back for one. If it mattered that much to Him, shouldn’t it matter to us? Are you part of His church?

 

Van Sprague is an evangelist at the Church of Christ at Houston Park. He has a wife and three children. Come Visit! Sunday morning Bible class is at 9, with worship at 10 am and 5 pm. Wednesday night Bible class is at 6.