Who Established The Church (2)
Notes
Transcript
Who Established the Church
Introduction
· Last week: Coming to faith personally in detail.
· God never intended for this to be individualistic.
· Becoming involves belonging: to the church.
· The church is central for Christ’s vision to build His church as a body of believers.
Illustration
· When a shepherd calls his sheep, they come to him.
· As the sheep come, they naturally come closer together themselves.
· Well Jesus is our Great Shepherd who calls us to Him.
· We too come together as a community of believers.
Intro continued
· As believers, making church a priority is both a privilege and a responsibility for Christians – Not an option based on Scripture.
· If this is the case, as believers we must know and understand all aspects of the church and all it entails if we are to live out God’s plans and purpose of the church.
Illustration
· Music illustration
· Church without direction, no vision or mission, no well-defined purpose. It doesn’t mean there isn’t Biblically sound teaching. But without direction and understanding of the church, it isn’t as effective as it could be.
· Church with direction; knows where it is going and how to get there. Has a Biblically based vision and mission to represent Jesus and glorify God.
· This is why our series on “What is the church” is so important if we are going to be a church who witnesses for Jesus and glorifies God in an effective way.
· And throughout series, we will be sharing Thunder Basin’s vision and mission here in Upton as purposed by God.
Thunder Basin Vision Frame Example
· We will be going into more details as series progresses.
Text
· Shows that Jesus builds his church.
· And Jesus is the church’s foundation.
Matthew 16:13-18
13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Context
· Caesarea Philippi: Fitting place for this event. This was a center for worshiping false Gods.
· And in this point in time, it was the place they worshipped Caesar, the Roman ruler.
Exegesis
Vs. 13
· “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
· Based on their answer:
· Different views of Jesus abounded then, and they abound still today.
· Jewish people expected the coming of a King who would redeem Israel.
· A military and political King.
· In this case, to free them from Roman rule.
· Son of man: This is Christ’s self-designation revealing His identity and ministry.
· The humble servant who comes for the forgiveness of sin.
· The suffering servant who redeems His people by His death and resurrection.
· The King and Judge who will one day return to establish the Kingdom of God on earth.
Vs. 15-16
· “But who do you say that I am?”
· Peter answers as the spokesman for the Twelve.
· “The Christ”: Not a name but a title. Refers to the Messiah, the Annointed One of God whom the O.T. pointed to.
· Again, the Jewish people expected a ruler who would bring God’s reign on earth.
· They believed this messiah would one day restore Israel.
· “The Son of the Living God”: Important here because it distinguishes between dead false gods along with Caesar worshiped here in Caesarea Philippi and the true living Triune God.
· Also, it is only the living God that has life in himself which he can impart to others through Jesus.
· Now Peter’s answer is a very important confession of faith.
· His confession is essentially coming to saving faith in Jesus and the Gospel message.
· Extremely important question we all must answer.
Vs. 17
· “Blessed”
· Peter is privileged to receive this truth by the revelation of God.
· We too come to faith in Jesus when God reveals the truth of the Gospel to us which is the power of salvation.
· God is the source of our confession of faith because man alone cannot perceive or understand the Gospel.
Vs. 18
· “On this rock I will build my church”
· Different interpretations based on who or what “the rock” refers to.
1. Interpretation 1
· The name Peter is Petros in Greek Which means a small “stone”.
· In Aramaic Petros is equivalent to Cephas which means “rock”.
· So if the “rock” refers to Peter.
· Those who hold to this interpretation see Peter is a mere “stone,” and Jesus himself as the “rock”.
· Peter is just one of the stones or Apostles who share this confession.
· That the church is built on the foundation of all the Apostles as seen in Acts and other writings of the N.T.
2. Interpretation 2
· That the rock refers to Jesus’ true identity and the truth of Peter’s confession of faith.
· Those who hold to interpretation basically see the rock as the Gospel message itself.
· And Jesus will build His church on this truth.
3. Regardless of the differing interpretations, the fact remains that Jesus is the one who builds the church.
· “The gates of hell will not prevail against it”
· The readers of the Matthew’s gospel would immediately understand this reference.
· Cities of that day had walls around them for protection. And there were gates to enter and exit from.
· The gates had an important role in that day.
· The gates were the place where city elders would meet to establish city policies and administer justice.
· The gates were also used to protect the city with strength and power, guarding them so enemies could not enter.
· And the “Gates of Hell” represent the strength of Satan and his demons.
· But because Jesus built the church and it belongs to Him, it cannot be defeated Satan and evil.
Conclusion
· Jesus built His church to be the visual representation of Himself and the Kingdom of God on earth.
· And He built it on the back of the Gospel message.
1st Through His Death
Ephesians 5:25
25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.
2nd Through His Ascension:
Ephesians 1:22-23
22 And he (God) put all things under his (Jesus) feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.
Or
As Samuel John Stone puts it in his hymn
(In Bulletin)
“From Heaven He came and sought her
To be His holy bride
With His own blood He bought her
And for her life He died”
· Today’s sermon is to show us how important the church is to Jesus, so it must be important to us as well.
· The reality is that it isn’t possible for us as believers to live a God-centered and Spirit led life unless we also live a church-centered life.
How can we apply today’s sermon to our personal lives?
· Each of us personally must examine ourselves, and ask ourselves these questions:
1. To what extent am I a church-centered Christian?
2. Do I make Christ’s church a priority in my life?
· What I’ve witnessed in the last 2 ½ months here is simply amazing as we are living out Christ’s vision of the church.
· Give examples
· God is doing a great work here in Upton.