And On This Rock

"But what about you?" Jesus asked. "Who do you say I am?" Simon Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it." (Matthew 16:15-18)

Jesus' response to Peter was a prophecy. It was the first mention of church, ever! But it wasn't a reference to a building, or anything we usually associate 'church' with. Rather, it was the setting of the cornerstone. On this truth that Jesus is the Christ, His church would be built.

The Greek word 'church' in this verse, and throughout the entire New Testament, is 'ekklesia' which simply refers to an assembly of people. Often, we as Christians fall in love with our meeting place. The walls, the building, the beautiful atmosphere. But Jesus' establishment of His church was the people. We are the Church Jesus was referencing here. 

Acts 20:28b says, "Be shepherds of the church of God, which He bought with His own blood."

Jesus cares deeply for His church. He paid a high price to call it...us...His own. Not only is much of the New Testament written to churches and church leaders of that time, but Jesus has worked diligently over the centuries to preserve and grow His church. But not without correction.

My husband and I have been a part of a new church plant called RiverNorth for the past 5 months. In this short time, I have seen Jesus break me, correct me, and mold me. He does not take lightly the leadership responsibilities He delegates to His people within His church. And our own personal growth can be used to strengthen and grow the church that He loves so dearly. 

In 1 Timothy chapter 1, Paul urges Timothy to stay in Ephesus. The church there was in need of correction. What God writes through Paul next is not only for the church in Ephesus, but for us as the present day church! 1 Timothy 1:3-7 says:

As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain men not to teach false doctrines any longer nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. These promote controversies rather than God's work--which is by faith. The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. Some have wandered away from these and turned to meaningless talk. They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm.

Jesus is not interested in the controversies, politics, or drama brought into His church. He steers His people away from a worldly focus to bring their attention to God's work. Jesus' commands and corrections come with a goal: love. They come from a pure heart, good conscience, and sincere faith. As sinful beings, we will continue to waver from truth and righteousness. We will lose sight of God's will, and sometimes even become misguided as a church. But we trust Jesus as the founder of our faith to bring correction when needed, redirection when necessary, and fellow believers to point it out when we aren't seeing it. All in love, and all for this sake of Christ's ekklesia which He lived and died for.