I Will Build My Church

Now in Matthew chapter 16, beginning
with verse 13, we have one of the earliest places
in the New Testament in which we find any mention of the Church. Christ said in verse 18, I say
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." To me it's very significant that in this
first time, or one of the first times that the Lord mentions
the church, that he should connect the church with the right idea
about himself. Now preceding this statement,
I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail
against it, He had, out of the clear blue, asked the disciples
a question. Two questions, in fact. The first
one was this, Whom do men say that I, the Son of Man, am? Our
Lord asked his disciples in verse 13. He just asked them this question,
I believe preparing the way for the statement about the church.
But he says, Whom do men say that I, the Son of Man, am? And
they said, Some say they are John the Baptist, and some, Elias,
and others, Jeremias, are one of the prophets. And then he
asks the disciples this question, But whom say ye that I am? Whom
say ye that I am? Now this is the question that
should be put to all who would be in his church. Whom say ye
that I am? You cannot be right in anything
unless you think rightly of Christ. whom say ye that I am." Your
part in any visible church will be a mistake if you know not
Christ. It will be injurious to you,
it will be injurious to your testimony or to the church's
testimony if you're not right in your attitude toward the Lord
Jesus Christ. So he asks his disciples in preparing
them for the statement about the church, whom do you say that
I am? And Peter said, Thou art the
Christ, the Son of the living God. And our Lord said, Simon
Barjona, flesh and blood didn't reveal that to you, but my Father
which is in heaven. And then he said, Thou art Peter,
a little stone. Upon this rock I will build my
church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Now it is first Christ and then the church. It is first the Redeemer
and then the body. There's much preaching in many
circles which exalts the Church. The Church's rules and laws and
ordinances and power and so forth, but our chief word, and Christ
set it forth right here in proper order, it is first Christ and
then the Church. It is first the root and then
the growth. It is first of all the head and
then the body. It is first of all the builder,
and then the building. It is first of all the Son, and
then the house, which belongs to the Son. So your connection
with the church depends upon your relationship with Christ
Jesus. Whom do you say that I am? Thou
art the Christ, the Son of the living God. Now then, we can
build a church. Now then, we can have a church. You cannot have a church unless
Christ is first. There are five divisions, I believe,
to this text tonight. I'm going to speak on each one
briefly. First of all, we have a building.
And then secondly, we have a builder. And then thirdly, we have a foundation. In the fourth place, we have
mentioned a warfare. And then in the fifth place,
there's a promise to this church. First of all, we have a building.
Christ said in Matthew 16, verse 18, I will build my church. We have a building. Now what
is this church? Well, first of all, it is not
a material building. You often hear people referring
to the church as a building of stone or wood or brick. This is not a church. This is
not a church in which we're seated tonight. This is a building in
which the church meets. But this is not a church. And
then a church is not a national organization such as the Church
of Scotland or the Church of England or the Church of Rome. That's not a church. And that
is the way the church is referred to by many, especially in those
particular denominations that talk about the Church of England
or the Church of Scotland, or the Church is not a denomination.
We call it the Methodist Church or the Lutheran Church or the
Presbyterian Church or the Baptist Church. I think we've given the
wrong names to these things. It is not the Lutheran Church
or the Baptist Church or the Methodist Church It is the Lutheran
or Baptist or Methodist organizations, really, what it boils down to,
because these things are not a church. A church is not a material
building, a church is not a national organization, a church is not
a denomination. Well, what is a church? This
church that Christ is talking about here, I will build my church,
is made up of all true believers in Christ Jesus, all true believers. Now in Ephesians 5, 23 through
27, we read it a moment ago, husbands, love your wives as
Christ loved the church and gave himself for it to redeem the
church. The church, which is his body,
that's the way the scripture refers to the church. Christ
is the head of the church, which is his body. And then in Ephesians
3, the scripture says the whole family, in heaven and earth,
talking about the church. The whole family in heaven and
earth, unto him be glory in the church. The husband, the scripture
says, is the head of the wife, as Christ is the head of the
church. What is this church? This church
is made up of God's elect out of every kindred, nation, tribe,
tongue, and people on the earth. This church is made up of those
who were given to the Son by the Father before the world began. This church is comprised of all
who have been led by the Holy Spirit to repent of their sins
and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. This church is made up
of those who have been washed in the blood, sanctified by that
one offering which Christ our Lord presented to the Father.
This church is made up of all who have been made new creatures
in Christ Jesus. This church is made up of those
who are clothed in Christ's righteousness, and it's called in the Scripture
His body, His flock, His family, His people, and His church. What is a church? It's not a
material building. It's not a national religious
organization. It is not a denomination. The
church is made up of every redeemed, regenerated, born-again believer
who has ever lived on the face of this earth or who shall ever
live upon this earth. A man is not a member of Christ's
church because his parents were. A man is not a member of Christ's
church because he agrees to certain doctrines. A man is not a member
of Christ's church because he practices certain biblical ordinances
and rituals. Turn to Acts 2, verse 47, and
I think this will explain and identify those who are members
of Christ's church. I will build my church. This
building is his church, and it's made up of all the redeemed of
all ages. In Acts 2, verse 47, praising
God and having favor with all the people, and the Lord added
to the church daily, such as should be saved." Such as should
be saved. A man is never added to the church
unless he's saved. There's no way that an infant,
there's no way that an unregenerate person, there's no way that an
unbeliever can be a part of his church. And when I say an infant,
I mean one that is expected to be a part of his church by certain
rituals through which that infant is passed. But believers are
members of his church. The Lord adds to the church daily,
such as should be saved, whether they are Baptists or Independents,
whether they are Presbyterians, Methodists, or whatever denomination
they are. If they know the Christ, whom
Peter describes In Matthew 16, Thou art the Christ, the Son
of the Living God. They are members of His church.
Whatever type of church government they may practice, whether it
be Presbyterian, Congregational, or Ecclesiastical type of government,
if they know Christ, they are members of His church. Whether
they pray kneeling or sitting or standing, whether they have
their worship services in the morning, in the afternoon, or
in the evening, whether they dress in black or in colors or
white, all who are in Christ by his grace and by his mercy
and by a God-given faith are in his church. And to them is
given his promise of preservation, of protection, of forgiveness
and final glory. And the Lord Jesus said, I'll
build my church. I'll build my church. That's
the building. That's the church. That's the glorious church. That's
the church which he purchased with his own blood. That's the
church which he loved and for which he gave himself. And all
who are members of that church are believers in Christ. And
all who are believers in Christ are members of that church. That's
the church he's talking about here. I will build my church. We have a builder. All right? Secondly, we have a builder.
Look back at the text. Our Lord said, I will build my
church. The church of our Lord Jesus
Christ is tenderly cared for by all three persons in the Blessed
Trinity. In redemption, the Father chose
us, the Father loved us, the Father gave us to the Son, The
Father predestinated that we should be conformed to the image
of the Son. The Son, the Lord Jesus Christ,
came to this earth and took our flesh, identified himself with
us, obeyed the law for us, redeemed us by the sacrifice of himself,
was buried and rose again, ascended to the right hand of the Father
where he intercedes for us, from which he will someday come again.
The Holy Spirit quickens us, the Holy Spirit enlightens us,
the Holy Spirit calls us, the Holy Spirit seals us, the Holy
Spirit teaches us, the Holy Spirit gives us assurance. He is the
earnest of that pledge, the token of that pledge. But there's one
particular sense in which Jesus Christ is the builder of his
church. He is the builder. He said, I'll
build my church. I will build my church. Bishop
J.C. Ryle said this, it is Christ
who builds the church, for it is Christ who calls the members
of his church. The scripture says we are the
called of Christ Jesus. The scripture says the Son quickeneth
whom he will. Verily I say unto he that heareth
My word, he that heareth My word, My voice, they shall hear the
voice of the Son of God, and they shall live." It's the Son
of God who calls us. And then secondly, it is Christ
who redeemed His church. He loved us and gave Himself
for us. It is by His stripes that we're
healed. And then thirdly, it is Christ
who gives us peace. For He said, My peace I give
unto you. My peace I leave with you. There
is therefore now no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus,
and as a result of that, we have peace with God. That peace is
in Christ. It is Christ who gives us eternal
life, for he said, I give my sheep eternal life. I give them
eternal life, and they shall never perish. In the next place,
it is Christ who enables us to become children of God, for the
Scripture says, to as many as receive him. to them gave he
the power to become the sons of God." And again, he is the
author and finisher of our faith. It is Christ who is the author
and finisher of our faith. Then in the next place, it is
Christ who keeps us from falling, unto him who is able to keep
you from falling and to present you holy, unblameable, unreprovable
in God's sight. In the next place, it is Christ
who intercedes for us. There's one God, one Mediator,
Christ Jesus the Lord. He ever liveth to make intercession
for us. And Rowe goes on and says this,
in building his church, the Lord Jesus Christ uses means, but
it's Christ who builds the church. He uses apostles, prophets, evangelists,
pastors, teachers, and all ministers, he uses the word of God, but
it is Christ who builds the church. Turn to Ephesians 4 with me,
Ephesians 4, verse 11. In the fourth chapter of Ephesians,
verse 11, the scripture says, Ephesians 4, beginning with verse
11, and he gave some apostles and some prophets and some evangelists
and some pastors and teachers. This is talking about Christ.
And he gave these prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers for the
perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for
the edifying of the body, the Church of Jesus Christ. Till we all come in the unity
of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect
man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ,
that we henceforth be no more children tossed to and fro and
carried about with every wind of doctrine by the slight of
men and cunning craftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive,
but speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things,
which is the head, even from whom the whole body, fitly joined
together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth,
according to the effectual working and the measure of every part,
maketh increase of the body under the edifying of itself in love."
It is Christ who builds his church. He uses these means. He uses
ministers, he uses prophets, he uses evangelists, he uses
apostles. He uses pastors, he uses teachers,
all of these that we might come in the unity of the faith, the
knowledge of the Son of God, unto a full measure of the age
of the fullness of Christ. Now in the third place, you have
a foundation. I will build my church. Now watch
this, back in the text again. And I say he'd asked Simon Peter
this question, all the apostles this question, he said, Whom
say ye that I am? Peter's the one that answered.
Often he was the one who answered, but on this particular occasion,
Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the
Living God. And Christ said, On this rock
I'll build my church. Now some people get the idea
that when he spoke of this foundation upon which his Church is built,
he meant the Apostle Peter. This cannot be true for many,
many reasons. Chiefly, Christ didn't build
his Church on an erring, unstable man who in just a few months
would deny that he knew Christ, whom Christ had to rebuke even
after Pentecost. He rebuked him on top of the
house when he told him to go and preach to Cornelius. He rebuked
him through the Apostle Paul when he sided with the Jews against
the Gentiles. Christ did not build his church
upon an erring, unstable man such as the Apostle Peter or
any other man. But the foundation he's talking
about here is the truth which Peter had spoken. I will build
my church upon this foundation. Thou art the Christ, the Son
of the living God." We have three things that are important in
this confession of faith. First, who is Jesus Christ? The church is built upon a knowledge
of who He is. He's very God of very God. The
Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. He took our flesh and
was identified with us. What did Christ do? He died for
our sins. Why did he do it? Turn to Romans
3. Romans the third chapter. Now this is the foundation on
which the church is built. Not built on Peter. It's not
even built upon certain doctrines or the right practice of certain
ordinances. It's built on the knowledge of
a person. Who he is, what he came to do,
and why he did it. In Romans 3 Now listen to this,
"'For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, being
justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is
in Christ Jesus, whom God hath sent forth to be a propitiation
through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for
the remission of sins that have passed through the forbearance
of God, To declare, I say at this time, God's righteousness,
that God might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth
in Jesus Christ the Lord. There are three important questions.
Who is Jesus Christ? Who is Jesus Christ? He is very
God of very God. He is the God-man. He is God
incarnate. He is God in human flesh. Who
is Jesus Christ? This virgin-born son of Mary
is very God of very God. Now what did He do? He came into
this world. As was prophesied and typified
back in the Old Testament, He came here into this world as
a man, lived and died on the cross. Why did He do it? And
the answer is right here, that God might be just. and the justifier
of him which believeth in Jesus Christ." Have we understood those
words? Have we digested those words?
Have we really entered into the depth, the meaning of those words?
Christ came down here and died and went back to glory and intercedes
at the right hand of God in order that God Almighty might be just
and justify folks like you and me. God cannot show his love
at the expense of his righteousness. God cannot show his mercy at
the expense of his holiness. In order for him to redeem you
and me, we had to have a substitute, one to satisfy the law and God's
justice, and this is the foundation. This is the foundation on which
he builds his church. And other foundation can no man
lay than that which is laid Christ the Lord. There's none other
name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved
except Christ the Lord. This is the foundation on which
he builds the church. All right, the fourth statement
now. First, we have a building. I'll build my church. Secondly,
we have a building. I'll build it. I'll build it. Thirdly, we have a foundation
upon this rock. I'll build it on this rock, immovable
It's that stone of which Isaiah spoke when he said, a tried stone,
a precious stone, a sure foundation. And he that buildeth and he that
believeth shall not be ashamed. This is the foundation. A man
is not a member of this church if he's not on that foundation.
He's not a member of this church if he's not trusting that foundation. He's not a member of this church
if he does not know that foundation. And if he does not have some
understanding of who Christ is and what Christ did and why he
did it. As I said Sunday, a man doesn't have to be a theologian
to be saved. He doesn't have to be a man good
with words to be saved, but he ought to be able to put into
some kind of words of his own design who he's trusting. And why Peter said that, be ready
always to give a reason to everyone that asks you. Be able to give
an answer to everyone that asks you, a reason for the hope you
have. You don't have to put it in theological terms, but you
put it in your own words. My hope is built on nothing less
than Jesus' blood and his righteousness. And I know, whom do you say that
I am?" Christ said. Whom do you say that I am? Peter
says, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. Now Christ
said, this is the foundation on which I'll build my church.
This is it. The fourth thing we have, we
have a war factor. we have some dangers prophesied. Our Lord said, and the gates
of hell. Now by the gates of hell we are
to understand not what's going to take place out yonder in eternity. We're to understand the powers
of evil. That's what that statement refers
to, the gates of hell, the powers of evil shall not prevail against
my church. Now the history of this church,
I'm talking about believers, those who know Christ, the history
of this church has been one of conflict and war, because Satan
hates this true church. Satan doesn't hate all churches.
Satan doesn't hate all organizations called churches. Satan doesn't
hate all visible churches. Satan hates this church, this
church, the true church. The world hates this church. Our Lord Jesus said, Marvel not,
my brethren, if the world hate you. It hated me before it hated
you. Now, the visible churches may
have their times of peace. The visible churches may have
their times of prosperity. But the true Church of the Lord
Jesus Christ will always be at enmity with the forces of evil,
always, always. There is never any peace between
Christ's true Church and the forces of evil, any more than
there's ever any peace between Christ and Satan, Christ and
the forces of evil. Bishop Ryle said this, My brethren,
Christ promises you peace with God, but not peace with the world. My brethren, Christ promises
you peace with God, but not peace with Satan. Satan will destroy this church
if he can. Satan will destroy her testimony
if he can. But Christ says, He doesn't say
the gates of hell shall not attack my church. He doesn't say the
gates of hell shall not make my church ever suffer. He said
the gates of hell shall never prevail against it. The gates
of hell will make, the powers of evil will make war against
the church and against every member of the body. The gates
of hell, the powers of evil will declare war on my church, but
it shall not prevail. My church will be victorious."
That's the last statement, quickly. And our Lord said, "...and the
gates of hell shall not prevail against it. It shall continue,
it shall stand, it shall never be overcome, it shall never be
overthrown." Now, brethren, we have in the history of this world
seen empires rise and fall, but His Church lives on. We have seen great countries
rise and we have seen them fall, but His Church lives on. We have seen cities rise and
become heaps of ruin, but His Church lives on. We've seen mighty
kings arise, mighty conquerors, world dictators who have been
overthrown and forgotten, but his church lives on. We have
seen powerful religious organizations and even good visible churches
rise and do a great work, but we've seen them meet their waterloo. But his church lives on. His church. Some of the greatest
churches in the days of the apostles were in North Africa. And now
we send missionaries to North Africa. When this country, the
United States of America, was nothing but an uncharted wilderness,
there were thriving, prosperous, God-honoring churches on the
continent of Africa. And now Africa is a jungle and
a wilderness And here we believe in the United States of America,
their visible churches who are honoring the gospel of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Wherever it may be that his people
live, wherever it may be that God is pleased to bless them,
his church lives on. His church. Whom do you say that
I am? Thou art the Christ. Thou art
the Son of God. Thou art the Saviour of sinners,
Thou art the foundation, Thou art the refuge, Thou art the
substitute, Thou art the only mediator, blessed art Thou upon
this rock, I'll build my church. And the gates of hell, the forces
of evil, the powers of darkness, they may attack, they may cause
grief and sorrow and tears and mourning, They'll never prevail
against it, never. Our Father, we thank Thee for
the promise, the promise of the Master to every true believer. Though we shall suffer persecution,
yet we shall never, we shall never be trodden down, or cast
aside, or forsaken. I will never leave thee, I will
never forsake thee. We are thy bride, thy family,
thy people, with the glorious privilege and right to be the
sons of God. It doth not yet appear what we
shall be, but when he shall appear who is our foundation, who is
our refuge, who is our hope, who is our Redeemer. When He
shall appear, we shall see Him, and we shall be like Him. We
thank Thee, our Father, for the confidence Thou hast given us
in Christ, and the assurance which we have not in ourselves
nor in any deeds of this body or works of this flesh, but Christ
the Lord. Christ the Lord. Speak to every
heart here tonight and strengthen us in the faith of the Redeemer.
Get glory to thy dear Son. Praise to His matchless name,
for He alone is worthy. In His name we pray. Amen. Let's sing 186. The church is
one foundation, 186. Let's stand, please. The Church's one foundation is
Jesus Christ, the Lord. He is His learned creation by
water and the Word. From heaven He came and sought
her to be His holy bride. With his own blood he fought
her and for her life he died.

I Will Build My Church

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