Mathew 16:18

"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."  Mathew 16:18

Mathew 16:18 is the first time we see the word 'church' in the New Testament. I want to take a little time and look in detail at this verse and those surrounding it, they provide crucial details about the foundation of the church. 

Here is the passage I would like to look at, including verse 18: 

Mat 6:13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"
Mat 16:14  And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
Mat 16:15  He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"
Mat 16:16  Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Mat 16:17  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.
Mat 16:18  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.

Let's start by looking at verses 13 - 16. Jesus asked his disciples who people thought he was. They reply by giving some different names that they have heard people refer to Jesus as, none of them accurate. Jesus then asks his disciples who they think he is, Peter replies with the words that echo to this day, words that carry more power than any earthly army, more authority than any earthly king: 

"You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" 

'Christ' means Savior or Messiah, referring to one who has set others free, in this case The One! 

These are the foundational words of the gospel that Paul says in Romans is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. Believes what? That Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God! As God's children, and co-heirs with Christ, we cannot move past these words without letting them sink in, without looking at how they tie in to the foundation of the church. 

After Peter makes this profession that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, Jesus commends him for what he has said. "Blessed are you Simon Bar-Jonah!"

Peter could have let this build him up, Jesus Christ had just personally given him very encouraging words because of what he had said. Peter could have thought to himself that he was doing ok in the eyes of Jesus. Then Jesus says this: "For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven."

There are some important points to look at in what Jesus says here. He uses the word 'for' - connecting this to his previous comment about Peter being blessed. Peter was blessed, not because he was smart enough or wise enough to put the puzzle pieces together concerning who Jesus was - Peter was blessed (very fortunate) because God the Father had revealed this Truth about Christ to Peter.

Another point we can learn from what Jesus says here. The fact that God had revealed the Truth about Jesus to Peter, not flesh and blood, explains why there were so many other ideas about who Jesus was coming from the people around them. The reason some said John the Baptist, some said Elijah, and others said Jeremiah or one of the other prophets was because those people were leaning on their own reasoning, their own intelligence to put the puzzle pieces together. God had not revealed the truth to them concerning His Son. 

The fact that Jesus said this Truth was revealed by His Father, who is in Heaven, also reminds us that this is not to be looked at from an earthly perspective. We struggle with this every day - the life we are living as children of God, saved by the blood of His Son, is a life revolving around a God who views everything from a completely different perspective - a heavenly and eternal perspective. We need to keep this in mind continuously as we discern how we are commanded to live and act - especially in the context of how we come together as 'church."

After saying these things to Peter, Jesus goes on to talk about the church: (keep in mind the word church refers to a called out group of people) "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."

Just like Peter put into words earlier the very Truth about Jesus that lives in the heart of every believer, Jesus puts into words the foundational truth about the church. We cannot miss this - Jesus said: I will build My church. Whose church is it? Jesus Christ's. Who is building it? Jesus Christ. We have no grounds to use our personal preferences to gauge a church, we have no grounds to use our personal preferences to lift up or condemn a church. The Universal Church, including the local church, belongs to Jesus Christ. 

We also dare not think that anything we have put into place, any program, activity, outreach, evangelistic effort - none of this has the power to grow Christ's church. Christ is the one that builds His church. Christ is the one that grows His Body. We should recognize here that the church is all about Christ, not about us. We are blessed to be called to be a part of it. 

Jesus referenced Peter as a rock (the Greek word for 'Peter' is similar to the Greek word for 'rock'). Jesus also says that he will build his church on a rock. The question becomes, what is the rock? This is important, because it's what the church is built on, according to Jesus himself. Looking elsewhere in Scripture, Jesus is referred to as the Rock, or the Cornerstone (Romans 9:33, 1 Cor. 10:4). We also see the apostles referred to as the foundation (Eph 2:20) and we see all believers referred to as stones (1 Peter 2:5). So what is the rock that Jesus was referring to here, that He is building His church upon?  

Looking at what Jesus said following His comments about the rock will shed some light on this question. Jesus said that 'the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.' (meaning His church). If Peter himself was the foundational rock of the church, if the apostles were the foundational rock referred to by Christ, or if all believers are the rock, could Jesus guarantee the gates of hell shall not prevail against this church? Would it still be His church? 

The only way Jesus could guarantee the gates of hell shall not prevail against His church, is if He is THE foundational rock, THE cornerstone that all else is built upon. What Peter said earlier about Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God, was the Truth that revealed Jesus as the Rock. Faith in Jesus as the Christ, as the Son of the Living God, is the faith that binds all true believers together as the Church. This bind of faith in Jesus is a bind that even the gates of hell cannot prevail against!

So, how does all of this play out on the local church level? The same foundation must apply: Jesus is the Christ. Jesus is the Son of the living God. This is Jesus' church. Jesus is the one building it. We have to acknowledge these truths, they must infused at the core of the local church - they are the first litmus test. Any church not holding to these basic truths are not a part of Jesus' church. If the local church holds to these core truths, the gates of hell will not prevail against it! 

Since these are the foundational truths, we will look more in detail at each of these four points in the next posts, including how these truths should be applied within the local church.

1. What does it mean that Jesus is the Christ?

2. What does it mean that Jesus is the Son of the living God?

3. What does it mean that this is Jesus' church?

4. What does it mean that Jesus is the one building the church?