What Jesus said

about His ChurchAdapted from the series, “Jesus Said”

by Michael Wileyhttp://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/what-jesus-said-about-his-church-michael-wiley-sermon-on-church-general-

132967.asp

13 When Jesus came to the area of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his

disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" 14 They answered, "Some say John the Baptist, others

Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."

Who? – Not that Jesus was unaware. He knew full well what people were really saying. I think he was encouraging the Disciples to work through the answers

as they were telling him.

You’ve got to dissect all the options. Jesus said in Luke 14, that we should “consider the cost” before following

Him. What were the people saying? John had been beheaded by now and some of them thought he was John the Immerser

reincarnate. Others thought he was Elijah, still others thought he was the

great prophet Jeremiah -

all of them - people who would prepare the way for the Messiah. But so many

couldn’t get their brains around the truth that Jesus was the Messiah come to

redeem the world.Many people today, will call Jesus a great prophet, teacher, sage, but fall short of acknowledging Him as Lord.

Of course His initial question was a lead in question—right. Jesus really wanted

them to reveal their thoughts about Him.

15 He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" 16 Simon Peter answered,

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

Peter, as he did many times spoke for the rest, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!” He was acknowledging

Jesus, born in Bethlehem, raised in Nazareth as the “Son of God,” the Savior

of the world.

The Apostles had been with Him for three years. They had wavered between times of great faith and times of great doubt. Now at last the truth of Jesus’

divinity was firmly planted in their minds.

17 And Jesus answered him, "You are blessed, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to

you, but my Father in heaven!

Jesus then lays out for them His plan for the church.

18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and

the gates of Hades will not overpower it. 19 I will give you the keys of the

kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven,

and whatever you release on earth will have been released in heaven.”

Jesus laid the foundation first. Now we want to look at this passage closely. The

Roman Catholic Church has used this passage to teach that the church was

built in the person of Peter, making him the first pope and bishop of Rome. So,

each pope thereafter is in succession of Peter and is considered the supreme authoritative representative of Christ

here on earth.

That is a gross misinterpretation of this passage and the rest of the New

Testament that clearly says, Christ alone is the head of the church. So what does this passage say? The biggest question is, “What is the ‘rock’ Jesus is referring

to?” Jesus said, “You are Petros, and on this Petra, I will build my church.”

Petros (Peter) = a (piece of) rockPetra = a (mass of) rock (Strongs)

What is the Petra?Could it be Peter?

Peter is a piece of rock, a stone, but the mass of rock on which Jesus will build His church and the antecedent of petra is Peter’s confession of the truth that

Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.

Paul writes Peter is one of the stones laid on the mass of rock, Jesus Christ,

as the chief cornerstone creating a foundation to build upon.

Ephesians 2:19 NET So then you are no longer foreigners and noncitizens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of God's household, 20 because you have been built on the

foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the

cornerstone.

Ephesians is referring to the message they carried, “THE GOSPEL” as the

foundation.The foundation is the gospel message of Christ. After Jesus laid the foundation,

he tells us who the builder is, “I will build.” Jesus is the builder of the

church. We are called to work. We are called to spread the gospel, but it is

Christ who builds. Then Jesus tells us who the owner is, “I will build MY

church.”

Jesus is the owner of the church. This is the first time we see the word church in the Bible. The word in the NT Greek is “ekklesia” which literally means, “the called out ones.” It could speak of any group of people that have been called out for public assembly. So it is very

important to understand that “the church” is Christ’s people and has

nothing to do with buildings.

Then Jesus says something that when misinterpreted leaves us very vulnerable when under Satan’s attack. He says, “the

gates of Hades will not overpower it.”

The KJV translated the word Hades, “Hell” and in so doing screwed up our

theology on the subject. Jesus used the word “Hades” which is Greek for the grave, not hell. These are two totally

different Greek words.Hades : hades hah'-dace

Hell: Gehenna geenna gheh'-en-nahMost contemporary translations

translate it correctly.

Gates are not an offensive weapon to bring an attack on the church. Gates

keep things in.Jesus is saying here that the gates of

the grave will not hold the church, “Christians.”

Jesus also offers a promise - the forces of death and darkness can't prevail

against or conquer the church. This is a precious promise in the heat of battle, assuring us that victory is sure. (Guzik)

Jesus has the keys to the gate of death and of Hades

Revelation 1:17 NET When I saw him I fell down at his feet as though I were

dead, but he placed his right hand on me and said: "Do not be afraid! I am the first and the last, 18 and the one who lives! I

was dead, but look, now I am alive — forever and ever — and I hold the keys

of death and of Hades!

Paul mocks death when he quotes from Hosea, 1 Corinthians 15:55 NET "Where,

O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" (Hos 13:14)

1 Thessalonians 4:16 NET For the Lord himself will come down from heaven

with a shout of command, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.

You see, when wrongly interpreted we might get the pompous idea that the

church as an institution will never fall.Jesus isn’t saying that. Fact is the NT tells us that Satan is after the church

from the outside in and from the inside out. He is out to destroy us, and many a

church lay on the burial grounds of Satan over the years.

American church history is riddled with stories of the mega churches of the 20s

and 30s, who are very small today or don’t even exist any longer.

Don’t think for a minute that this church or any church for that matter is immune

from health issues even fatal ones.

So, Jesus isn’t saying, “the church as you know it will never fall.”

He’s saying you the church, have no need to fear.

You will overcome!The gates of Hades have no power over

you.The bind and release in 16:19 were

contemporary phrases in Jesus’ day to speak about law and grace.

Matthew 18:18 NET "I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you release on earth will have been

released in heaven.Jesus seems to be talking to all the

disciples. Matthew 18:1 NET At that time the disciples came to Jesus saying,

"Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"

So He gives the power to bind & release to them all.

Peter is mentioned in Matthew 18:21 NET Then Peter came to him and said, "Lord,

how many times must I forgive my brother who sins against me? As many

as seven times?"

He answers Peter’s question, then tells them a parable.

Church – you have the keys to the Kingdom – the gospel message.

We have the word of God which has the power to exclude or permit entrance in

to Heaven.

Let’s back up in chapter 18 where Jesus mentions the church in dealing with sin.Matthew 18:15 NET "If your brother sins, go and show him his fault when the two of you are alone. If he listens to you, you have regained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others

with you, so that at the testimony of two or three witnesses every matter may be

established. (Deu 19:15)

17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. If he refuses to listen to the church, treat him like a Gentile or a tax

collector.

This is a very hard pill to swallow. None of us wants to confront a brother or

sister in Christ about their sin.

Our minds immediately jump to what Jesus said in Matthew 7 which is

Scripture even the worst sinners know by heart & use it to keep from having

their sins condemned by anyone.Matthew 7:1 NET "Do not judge so that

you will not be judged. 2 For by the standard you judge you will be judged,

and the measure you use will be the measure you receive.

3 Why do you see the speck in your brother's eye, but fail to see the beam of

wood in your own? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye,' while there is a beam in your own? 5 You hypocrite!

First remove the beam from your own eye, and then you can see clearly to

remove the speck from your brother's eye.

God knew before Genesis 1:1 creation, mankind would not be able to deal with sin so He arranged for Jesus, God The

Son, to come & deal with sin for us. Humans are still weak & even after

allowing Jesus to wash away our sins we are enticed by the deceiver & fall

back into sin. John tells us how we can deal with that problem.

1 John 1:5 NET Now this is the gospel message we have heard from him and announce to you: God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we

say we have fellowship with him and yet keep on walking in the darkness, we are lying and not practicing the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one

another and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

8 If we say we do not bear the guilt of sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the

truth is not in us. 9 But if we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous,

forgiving us our sins and cleansing us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say

we have not sinned, we make him a liar and his word is not in us.

If we don’t go to Him & confess our sins for forgiveness He has a plan to shock us into realization we’re headed down

the wrong path.Matthew 18:15 NET "If your brother sins, go and show him his fault when the two of you are alone. If he listens to you, you

have regained your brother.

16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others with you, so that at the

testimony of two or three witnesses every matter may be established. (Deu 19:15) 17 If he refuses to listen to them,

tell it to the church. If he refuses to listen to the church, treat him like a Gentile or

a tax collector.

Paul dedicates the 5th chapter of 1 Corinthians to the problem of

chronically immoral & sinful Christians.1 Corinthians 5:1 NET It is actually

reported that sexual immorality exists among you, the kind of immorality that is not permitted even among the Gentiles, so that someone is cohabiting with his

father's wife.

2 And you are proud! Shouldn't you have been deeply sorrowful instead and removed the one who did this from

among you? 3 For even though I am absent physically, I am present in spirit. And I have already judged the one who did this, just as though I were present.

4 When you gather together in the name of our Lord Jesus, and I am with you in spirit, along with the power of our Lord Jesus, 5 turn this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his

spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord. 6 Your boasting is not good. Don't you know that a little yeast affects the

whole batch of dough?

7 Clean out the old yeast so that you may be a new batch of dough — you are,

in fact, without yeast. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 8

So then, let us celebrate the festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of vice and evil, but with the bread without yeast,

the bread of sincerity and truth.

9 I wrote you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people.

10 In no way did I mean the immoral people of this world, or the greedy and

swindlers and idolaters, since you would then have to go out of the world. 11 But now I am writing to you not to associate

with anyone who calls himself a Christian who is sexually immoral, or

greedy, or an idolater, or verbally abusive, or a drunkard, or a swindler.

Do not even eat with such a person. 12 For what do I have to do with judging those outside? Are you not to judge those inside? 13 But God will judge

those outside. Remove the evil person from among you.

(An allusion to Deu 17:7; Deu 19:19; Deu 22:21; Deu 22:24; Deu 24:7; cf. 1Co 5:2)

Michael Wiley, this lesson’s author, wrote: There are thousands of churches

in America of all sizes shapes and colors. Many are still very traditional in

their worship and approach to discipleship, many have moved into the

contemporary realm.My father and late mother attended two

churches in 50 years.

The first church was where my father was baptized after he married my

mother. They were there a good twenty years until a grave issue hit the church (I

was too young to understand), and almost half the church left (including the preacher). From there they went to a new

church work, and have been there for over 25 years. In that time the church has seen four preachers and several

youth ministers.

They have seen many families come and go. They grew to 300 and back to 60, then (currently) about 350. They have moved church buildings two times--- once when the state bought their land

for Interstate 65 and once when the city bought up all the houses around them and surrounded them with Industrial

buildings.

If you take a close look at the church you can count the number of families there since the launch on one hand. I assumed I could tell you why my dad spent so long at a church but before I put words in his mouth, I called him.

"Dad, you’ve been at only two churches in 50 years. Families come and go for all kinds of reasons. You are there Sunday

after Sunday, Year after year, Why?"

Answer? "I’m committed, not only to Christ but to His church, not only in the good times

but the bad."

Commitment!

I like that word!

Jesus established His church over 2000 years ago. He turned it over to 11 men who knew that word. They enlisted one

more to replace the betrayer and together turned the world upside down.

Jesus said, “and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will

not overpower it.”

Jesus founded His Church on the fact He is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and the gates of Hades will not

overpower it. He showed us how to deal with sin when it gets a toe-hold in the Church. Paul tells us following Jesus

plan of expelling a sinner who refuses to repent, turning them over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his

spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord. Yes it’s tough-love, & it’s God’s

plan.