Please turn to the Gospel according to Matthew, chapter 16. We will read from verse 13.
But when Jesus was come into the parts of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of man, am?”
And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.”
He saith unto them, “But who say ye that I am?”
And Simon Peter answered and said, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
And Jesus answered and said unto him, “Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jonah: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but My Father Who is in heaven.
And I also say unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
Then charged He the disciples that they should tell no man that He was the Christ.
From that time Jesus began to show unto His disciples, that He must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and the third day be raised up.
And Peter took Him, and began to rebuke Him, saying, “Be it far from Thee, Lord: this shall never be unto Thee.”
But He turned, and said unto Peter, “Get thee behind Me, Satan: thou art a stumbling-block unto Me: for thou mindest not the things of God, but the things of men.”
Then Jesus said unto His disciples, “If any man would come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.
For whosoever would save his life shall lose it: and whosoever shall lose his life for My sake shall find it.
For what shall a man be profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and forfeit his life? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his life?
For the Son of man shall come in the glory of His Father with His angels; and then shall He render unto every man according to his deeds.”
Lord, how we praise and thank Thee for gathering us together unto Thyself this morning. We thank Thee that at the table Thou hast once again revealed to us how much Thou dost love us. We thank Thee for giving that life to us, for Thy shed blood, and for Thy broken body.
Lord, truly Thou art our life, our Lord, and our all. We do thank Thee for Thy word. Thy word is truth. Thy word is life and spirit to us. So we ask, Lord, that this morning Thou wilt once again breathe upon Thy word and make Thy word living and operative in our lives.
Through Thy word, Lord, may we come to a deeper understanding of Thyself. We ask in Thy precious name. Amen.
The Lord seems to burden me with this matter of the church.
We know that the Apostle Paul, in Ephesians 3, tells us that the church is the mystery of the Christ. It is a mystery, a secret, that God has purposed in Christ Jesus even before the foundation of the world.
This mystery, or this secret, has been kept throughout the ages and the centuries. It was not known until, as the apostle says, this mystery was now being revealed to the apostles and the prophets.
So, brothers and sisters, we know that this matter of the church is a hidden secret in God. It has been hidden for centuries, for ages; and thank God, it is now an open secret.
The reason why our Lord Jesus came into this world is for the church. Oftentimes, we think that our Lord came into this world to save sinners. That is very true. But, brothers and sisters, we need to remember that this is not the ultimate purpose of His coming to this earth.
He came to this earth to seek and to build His church.
It is very strange that, in the records of the four Gospels, you find the word church mentioned only two times, and both are in the Gospel of Matthew.
Now, if the church is the reason for His coming, why is it that while He was on earth He very seldom mentioned even that term?
Because even when He was on the earth, and even though He came for that very reason, it was before the time of revelation. It was in His heart. It was the very reason why He came, and yet He was not able to reveal it, waiting for the fullness of time.
Not until He was rejected by the Jews, not until the cross was looming before Him, was it only at that period that He let out, as it were, that which was uppermost in His heart.
So even though our Lord Jesus mentioned the word church only twice in His lifetime, yet it was the secret of His heart.
This morning, we would like to consider together the first mention of the word church by our Lord Jesus.
The occasion was that He was rejected by His own nation. You know, the Pharisees, the priests, and the scribes came to the Lord and asked Him to show them a sign—a sign that He was the Christ, the Messiah.
Their very question revealed their unbelief in Him. So our Lord Jesus said, “To this generation there is no sign but the sign of Jonah.”
Because His own nation rejected Him, He retreated to the border of Caesarea Philippi. We know Caesarea Philippi was a Gentile city. In other words, you find that our Lord Jesus was driven almost out of His nation.
But at the border of Caesarea Philippi, He asked a most important question of His disciples: “Who do men say that I, the Son of man, am?”
Of course, His disciples, out of love for Him, would not tell Him all the bad things that the world said about Him. They would only report to Him the good comments.
They said, “Well, some say You are John the Baptist risen again.” You remember that Herod the king said it. His conscience was burdened because he had killed John the Baptist unrighteously. So when he heard about the Lord Jesus, his conscience told him that it was John the Baptist returned to life.
Other people said, “You are Elijah,” or, “You are Jeremiah,” because You are a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. Others could not identify Him and said, “You are one of the prophets sent by God.”
To ordinary people, these were comments that were probably more than you deserve to have. Yet, for our Lord Jesus, these comments did not satisfy Him.
So He turned to His disciples again and said, “What do you—You, My disciples, you who have followed Me all this time—what do you say that I, the Son of man, am?”
And thank God, Simon Peter, as the spokesman of the disciples, said, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Christ—the Anointed One, the One sent by God, the One on a holy mission. “You are the Christ.” That is His office; that is His work.
“And You are the Son of God.” That is His Person. He is God’s only begotten Son, Who came into this world to accomplish that marvellous work of redemption.
What a confession!
Immediately our Lord Jesus said, “You are blessed, Simon Bar-Jonah, because this is something that flesh and blood could never reveal to you. It is My Father Who is in the heavens Who has revealed it to you.”
Brothers and sisters, how true it is: no one knows the Son but the Father. It pleases the Father to reveal His Son in us.
Because of that confession, our Lord Jesus began to reveal something more. It is the Father Who reveals the Son—none but the Father. And because of this revelation, or based upon this revelation, the Son is able to reveal something more.
Our Lord Jesus said to Peter, “Blessed are you. It is the Father Who revealed this to you. You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.”
The Father reveals the Son, and the Son reveals the church—the purpose of His coming.
He said, “You are Peter.” Peter means a stone. “And upon this rock I will build My church.”
The Lord is very careful with words. You know, Petros means a stone, a piece of rock, a detached stone. But the Lord said, “Upon this rock.” The word for rock is petra. It means a massive rock.
Now, some people say that Peter is the rock, and upon Peter the Lord will build His church. But we know for sure that this is not true. Even Peter himself knew that this was not true.
In 1 Peter 2, which we read this morning, Peter himself recognised that he was one of the living stones being built into a spiritual house.
In 1 Peter 2:4-5, he speaks of coming unto a living stone, and that living stone refers to Christ. He is the living stone, rejected by men but chosen and precious to the Father.
Then Peter continues, “and ye yourselves.” That is, we, as we come to our Lord, the living stone, all become living stones. We are being built up together into a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
The word stone in 1 Peter 2, both in verse 4, which refers to Christ, and in verse 5, which refers to believers, is the same word. It simply means a stone.
Why is the same word applied not only to Christ but also to believers? Because there the Spirit of God wants to show that we have the same life. He is a living stone, and we are all living stones. We share the same life; or, to put it another way, He shares His life with us.
But in Matthew 16, the emphasis is upon the origin. In other words, our Lord Jesus is the rock, and we are a piece of it. Our origin is from Him. He is the rock, and we are a chip out of that rock.
If Peter were the rock, the foundation of the church, then in this very chapter, when our Lord began to reveal that He had to go to the cross and die, Peter laid hold of Christ and said, “Lord, it should not be so. It should not come to You like this.”
You remember our Lord turned around and said, “Get behind Me, Satan.” In other words, if Peter were the rock upon which the church is built, then before the church was built, the foundation would already have been shaken.
So it cannot be Peter. The rock is Christ Himself. The rock is the fundamental confession of Peter: that He is the Christ, the Son of the living God.
In 1 Corinthians 3, Paul said, “I am a wise master-builder, and I laid a foundation; and no one can lay any other foundation than Christ Himself.”
So we know for sure that the rock refers to Christ. He is the foundation of the church, and the church is built upon Christ Himself. Because of this, our foundation is pure, secure, and safe.
“Upon this rock I will build My church.”
What materials will He use to build His church?
“Thou art Peter. I will build My church upon this rock.” In other words, upon Himself, He will build those who have His life: those who believe in Him, those who have confessed Him as the Christ, the Son of the living God—those like Peter.
Stones, living stones, precious stones. God will build us together as His church, His spiritual house, His dwelling place, His holy habitation, building us together upon Himself.
So, brothers and sisters, why are we saved? Why does the Lord save you and save me? Does He save us to be a living stone that stands by itself as a monument? Or does He save us as living stones scattered around the world?
Certainly not. The reason why He saves us and makes us living stones is because He wants to build us together into His house. That is the very purpose of His coming into this world.
What is the church? The Greek word is ekklesia. It means the called-out ones, gathered together out of every tribe, every tongue, and every nation.
God has called a people out unto Himself, and He gathers them together and builds them together. You know, being built together is more than just an outward gathering, more than a physical assembly. It means an inward, organic building together.
This is the reason why we are materials for the building of the house of God.
Now, Who is the Builder? The Lord said, “I will build My church.” He is the Builder.
You may say, “Did not Paul say in 1 Corinthians 3, ‘I am a master-builder’?” But the word master-builder means a supervisor of a work. In other words, he is a foreman; he is a supervisor. The real Builder is God Himself.
“I will build My church.”
Today, we hear about church builders and church planters. People are supposed to be church builders and church planters. They go around building a church and planting a church.
But, brothers and sisters, according to the word of God, only our Lord Jesus is the Builder. “I will build My church.”
Psalm 127:1 says:
Except the Lord build the house,
They labour in vain that build it.
Unless the Lord builds the church, the builders, the labourers, and the foremen build in vain. It is His church, and He is building it.
What can man build? Man can build a tower of Babel. That is what man can do.
And how does man build the tower of Babel? With bricks, not with stones.
So, brothers and sisters, we realise that throughout the centuries, many have tried to build the church of God, and the result is a tower of Babel—confusion. It is not with living stones; it is with bricks, the work of man.
Whatever is built by man will not stand the assault of Hades. So the Bible says, “I will build My church.” It is My church. It is not your church. It is My church—the Lord’s.
Oftentimes we say, “This is my church.” There is only one church. It belongs to the Lord, and it is the Lord Who builds it. He said, “The gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.”
Here, in the first mention of the word church, it refers to the universal church. In other words, everyone who believes in the Lord Jesus is a stone, a Peter, a living stone. We are all being built upon Christ Himself to be His church.
It is spiritual in nature. How do you become material for that building? By spiritual birth. You are born again; you receive a new life. From dust, you are transformed into a stone, a living stone. It is spiritual.
The very building itself is spiritual. Our Lord is building His church according to His will, and He is building it upon Himself. In other words, the church is the extension of Christ.
Because of this, the conflict is also spiritual. The gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. In other words, the gates of Hades will be opened in attack against that building.
Why is that building so important? Why does Satan hate it so much? Why does he try his very best, opening all his gates and trying to destroy that building?
Because he knows that when that church is being built, that will be the end of him.
The church is not only the dwelling place of God in the Spirit. The church is also God’s instrument in His hand to destroy the enemy and all his works.
That is the reason why the enemy knows it, and he tries his very best to destroy it. But he cannot do it, because it is the work of our Lord Jesus.
If it is man’s work, he will destroy it. Man is no match for Satan. But it is the Lord’s work, and he is not able to destroy it. He can do his very best to attack it and try to deceive it. Outwardly, you find many tumble, yet what the Lord has built is unshakable, and it overcomes the enemy.
So this refers to the universal church. All the spiritual principles concerning the church are here presented.
What a wonderful building that is.
Because it is the Lord Who is the Builder, can you imagine that He would begin it and not be able to finish it?
You remember Luke 14. The Lord said that if you want to build a tower, you had better count the cost, whether you are able to finish it or not. If you lay the foundation and cannot finish it, people will laugh at you. You become a laughingstock.
Will the Lord Himself be a laughingstock?
Today, when you look at the church, probably you begin to wonder whether the church will ever be built. What is built by man will certainly be destroyed by Satan, by the gates of Hades. But what is built of God prevails.
So, brothers and sisters, we have confidence. We have faith. Even though you may not see it, we believe that through the centuries our Lord is building His church, and eventually that work will be completed.
Thank God, we know that the day is drawing near. So be assured: we are in faith, believing that He will finish it. He will present to Himself a glorious church, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing. Thank God for it.
But that is not the end. After that revelation of the church, the Lord began to say to His disciples, “I am going to Jerusalem. The scribes, the priests, and the Pharisees will reject Me, persecute Me, hand Me over to the nations, and I will be killed. But on the third day, I will rise from among the dead.”
The Lord came to die. He was born to die, because He was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. But He was not able to share with His disciples concerning His death until that moment.
Why? Because that would explain His death—why He must die, why He must go to the cross, why He must shed His blood, why He must have His body broken. It is because of the building of the church.
You remember when the soldier thrust that spear into His side on the cross. John testified and said, “What I saw is true. I saw blood and water coming out from His side.”
Blood is for the remission of our sins. Even though our sins are scarlet, they shall be washed as white as snow. Water speaks of His soul being poured out like water; that is to say, His life is poured out for us. And with this, He builds His church.
So not until that time was He able to share with His disciples about His death.
Unfortunately, you find Peter, out of his sympathy and natural love for the Lord, laid hold of the Lord—let me say, shook Him up a little bit—and said, “No, that should not happen to You.”
The Lord turned around, faced him and the disciples, and said, “Satan, get behind Me, because you are not mindful of God; you are mindful of men.”
Now, dear brothers and sisters, when our Lord was first born, the enemy knew to a certain degree. The enemy is not all-wise, but he knows more than we do. He knew that this Child, the Son of God, came into this world to destroy him.
So you remember how he tried to destroy our Lord Jesus at His birth. He used King Herod to try to kill this little Child, but he was unsuccessful.
Then he tried another tactic. If he could not put Christ to death at His birth, then at least he would try to tempt Him from going to the cross. Because he knew that if Christ went to the cross, he would be finished.
When our Lord was tempted, Satan tried to say, “If You are the Son of God, You do not need to go to the cross. You do not need to be hungry and starve to death. You do not need to go to the cross, and You can get the kingdom. All will be Yours if You avoid the cross.”
And our Lord said, “Satan, get away.”
Here you find Satan using the same tactic through Peter: “Do not go to the cross. You do not need to go to the cross, and You can have the kingdom.”
But our Lord discerned the enemy. So He said, “Satan, get behind Me, because you are not mindful of God.” God’s will is the cross.
Without the cross, there will be no Christ. Without the cross, there will be no church.
Today, people preach a crossless Christ. A crossless Christ is no Christ and no salvation. People think that you can build a church without the cross. You cannot.
The same principle for the foundation is the principle for the building. For Christ to be the foundation of God’s house, He had to die on the cross.
Without the cross, there will be no salvation and no foundation. So, brothers and sisters, we preach Christ Jesus and Him crucified. This is our message to the world.
But our Lord Jesus began to explain to the disciples that this is not only a principle that governs Him; it is a principle that governs the building of the church.
Unless we are willing to lose our soul-life—the life there is soul-life, our natural life, our fleshly life, our own ideas, our own opinions, our own desires, and our own feelings—we cannot be built together.
Except we are willing to lose our soul-life for His sake, for the sake of Christ, so that Christ may be able to get through us and His life may flow out from us, we cannot be built together.
If we do not deny ourselves and take up our cross—it is a cross. Why? Because it cuts across our desires. It cuts across our mind. It cuts across our wishes. It cuts across our emotions.
So our soul suffers. But unless we are willing to lose our soul-life for His sake, we will lose it. If we are willing to lose it for His sake, we will gain it unto eternity.
So, brothers and sisters, the same principle applies to the church as to Christ. Why is the church not built? Why are there living stones lying around? Why can these living stones not fit in with one another and come into an organic oneness?
The reason is our soul. We love our soul more than the Lord. We are not willing to give up ourselves.
That is the reason why the church is not built. We cannot fit in one with another.
You know, when Solomon built the temple, he built the temple with massive stones. But these stones were all prepared in the quarry.
In other words, all the cutting, all the chiselling, and all the smoothing were done in darkness. Every stone had a number according to the pattern that God had shown to David.
Every stone had a number. The stones were placed according to their place. How could each stone fit in with the other stones?
You do not just call it out of the field. You have to measure it, cut it, chisel it, smooth it, take away all the corners, and shape it correctly so that it can fit in with those on its left and right, above and below.
Everything was done in the quarry. So when the building was being built, 1 Kings 6:7 says:
And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready at the quarry:
And there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building.
Why? Because the stones had already been prepared.
Brothers and sisters, this is not true of the buildings that we see on this earth. Whenever you have a building work going on, you have lots of sounds—sounds and dust.
But the building of God’s house is different. If, in the secret, we are willing to accept all the cutting, the chiselling, the smoothing, and the fitting, then in the open there will be no sound of iron.
But if there is a lack of preparation, then when you try to fit the stones together, my, the sound! The flesh at its best.
So, brothers and sisters, thank God. Our Lord Jesus is showing us the universal church. There is only one church, only one foundation, and only one building.
This church is built by none other than our Lord Himself. He may use many people as under-builders, as foremen, and as workers, but He is the Architect and the Builder of His church.
This church belongs to Him and to Him alone. He is building it spiritually by His Spirit, using the cross as the tool of building.
Thank God, even though the enemy will try to destroy it, he will be defeated.
We know that one day, when the Lord comes back, He will receive to Himself a glorious church without spot, wrinkle, or any such thing. Praise God. May the day come soon.
Dear Lord, we want to thank Thee that Thou art building Thy church, and for the love of Thy church Thou hast given Thyself to her.
How we praise and thank Thee that Thou art sanctifying her, purifying her, and glorifying her, that she may be presented to Thee a glorious church without spot or wrinkle or any such thing.
We thank Thee for saving us. We thank Thee for putting us together. Lord, we pray that we may be constrained by Thy love, knowing that we are not saved just to be alone, but we are saved to be built together.
Lord, may this thought sink deeply into our hearts, that the Holy Spirit may take hold of each one of us and make us willing to receive all the cutting, the chiselling, the smoothing, the cutting of corners, and the giving up of ourselves.
Allow Thy life to unite us and build us together, that there may be a wonderful, glorious house fit for Thy own dwelling, always knowing that Thou art doing the work.
We do know that the enemy is trying his very best to destroy it. Lord, how we praise and thank Thee. What is of man can be destroyed and will be destroyed, but what is of Thee can never be destroyed.
Rather, it will be proven unshakable, eternal, and glorious. We worship Thee in Thy precious name. Amen.