The Church
Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, 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.”
What a journey the church has been on since Jesus returned to the Father. It is puzzling that this statement by Jesus, which was clearly intended to unite us, has actually been a stumbling block and source of division. But the fact is, Jesus didn’t say churches, but church. The church therefore must truly be one, and we simply refuse to recognize that fact. After all, it is the truth that Peter declared that caused Jesus to make the statement that He did. And, no matter what we believe regarding Peter’s role within the church, we can be confident that the same Peter who refused to be crucified in the same manner as Jesus, urges us to keep our attention on the true object of our faith – our Lord and Savior, Jesus. To spend much time arguing about the structure and offices of the organized church is a distraction.
Since a boy, I have always found early church architecture and liturgy awe inspiring, with all of its intricate levels of symbolism alluding to the magnificence, mystery, beauty, power, intrigue, might, and so many more attributes of God. Much of what we see in the building is reminiscent of the old Jewish temple, and in fact calls to mind our Jewishness through our spiritual heritage.
But, while the temple was once recognized as the dwelling place of God, through the new covenant, we who believe have become the new dwelling place of the Lord. This really raises the dynamics of worship to a new very exciting level. We, as the new temples of God, bring Christ in us to the house of God. And there, an amazing thing transpires; as Jesus promised, “Where two or three are gathered in my name, lo I am in the midst.” As we prodigal sons and daughters determine to return to our Father’s house He comes out to greet and bless us. All we need to do is head for home. It is as Jesus said all along, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” Worship, praise, adoration, learning, fellow models of faith, and more are all waiting for us there, and they are all what truly reconciles us to God and increases our faith to ever new heights. We learn to truly love our Savior and Lord, and be loved by Him.
The truth is, we tend to get stuck on certain verses of Scripture and not let them become all that they should be to us. The statement that Jesus made above was more than a simple declaration. It was also a prophecy. And just like Peter, flesh and blood has not revealed the fact that Jesus is “the Christ the Son of the Living God” to us either! We too are equally blessed, and to the degree that we permit Jesus into our hearts and minds, we too become a bit of that rock upon which Jesus is forever building His church.
“…and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.”