The Church Instituted By Christ Is Different Than The Church Instituted By Men

The Church Instituted by Christ Is Different Than Any Church Instituted by Men

February 13, 2022

“Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He began asking His disciples, saying. ‘Who do people say that the Son of Man is?’  And they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.’  Jesus said to His disciples, ‘But who do you say that I am?’  And Simon Peter answered and said, ‘Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.’  And Jesus answered and said, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Barjona (son of John), because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.  And I say to you that you are Peter and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades shall not overcome it.  Peter, I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.'” (Matthew 16:13-19)

In the passage above Jesus clearly states that He alone would build His church and that only the apostle Peter would have the keys to open the doors to it (the church here is referring to the kingdom of heaven which had been spoken about throughout the gospels and not some physical building.  Some of that generation would still be alive when the doors to that kingdom would be opened  – read Matthew 16:28; Acts 2).

The Greek word for Peter is Petros which means a small, moveable rock whereas the Greek word for rock is Petra which means a large, immoveable boulder, a foundation.  The statement of Peter that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God is the rock upon which Jesus would build His church; a foundation rock, sure and immoveable.  And Jesus would use Peter to open the door to Christ’s church – not physically but spiritually. 

It’s been over 2000 years since the church that Jesus built was established.  From that time to now it has faced much opposition and persecution.  It’s gospel message has been twisted and misaligned by preachers and teachers who preach a gospel that is more for their glory than God’s.  It is, as Paul would say, a gospel that is distorted (Galatians 1:6-10).

One of the biggest deceptions of Satan, if not the biggest, is to deceive people into thinking they are a part of Christ’s church when, in fact, they are not.  He does this by convincing them that studying the Bible for themselves is not necessary.  That job is up to their preacher.  After all, that’s what he’s paid for, right? All you have to do is show up when he’s preaching and listen.  But are you willing to trust your eternity on what he understands the Bible to mean rather than reading the Bible for yourself?  A lot of people treat the Bible like it’s the plague and never get near it.  Unfortunately there will be a time when they wished they had but then it will be too late.  There will not be a second chance for them to open the word of God and read it.

The word of God is holy and it was written for you to read it.  God promises to give you understanding and wisdom when you search out its meaning (James 1:5-8).  Keep praying for understanding and keep reading to obtain it.  You will not disappointed when you personally discover the Bible as it is meant to be understood.  Value God’s word and its hidden meanings as if it was hidden treasure (Proverbs 2:1-12).  Keep searching its pages for the treasure it will unfold and you will richly blessed.  And one day you will find the church that Jesus built and not the church that man built.  Ask God to guide you to His church.

Brian Thompson