Matthew 16:18……Ready

Matthew 16:18……Ready

16:18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock, I will (Not Peter, not Pastors, not Members, not Elders, but Christ Himself-(New) build my church (The root meaning is not a building, but people.-(Eph. 2:19-22) In ancient Greece, an Ecclesia was a meeting of citizens in making legislative decisions on behalf of the state. It’s not the church spiritual or the church universal, but the church individual.-(New) and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. (Out of the two possible interpretations given for gates; defending or attacking, Most support the former, due to the fact that no one has ever seen a any “gate” anywhere chase somebody down.-(New) (For Additional Expository Notes See Book)

Extended Sermons 

“Teaches how Jesus as Lord & Savior will be the Core Foundational Doctrine for any Bible-teaching Church.” →  The truth of Jesus’ Divinity & Lordship is to be the very bedrock upon which the Church is established and built. Any church, no matter how beautiful the building. No matter how big the congregation. No matter how popular the preacher. If it is not built on the deity and divine nature of Jesus it is not a church that the Lord has built. Some churches have all together denied the deity of Jesus, the virgin birth, the Trinity, and the personhood of the Holy Spirit. None of this should come as a surprise. From the very beginning the early church fathers faced  the same type of false doctrines about Jesus, just as we see today. Eventually leading them to hold a council called the “Nicene Creed” in 325 A.D. to address heresies within the church. The beigest and most well-know heresy came from an individual name Arius. A Libyan Christiaan priest who questioned the deity of Christ. Who taught that Jesus Christ was not coeternal with God the Father, but rather a created being, a doctrine known as “Arianism”. Eventually the council of Nicene hammered out a statement of faith that clarified the nature of Jesus and the Trinity which read; “We believe in one God the Father Almighty maker of heaven and earth of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ the only begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds. God of God, light of light, very God of very God, begotten, not made being of one substance with the Father by whom all things were made who for us men and for our Salvation came down from heaven and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary and was made man and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate He suffered and was buried and on the third day He rose according to the scriptures and ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father and He shall come again in glory to judge both the quick and the dead whose Kingdom shall have no end.” This defining term and doctrine about the deity of Christ and the Trinity is critical for the church. It’s a core tenet of Christian faith, which underpins Salvation, worship, and the church’s identity.

“Teaches how the Church is built by Christ alone, not our efforts, not  our talents, not our abilities, not our cleverness”  → Notice how Jesus didn’t say “You will build my Church”. As if we could accomplish such a feat on our own. Nor did Jesus say “I will build Your Church.” As if everything revolves around our own preferences and desires. Jesus didn’t say “I will build my church on the Southern  Baptist Convention.” Jesus didn’t say “I will build my church on Billy Graham”.  No, Jesus said “I will build My Church.” The church is Jesus’ very own, it belongs to Him. The Church was purchased by Christ’s own blood. He bought it with His own life! The church operates under Christ’s authority. The church is not merely an institution, or building, or a Sunday gathering. The Church is not built on how nice the facility is. The church is not built on its members. The Church is not built on offerings. The Church is not built on gimmicks. The Church is not built on popular trends. The Church is not built on entertainment or shock value. The church is not built on commercialism. The church is not built on our performance, the sermons we give, or the leadership we offer. The church does not belong to pastors, members, or denominations. It belongs to Christ. He alone is the one who builds it.

“Even today, don’t get discourage when people fall away from Church. Don’t to get discouraged when Church’s shutdown, Don’t get discouraged when Church scandals breakout. Don’t get discouraged when you read of Christians being persecuted and beheaded. Because Jesus is still building His Church and it will be victorious and never fail.” ⇒ Nothing is going to stop the Church of Christ. You can cut off the members, but Christ will build His church. You can change the laws of the Government, but Christ is going to build His church. No matter how much cultural values change, Christ is going to build His church. No matter how immoral mankind gets, Christ is going to build His church. No matter how liberal society gets, Christ is going to build His church. No matter how decadent America gets, Christ is going to build His church. No matter how Godless our society gets, Christ is going to build His church  No matter how Apostate Christianity becomes, Christ is going to build His church. In recent years the church has experienced an increase in persecution around the world, especially in Africa and Asia. According to the “Watch World List” an annual report published by Open Doors and World Relief. Lists fifty countries in which Christians face the “Most extreme persecution.” It reported an increase from 340 million people in 2020 to 365 million in 2024. It said that 1 in 7 Christians are persecuted worldwide, including 1 in 5 in Africa and 1 in 7 in Asia. And is expected to increase annually. North Korea, Somalia, Libya, Eritrea, and Yemen had the highest rates of reported persecution against Christians. When it comes to Churchgoing. Recent data indicates a decline in church attendance, with around 30% of U.S. adults attending religious services in person at least once a month.  In fact when the Covid virus hit in 2020 it almost wiped it out church attendance. Many people didn’t think the church would survive. Recent research had found that around half U.S. Adults who had attended church before COVID-19 are unlikely to return even if public health officials deem it safe. Even the Catholic church experienced a decline in attendance after the clergy sex abuse scandals hit in the 80’s. In some areas, weekly church attendance dropped to 17% of Catholics, down from an estimated 34%. A study found that the sexual abuse scandal had a statistically significant effect on church exit’s among Catholics. Other factors that may have contributed to the decline in Catholic Church attendance include the decline in the number of priests, which has been ongoing since 1970. Charitable giving also declined, especially donations to Catholic charities. Among those who left Catholicism for an evangelical church, 78% said “their spiritual needs” were “not being met.” Many people grew disenchanted with the Catholic Church because of the clergy sex abuse crisis. Church attendance over all has been declining for a variety of reasons, including. A growing movement towards secularism has led people to opt out of traditional religious practice. The rise of social media and digital communication has led people to go  online for church. Why dress up and get the kids ready when I can just sit on the couch with my popcorn and watch church. A significant portion of Americans (about half) attend services in person a few times a year or less often. When combining in-person and online attendance, the Pew Research Center found that 23% of Americans watch church on-line. This indicates a downward trend over the past two decades. High-profile scandals and the politicization of religious institutions have driven people away from church. It’s all about money and getting rich. People are busier and have less time to attend church.  Don’t give up on the church or let the failure of the Church get you down. Know it is still part of the body of Christ, no matter how bad your experiences are.

More Notes & Applications 

Warns how you cannot love Jesus and not be committed to a church that He built and died for.

Teaches no matter how hard Satan tries, nothing will be able to shake our faith or prevent us in becoming who God has called us to be.

Comforts believers in knowing the Lord is going to do His work and it isn’t up to us, we just need to get into a place where He can do it where we are.

Teaches no matter how much our faith is tested and tried, it will always stand firm.

Teaches where we meet and gather as a church is not as important as why we meet. It’s Who we’re serving and worshipping that is.

Calls for persevering in the faith in difficult times, that no crisis—neither death nor persecution—will destroy the body of Christ.

Teaches how faith and submission to Jesus as Lord, creates a power force that can’t be shaken or defeated.

Displays the power of Christ Jesus in taking someone as weak, impulsive, and doubting as Peter. And a meek and mild band of followers who were cowering in a upper room,-(John 20:19) to going out and changing the world.

Displays how Jesus is not a passive observant, but a participate in building the Church and edifying our faith.

Note: There are no perfect churches. The church is under construction. Yet, despite its flaws, faults, and failures, nothing will ever prevail over the Church or destroy it. Many people’s commitment to the church is sustained as long as they can maintain some false notion of the perfect church. Once they discover something that fails to live up to expectations, they change churches, devalue the church, or abandon the church. When you see these signs, what is your response? Is the church just another business that you boycott that until changes are made? We respond that way to every institution except the church.  If it is important to you, you will continue to patronize it even with some things out of order.

Note: The Catholic Church uses this verse in support of the Papal Supremacy over the Church. Even giving legend to Peter standing at the “Pearly Gates” as to who can enter and who cannot. If Peter is to the “Rock” and supreme leader of the church. The one who has ultimate authority to make all decisions for the Church, who speaks infallibly, and who has all things put in his hands. You would think for God to put supreme authority in the hands of a fallible man. To us it doesn’t seem very wise. Even Peter himself would later disown Jesus three times.-(Matt. 26:69-75)  Not only that, but Paul had rebuked Peter at one point, because he was being hypocritical towards the truth of the Gospel.-(Gal. 2:11-14)

Note: This is the first mention of the church in the Bible. In the Gospels, Jesus only mentioned the church twice: Matthew 16:18 and later in Matthew 18:17 where Jesus instructs the Church on how to respond to a sinning brother. The term Church comes from the Greek word Ekklesia which has multiple meanings, including a political assembly. In ancient Greece, the Ekklesia was a gathering of citizens to conduct public business and consider matters proposed by the council. The word comes from the prefix ek or ex, which means “out of” or “from”, and the root word kaleo, which means “to call”. In the New Testament, Ekklesia is the term for the Christian church. The word is often understood to refer to a group of people called by God, and is intended to seek the common good so that people may be saved through Jesus Christ.

Note: The term Jesus uses for Peter as the “Rock I will build my Church”. Has caused much controversy and division among Protestants and Catholics, even among believers of the same denominations, who belong to the same church. The Roman Catholic church believes it is Peter himself based on the Greek masculine form of “Petros” meaning “Small stone”. But most other denominations believe it is Christ Himself based on the Greek feminine form of “Petra” meaning bedrock. Think about it, what makes more sense? That Jesus is founding His Church on Peter, and entrusting it’s existent to a person with human failures and shortcomings. Or is Jesus building His Church on Himself and all He has done? On His death and His resurrection. Therefore the most likely interpretation and explanation is that Jesus is referring only to Peter’s confession, which better sense.  When there’s debate over how to understand a verse of scriptures, it’s helpful look at other verses where the same word is used in the bible as well as context. Now there is good evidence throughout the bible where Christ is seen as the Rock. As an example Ephesians 2:20 “having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone.”  Or 1-Corinthians 10:3-4 “ They all ate the same spiritual food  and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.” But when using the interpretation principal of Context, there’s even better evidence in the preceding Verses 16 that the rock on which Jesus will built is Peter’s faith confession; “You are the Christ, Son of the living God.”-(17:16)  

Note: The term “The gates of Hades shall not overcome it”. In ancient times cities were built with walls and gates surrounding it. Walls to protect and gates to gain entrance, and for people to leave. They were mostly built to protect from invading armies. So when enemies attacked a city they would often attack the gates first. The “Gates” also symbolized places of power and  authority. Gates were accessible and visible, making them the logical place for leaders and citizens to gather. They served not only as points of entry and exit but also as places of commerce, legal proceedings, and public discourse. Gates served as vital hubs for legal and civic decision-making, with elders and judges gathering there to administer justice, settle disputes, and conduct business transactions-(Deut. 21:18-21, Ruth 4:1-11) Similarly, kings used gates to address their people, and leaders like judges and prophets would convene at the gates to guide the community. The gates of “Hades” is another word for the grave or the place of the dead. Some translations say the “Gates of hell”. So the idea of that is the “Power of death and hell” Or the “Power of death and Satan”. Some add an additional aspect to the “Gates of Hades” saying that because of the area where Jesus chose to make this important statemen, being in Caesarea Philippi,-(16:13) where there used to be a large Temple dedicated to the Roman god pan. And to the rear of that Temple extended into a cave with a large crack or crevice in the floor. The Pagan worshippers considered this large crack to be portal or a gateway to the underworld the Gate of Hades. The worshippers would drop sacrifices down that crevice, and wait for signs that the god’s beneath received the sacrifice. Therefore when Jesus said the ‘”Gates of Hades would not prevail against His church” He was in one way challenging the Paganism of the Roman and Gentile world. You could say given the words and setting of where Jesus said this. It was if Jesus was saying “Just over there is the place where the Pagans sacrifice to their idols, the place where they consider to be the gates of hades, and none of that is going to prevail against my Church or the community of my followers.” As to how these “Gates” operate. There’s been a growing  dispute. Some view it as the defensive nature of the church in prevailing against the wicked forces of evil and hell that will try to persecute and destroy it. Others view it as the offensive nature of Church in breaking down the gates of evil and rescuing people from the power of sin, Satan, and darkness.

Jesus’ statement on this “rock I will build my church” has been variously interpreted as:

• Peter: Some interpret this as Jesus building the church on Peter himself, suggesting a leadership role for Peter. (Not supported by most) 

• Peter’s confession: Others interpret it as the church being built on Peter’s confession of faith, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Widely Supported by most)

CHARITERISTICS OF A CHURCH CHIRST BUILDS

• A Church will be built on a personal relationship with Jesus as Lord & Savior.

• A Church will be built on the deity of Jesus Christ.

• A church will built on Christ-centered teachings.

• A Church will walk in holiness, righteous, and obedience.

• A Church will built on unity & love for each other.

• A Church will be Spirit filled & empowered.

• A Church will have a servant mentality.

• A Church will be focused on outreach & evangelism

• A Church will hold it’s leaders accountable.

WHAT THE CHURCH IS NOT:

• The Church is not a building. (Going to church does not make you a Christian.)

• The Church is not a business. (Christ didn’t die on the cross so He could redeem employees for Himself. Or generate profits for shareholders.)

• The church is not a political platform. (The church’s job is to share the Gospel, not to change the government.)

• The church is not a organization. (The Lord isn’t looking for a CEO to run His business, but to shepherd His flock.)

• The Church is not a self-help program. (It’s about God. Not self-help, but God-help.)

• The Church is not a source of entertainment.

• The church is not a social club.